A Dummy’s Guide to Getting A Job

Yesterday, we posted a job vacancy for a web developer/programmer in the Jobstreet Classifieds section. Within the spate of one day, we received several dozen résumés. However, it’s extremely disheartening to note that the quality of our graduates is deteriorating… badly! As such, I’ve purposed to provide some guidelines on how to get hired.

1. You must DIFFERENTIATE yourself from the dozens of résumés an employer receives. Be bold, be radical. Be creative.
2. Use a small amount of colour to differentiate sections. Be conservative, though.
3. Double-triple check your english. If you have horrible grammar, find a friend who can help you improve it a little – first impressions do count!
4. Do include a cover letter. If you personalize it, you’ll get several brownie points for effort.
5. If you’re going to include a photo in your résumé, make sure it’s a clear one at least! Don’t use the camera in your phone to take a low-res image.
6. The dreaded Times New Roman font… Use something more pleasing on the eyes – Arial or Verdana will do fine.
7. Send your résumé in pdf format – you can download the free PDF995 software here.
8. Don’t say too much – we received a résumé spanning 10 pages! No one will read that much.
9. Do use bullet points, lengthy paragraphs tire the eyes of a potential employer.

Real-life quotes received

• I believe that I have minimum knowledge to fulfill this position.
• I believed in myself that with good communication skill in dealing with people will give the advantage for me to get this job.
• In the very brief email sent to us, it said: “my resume…”
• I have attached my application latter and my CV.
• I’m Mr XYZ interested to apply job vacancy.

A quote from a website states, “Your résumé has only 7 seconds to catch the eye of the hiring manager.” – and I believe it’s true. If you’re eager to get a job with Integricity, be bold, contact us and tell us why you think we should hire you.