What Employers Really Look for in a Resume

What Employers Really Look for in a ResumeWhat Employers Really Look for in a ResumeUnless you have a respectable resume, the chances of getting in the door for a job vorstellungsgesprch are pretty slim even if youre the most qualified person on the planetAs weve stated in previous posts, tracking systems are the first stop when applying to larger companies and only if they deem your resume to have the basic qualification levels will an actual employer lay eyes on it. Then the trick is to get them to look at it for more than 10 seconds.So what are potential employers looking for that the tracking systems dont catch?According to an article in U.S. News these are the top 4Clarity and consistency.These seem like simple concepts, but theyre missed astonishingly often. Everysection of your resumeand the way you set it up needs to be clear, so key information can be found easily. Look at your resume as if it were the first time you were seeing it. Can you quickly identify your organizatio ns, job titles and time periods worked?Expand.If you think its enough to drop in the language of your formal job descriptions at work, its not. Once a person decides they like what they see overall and to read your resume in more detail, your bullets will make a big difference. Tell them exactly what you do in your bullets. If the results of what you do arent readily apparent, question what you do or did. In other words, what would you ask yourself in an interview to expand upon your resume?Write well.Its a dead-end street if you are using clich phrases, making grammatical or spelling mistakes or writing poorly. Employers read a lot ofresumesand they do not like reading the same words and phrases over and over again. Be unique by putting thought into your document.Length.Though its routinely discouraged, people still believe that a resume can be more than two pages if they have more information to add. Dont fall victim to this grave mistake. In general, your resume should not creep past one page if you have less than 10 years of experience. It should not go past two pages if you have 10 or more years.

How I Learned to Put Profit First for My Business

How I Learned to Put Profit First for My BusinessHow I Learned to Put Profit First for My BusinessHow I Learned to Put Profit First for My Business Michalowicz, author of Profit First (Obsidian Press, 2014)I have co-founded, built and sold two multi-million dollar technology service firms admittedly, they were never truly profitable. Every increase in revenue seemed to be matched with an even greater increase in expenses. Every day I checked (and still do) my bank balances.As the balances would climb and fall, so would my confidence and my spending. I lavishly incurred new, unnecessary expenses when my bank account was fat. I panicked when it was thin.This behavior, I have found, is leid unique to me. In fact, of the hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners I have asked, the vast majority also do bank balance accounting.It was with this realization that I started doing Profit First for myself five years ago. That is when I applied the pay yourself first principle to the operati ons of my businesses. I became my own guinea pig for Profit First.Every quarter since, I have posted a profit. Every business I have invited to flip the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) formula has also posted a profit or, unfortunately in some cases, decided to give up the system because it put too much downward pressure on expenses.GAAP offers so much more in business insights than most entrepreneurs could imagine, but it does fall short on working with an entrepreneurs bank balance habit.I have become an advocate for the Profit First approach to cash management because of the one thing it does do extremely well. It works with the natural habit of business owners. And it functions as a plug-in to all the GAAP accounting systems and processes I have place. It doesnt change GAAP, it simply sits on top.Profit First has transformed my own businesses for the better (if you consider consistent profits better.) Admittedly, Profit First is not the panacea to all cash flow pr oblems, but it surely makes profit a habit.And check out an archive of my recent webinar, Put Profit First. Always, in which I explain how to apply the Profit First strategy for your business.Author BioMike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-kal-o-wits) is author of numerous books including most recentlyProfitFirstas well asThe Pumpkin Plan and the cult classic business book, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.He began his first business at the age of 24, moving his young family to the only safe place he could afford a retirement building. With no experience, no contacts and no savings he successfully bootstrapped a multi-million dollar business. Then he did it again. And again. Now he is doing it for other entrepreneurs.Mike is CEO of Provendus Group, a consulting firm that ignites explosive growth in companies that have plateaued and founder of Profit First Professionals, a certification for accountants, bookkeepers, business coaches and other business financial experts, who help their clients maximize profitability he is a former small business consultant for The Wall Street Journal, MSNBCs business make-over expert and an internationally recognized keynote speaker on entrepreneurship.Visit MikeMichalowicz.com, check outMikes Twitter feed, or contact Mike online at MikeMikeMichalowicz.com or at888-244-2843.

Its Getting Better All The Time

Its Getting Better All The TimeIts Getting Better All The TimeIn honor of The Beatles streaming this holiday week, a fortuitous lyric from Sgt. Peppers above and a gratuitous link to a recent Beatles Revolution video.It does seem the employment picture is looking brighter this year than it has at any time in the past decadeThe Wall Street Journal reports 2.3% unemployment in Lincoln, Nebraska and 31 other cities across the countryGallup says in the past 15 years, only in 2007 were people more optimistic about it being a good time to get a jobAnd according to the Fed, we now have more people employed in the United States than ever before in our history - 150 millionSo perhaps, finally, we can have a year of plenty after seven years of lean, Readers. And thats good news for the new yearHappy New Year, folksIm rooting for you.p.s. Join the conversation on Getting Better on my blog.