Second career-seekers are sending out their résumés and making some mistakes. Here are some that I’ve caught. Please be careful with the content of what you say about yourself but also about the formatting. Formatting can tell a lot about you, too.
- Do not send out your résumé in Word format. Save it as a PDF. Word docs can be changed; PDF’s cannot. You don’t want anyone to be able to change your information.
- Do not include references. If the potential employer is interested in you, you will be asked for references. BTW, employers regularly scan Facebook and other social media to see what future employees say “privately” – be aware of what you post is public and permanent.
- Do not put your address on your résumé. Put only your phone and email. Addresses can be used to search online for private information. For instance:
- Google Street View: “drive by” a prospective employee’s home to see if the yard and home is maintained or littered with stuff. That tells a lot about the employee’s work habits.
- Zillow: look up how much the person paid for the house to see what standard of living the employee has and that might indicate salary expectations
- Taxes: look up public tax records to see if the person is current in their taxes or has had problems keeping up with that which could indicate whether the employee can handle money well
- Other ways that are unimaginable to me and you
It is a different age now of searching for work than when I began in the pre-internet days but we must learn to adapt.
Lead On!