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We have moved to Wordpress! Posted by Jason Links to this post The Recruiting Front Lines has evolved. At the beginning of the year, I changed jobs within my company, moving away from Outreach and Education, and into my new role as Director of Business Development. While I remain closely involved with our field activity, I am now more focused on strategic partnerships, social media, and the world of internet recruitment resources. As I have made this change, the focus of my blog content has also changed. Recently, I began to feel that many of the ideas I had for blog posts would not fit within the framework of The Recruiting Front Lines. This was a cause of some frustration, as I felt that I was either misrepresenting my content with the title of my blog, or that I was stifling my writing because I felt it didn't fit. To rectify this situation, I have created a new blog home, now on WordPress. I am still ironing out the wrinkles, but feel that it is far enough along that I can move all my past content, and begin posting all new content, at the new address. I would like to formally welcome everyone to come check out my new home at jasonblais.com. I can't wait to hear what you think! Best Regards, and Thank you for your time and attention over the past 18 months. Jason

Aug 22, 2008

Looking for USEFUL Resume Advice

I was recently speaking with a friend and colleague who works for a professional coaching/career development firm. She was sharing a story about how after all the meetings and processes and advice shared with one client, this person went on to gain employment in a new field- the field of her passion. What struck me about this story was that the client came back to my friend after the successful job offer, and stated that the resume tips she shared and the questions she asked were worth the cost of the entire program.

The reason I share this story is that I am constantly encountering job seekers who have been through "resume makeover" workshops, yet still have quite unsatisfactory resumes or results to show for it. As a hiring manager, what I'm looking for in a resume- in fact the keys that I use to identify quality resumes and applicants- are often ignored completely by these resume workshops, or even worse, the advice given is quite contrary.

I know that my friend and colleague is sharing quality advice, having worked with her in the job seeker milieu before. But I am still left feeling that the advice being given to job seekers is often out of date, out of touch, or out of control. Tips from the 80's don't work.

If you are offering similar advice on resumes (or as a job seeker, are getting the same advice) that was being offered a decade or more ago, you're out of date.

If the advice is being given by someone who has never actually had a hiring manager position, and been in charge of sorting though dozens or more resumes, than the advice is truly out of touch.

If the advice takes more than 15 or 20 minutes to explain thoroughly and clearly, and goes into minutia about too many details and speaks too much about philosophy or idealism when formulating a resume, the advice is likely out of control (if i keep coming up with new things to tell you about your resume, you'll have to keep paying me, right?).

Whether your giving or receiving advice, be sure to ask yourself those questions:
1. has this advice been updated in the last few years?
2. is the advice coming from hiring managers who regularly review resumes?
3. does this advice seem pragmatic and functional? or is it more of tips regarding resume philosophy?


Good luck and happy hunting!

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