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Vague objective statement
Instead of a vague objective statement,
develop a tagline about what you do or your particular area
of expertise.
Too job-oriented
Your resume should not merely be a list
of the duties and responsibilities you had at each company
you worked for. Provide examples about how you
achieved results and success. This may be a good area to
outline your strengths.
Using personal pronouns and articles
A resume is a form of business communication, so it should be concise and written in a
telegraphic style. There should be no mentions of "I" or
"me" and a minimal use of articles.
Listing unnecessary information
You should only include your interests and hobbies if they’re related to the job. For
example, if you’re applying to become a nurse manager, you
can include that you’ve volunteered at hospitals throughout
college.
Not including a summary
Include a summary of your experiences
that demonstrates your skills and achievements directly
related to the position you want (This may not be applicable
in all cases unless you have extensive work experience).
Font Size
The font size for resume content should be 12 points.
File Type
Your resume should be saved in a plain/rich text format. Do NOT
save it as in the form of a PDF file type because it could
exceed the maximum file size of 200 kilobytes accepted by
many email severs.
Cultural Tips and Tricks
Salary Negotiation
Although negotiating salary, may be common in some places it is not
recommended for the UAE market. It may give the potential
employer a negative impression about the candidate.
Work Environment
Typically, the work environment follows a fun and laidback attitude. It’s
not a typical North American culture where an average
individual works five days a week from 9-5pm. Don’t be
surprised if you find yourself working overtime without
overtime pay.
You can't get a job without at least one interview.
1. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and a smile,
address your interviewer by name, and make eye contact.
2. Never sit until asked to do so.
3. Ensure you are informed about the position and the
organization before your interview. Wherever possible get a
job description or review the details of the position. Go to
their web site. You should know approximately what the
salary range is for the position (particularly if going
through an agency). Research the organization and
affiliations. Be aware of all products or services.
4. Make sure you are familiar with all dates and information
on your resume. Be prepared to go into detail and to give
examples of various difficult work situations you have
successfully handled.
5. Make sure you know the exact location and how to get
there. Get there five to ten minutes early.
6. Dress should be appropriate, businesslike and
conservative. Always look successful.
7. You may be asked to talk about yourself, but keep your
entire life history for non-business situations! An
interviewer is interested in how you and your experience
best suit the position and the company. Do not take notes,
and do not be concerned if your interviewer takes notes.
Never speak negatively about present or previous work
situations.
8. At the end of the interview you may have an opportunity
to ask questions. Express enthusiasm and interest in the
company and the position. Thank the interviewer for their
time. You may ask what the next step would be in their
hiring process. Do not discuss money/salary during the
interview, or ask about benefits and vacation, unless the
interviewer brings these subjects up for discussion. End the
interview with a handshake.
9. A follow-up note or thank you letter sent after the
interview, if you are particularly interested in the
position and organization, is a good way to keep your name
visible. A follow-up call within a week is a good idea, if
you have not been contacted.
10. If an agency arranged the interview for you, call them
immediately. It is important for the agency to get your
response about the position, before they talk to the
employer. A positive response from you can often lead to a
positive response from the employer. Keep in touch with your
agency.
Interviewing Questions:
Here is a list of tough interview questions. Always attempt
to answer these questions with an on-the-job example or
experience to support it. Make sure that you are as prepared
as you can be because you have to assume your competition
is.
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why have you decided to change jobs? Why are you looking?
3. Why did you leave your previous positions?
4. What motivates you?
5. Describe your ideal job.
6. Describe your ideal manager/supervisor.
7. What salary/rate are you looking for?
8. How do you spend your free time?
9. What are your short, medium and long-term goals?
10. How do you react to criticism?
11. Tell me about yourself. How would you describe yourself?
12. What are your long and short-range career goals?
13. What are the most important things you are seeking in a
career?
14. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and
weaknesses?
15. Site some examples of your ability to be a team player.
16. Why should I hire you?
17. How could you contribute to our organization?
18. Why did you choose the college you attended?
19. Why didn't you go to college?
20. What do you know about our organization?
21. Why are you interested in working for our organization?
22. What extracurricular activities are you involved in?
23. Are you willing to relocate?
24. What type of a work environment are you seeking?
25. What do you know about the position you are applying
for?
26. What do you know about our industry?
27. What are you proudest of in terms of your
accomplishments at you present position or former position?
28. What do you think will be the toughest aspects of the
job if you were to accept the position? What will be the
most enjoyable aspects - the least enjoyable?
29. What do you think your greatest contribution will be or
what aspects of the job or the company do you think you
would be able to make your greatest contribution to?
30. If you are selected for this position, how would you
deal with the situation of individuals in the company who
were competitors for the job for which you are being
interviewed and who may feel that they are better qualified?
(Some of them may be your subordinates.)
15 Questions You Can Ask:
1. To whom would I report?
2. What is the most important (crucial) part of this job?
3. What is your management style?
4. Is relocation necessary or mandatory after a certain
period of time?
5. How much will I be expected to travel?
6. Could you describe your perception of an ideal candidate
for this position?
7. What is a typical career path for this position?
8. What is your perception of what I'll be doing on a daily
(weekly) basis?
9. What are some of your company's foremost aims and goals?
10. What are the short/long term goals for this department
and how do they relate to the company as a whole?
11. Where does this company see itself five years from now?
12. How would you describe the environment I'll be working
in?
13. How would my performance be assessed?
14. Please describe the organization of the company.
15. When could I start?
16. What will be my main responsibilities for this position?
Reasons Why People Don't Get Hired:
1. Poor personal appearance
2. Lack of interest and enthusiasm: Passive, indecisive and
indifferent.
3. Over emphasis on money: interested only in best dollar
offer.
4. Condemnation of past employers.
5. Failure to look at the interviewer when speaking.
6. Limp, fishy handshake.
7. Unwillingness to travel or relocate to employers
preferences.
8. Late for interview.
9. Failure to express appreciation for interviewer's time.
10. Asks no or poor questions about job.
11. Vague, indefinite response to questions.
12. Overbearing, over aggressive, conceited with superiority
or "know it all complex."
13. Inability to express self clearly; Poor voice, diction,
grammar.
14. Lack of planning for career; no purpose and goals.
15. Unwilling to start at the bottom; expects too much too
soon.
16. Lack of confidence and poise, nervous, ill at ease.
17. Makes excuses, evasive, hedges on unfavorable aspects of
job history.
18. Lack of tact or cynical.
19. Lack of courtesy; ill mannered.
20. Lack of maturity.
21. Wants job for short time.
22. No interest in company or industry.
23. Low moral standards.
24. Intolerant: strong prejudices.
25. Inability to take criticism.
SCANNABLE RESUMES
Human resource professionals in small, medium and large
organizations are investing in new state of the art computer
systems to increase efficiency in storing and accessing
resume information. By using artificial intelligence
capabilities, resumes are optically scanned into the
computer system as an image. The computer then "reads" the
resume and creates a database of the applicant's relevant
skills, degrees and achievements in the form of key words.
Employers then access a candidate's resume by searching for
key words.
To maximize potential employment opportunities, it is
important to be prepared to submit an effective "scannable
resume". Develop your resume by using the following
guidelines for format and content.
Keep it simple.
Standard serif and sans serif fonts work best. Avoid ornate
fonts and fonts where the characters touch. Font size is
also important. Use sizes between 10 points and 14 points
type size.
Italics and underlining cause problems for the scanner,
especially if combined. Use bold face for emphasis or ALL
CAPITAL LETTERS.
Vertical or horizontal lines should be used sparingly. When
used, leave at least a quarter of an inch of space around
the line.
Avoid graphics… and shading or shadowing.
Do not compress or expand the space between the letters or
lines.
Do not double space within sections.
The resume you submit should be an original. It should be
printed with a laser printer on white or light colored 8 1/2
x 11 inch paper. Print on only one side.
Resumes which have been folded, stapled etc. will not scan
well.
It is imperative that you describe your skills and
accomplishments in key word phrases.
Use the language of your profession.
Nouns are more distinguishable to a computer than action
verbs. Label yourself with phrases that describe activities
or experiences. For example: use "managed training and
development" vs. "trained and developed" or use "assisted
with salary survey" vs. "surveyed salaries of..." You may
also want to consider a summary of accomplishments that
focus on results not duties and responsibilities. Remember
to keep the resume basic in format, style and language.
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ACTION VERBS
The bold and italicized words are effective for highlighting
accomplishments.
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Management skills
Administered
Analyzed
Assigned
Attained
Chaired
Co-ordinate
Delegated
Developed
Directed
Evaluated
Improved
Increased
Initiated
Integrated
Organized
Oversaw
Planned
Prioritized
Produced
Recommended
Reviewed
Scheduled
Supervised
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Communication skills
Addressed
Arbitrated
Arranged
Authored
Collaborated
Corresponded
Developed
Directed
Drafted
Edited
Enlisted
Formulated
Influenced
Interpreted
Lectured
Mediated
Moderated
Negotiated
Persuaded
Promoted
Publicized
Reconciled
Recruited
Translated
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Research skills
Clarified
Collected
Critiqued
Diagnosed
Evaluated
Examined
Identified
Inspected
Interpreted
Interviewed
Investigated
Organized
Reviewed
Summarized
Surveyed
Systematized
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Technical skills
Assembled
Built
Calculated
Computed
Designed
Engineered
Maintained
Operated
Overhauled
Programmed
Remodeled
Repaired
Upgraded
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Teaching skills
Adapted
Advised
Clarified
Coached
Communicated
Co-ordinate
Developed
Enabled
Evaluated
Explained
Facilitated
Guided
Informed
Instructed
Persuaded
Set goals
Stimulated
Trained
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Interview practice session - sample interview questions
SELF ASSESSMENT
1. Tell me about yourself
2. How do you manage your time to meet deadlines? Have you
ever had more to do than you could accomplish? How did you
handle it?
3. What kind of things do you feel most confident doing?
4. What things frustrate you the most? How do you usually
cope with frustration?
5. In what area have you shown your greatest improvement in
the last two years?
EDUCATION:
6. What extracurricular activities were you active in? What
made you choose them? Which of them did you enjoy the most?
Why?
7. What skills did you develop through your university
education? How will these help you in a job?
8. What was the most important thing you have learned at
university?
9. If you were to start university again tomorrow, what
courses would you select? Why?
10. What type of educational upgrading do you plan to
undertake in the future?
EMPLOYMENT:
11. What type of work do you feel you are best suited for?
Why?
12. Describe a previous work experience you really disliked
and explain why you disliked it.
13. In past jobs, what achievements were recognized by your
supervisor?
14. Can you recall a time when your work was criticized?
Describe the situation and your response.
15. Describe your ideal work environment.
16. In previous work positions, did you initiate any new
procedures, systems, programs or activities?
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