The Effective Admin™

Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™

and Founder and President

of The Effective Admin

"I specialize in serving administrative professionals like you with job performance and career management advice. With almost 24 years experience interacting with the 'real' workplace and working administrative professionals -- including holding former admin pro level positions (and higher levels) myself at multiple different employers, -- I am well aware of the substantial job you and your administrative professional colleagues perform daily."

Do you love to learn in order to maintain and improve your job performance and career management activities? Then...

...STAY IN TOUCH to learn about both current and new training, professional development, and educational products and services for administrative professionals:  Click here to add yourself to the mailing list.

**The Effective Admin is a leading authority since 2004 specializing in training, professional development, and educational resources for administrative assistants, executive assistants, secretaries, and all other administrative professionals of any job title.**

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS

[ Store ] [ Newsletter ] [ Association for Administrative Professionals ] [ Administrative Assistant Goals Guide ] [ Meeting Minutes Guide ] [ Get Help: Ask The Admin Pro Coach ] [ Free Samples ]

FOR MANAGERS | EXECUTIVES

[ Tips for Managers/Executives of Admins ]

JOB SEARCH CENTER

[ Admin Jobs ] [ Admin Job Descriptions ] [ Administrative Professional Job Titles ] [ Administrative Assistant Resume and Cover Letter ] [ Job Search and Interview Advice Articles ]

READING

[ Articles ] [ Books ]

If you're an administrative professional on a job search and you've ever wondered just what hiring managers are thinking when they read your resume, this is it...

Readying Your Resume for Hiring Managers

by Diane Domeyer, executive director of Office Team

If you’re like most job seekers, the hiring process can sometimes make you scratch your head in confusion. Much of the time, the situation is out of your control: The position may have already been filled by the time you inquired about it or simply wasn’t as good a fit as you thought. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do to improve your odds of being called for an interview. Following is an inside scoop on the questions hiring managers ask themselves when evaluating resumes.

Can the applicant fill my need?

Admittedly, it’s an obvious question, but even if you possess the necessary experience, if your resume isn’t targeted to the specific company and job opening, your qualifications could seem equally unrelated. Tailoring your resume to the position involves positioning your administrative skills and experience in a way that shows the hiring manager that they align perfectly with the open position.

If you are applying for a job as an administrative assistant, for example, the company will want to see previous employment experience in addition to strong computer, communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.

Will the applicant remain with my firm for the long term?

Because of high turnover costs, hiring managers seek employees who are not likely to leave the company soon after accepting an offer. They’ll look to your resume for proof of a stable work history.

If you have job-hopped in the past, consider submitting a functional, rather than a chronological, resume. A functional resume is organized around your skills, experiences and accomplishments, not the specific roles you have held at various points in your career.

Is the potential employee professional?

Imagine trying to convince someone to buy a product by providing them with a description of it but not allowing them to see or test it. Sounds difficult, doesn’t it? In essence, that’s your challenge when submitting a resume. A hiring manager will use just a few sheets of paper to determine if you are the right candidate for the position. So, make sure your resume is free of typos and grammatical mistakes and that it is easy to understand. Because hiring managers may receive hundreds of applications, they’ll eliminate you from contention for the slightest infraction.

Before you submit your next application, think like a hiring manager to ensure your resume doesn’t get lost in the crowd.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Domeyer is executive director of OfficeTeam, the nation’s leading staffing service specializing in the temporary placement of highly skilled administrative and office support professionals. OfficeTeam has more than 300 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.officeteam.com.