Ask HR
Sunday, January 04, 2009
What are some things job seekers can do to get their résumé noticed by HR managers and recruiters?
Janet Walsh, president of Birchtree-HR LLC
A.
Your résumé is a personal advertisement of your skills and abilities. It should have a compelling message to the “customer” that you wish to attract, not a generic message. To be compelling to your customer, it should resonate with specifics, send a clear picture of how you can increase revenue, reduce cost or improve operating efficiency.
Elizabeth Wysong, director of HR technology for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
A. Don’t apply to every opening at a company. Focus on the jobs you are best suited for and most interested in. Tailor your résumé to the job opening by highlighting your key qualifications at the beginning. Make sure to clearly point out how your current/former position relates to the job opening.
Jennifer Melton, an EEOC/diversity management consultant for F&H Solutions Group
A. Job seekers should highlight key prior accomplishments/contributions using succinct bullet points to describe these experiences. Action words such as “spearheaded,” “designed,” “facilitated,” “exceeded” and “implemented” demonstrate both initiative and business savvy. They should list these accomplishments showing specific results on corporate or organizational initiatives.
Sandra Hofmann, CIO in residence at Advance Technology Development Center
A.Differentiate yourself from others in the candidate pool. Personalize your cover letter and submit a résumé tailored to reflect how you are uniquely qualified to meet the needs of the position. Include an executive summary of your competencies and the specific job experiences which demonstrate them (vs. the timeline of jobs and titles).
The following human resources professionals are members of the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. If you have a question you would like to ask a panel of local experts, please e-mail it to Sharon Belhamel, vice president of public relations for SHRM-Atlanta at sbelhamel@bellsouth.net. For more information about becoming a member of SHRM-Atlanta, please visit their membership section or call 404.442.7335.