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In the average  month there are at least 300 resumes that come to me via email.  I am writing this post as a service to those of you who are  unemployed or underpaid and are seeking gainful employment.  If you know someone who is currently job hunting, please ,please pass these tips on; let them know that if they are serious about finding a job:

1. DO NOT have inappropriate music (I don’t care if it’s  rap,rock, country or gospel) on your phone message. After all why should a recruiter have to listen to 30 seconds or more of your favorite song before they can leave you a message about the job that you applied for? Just yesterday,  a recruiter I know was treated to” u got one more time to feel on my booty, you’re turning me on” and then (this is the same call mind you) he  was played an entire song (Angel Of Mine) and finally there was a beep; just a beep no message.  He hung up, because he felt that this person does not really want a job, if they did they would have taken a few moments to ensure that their message to incoming callers was an appropriate one – end of story.
2. While I am on the subject of voicemail, let me just say that the serious job seeker will ensure that their mailbox is set up correctly, and that it is never so full that a prospective employer cannot leave a message.
3. Don’t save your resume as resume.doc or some other generic title.  You want your resume to stand out in all of it’s glory and this is just another one of those little things that can make the difference  between getting a second call and being buried in a pile of resumes named  resume_2008.doc .
4. Do not use your current personal email address on your resume, especially when said email address is  sizzlingblonde@hotmail.com or hotnbothered@yahoo.com. Don’t use any email address that describes your sexual proclivities, race, ethnicity, or political orientation. You never get a second chance to make that first impression, so don’t blow it with an email address that sends the wrong message about you.
5. DON’T send your resume in a format that is not widely used . Send a  .doc or .pdf or even .txt file;  there just aren’t that many businesses using WordPerfect or  Microsoft Works. To avoid sending your resume in a format that will never be opened, go out to openoffice.org and download a free office suite.
6. If you don’t actually have an “Objective” or can’t think of an objective to put on your resume then just don’t put an objective. Let me show you what I mean about objectives that don’t improve your chances:
   1. Objective: To obtain a career with advancement in the company.
   2. Objective: To get a job.
   3. To get a job at a company that I can retire from
7. Don’t get me wrong on this one,  I think that proper English is a beautiful thing. Actually I am so passionate about good writing that I won’t read certain authors because I just don’t enjoy their stilted writing. Here’s the thing, I have read some cover letters that were nothing but “words of the day” strung together to create sentences. Please don’t write a cover letter that requires a Thesaurus. Don’t over do it to the point where your cover letter doesn’t make any sense.
8. This is the epitome of “tacky” (yes I realize the use of this one word exposes my age) and unprofessional: sending a copy of your resume and cover letter to 2 or more companies/recruiters at once and not even using bcc.  Why i s this a bad thing? It reeks of desperation and throwing crap against the wall to see what sticks. I certainly  won’t respond to you, because chances are you aren’t organized enough to know who I am. And if you are applying for a job as (for example) an administrative assistant and you can’t organize your own job search, then how can I expect you to organize my office?
9. Every prospective employer and recruiter  out there can tell that you are not serious about your job search when you neglect to put an area code on your phone number. Not in your cover letter, not on your resume, not in your email – no area code anywhere. It’s 2009 , everyone has an area code,  here in the Atlanta area we have 3 area codes  which renders the number 555-1212 totally useless to me even if it comes with an address.

Help me to finish this post by providing me with number ten  and I will give you a free copy of the “Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles.

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