350,
Let me address a few things that you said. First, you cannot "make a purse from a sow's ear." Of course the candidate has to be qualified. One thing that you do not know is that I spend a great deal of time with my candidates, both aviation and other, asking about their goals. If their goals are unrealistic, I tell them so. I also counsel them on the correct path to take for their specific career.
Second, I disagree about the cell phone on the resume. I teach my clients to control when and where a telephone screen happens. Several of my HR friends have said that they will not even call a cell phone. My opinion of this was backed up by Carol Kleiman, who is a syndicated columnist for the Tribune newspapers and an HR expert, when she wrote a column based upon my press release that was sent out on this very issue.
Third, I never said that a cover letter should be "less" than three paragraphs. When I was screening candidates for an aviation employer last fall, one cover letter said, and I quote:
"Here are my qualifications, call me if you are interested."
Where do you think his stuff went???
Fourth, how big was the operation that you worked at reviewing resumes? How many candidate resumes did you review?
Employers now are getting between 200-500 resumes for EVERY position they post. That does not include the "broadcast" letters they get for positions they do not post. I was just speaking at a Career Expo that had over 6500 candidates in attendance. There were 108 companies. Do the math. How much time do you think was given for the "once over" of the resumes? About 15-30 seconds. Just like in a regular hiring situation.
350, while I do not doubt that you have some experience in this field, I must defer to the research I have conducted over 18 years of being a resume writer. I am the Career Expert for 5 job boards in 5 different states, 2 more job boards in the Tech field, one in the aviation industry, and one located overseas for the hospitality industry. You do not get to that status by not knowing the hiring industry.
In addition, I write on a contract basis for Monster.com. Believe me, you do not write for Monster unless you KNOW what you are doing and are successful. If their candidates are not successful, you do not work for them very long. I have been writing for them for over two years. Recently one of my resume writing colleagues was turned down by Monster to write for them. They only take the best writers. I also write resume for candidates across the country and world for recruiters.
I know you are not trying to be disrespectful to me or my business. However, I do not do this business "part-time" or for kicks. I spent a great deal of time and money knowing everything that is going on in many industries. That is the perfectionist part of me that wants to make sure my clients have the best information possible.
Just my two cents on this topic.
Kathy
