What I learned collecting resumes at a recent Job Fair

I'm helping my friend Angie with her Valley Job Fairs and I recently collected resumes at the front door for the database and research purposes. I collected those for Angie and Valerie to use in their quest to improve the Fairs and help get people around here back to work. I also was able to talk to a lot of job seekers and help people with their plans for their resumes.



I'll be collecting resumes at the next job fair too and talking with people about their career search. I learned a lot from this exercise and I want to share my thoughts on the matter.



Random Resume Commentary



Obviously there are a gazillion websites out there that will help you make and bake your resume.

There are counselors, coaches, therapists and recruiters who will tell you how to craft a resume for optimum success. That's all great, but my experience is that if you take your resume to 10 people, you'll get ten different "right ways" to do it. What you need to find is the right way for you to tell your story in the context that will make sense to whoever is going to read this thing on the other side. What matters most is what that person or company wants from you. But a good foundation of a resume that tells your story is a fine place to start.



When I was collecting resumes at the recent Valley Job Fair, I saw a few blunders:

• Sloppy papers- never a good plan. Make some nice copies and keep them in a folder
• Sloppy wardrobe- equally a problem at the fair, but I wasn't collecting Job Fair fashion shots
• Too much information- some of the resumes were so dense, nobody is going to want to read it. Always think of the reader on the other end
• Format/page look- easy to look at and read resumes will get looked at and read more
• Remember the reader- your goal is resume writing should be the reader on the other side. All of this information should make sense to them
• Consistency in format- either all sentences or all fractures, but don't mix the two
• Highlight what is most interesting about you on the top- that be all they read
• To staple or not? I say bring both. A stapled resume at a Job Fair might be a better bet for keeping it together. Anyone collecting resumes gets a big stack of resumes. It is true that some companies prefer not to have staples in them. If you do want a two page resume and you want to keep them un-stapled, make sure you put your name on both pages.
• Avoid gimmicks- some resumes were on super fancy colored paper with odors and stuff. While this might be nice, it may not work FOR you in your job search process. The rule of thumb is not to try and be too flashy with resume attention-getters. Many recruiters say it doesn't change when they look at your resume and it doesn't help them remember you in a good way necessarily. Keep it simple- quality paper that looks professional. Things like folders and matching fancy envelopes may only serve to get you mocked.
  

Good things I observed at the Fair:

• Young people with legible resumes and nice clothes- I was impressed by some of the younger job seekers
• Lots of people came prepared this time for the companies represented at the Fair- good job!
• We have a great labor pool in our area with diverse people who reflect a lot of skills and experiences. That was neat to observe. I met people with experience and degrees from all over the world.

Feedback- I would love to get some Resume chatter going. What's working, what's not working with resumes right now?

Anyone who attended a job fair and handed me a resume- I would love to hear your thoughts on how your resume worked for you.