Perfecting Your Resume Header so You Get Noticed

Perfecting Your Resume Header so You Get NoticedPerfecting Your Resume Header so You Get NoticedIt turns out, a simple mistake can get your resume tossed within second. A recent study found more than 80% of recruiters search for an applicants name as the first item when reviewing their resume. It further found that if your name (along with other items such as your education) is bedrngnis easily found, recruiters are more likely to discard your resume. While recruiters will generally take the time to read your resume themselves, many organisations also rely on automated tracking systems (ATS) which use your resume header to figure out the structure of the resume youre using.The takeaway your resume header needs to be optimized for both the human recruiter and ATS systems. If your resume doesnt work for either, its unlikely to get you an interview. How do you do this? See below. What do you need in a resume header?The key to creating an impactful header is starting with the right minds et. Think about what the header is hoping to achieve providing a name, giving your contact details, linking to some valuable resources, and setting the tone of your resume. Keeping these criteria in mind, crafting your resume header is easier than you think.anthroponymThis one is pretty self-explanatory, but youd be amazed how often a simple mix-up here can really hurt a resumes chances. Without attaching your name to your resume, the recruiter has no link between what is presented in front of them and who you are as a potential employee. Remember to include the name as is linked with your professional history and records. For example, if you have just recently gotten married and taken a second name, you may consider using your maiden name as this is the name that has been published and so on.The name on your resume should also be searchable meaning, the recruiter should be able to use the name provided on your resume to find work published online, your Linkedin profile, and more. This is not the time for aliases, any difference in your name can confuse ATS systems. If youre concerned about what recruiters may find when searching your name, see if you can pass our recruiter search quiz. Key to formatting your resume header, youll get an advantage from making your name the largest piece of text on your resume. After all, youve got six short seconds to make sure the recruiter can find it. Job Title Something many applicants forget when creating their resume is to include their job title. This doesnt mean attaching the title of your current position, (in fact, this is a mistake you should avoid) it means describing your line of work. Its best to match the job title to the position youre applying to.Case Study Erics Name Job Title When creating his marketing resume, Eric ensured to make his name the centerpiece. The bold font with clear margins against a white background catches your attention instantly. His job title of violinist turned marketer, still a great performer gives insight into his career trajectory and pulls you in with some intrigue.Phone number The recruiter needs a way of getting in contact with you. They need to do this for many reasons, some of these include Setting up an in-person interview Asking for references Conducting an over-the-phone interview Make sure to include a mobile number that you will be able to answer at fruchtwein times. Do not include a work number under any circumstances. You may also want to consider putting in your country code at the beginning of your number if applying for jobs outside of where you live. This will save the recruiter time.When doing this, consider updating your voicemail for those times when you cant answer your phone. Clearly state your name and avoid joking in your voicemail the recruiter doesnt care about inside jokes you have with your college buddies. EmailAs odd as it might sound, your email address can make an important impression. Ensure to include an email that is suitab le for the hiring process (leave your fanaccount1293hotmail.co.uk at home) and never use a current work email. For recent graduates, consider leaving your university email off of your resume if youre no longer a student. LocationWith recruiters moving towards contacting applicants electronically, theres less of a need to include your full address in your resume header. Merely noting your general location (e.g., London, England) should be sufficient information for the recruiter for initial screenings. Noting your location becomes most important when applying to international positions. With companies moving towards remote-working, including that you live in a different country isnt the automatic no it used to be.Springboard links Often overlooked by applicants when filling out their resume header, Springboard links are hyperlinks to further resources on your previous experience, work history, approach-to-work, and personality. Theyre used to propel the recruiter in another direction to learn more about you. These are useful if you have developed a personal website or have an online portfolio. If youre in a creative field in particular, springboard links are essential for your resume header. When including your LinkedIn profile link, make sure to personalise the URL. Check that everything youre linking to is related to your career / culture fit too. Case Study Springboard Links Gal had over a decade of experience in business development when drafting his resume. He wanted to make sure all of that came across but favored a one-page resume. To compromise, he included his personal website in her resume header where the recruiter could learn more about him.PhotoThe debate on including a photo on your resume is ongoing. In general, its best practice to check company and government policy (its illegal in some countries) to see if photos are welcome on your resume. You can always ask the HR or hiring department for guidance. Including a photo in your header can add a face (and personality) to the content alongside it. Sam included a personal photo in her header when applying for her job at Spotify.Formatting your resume headerBesides ensuring your name is the largest piece of text on your resume, there is little to be concerned about when it comes to your resume header format. Make sure every part (as discussed above) is clearly laid out and defined. At , we believe in fluidity in design and for that reason have designed numerous resume templates with unique header designs. These have been used by professionals in the tech industry all the way to research opportunities. Marcellus Journey to Verizon Digital Media ServicesWhen crafting his network engineer resume for Verizon DMS, Marcellus utilised s double-column resume template which carefully positioned his name on top of his resume along with key points to describe his location, email, phone number, and useful links.Using s builder, you can easily edit the look of your resume header in a way y ou know will catch the recruiters attention.Mistakes to avoid in your resume header The single-most important rule to follow when creating your resume format is to never put resume on the top of your header. The recruiter knows what youre resume is, you dont need to remind them. Apart from that, all other general rules to resume writing apply to your resume header. This includes avoiding common typographical errors, conducting a resume review, choosing an appropriate resume length, and more. What if I have a two-page resume?You may be wondering, what should my resume header look like when I have two pages? The answer is easy. When writing a two-page resume where you have concerns the pages may be separated, simply repeat the same header on the top of both pages. In most cases, one resume header placed at the top of the first page should suffice. Daniel used one header for his two-page resume when developing his customer support resume that got him hired at Intercom.Perfecting your r esume header Recruiters look to your resume header in their initial screening. Ensuring this greets them with the most impact will be influential in getting you an interview for your dream job. The content expected in your header can vary in aesthetic, presentation, and format, but there are some tricks to the trade youll benefit from knowing. If theres nothing else youve taken from this post, remember, dont label your resume with the word resume. Dean OReilly Psychology student with keen interest in academic research. Currently exploring the world of marketing distribution and content creation with to help people get closer to the job of their dreams. Read more about my journey to on htte nicht viel gefehlt Company or Gay Times.Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *CommentName * Email * Website Subscribe now for moreSee more great content and inspiring examples of resumes done right each month. Subscribe Youre subs cribed Latest posts See all posts by Eric D. Halsey The Resumes of Chernobyl by Eric D. 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How to Make a Recruit Quit

How to Make a Recruit Quit How to Make a Recruit Quit Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.- General Douglas MacArthurTHE QUITTING CATASTROPHEAlfruchtwein everybody thinks about quittingat least once during a lifetime of employment. I dont know everybody, but I would bet on it. Its an even safer bet that the fruchtwein likely reasons are the most obvious low pay, poor advancement prospects, unreasonable unpaid overtime, unacceptable work environment, personality clashes, bad hours, a better job, health, family obligations or family way, or utterly tyrannical boss- things like that.Boredom as Catalyst, Not Cause of QuittingA riskier bet is that employees quit from sheer boredom. In my experience, boredom is a catalyst for finding anotherbeibei reason to quit, e.g., a better job offer. In and of itself, boredom seems to be insufficient to make most employees walk- perhaps because boredom is widely seen to be like a layered laminierung on work, much like Teflon on a fryin g pan It ultimately prevents sticking to the job, even though, because or while it allows the employee to fume, burn, burn up and burn out.If boredom were sufficient to directly and immediately trigger boredom, most factories, fast food restaurant kitchens, data entry jobs, toll booths and much of the rest of the economys postings would be impossible to fill or to fill for very long.Once the reasons become mora psychologically complex than, for example, 1-dimensional economic or ergonomic factors (such as computer eye strain), their dynamics become more subtle, more oblique- case in point being how boredom functions more as a catalyst than as a cause.1-Factor vs. 2-Factor QuittingThe subtlety can informally be measured by how long it takes the quitting employee to explain the departure and for it to be comprehended Low pay takes one second eye strain- one second permanent maternity leave- one second overworked- one second heart attack- one second.However, compare some of the more co mplex psychological reasons, which take much more time. In doing so, you may discover some very important mistakes to avoid and useful questions and areas to explore with candidates in order to determine vulnerabilities to unterstellung kinds of job-jeopardizing stressors.Most importantly, you will come to understand a simple 2-factor model that describes how to set a candidate up for job failure, in the form of provoked quitting. That model is called catastrophe theory1. A really bad mix of low decision latitude and high demand load Quitting is more likely if an employee has a high demand load- intuitively, simply too much to do, too much pressure to do it, too little time in which to do it, etc., and also has low decision latitude- not much discretion, autonomy, freedom to do the job as he or she fits, using whatever tools seem appropriate, little control over the performance and execution of tasks, and the like.In addition to quitting being more likely, so is cardiovascular disea se, according to the 1970s pioneering research of Dr. Robert Karasek and of the follow-up studies and models of those who have refined, reviewed, and extended his findings. Karasek and those who have modified his views generally believe that a 2-factor model does a pretty good job of predicting who will and wont be at risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks. The initial model was framed in terms of this latitude-load duality. Refinements and rival focus on variations such as control or, more specifically, inner locus of control.If you are a corporate recruiter, you should vet the job to be sure that the load and latitude are well balanced, before placing the candidate. On the other hand, if you are an agency recruiter, you might find yourself having to fill that position again and sooner than you would have expected.2. Toxic mix of responsibility without authority Holding an employee responsible for results while denying the same employee the authority to get the job don e is one of the fastest ways to lose that worker. Notice how this phenomenon, like the latitude-load problem, is controlled and created by exactly two variables, neither one of which alone would be sufficient to push the employee over the catastrophic edge and out the door.A boss tells an employee to get something very important printed by 5 pm. The employee rushes to the printing department to get the job done, but is told he needs a requisition form stamped by the boss- who has, in the meantime, left and gone fishing for one week. This scenario is episodic or acute- a perhaps isolated instance, probably insufficient to get someone to quit (if he didnt get fired first), although it could, if the consequences for the employee were dire or exasperating enough.mora serious is the chronic case in which the job is structured in such a way that the employee has this bind on an ongoing basis, without respite. An example would be the placement of a candidate as a project manager who requir es the cooperation of a second team over which he has no authority, when the second team is in a turf war with him or is simply underperforming in ways over which he has no control- control being a variant of authority and latitude.If you are a recruiter who is conscientious or has a conscience, never place a candidate in that kind of position- in both senses of position, unless you want to set her or him up for failure.3. Disrespect requiring wasted time/energy A job situation featuring this one is like a cased of holding a grenade in one hand and the pin in the other- guaranteed to make an employee explode, with indignation, resentment and at least borderline rage.Ive seen it and inadvertently triggered it. Heres how it works- rather, doesnt work A supervisor tells or otherwise indirectly suggests to a staff member that because she failed to do something satisfactorily, she has to do it all over again.Example I was lecturing at a university and needed a document from another depar tment- a letter to be sent overseas. One of that departments secretaries was given the text, typed it up and handed it to me. I looked over this very important letter and gently pointed out that the letter was fine, except that the text wasnt justified- wasnt square on both sides. Oopswithout realizing it, I had just pulled the pin and held on to the grenade. What I did was to take the two deadly steps of this process First, I seemed to imply she was not a good typist second, the first step entailed her doing the job over and printing the letter out again.From an objective point of view, the time involved was a matter of several minutes and the energy negligible. But from her point of view, it was enough of a waste of her time to make my other transgression, viz., criticizing her, weigh heavily enough on her mind for her to give me a jolting, over-the-line, over-the-top, utterly out-of-place rebuke bordering on a rant.Given the politics of university administrations, she crossed the line in rudely and disproportionately assailing a faculty member she had just met. A definite no-no, yet clearly one she felt compelled to commit. Thats how inflammatory disrespect + wasted time/energy can be, as combustible as oxygen and hydrogen, lit by an unwary, unaware match like myself or some unwitting boss. Imagine what can happen when the job re-do takes days or weeks, instead of two minutes, such as a tossed business plan.Once again, the model is a 2-factor model, exactly like the first two in my list. One reason for this pattern is mathematically abstract To trigger an unexpected catastrophic reponse, three variables are the minimum required- two as the triggers, the third as the response.This is the kind of thinking that underlies a recondite branch of mathematics called catastrophe theory, which, in its simplest rendering, elementary catastrophe theory, models sudden catastrophic change as caused by some critical combination of two triggers. A field developed in the 19 60s and thereafter by the mathematicians Rene Thom and Christopher Zeeman, elementary catastrophe theory has also been used to model and explain prison riots, bulimia and stock market fluctuations,The most easily understood example is that of a cornered wild animal, say, a feisty animal like a badger. Up to a point, the badgerish animal may retreat. But once the cornering threat crosses a certain critical but unpredictable point in approaching it, the animal will suddenly reverse its course and attack. The two controlling variables are the animals fear and rage, themselves modified by the distance between the badger-beast and the threat. The response variable is the continuum from flight to fight calibrated in degrees of aggressive engagement- flight being zero, fight-to-the-death being the maximum.4. Blocking Freeze and Flight In engaging the university secretary, I was oblivious to my crossing her line as I increasingly made her feel badgered. The two controlling variables in her case were the perceived degree of disrespect and the perceived waste of her time and energy- ultimately involving my wasting my breath.In the catastrophe cusp modeling of this situation and all of the above, both variables have to reach critical levels before the catastrophic response occurs. Had I merely been unintentionally disrespectful and said that I would re-do the letter, there would have been no agitated response from her- likewise, if I the file had been accidentally deleted by her.A more general variant of this office scenario is the blocked freeze and fight script. Threatened animals normally attempt one of three things fight, flight or freeze- the latter like a vigilant motionless rabbit waiting for the hunting fox to leave.Given that quitting corresponds to flight, the controlling variables become the degree of fight and the degree of freeze that can be employed to overcome the threat or the stressor. If one of them approaches zero, e.g., fighting back and confronting t he boss, is not possible, then perhaps the other, simply freezing, like a deer-in-the-headlights deer, until the crisis has past may work.But, if freezing and fighting are not viable options, e.g., the boss continues to oppress or frustrate the employee, the 2-factor catastrophe cusp model (shown above) predicts the employee will quit. In this instance, imagine that as the critical combination of inability to fight and inability to flee increase, the employee is driven over the edge, crashes onto the quitting zone and quits, perhaps to repeat the uphill cycle at the next job.This is a simplification to the extent that the employee may find alternative coping strategies, such as reframing- seeing the boss, the job or herself in a different, more comfortable light. Nonetheless, it remains true that, with this kind of catastrophe dynamic, it takes two to detonate as well as to tango- two variables, plus the response, not just two people.AdviceIn recruitment, such 2-factor catastrophesc ould take the form of a career recruiters helpfully advising a candidate to re-do his resume and then somehow never hearing from the candidate again. In this case, mine and most others, intent matters so much less than the respondents perception. The implied criticism is the pin, the re-do, the grenade.In all of the foregoing instances, quitting (or severe health-endangering stress) is precipitated by two controlling variable reaching critical threshold levels, thereby triggering the quitting response. You would be well advised to reflect on any placed recruit who has quit, to try to identify what those variables may have been, given the likelihood that the catastrophe theory model applies. Similarly, if an job applicant suddenly disappears, consider the possibility that you did two things and to a degree that, in combination, were enough to make her give up on you.One final application Having made this article long and deep enough- length and depth being the two controlling factors , I predict that you will now quit reading.

How to know when you need a mental health day

How to know when you need a mental health dayHow to know when you need a mental health dayNo matter how much you love your job, going to work day after day can be taxing. Just as you would take a sick day to get over a nasty cold, taking the occasional mental health daycan help you recover from stress, anxiety, or depression. The most important step is to recognize the signs that you need a mental health day and to give yourself permission to take the day off.How to know you need a mental health dayApproximately1 in 5 American adults experiences mental illness in any given year, with millions more reaching subclinical levels of stress, anxiety, and sadness that do not warrant a formal diagnosis. That means that nearly all of us will need a mental health day at some point (or, likely, many points) in our working lives. Following are some common indicators that you need a mental health day You dread going to work.More than 28% of people say that work is a significant source of stress a nd anxiety. While we all experience periodic stressors at work, it is important to occasionally check in with yourself about how your job affects you. If you find yourself dreading going to work every day, its time to take some time to recharge. You cannot shut your mind off when you get home. Whenever possible, it is good to leave work at work, allowing you to fully enjoy your home life. When workplace stressors take over your mental life, you need a break. You feel irritable and on the verge of snapping. Being snippy with your coworkers, spouse, kids, or other people in your life are sure signs of burnout. Losing your temper at work may have drastic consequences, so be proactive about taking time off when you notice yourself becoming very irritable. You have difficulty sleeping. Chronically high levels of stress hormones can seriously mess with your sleep. Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep are signs that you need a mental health day. You just dont care anymore. Feeling a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy may be a sign of depression. If you find yourself mentally checking out of meetings and doing the bare minimum to get by, its time for a mental health day. After all,severity of depression is associated with a significant loss of work productivity, even for individuals with minor depression symptoms.How to ask for a mental health dayGive Yourself PermissionPerhaps the biggest hurdle to taking a mental health day is giving yourself permission to do it. Workers sometimes say that they feel guilty or lazy when taking a day off if they are not really sick. However, mental health is just as important as physical health Taking a mental health daynow can prevent moreserious problems later.Know Your Office CultureYour approach to asking for a mental health day will depend on your workplace culture. In some offices, saying Im feelingburntout and need to take a sick day to tend to my mental health is perfectly acceptable. In others, that statement would lead to raised eyebrows. It is usually safe to take a middle ground approach Im not feeling my best. I need to take a day off to ensure I can remain efficient and productive when I return.Plan In AdvanceIf you feel burnout on the horizon, planning a mental health day in advance is a great way to be courteous to the rest of your team. Schedule your mental health day for a time when you dont have important meetings or deadlines so you dont leave your colleagues in the lurch.Change Your Workplace Culture Surrounding Mental HealthNearly70% of professionals do not feel that their employers do enough to prevent burnout. Being transparent about mental health challenges, particularly if you are in a supervisory role, mayreduce stigmaandempower other employees to discuss their own need for mental health days.The bottom line is, if you need a mental health day, ask for one Your supervisors response gives you a clue to the larger workplace culture and can help you make decisions about y our longevity with the organization.Thisdeutsche post agwas originally published onKununu.com.