Florida Executive Search Career Suggestions

By Dawn Summerdale

Accepted resume practices change over time, sometimes due to preferences of hiring managers and other times due to changes in technology. Using outdated resume techniques can make you look like you don’t keep up with the times, or even that you are unwilling to learn new skills, which of course will not work to your advantage in your job search. So what should you avoid including in your resume?

References - First, employers really don’t need this information at this stage of the game. Second, even the “references available upon request” tag is outdated and generally assumed by employers. Save this space for information that will set you apart from the competition. You should have your list of references available on a separate sheet for the interview process.

Salary Information - Salary information is personal, and frankly not an indicator of worth. Your current salary could be high or low, so letting a potential employer make a judgment based on your current salary without knowing the circumstances could do you more harm than good. You will likely have to divulge this information, but do so in the interview, no in your resume.

Personal Information - Employers are very way of any personal information that could end up in a lawsuit under fair hiring laws, so don’t include information on your personal interests, marital status, children, race, age, height, weight, sexual preference, religion or ethnic heritage. While in some countries this is common practice in CV’s, it is inappropriate in the United States.

Photo - Unless you are applying for a position where headshots are typically requested such as acting roles, there is no good reason to include a photo on your resume.

Reasons For Leaving - Your resume is your chance to provide positive information on your background, so including this information is counterproductive.

By Carla Vaughan

To be successful to today’s competitive marketplace, you need to have an action plan in place to help maintain your job-search momentum, keep you organized and ensure you have everything ready when it comes time to meet the prospective employer face to face.

If you have an action plan for reaching prospective employers, you are doing well. Many people never reach that level of effectiveness. It is so easy to simply send out resumes and hope someone calls rather than take positive actions which complement the process of finding a job.

If you are one of the multitudes who don’t know an action plan from an anemone, then read the remainder of this article to ensure your job search success.

You Need an Action Plan

First, you need to define your exact job search goal. What kind of job do you want? What type of organization do you want to work for? How much money do you plan to make? Do you need health benefits? How many hours do you expect to work? The more specific you get, the better you will be able to determine if a job offer (down the road) meets your desired goals or not.

Second, identify what objective need to be accomplished in order to achieve that goal. You will need a great resume in most all instances, an awesome cover letter, perhaps a sheet detailing your salary history, a list of references and perhaps more. Those are items you will need at the very least. You may have other needs as well depending upon the industry in which you plan to be working.

Third, describe the specific tasks that need to be done to achieve each objective. When you break each objective down into smaller tasks, it becomes much easier to handle.