Job Choices 2012 - Business - (Page 29)
Write the RIGHT RESUME For the Job You’re Seeking ach year, Jane Baczynski , manager of campus recruiting and university relations at Toys-“R”-Us, Inc., reviews thousands of resumes from college and university students and recent graduates, hoping to find the best candidates for a variety of positions throughout the United States. Christine Konieczka, U.S. college recruiting manager at Mercer, a human resources consulting firm in Chicago, says she and her colleagues receive and review more than 9,000 resumes each year. Both firms hire business and liberal arts students and recent graduates, and both are more likely to take a closer look at resumes that offer them a quick, clear summary of a candidate’s skills and qualifications—and explain how they relate to the job. “It’s critical for a very recent graduate to have a one-page resume,” Konieczka says, pointing out that longer resumes are acceptable only for experienced applicants or those E with advanced degrees. “It signals your ability to communicate concisely.” Both companies also prefer to receive resumes through their company websites, or, less often, through e-mail from the job candidate or a current employee who is referring a candidate. Baczynski, who has worked in recruiting and human resources for more than a decade, says her company hires for entry-level positions in many different areas, including store management, product development, information technology, human resources, finance, and merchandise planning and allocation. But she adds that she prefers candidates to submit only one application, even if they’re interested in several different positions. “Apply to the one best-fit opportunity,” she says. “If you are a better fit for another opportunity, we’ll manage that process.” Konieczka, who has worked in college relations at Mercer and elsewhere for more than a dozen years, adds that it’s best to submit your resume in as basic a format as possible, with no background color, fancy fonts, or other distractions. If you’re e-mailing it, save it in a PDF file to avoid glitches between Word files, the experts add. “The days of paper are gone,” Konieczka says to anyone who thinks that approach will get them noticed. “Every once in a while, I still get one in the mail. I think that the applicant probably hasn’t visited our website. Maybe [he or she is] not sophisticated in terms of business acumen, and probably has not taken advantage of the resources of the career center.” THE HEADING Include your name, address, e-mail address, and other contact information; and experts agree that you should include this information all at the very top of your resume. Still, you might consider mixing up the traditional arrangement a bit. continued on page 33 www.jobchoicesonline.com/29 National Association of Colleges and Employers
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