Posts Tagged ‘Reference Check’

Your resume, in addition to listing your professional experience, education and qualifications, is a reflection of who you are. When you take the time to compose your resume well, make sure that there are no errors or gaps that would raise questions, and highlight the qualifications that present you as the best candidate for the job, you show your employer that you are a polished, detail-oriented professional.

In addition to having your professional life presented in the best set alight , you want to make sure that your resume and your cover letter show case your ethics and your sincerity. This is a hard task, as it is hard to convey honesty and your excellent intentions in a form letter and a resume. But many employers hold a strict no tolerance policy against dishonesty. Thus, you have to take extra care in making sure that all of the information on your resume is authentic and truthful. Intentional lies on a resume are not acceptable.

But , there are certain areas of your resume may cause you to unintentionally list incorrect information. Pay attention to the subsequent aspects of your resume to assure that you don’t find yourself appearing pretended to your the makings employer:

- List your rigorous title under professional experience. Many professionals have titles that are company specific and may not make sense outside of the organization where they work. Always list your rigorous title, but feel free to add a few words that give reasons for what you do in the realm of the industry. This way, when your the makings employer calls your employer for a reference check, they will confirm your rigorous title but also know the scope of your spot as it applies outside of that specific organization.

- When in doubt, don’t guess. For example, if you are unsure when you started or finished a job because it has been a long time since you worked for that company, simply call the company and question about your employment dates. Do not make assumptions about dates, titles of your references or their contact information, certification dates, etc. Always take time to verify the information you are unsure about previous to including it on your resume.

- Don’t cover up your employment gaps. It is ok to have gaps in your employment; most professionals have gaps in their experience for various reasons. Do not try to hide this from your the makings employers. Address the gaps in your work history in your cover letter, and be honest regarding the reasons you were not working during a specific time.

- Be honest about your accomplishments. Very than worrying about the qualifications you may not have, be confident and highlight your work experience and achievement in a truthful manner. Do not exaggerate skills, professional roles, or stretch the employment dates. Work on presenting yourself and your qualifications in the best possible set alight ; take the time to place a figure on your accomplishments, and compose a positive professional summary for your resume.

Revise your resume until you feel comfortable that all the information included is truthful and will not raise any questions by the employer that you have not addressed in the resume or the cover letter. The rule is – be honest on your resume. Don’t break that rule.

A friend of mine questioned for my help recently in composing her resume. She facility as an Office Manager for a small business. In her role, she assumes all responsibilities of an Office Manager. In addition, she partners with the company title-holder to set policies, facility with freelancers on marketing materials, serves as a liaison between vendors and shipping service companies, and conducts calls for sales leads that are collected at trade shows. In other words, her title doesn’t encompass all of her job responsibilities. Numerous the makings employers have in fact had concerns about the difference in her title and her overall spot in the company, wondering if she had exaggerated her responsibilities on her resume.

Many professionals run into situations where the title they have at their current job is so specific to the company that it carries no meaning outside of the organization, or it implies that they are a level or more below their real work responsibilities. The difficulty we face in these situations is accurately accounting for our professional experience on our resume in order to advance in our careers. There is no simple way to address this as you want to remain truthful on your resume; you wouldn’t want your the makings employer calling for a reference check and getting an impression you lied about your work history, do you?

There is a debate among professionals about listing job titles versus job functions on your resume. Some people prefer listing their title as it is, followed by a list of responsibilities, while others fervently prefer finding a way to rephrase your title to encompass your job function(s). The best option, but , is to find a pleased medium and list your job title along with a few words that clarify your job function, previous to you start listing your job responsibilities.

First, let’s explore making changes to the job titles as you include them on your resume. If your title unusual, or very specific to the organization, you must try to find an equivalent title that is well accepted and understood within your industry. For example, if you work as a customer support representative supporting a specific manufactured goods and your title contains the manufactured goods name, you can simply list Manufactured goods Support Representative on your resume. But , be precise not to exaggerate your title. Do not change your title so that it implies change in responsibility or salary level; do not change the area of the organization where you work, or change your title in a way that suggest you are directly reporting to a person in a higher spot than that of your manager. Any such changes on your resume are dishonest, and will negatively impact your credibility with your the makings employer.

If your title implies less responsibility than you hold, chose the middle ground option described above. List your real title on your resume. For example, if you are a Manufactured goods Support Representative but are also responsible for training new hires for your team, list your title as follows: Manufactured goods Support Representative/Customer Support and New Hire Training. All you are doing here is elaborating on your job title by including a brief class of your job function. Subsequent this title, make sure that your resume includes power statements describing your real job responsibilities, in order of their importance and relevance to your career title. This method is preferred because you are honest about your title, but you are also indicating to your employer that your responsibilities are slightly different than what the title implicates. When background checks and reference calls are conducted, you will not have to worry about misrepresenting your title, or causing raised questions about your credibility. Above all, your resume must be honest. Do the best you can to remain objective when it comes to your job titles and functions – focus on the positives, and you are sure to have a winning resume.