Resume Writing Tips

Your resume is your marketing tool and should be visually pleasing. It should make the reader want to read on. It should have a simple and clean structure and is easy to read. As far as possible, try to make your resume symmetrical, balanced and uncluttered.

There should be uniformity and consistency in the use of capital letters, bullets, boldface and underlining. For example, if a period is at the end of one job's dates, a period should be at the end of all jobs' dates; if one degree is in boldface, all degrees should be in boldface.




A resume's first impression is most important. It should therefore be visually pleasing and appealing, to be inviting to the reader.

Ensure that there are absolutely no errors: typographical errors, spelling errors, grammatical errors, syntax or punctuation errors as well as factual errors.

All basic information is included. A resume must have the following key basic information such as your name, address, contact numbers and your email address at the top of the first page, a listing of jobs held, in reverse chronological order, educational degrees including the highest degree received, in reverse chronological order. Additional, targeted information will of course accompany this.

Listed jobs should include a title, the name of the firm and the duration of your stay with the firm.

Preferably, a resume is targeted. A resume should be targeted to your career objective, to the next step in your career. You should be clear what your career goal is, what the ideal position or positions would be. Then you should figure out what key skills, areas of expertise or body of experience the employer will be looking for in the candidate. Format the resume structure and content around your career objective target, proving these key qualifications.




Make sure that your strengths are highlighted. Focus on your strongest and most impressive traits. Make careful and strategic choices as to how to organize, order, and convey your skills and background.

Make sure that your resume has focus. A resume needs a focus to help the reader understand immediately. Think of the resume as an essay with a title and a summative opening sentence. A focus may be as simple as the name of your profession ("Financial Controller," "Marketing Director") centred under the name and address; it may be in the form of an objective or it may be in the form of a summary statement.

Try to use power words. Use the most active impressive verb you can think of for each skill, accomplishment or job described.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

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Interviewer’s Role In An The Interview (Part II)

The interviewer should be as knowledgeable as the candidate.
Irrespective of the subject matter or objective of the interview, the interviewer should be as knowledgeable as the candidate. Make sure everyone coming to the interview (on your end) is prepared and knowledgeable. It must be emphasized that the first impression counts a lot.


Everyone interviewing the candidate should be prepared.
All members on your interview panel should be of such a caliber that they could fit into the position they were interviewing for. Interviewers of a lesser caliber would not add value to the interview and might send the wrong signal to the candidate.

Do not have follow-up interviews in mind.
The first impression counts a lot. A HR Assistant who is not an expert in the work of your department should not represent your organisation to the candidate. Like what we had said before, treat your candidate as a customer. Would you send a junior staff to meet a customer? Would you send someone who is not familiar about your company to meet a customer? Likewise, do not send someone from another department to interview your candidate as that is not going to add any value at all. Why let a Finance manager interview a Programmer about his career goals?


Your best team member for the interview.
When the time is suitable, introduce the candidate to his peers. Your goal is to assess the candidate and to establish your credibility. Only the team member who can impress the candidate and can hold his own should be in the introduction meeting. The selected team member should be a motivated employee. Do not put him into the front line if he is not.

You are interviewing to recruit top talent, not to talk.
Many a times, an interviewer mis-manages the interview by talking about himself, his goals, etc, etc. Or, he spends the time interrogating the candidate about the past or the future. All these might be important topics, but not until the key issue is addressed: the work.


Step back and ask yourself this: If the candidate passes your personality and credential tests, would you offer him the job if you found out he could not do the work properly? The answer is obvious. Find out if the candidate can do the work first. The rest can be established later.

It is common that managers sometimes avoid detailed discussion of the work content because they themselves do not really know enough of it to discuss. A head-count is approved so someone has to be recruited, but no one is clear about why. Sounds familiar?


Before the interview, be prepared. Make sure you understand the purpose of the position and the work content in detail. Otherwise do not interview the candidate or that might reflect badly on you and your organization.

A job candidate is an invited guest to be treated like a customer.
Recruiting and interviewing are not an administrative process. This is a highly skillful social art: the art of influence a top talent to join you and your team. You have to do it responsibly. You must constantly focus on the state of the candidate. Is he warming up? How is he reacting? Is he opening up? Does he look enthusiastic? You are responsible for what the candidate thinks; as that depends on how well you have managed the interview.

Do you have any comments on this article? Share your thoughts and comments with us.

Cheers,

The Singapore Headhunter,

Do Not Make The Same Mistake Or You Will Lose Out!

The other day, I sent a candidate to the client for a Manager position. Everything went on smoothly. The client liked her and the candidate was impressed with the organisation.

A reference check was requested. The reference check turned out great! Things were going great then. The client was keen to make an offer to her. The client was happy and the candidate was exhilarated. She called me to thank you profusely. We had a great conversation. I was delighted for her.

Then, the dreadful thing happened! The client needed some details from the candidate and one of her junior staff telephoned the candidate. Maybe, she was too happy or she was not in her usual frame of mind, she became agitated with that client's junior staff and spoke to her in an unfriendly manner. Instead of co-operating, she started to question that junior staff. Oh dear! Guess what happened?

That junior staff informed her superior (my client) and I received a call from the client to say that the offer was off. They were concerned about the attitude of the candidate. That was the worst thing to happen. Imagine that a potential job offer was lost over a small incident like this! What a dread!

Job seeker should also bear in mind to respect everybody irregardless of the position of the other party. A junior staff's comments could be worse than her bite. Her superior would be more likely to believe what she said. Be polite to all and respect everybody.

Do not make the same mistake or you may lose a job offer.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

How A Potential Deal Was Lost - Not Because Of Me!

The other day, I sent a candidate for interview with the client. She was a 'prize catch', a great candidate and the hiring manager liked her very much. She possessed a good track record, excellent qualifications and experience, great interpersonal skills and communications skills.


I was quietly confident that this assignment was going to be a darn deal. I called up the prize catch after her interview. She sounded mildly interested, not with the 'wow' feeling. That put me on my guard at that moment.

I called the hiring manager to get his feedback. He was so excited and asked me for the candidate's reaction. He told me to make her an offer. I thought that this was great and quickly called the prize catch and discuss with her.

My prize catch sounded cool and said that she would like to consider about it. I was supposed to call her the next day.


The next day, I called my prize catch and she said no. The prize catch rejected the client's offer!!! What a drag!!! But why? I asked. She explained to me that the distance was too far from her home. To go such a distance on a daily basis was a serious matter, unless the client was going to pay her extra. (Not for this position, my client was adamant.) As I probed further, she hinted that some comments made by the HR interviewers made her feel uncomfortable. For example, they told her that working overtime was a norm and she should not be expecting more increase for the following year as they were offering a great salary. Oh my God! How I hope interviewers can be more tactful and handle interviews more tactfully.

Anyway, there was no use in crying over spilt milk. Life moved on. I told the hiring manager who sounded as disappointed as I was.


Do come back next time. I will talk about the interviewers' role in a recruitment interview. What should interviewers do? What role do they play? How can interviewers help to attract good talent? So, see you around next time.

By the way, do you have any comments on this article? Please let me have your comments.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

The Joy Of A Headhunter

The work of a Headhunter is challenging, exciting and satisfying. It is challenging to headhunt a top-notch professional, and be able to convince that professional to move into a new role (usually besieged with uncertainties, risks and surprises) from his existing comfortable and happy environment.



It is exciting to work with such professionals and the Headhunter gets to make new friends and learn from such experts in their fields. The Headhunter's network continues to grow and develop.

The satisfaction and joy come when an assignment is successfully concluded. All parties involved are happy. The Client is happy as they get the man or woman they coveted, the Candidate is happy to get a new and great career, coupled with greater
challenges and responsibilities.

The Headhunter is happy and feels a great sense of achievement: mission accomplished! Another happy Client and Candidate; not to mention the associated professional fees for successful closing the deal.

Cheers,

The Singapore Headhunter

How to Evaluate a Job Offer

You have a job offer to consider. When you were working hard on, and worrying about getting the job, you do not think making a decision would be this difficult. This is serious matter as it affects your long-term career. The job that you accept may be yours for a long time to come.



What are some of the more significant factors to consider? Compensation, benefits, convenience, organisation, size of organization, your boss / co-workers, staff turnover or career opportunities? Or could it be the corporate culture or the length of your commute? What about your future superior and team-members - will working with them be pleasant? There are a number of factors to consider and only some are negotiable.

Compensation

The importance of compensation cannot be under-estimated as it gives you a sense of satisfaction. You want to make sure that you are being paid what we are worth. At the same time, you need the money to pay the bills.

Many companies will not talk about pay until they have decided to hire you. It is important to find out what other people are making for the same work in the same industry. You need to have an estimate of what the job should pay, to decide if the offered compensation is reasonable. Ask around: your friends, your headhunters, check out the recruitment advertisements for a ball-park estimate or some salary surveys, if you can get hold of them. You can look at other occupational information as well. If other aspects of the job appeal to you, you can try to negotiate the offer. Consider the benefits as well as these will add to your basic salary.

The organization


The information on an organization can help you to decide whether it is a good place for you to work. This includes the organization’s business or activity, financial condition, age, size, and location. You can generally get an organisation’s background information, especially a large organization, on its website or by reading its annual report (call its investor relations department for a copy or download a copy for the Singapore Stock Exchange website.)
If possible, speak to current or former employees of the company. If you know anyone who has any dealing with the company, such as a consultant, a supplier, a vendor or a customer of the company, ask them for inputs about the company.
Stories about an organization in magazines and newspapers can tell a great deal about its successes, failures, and plans for the future. You can identify articles on a company by looking under its name in periodical or computerized indexes in libraries. However, it probably will not be useful to look back more than 3 years or more.

How will the size of the organization affect you?
The larger organizations offer a greater variety of training programs and career paths, more advancement prospects and better benefits than do small firms. Large employers also may have more advanced technologies. However, many jobs in large firms tend to be highly specialized and focused.
Jobs in small firms may offer broader authority and responsibility, a closer working relationship with top management, and a chance to clearly see your contribution to the success of the organization.

Culture
Webster defined ‘culture’ as "the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation, "culture should be an important factor in your decision whether to accept a job offer. If you value your personal time, a company with a culture that promotes late hours may not be suitable for you. Does this company believe in "winning at all costs?" Does this fit into your personal belief? Is the company in the gambling, tobacco or wine industry? Are you personally for such activities? If not, you may not want to join companies involved in such activities.

Commute Time



You have to take into account the length of your commute. What may have seemed like a decent distance to travel for a job interview will begin to wear you out when you have to make that trip twice a day, five days a week, especially during the peak hour traffic. Do you fancy spending between 2 and 3 hours commuting to and from your work? Definitely not, though there are some people who would not mind. Are you one of them?

Your Boss/Co-Workers


All the employees in a company will undeniably affect the quality of the time you spend at work. A conducive and friendly team will generally make it easier for you to work. You would not want to work with team-members who enjoy shouting at each other, would you? Or team-members who are unco-operative, gossip behind your back or make life difficult for you.

If you have a chance to tour the office, observe if the employees seem friendly and happy. Check with people who may have some insider information about the company.

Staff Turnover
A high turnover can mean dissatisfaction with the nature of the work or something else about the job. Do find out more, if possible. Discuss with the HR Manager. Have a frank talk with the manager. If you detect something is not right, do be cautious.

Career Opportunities



A good job offers you many opportunities to learn new skills, increase your salary, and rise to positions of greater authority and responsibility. Many people quote their reason for leaving a job as: “Lack of career advancement opportunities.” So, you would like to be careful to ensure that your future employers can offer a decent career advancement opportunity.
Do check with the HR Manager or the Hiring Manager about the career advancement opportunities offered.
The employer should give you some idea of promotion possibilities within the organization. What is the next step on the career ladder? If you have to wait for a job to become vacant before you can be promoted, how long does this usually take? When opportunities for advancement do arise, will you compete with applicants from outside the company? Can you apply for jobs for which you qualify elsewhere within the organization, or is mobility within the firm limited?

Accepting or Declining the Offer
Whether you choose to accept or reject a job offer, you must inform the employer who has made that offer. This should be done formally, in writing, and if you wish by telephone as well. If your answer is "yes" it's obvious why you'll want to make a good impression with your future employer. But, why is it important to be polite to someone you do not plan to work for? Well, you do not know where your future will take you. You may at some point wind up with that employer as a superior, a colleague, a client, or even your next door neighbour. You certainly do not want to leave a bad impression, or to burn the bridge, so to speak.

Comments

Do you have any comments or inputs? We welcome your comments and inputs on this article.

Cheers,

The Singapore Headhunter

MORE THAN ONE JOB OFFER; WHAT TO DO?

You have just received a written offer from a prospective employer, ABC Systems, Inc. It is a decent job and better than your current one, but it is not as exciting as two other jobs you are interviewing for, with 123 Machines Inc. (you are in the final stages) and Wonderman Inc. (you are about to have your second interview). Offers may be imminent from one or both.

The ABC job would be fine with you, but you would like to hold out to see what happens with the two other companies. The trouble is, ABC wants an answer by the end of the week, and neither of the other companies will be ready to make you an offer by then.

Many job hunters get confused and rattled easily in such a situation. Should you take the sure thing and cancel your other interviews? Should you let it go in favour of the uncertain but more attractive "two in the bush"? What would you do?

In such a situation, some people begin to question the job hunter’s ethics. Would it be advisable to take the ABC job, then quickly leave if one of the other companies delivers an offer? How can you manage such staggered job offers?

The job hunter's usual ploy is to ask ABC Systems to extend the offer deadline. But, if ABC gave him a reasonable deadline (a week or more), he risks creating the perception that he is unenthusiastic about the job.

Another way is to try to get the other companies to accelerate their decision process. Good luck. Unless you know you are the front-running candidate, you risk alienating the employer you would really like to work for.




In many instances, companies decide slowly, but want the job hunter to make a decision quickly. What would be the best action in this situation? Be realistic, deal with the facts and ignore "what could be".

The reality is that you have one offer only. You thus have only one decision to make: Would you accept the offer from ABC as it stands, if there were no alternatives? Since 123 Machines Inc. and Wonderman Inc. do not exist as opportunities until their offers are on the table, leave them out of your decision process. But if you feel that the ABC offer is not that fantastic, then just let it go and wait.

If 123 Machines Inc. or Wonderman Inc. then makes an offer, then you do not have to rescind an acceptance. If there is no offer, well, the ABC offer is not that fantastic.

Is rescinding an acceptance ethical? Personally, I do not believe it is, as it boils down to going back on one’s words. Unless you feel that not keeping to your words is ethical. It is a not a nice thing to do. It is a bad thing to do to a company that just hired you. It could affect your reputation.



Deal with staggered job offers by focusing on what you have in hand. Do not let a future possibility affect how your evaluation of a current reality.

Do you have any comments? Do you agree?

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

How To Read A Client's Real Meaning???

This is a frustrating incident. I was 'headhunting' a manager for this Client. She specifically stated that her salary budget was to be capped at S$70,000 per annum. On the other hand, her specifications and experience requirements are ridiculously high that I did not think I could find a good candidate (at that salary).

I called the Client and verified the salary budget and was bluntly told: "Do not send me anybody whose expected salary is more than S$70,000." Ok, that was the Client's ultimatum. I had always learnt that the Client was always right and never to argue with the Client.

Searching for a candidate meeting those specifications and requirements and willing to accept that salary was almost impossible. I managed to find a couple of good candidates: good experience, stable career, good communications skills. I thought: "Great, another successful placement."

After the Client had interviewed the candidates, the feedback was that they were not good enough. I explained to the Client that with her salary budget, those candidates were the best in the market place. Guess what was the Client's rebuttal? I nearly fainted.

The Client told me that even though she had stated her salary budget, she could still pay more!

"No, you told me not to send you anybody whose expected salary was more than S$70,000," I explained.



"Even if I had told you that, I can still pay more if they are good," replied the Client.

I was caught in a lose-lose situation. Do you think the Client is always right???

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

What Will Be the 10 Hottest Jobs?





Looking for your next job? Would you like to know what would be the 10 hottest jobs in the future. What jobs are these: Knowledge Engineers, Narrowcasters, Turing Testers, Tissue Engineers, Gene Programmers, Pharmers, Data Miners, Frankenfood Monitors or Hot-line Handymen?

What will the the 'sunset' jobs then? (Jobs facing extinction, I mean! Haha)

Would you have known that a Web designer would be one of the hottest jobs of 2000? So, what do you think would be the hottest jobs in the future. Brave to make a guess? Not guessing.....Here are some clues.

Do you agree with the article? Do you have other hottest jobs in mind? Tell us.


Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

What Is Headhunting?

What is Headhunting?




Headhunting is the process conducted to "head-hunt" the most suitable candidate to fulfill a senior management position.

An employer will be interested to find the 'best' candidates for a top management position. Usually, the best candidates are gainfully employed and, as a rule, do not consider changing career. The headhunter's role is to find the right candidates, select the 'best' applicant among them and create the right conditions for the 'leaving' applicant and helping him to adapt to the new organization.

The process of head-hunting starts from the detailed study of client's needs. The head-hunters are always willing to render consultations on detailed description of the required application's characteristics, help in establishing the salary level and optimizing working conditions. The headhunters then make up a vacancy description and develop the search strategy, allocating terms and resources for conducting a qualified search. The gathering of information about the candidates starts, accompanied by collecting the reference data and simultaneous market analysis – study of the companies that may currently employ the potential candidates.

The headhunters then do the following:

· Creating the ‘long list’ – the list of candidates that generally fit the given vacancy, with the basic characteristic of each candidate attached;

· Forming the ‘short list’ – the list of the most suitable candidates from the ‘long list’, with the additional detailed information on candidates’ work experience, personal features, motivations, commitment to vocation, loyalty to employer and other (based on preliminary interviews). At this stage of comparison the candidate selection is most likely to occur.

· After the employer selects its best candidate, the headhunters will do a reference check. Depending on the employer, a psychrometric test may be carried out (this is optional).

After conducting negotiations between the employer company and a candidate, the best position is placed.


Do you have any comments or queries regarding this post? Feel free to let me know. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Singapore Headhunter