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One of my collateral duties is reviewing resumes for job openings. I work for a small component of a big government department.
1. Do not cut/paste the job description into your resume. It's obvious when you do this.
2. If the position requires experience in "x" don't make me dig through your 6(!) page resume to find it.
3. It certainly is more convenient to use one generic resume for multiple applications, but if it's TOO generic it's not specific enough to warrant further consideration.
4. There's really no such thing as a "government job." There's pilots and mechanics and Border Patrol agents and Groundskeepers. If you don't have ANY of the skills and NONE of the experience, there's no point in applying for anything other than a very entry level job.
5. If the posting says "50% travel" that really and truly means that.........you will spend about half your time travelling. It says "50% travel" because we put it in the job posting.
Public or private sector -- I tailor my resume for each position.
Takes more time. But I do it.
The people who decide to move your resume forward are in HR, and don't know squat about what you'll actually be doing. They're matching duties with a resume, looking at a "scoring" system.
And as for interviewing -- public and private sector interviews are completely different animals.
I've found that at gov't interviews they don't actually ask you directly about your specific experience. They can't because they have to ask every candidate the same questions, so they can't say, "Oh I see you managed 8 people at XYZ company, tell my about that."
Not conversational, no personalty, just dry as a bone. Question 1, you answer, Question 2 you answer, Question 3, you answer, etc.
It's all generic "tell me about t time when....." and it's up to the candidate to say, when I was at XYZ, and give an example or two.
And, don't expect to be interviewed by the person who will actually be your supervisor.
I had an interview where NO ONE on the panel worked at the office I was interviewing for....NO ONE could tell me what skill sets they wanted the employee to have.....NO ONE could tell me about the training. What they heck? And one of them was the person who set up the interview.... we'd chatted, he'd wanted to know if I was still interested before he scheduled the interview.
(And a week later they had the nerve to want to check my references. I pulled my name from contention. AND I wanted to tell them why. That's how ticked off I was. But my friends talked me out of it.)
Is the process really one that will find the best person who'll be a good fit for the job?
Anyone who's had more than a few interviews can answer that.
The people who decide to move your resume forward are in HR, and don't know squat about what you'll actually be doing. They're matching duties with a resume, looking at a "scoring" system.
True for large companies, but the majority of employers in the world are actually small businesses. They don't all have HR departments.
For smaller employers, ALWAYS send your resume to the email address in the job posting. If you try to track down the Principal or Partner's email address, your resume will just get buried amidst the hundreds of other emails they get each day. Send it to the 'resumes@smallcompany.com' or whatever. When the partners sit down to review applicants, they will be able to find yours right away by logging into that email account.
Always include a cover letter, and write it as if you are answering the 'so....tell us about yourself' question. Make it sound personable. The resume can be a bit formal and stiff. The cover letter is your chance to let your 'voice' come through.
True for large companies, but the majority of employers in the world are actually small businesses. They don't all have HR departments.
For smaller employers, ALWAYS send your resume to the email address in the job posting. If you try to track down the Principal or Partner's email address, your resume will just get buried amidst the hundreds of other emails they get each day. Send it to the 'resumes@smallcompany.com' or whatever. When the partners sit down to review applicants, they will be able to find yours right away by logging into that email account.
Always include a cover letter, and write it as if you are answering the 'so....tell us about yourself' question. Make it sound personable. The resume can be a bit formal and stiff. The cover letter is your chance to let your 'voice' come through.
If you're going to sit down and read every cover letter, sure. Otherwise, that's a waste of time. Interview me for me and what I can bring to your company, not a sheet of paper.
If you're going to sit down and read every cover letter, sure. Otherwise, that's a waste of time. Interview me for me and what I can bring to your company, not a sheet of paper.
True. As my former boss once told us, "I don't have time to read cover letters."
Interview me for me and what I can bring to your company, not a sheet of paper.
Well said.
When I was hiring I tossed resumes that were more than two pages. Actually preferred one page.
If you can't convince me of your qualifications in one page (max two) then I move on to the next.
If your name, address and phone number are on the resume then I don't need a cover letter. Your resume tells me you want the job and how I can reach you.
If you're going to sit down and read every cover letter, sure. Otherwise, that's a waste of time. Interview me for me and what I can bring to your company, not a sheet of paper.
You seem confused about the process. The cover letter comes before the interview and you might very well get the interview because of the cover letter. Cover letters these days are usually read in the electronic form and not printed. Technically, they aren't a sheet of paper in that case.
It's pretty easy to read cover letters. A good cover letter can get you to the top of the list to get interviewed. Once you get the hang of writing a cover letter, it should only take a few minutes. Sometimes you only need 3 or 4 sentences.
You seem confused about the process. The cover letter comes before the interview and you might very well get the interview because of the cover letter. Cover letters these days are usually read in the electronic form and not printed. Technically, they aren't a sheet of paper in that case.
It's pretty easy to read cover letters. A good cover letter can get you to the top of the list to get interviewed. Once you get the hang of writing a cover letter, it should only take a few minutes. Sometimes you only need 3 or 4 sentences.
I did plenty of electronic coverletters that meant nothing. I got my latest job with my resume and my 'willing to learn' attitude.
One of my collateral duties is reviewing resumes for job openings. I work for a small component of a big government department.
.........
Just curious......
-- What exactly is your role? Do you make decisions about referral in any way -- or do you just assist and have no decision making duties/responsibilities?
-- And -- when during the process to you see the resumes, before or after the person has been found "eligible" and then "qualified" well qualified or "superior qualified?"
I don't advise people to cut and paste from any job announcement for any job with any employer..
But it's no secret the resume and questionnaire have to result in a person scoring high-enough to be referred.....especially when a person is competing against someone who gets to apply in a preference category.
I decide who gets interviewed. I hate the term "Subject Matter Expert" but that's what I am in the process.
I will be on the interview panel, along with my boss.
Every posting has different requirements; US Citizens, Status Candidates, etc. There's typically some shenanigans when they decide Who May Apply but that has nothing to do with me.
I do not have anything to do with delineation between eligible/well qualified, etc. What we're doing this time is looking at resumes from applicants who have veteran preference. From THAT group we will do interviews. If none of them do well on the interview THEN we go to non vets.
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