If you think that personnel hiring managers go through preliminary scans of incoming resumes to find the most qualified, think again! Here’s a funny thing about the initial resume scanning – the purpose is actually to narrow down the list and hiring managers do it to look for plausible reasons to strike out names and short list the candidates. You’re probably unaware of this; but job hopping is one of the foremost reasons for getting eliminated from the competition. That’s right; employers are still looking for some indications that the person they eventually hire is going to be a “loyal” staff.

So if you have been jumping from one job to the next and have “lots of experience” with odd jobs that merely lasted for a year or shorter, don’t hold the mistaken notion that putting all that stuff on your resume will land you the job. Chances are it’s heading for the waste bin.

Kind of depressing, huh? Well, don’t despair; yours is not a hopeless case. Try these tips and hoist up your chances:

1. Limit the list of your experience consistent with the type of work you apply for. No such rule exists that says you have to include all jobs that you’ve had on your resume.

2. Keep the dates of your employment as subdued as possible. Don’t even think of highlighting them; rather, try to make them inconspicuous by placing them at the tail end of each job title. Stick to years only instead of months and years.

3. If you lost a job because of company change or similar circumstances (such as layoff or merger) make sure you mention it.

4. Remember that you are not submitting an autobiography; the aim of your resume is to establish your skills and experience for a specific job. Avoid overcrowding your resume with a detailed list of numerous freelance services and contract jobs, if you’ve done several. Instead, put them together as one.

5. Create a vibrant dynamic cover letter that enthusiastically states a) how much basic knowledge you have of the company you intend to join; and b) why you will be a valuable asset to the company.
This extra tip always works: Don’t limit yourself to your resume to garner interviews.

Expose yourself to the real world; meet and talk to people and more importantly, impress prospective employers with your intellect and excellent disposition. Even a multitude of job hopping history cannot beat that!

Tags: career cahnge, career search, employment, how to write a resume. jobs, interview questions, job hopping, job hunt, Resume

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Applying for a Job, Career Changes, Free Advice, Job & Interview Questions, Resume, Resume Do's and Don'ts, Resume Help, Social Networking & Jobs, how to write a resume. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.