HAVE you ever wondered why your prospective employers didn’t get back to you with an offer or call back for an interview? Or do you ever get bored writing cover letters and filling in applications, only to have companies ignore you?
BTI Consultants managing director and vice-president Asia Pacific Anthony Raja Devadoss said there are research conducted on what elements make an impressive resume and cover letter.
“Research suggests that recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing a resume before making the initial decision to invite candidates for an interview. This means candidates’ resumes need to impress immediately.”
A resume should be a brief document that does not exceed two pages with informative summary of a candidate’s educational, employment, specialised skill sets, or voluntary experience background.
“A resume structure should be attractive and easy to read. It should generate a healthy professional discussion during an interview.
“Candidates are also advised to update their respective LinkedIn profiles and ensure that their social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter accounts are free from any comments or photos that could be deemed controversial,” said Anthony
For cover letters, candidates are advised to explain to their future employer why they are the best person for the job, why they are interested in the company and what they can offer in terms of skill sets and experience, he added.
“Candidates can also insert other pieces of information about themselves that are not there in the resume. If you had followed the company since childhood or graduation, you can write about the company products or services that you enjoyed using. This creates an instant connection between the employer and you.”
UEM Group Bhd Chief Human Capital Officer Norlida Azmi said an impressive resume and cover letter is correctly formatted, well-written with no errors and contains the essential information that a recruiter needs to see.
“Having logos and visuals may look attractive but the typical graduate recruiter going through a pile of resumes only has about 30 seconds to study the information. As such, conciseness is key.
“Many companies use applicant tracking systems to filter out resumes that do not contain the selection criteria. So while the resumes may look nice, the system will reject it if it can’t read the information. Unless one is applying for creative jobs, it’s best to keep resumes professional,” said Norlida.
In the era of technology, many companies today are turning to video-based recruiting to save travel costs and manpower. With the improvements of computer and mobile phone cameras, and communication platforms such as Google Hangouts, FaceTime and Skype, video-based job applications are gaining popularity and should be used to enhance traditional paper CVs in a job hunt so as to provide potential employers with more insights into what an individual has to offer.
While a traditional paper CV outlines skills, qualifications and experiences; a video CV will enable potential employers get a feel of the candidate’s personality.
Anthony shared a few tips for creating video-based job applications which include: creating a video resume (only) if it is relevant to the job applied for; telling potential employers why you would be the right person for the job and what you can do for the company; keep it within two minutes; be creative (but maintain professionalism); and recording the video CV in the same way as approaching a face-to-face interview.
“At UEM Group of Companies, text-based resumes are still vastly used. The resume should contain contact details, field of study, work-related experience whether part time jobs or internships and extracurricular activities or achievements. Skills like programming or foreign languages are also good to have and feature.”