Job search websites, LinkedIn and other methods to change jobs

[Vash01]

For the last 10 years I have been stuck in one job, with no prospects of advancement, and things going downhill currently. So I would like to find the most efficient way of finding the next job or the next career. Now I am in a situation that I must find another job ASAP, preferably utilizing my years of experience (I may consider something completely different at an entry level). I have regularly 'explored' job search websites like Indeed.com, Monster.com, Glassdoor. Lately it has been just Indeed. In the past I had been a member of LinkedIn but didn't really try to find a job through it.

Indeed.com sends me a list of job openings. Typically just one or two from the list are even worth looking into, but I do see some attractive ones sometimes. When I go to the websites of those listed companies, I usually don't find those openings. So the question is- how reliable is the job search through these job search websites? Am I wasting my time? I did apply to a couple companies that had listed job openings on Indeed and I got a quick rejection and a no-response.

Is it better to just go to the websites of the companies I know? I have heard that most jobs are found through personal contacts. So I am planning to go to a professional meeting next week for networking. My agency does not allow us to attend conferences or training outside, which has been a sore point for me. It is Very expensive to pay for those from my own pocket and most are out of town. I am making a list of people I know or knew in the past to contact them.

In the past I had gone through head hunters and had success couple of times. I don't think that works anymore. The only head hunters that have contacted me in recent years are in IT which is not my field. At times other companies contacted me to send them my resume, which I gladly did. It worked in the past, but now I am 'too experienced' and it is harder to find a job.

I heard that LinkedIn is a good way to find another job. Is that true? However, it seems one can post only one resume on that site (correct me if I am wrong). That may limit my search.

To make the long story short, what kind of experience do you have with these job search websites? Am I wasting my time searching for a job through them? I do need to find another job quickly, so I can't really go on doing idle exploring, the way I have been doing.

Any suggestions? I know it depends a lot on your field of expertise too but there must be some things in common, no matter what field you are in.

 

[Aussie Willy]

It is quite scary looking for a new job after being in one for such a long time.

My best jobs have always come through agencies. If you need something urgently it can be the best way. You might get something temporary but that can lead to bigger things.

On the other hand I got my current job through a website here in Australia called Seek.com. I just had to look for lots of jobs and apply for quite a few.

Good luck with the job search.

 

[Debbie S]

Agencies aren't a great source of jobs in the U.S. At least in my area, most of the agencies that serve my field mostly place contract jobs (i.e. short-term, hourly-wage jobs with no benefits). The few 'direct hire' positions they work on are usually highly specialized. Remember, they work for companies, not candidates, so their goal is to fill jobs as soon as possible and make it easy on their client. It can't hurt to get in touch with recruiters at staffing agencies that are focused on your career field, send them your resume and let them know you are looking. You never know and it doesn't cost you anything. But you will likely have to fend off a lot of calls/e-mails from them about jobs for which you are not qualified, b/c they don't do a great job of reading resumes.

But if the agency requires you to give them references for a reference check before they will even submit your resume for a position, or sign an agreement that says if they submit your resume to a client, then you can't apply to that client on your own for a year or some period of time (even if that client decides not to interview you), run. You don't want to be wasting your references' time for no reason and most of the time, the agency is looking for reference names as a way of expanding their potential sales contacts.

Re job listing sites...Indeed basically uses crawlers/bots to pick up jobs on company and other websites. Most of the jobs are garbage and/or not related to your field. But there can also be really good jobs that show up...check it daily and be prepared to discard most. LinkedIn may use crawlers but hiring managers/HR do post directly. The key with LinkedIn is to make sure that the apply button takes you to the company's own job application site (or is one of those 'fast apply' buttons where you just submit your resume through LinkedIn...and the name of the job poster is usually listed so you can contact directly to follow up) - the URL may not match but there should be a logo and some language indicating it's such-and-such company's site. There are a fair amount of 3rd party job search sites out there that use crawlers to pick up jobs from other sites and I've noticed that many of these are jobs that were first posted a month or more ago, so they may be out of date. These sites tend to gather your personal info to spam/sell so I would be sure to avoid those. Zip Recruiter is OK, but other random sites should be avoided.

Generally speaking, it's best to apply through the company's own site, so your instinct is correct to go to the company's site. If the job is not listed, there's a good chance it's outdated (and this also happens with "sponsored" listings on Indeed) - although I have heard of a few instances where a job appeared on external sites before the company's own site (around holiday times when HR was working but the webmaster wasn't), but those are rare.

Be aware, though, that many jobs are listed only for compliance reasons - i.e. they already have an internal candidate - so getting a rejection or no response usually has nothing to do with you. Companies also aren't always great about writing job descriptions - a lot of times they leave out a critical skill or type of experience they are looking for, so even if you fulfill all the job requirements, you could be deemed unqualified for some other reason.

Most jobs do come through personal contacts, so networking is a great idea. Try to meet as many people as you can, chat about their work, show interest, get their business card, and then connect on LinkedIn. If they work in a company you are interested in or doing work you'd like to do, follow up and ask to meet for coffee, or even just have a phone chat, to learn more. LinkedIn is a great tool for connecting and following up with hiring managers or others who work at a company you are interested in, so it helps to have a large network.

Most companies require that you apply through their website for compliance and tracking reasons, but once you apply, you can contact your connection and try to get the scoop on the position (i.e. is it an actual job and are they seeking external candidates...you could even do that before you apply, if you know the person well, to ensure you aren't wasting your time if they either already have a candidate or they are looking for some secret skill you don't have). And ask your contact if they would be willing to give your resume to the hiring manager, to ensure your resume gets read and not lost in the company's applicant system purgatory - on that note, there are a lot of resources online about how to make your resume more readable by those automated systems, check them out and revise your resume accordingly. (And if you don't have a direct connection at the company, see if anyone is a 2nd degree connection and ask if your connection in common can make an introduction...i.e. send a message to both of you 'introducing you' - then request to connect with that person. You can send in-mails to non-connections if you have a premium account - $30/month - I got a premium account for that very reason. If you are going to be doing a lot of job searching, it could be worth it.)

Definitely leave off all but the most recent 10 years on your resume - if you've had 1 job for 10 years, maybe put your previous one, too, to show career progression. Don't list the dates of your degrees, particularly if you are close to or over 50.

 

[moebius]

I haven't done job searches outside of the company I work for currently, but the only reason why I got a permanent job in the company I work for now is through a temp agency. I think it's easier to get your foot in the door that way than applying directly with the company. Maybe it's because it's easier for the company to let go of temps versus permanent employees, so the screening process is less thorough and strict? I worked as a temp for a year before I became permanent. I've known other temps worked 5 years before they became permanent. There are no guarantees that all temps will become permanent. So, it depends if you'll be willing to take the chance.

 

[Vash01]

I haven't done job searches outside of the company I work for currently, but the only reason why I got a permanent job in the company I work for now is through a temp agency. I think it's easier to get your foot in the door that way than applying directly with the company. Maybe it's because it's easier for the company to let go of temps versus permanent employees, so the screening process is less thorough and strict? I worked as a temp for a year before I became permanent. I've known other temps worked 5 years before they became permanent. There are no guarantees that all temps will become permanent. So, it depends if you'll be willing to take the chance.

My iPad froze as I started typing.

I wouldn't go for temp unless I was out of job, and that could happen. I would probably go for an adjunct faculty type position, or a contract position for a project in that case. Hopefully I can find something better before that, The contract positions work great for software engineers and IT professionals. Not for me, unfortunately.

 

[Allskate]

{{{Vash01}}}

I don't have any helpful advice unfortunately. I just wanted to say that I feel your pain. I'm in a kind of similar situation. My office is closing down soon and I'm going to be out of a job. I'm having a hard time finding another one. It's been quite some time since I looked for a job and am wondering if I'm going about it the wrong way. Most of the jobs I've had in the past I was recruited for or otherwise got because of contacts with former colleagues. So, I'm still trying to figure out how to look for a job successfully through other means.

It doesn't help that I'm on the older side and I'm mostly seeing jobs for which I'm overqualified. I'm applying for those jobs anyway, but haven't had any luck. I do think that they already have chosen people for a number of the jobs and are just listing them because they are required to do so. I'm an introvert and bad at networking, but am trying to force myself to do it and figure out how to do it well.

Like you, I'm also trying to figure out if and how I would change careers. I'm having a hard time figuring out what that career would be and how I would be able to get a job in that field. (Investing in new training and a new degree is risky; would I be able to get an entry level job at my age and be able to cover the costs of training?) So, hopefully someone will have some good ideas for both of us wrt to making a career change.

 

[dewey]

I've been fired once (toxic boss - boy do I have some stories) and laid off twice. Every job I have had has come from a different, seemingly random connection, and I'm in a pretty specialized field. So in addition to putting your resume on all of the job search web sites and wading through all the junk that comes from them, tell EVERYONE you know that you are looking for a new job.

Also start networking. This is what I learned in grad school: think of someone whom you think might be useful in your job search. Send them your resume, explain your situation, and ask them if they would be willing to share advice, ideas and at least three contacts with you. At the meeting/phone call, write down every person/company/organization that they think might be useful. And keep the conversation going for a while, because most people will have more ideas as they go. After the meeting, REMEMBER TO THANK THEM IN WRITING OR EMAIL, then repeat the process for every contact you got from them. When you call/email each contact for the first time, your first sentence should be something like "Hi, my name is Vash01, and Dewey recommended that I contact you." This distinguishes you from junk calls and email.

Please continue to post your questions, because I'll wager there is a lot of job and job searching experience on this board!

 

[millyskate]

Hi @Vash01 , I'm job searching right now and here are the tips I've found most helpful.

Linkedin is the best place to see current jobs. Often sites like "Indeed" have outdated information. Applying there has for only effect of passing your CV onto recruiters, who will start phoning you sometimes excessively with offers they think match your CV (and are almost never the one you applied for).
This can lead to relevant interviews, but can also get annoying. Recruiters can be helpful in identifying opportunities not advertised online, but they also have a financial interest in getting you hired by the companies that are paying them, and they don't let you negotiate a salary directly with the company. The jobs might not always be right for you, but they don't care.

So the most effective way I've found, to get interest from company and subsequent interviews, is to job search on linkedin, then rather than applying directly through linkedin (and running the risk of getting contacted by a recruiter), googling the company with the vacancy and applying through their website directly.
This works well for me as I'm in a big city - I'm not sure how it would work for someone in an area where there are fewer vacancies.

Many people like working through recruiters though, there's nothing wrong with it. You just need to be aware of the system: the jobs on job-websites are just gateways to recruiters most of the time. Some of them are even fake

 

[Vash01]

I probably didn't mention in the OP that I am seeing a career counselor. He is very high on networking. That includes face to face as well as other methods, like LinkedIn and fsu He also described the networking similar to what Dewey did (thanks Dewey).

I do need to find a job soon because I am somewhat in a situation similar to Dewey's past one. I have learned that if you suddenly get a bad review after consistent positive reviews for years, it's a flashing red light and a message to get out quickly.

The last time this happened in my semiconductor job, it was followed by a lay off at the company and I was cut. I saw it coming but couldn't find another job fast enough. It's a humiliating experience, but survivable.

This time there won't be a lay off but they could fire me in a couple of months. The boss doesn't like me and makes no secret of it. I hope I am wrong about getting fired because couple months is not enough time to land another job in my field. If I were in IT it wouldn't have been that difficult.

Anyway, I plan on using this weekend to post my resume on LinkedIn, other job sites, etc. and start contacting the people I know. Unfortunately head hunters are not around anymore. They used to be my best bet.

 

[Simone411]

@Vash01, I just thought of something that might also help you. For several years now, the city of Shreveport which is about 35 miles north of where I live has had Job Fairs. Several Companies and Corporations attend the Job Fairs that are wanting to hire. You usually fill out the applications there and also bring resumes. I attended one several years ago, but there were companies, corporations and organizations of several different fields of interest where people could apply for jobs.

That's how I found out there were job openings in the 80's at AT&T in Shreveport. I managed to get an interview with AT&T and got the job I was wanting.

I don't know if there are Job Fairs where you live or it could be in surrounding areas, but you can find out by going here to do a search:

National Career Fairs - Over 400 Job Fairs a Year

Just adding that you can also search their Job Board and upload a resume.

 

[Debbie S]

I wouldn't actually post a resume on a job site. With LinkedIn, you set up a profile (if you don't have one, there is a lot of info out there on how to set one up to attract the best views) listing your work experiences, skills, etc, so recruiters and hiring managers can check it out and potentially contact you through LinkedIn (so make sure your account is set to forward InMail messages to your e-mail so you'll see them right away), but I wouldn't post a resume on job search sites b/c the only people who search resumes there are scammers or semi-sleazy recruiters who are looking for people to do telemarketing or commission sales (or pyramid-type schemes) and they'll spam your e-mail or cell phone with garbage.

I have gotten a couple of messages on LinkedIn about "an opportunity that might interest you" and want your phone number to call you about it. I respond by asking if they can send me the job description through LinkedIn (you can attach docs in InMail) and they disappear. But most of the messages I have gotten on LinkedIn have been reasonable.

Job fairs these days are a waste of time, especially for highly skilled positions/career fields. Most participating companies are there for PR purposes (or to 'pay back' the sponsoring agency if they have recently received any workforce training or other grants), even if they don't have jobs, and if they do, they just send people to their website to apply.

 

[Vash01]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and recommendations. Keep them coming.

 

[Spun Silver]

When my sister got laid off -- she is a high level IT person -- she was getting her resume ready for career fairs. But before she could go to one, she got snapped up by one of her old firm's customers when they found out she was available. So I guess polishing up your relationships with anyone you currently do business with in your job could be a good idea.

I always recommend the book What Color is Your Parachute? It's good for career-changers as it includes aptitude tests. What we like/want and what we are actually good at are not always the same things.

 

[floridaice]

I have been told that it is important to have endorsements and references on Linkedin. I have done them for friends and they said it helped. But, every job I have been approached about was because I had connections to the company -- either 1st or 2nd level connections within the same field.

 

[Vash01]

I have been told that it is important to have endorsements and references on Linkedin. I have done them for friends and they said it helped. But, every job I have been approached about was because I had connections to the company -- either 1st or 2nd level connections within the same field.

Years ago, when I had just joined LinkedIn, I used to get endorsements but I was not looking for a job. I don't think anyone approached me about a job but I used to receive emails about job openings. I need to get back to LinkedIn ASAP.

 

[nlloyd]

When I was transitioning to a new career, I purchased 50 Steps for 50 Year Old Job Seekers. I didn't end up reading it, because I landed a job soon after buying it, but it seemed helpful at the time. I'm not sure whether you are in this demographic Vash01, but it may be useful even if you aren't.

I landed a job through a friend of a friend, and now that I am occasionally on the other side of the table, I understand why word-of-mouth recommendations are important. With cutbacks to staffing, in smaller organizations in particular, having staff members who get along and who are effective is key. Sometimes the only way to be sure that this is the case is through word-of-mouth. Candidates can ace an interview and end up being poor employees; their employers can give them rave reviews in order to move them out of the organization. A recommendation from someone one trusts goes a long way to ensuring a good fit and a productive team member. Of course, there may be positions where individuals work almost entirely alone and the interpersonal issues are less important, and there are many positions where a candidate cannot be found through word-of-mouth, or a where an organization is required to advertise and interview. Nevertheless, I think that with unconventional career moves, it is useful to have someone vouch for one if at all possible.

 

[Susan1]

Be aware, though, that many jobs are listed only for compliance reasons - i.e. they already have an internal candidate - so getting a rejection or no response usually has nothing to do with you. Companies also aren't always great about writing job descriptions

I'm sure there are people here who do or have worked in HR more recently, but, yeah. Job descriptions are boilerplate. And they do hire from within first.

Back in the day, I got two different permanent jobs after being a temp, before all the internet job posting stuff. These days, if you end up having to temp, you might have access to internal job postings. And you are already there and have a feel for the company. At one temp job, I was offered a position that wasn't even posted in a different department because I had done such a good job at the temp one.

You could look on Careerbuilder and Indeed to see what is out there and companies you might want to work for. And stay away from Craigslist. It's probably even worse now, but there used to be admin jobs for twice the pay anyone could possibly expect, with no company information listed.

 

[Susan1]

Sorry double posting - to the HR professionals out there, just sitting here thinking. They say it's easier to get a job when you have a job, which makes sense if you know your company is going to have layoffs or something. How do you explain "personality conflicts" as a reason to get another job so that the hiring people don't think you are difficult? You aren't supposed to badmouth your former employer.

 

[Debbie S]

How do you explain "personality conflicts" as a reason to get another job so that the hiring people don't think you are difficult? You aren't supposed to badmouth your former employer.

I'm not in HR, but I wouldn't mention "personality conflicts" b/c, yes, that's a red flag. I would say something neutral like, "I'm looking for a growth/advancement opportunity" or you could say you are excited about the industry or particular company for such-and-such reason. Keep things positive.

 

[Simone411]

Job fairs these days are a waste of time, especially for highly skilled positions/career fields. Most participating companies are there for PR purposes (or to 'pay back' the sponsoring agency if they have recently received any workforce training or other grants), even if they don't have jobs, and if they do, they just send people to their website to apply.

Thanks for sharing this bit of info. As I mentioned, it was several years ago when I attended the Job Fair in Shreveport. That was in the 80's, and almost all the companies/corporations there were hiring. The job at AT&T that I applied for was at the assembly plant of AT&T in Shreveport. I had several resumes, but didn't need to give any of my resumes to other companies because AT&T set me up with an appointment that very day to take a dexterity test and then go through orientation. Afterwards I worked on an assembly line in the Jacks & Plugs area. It included good benefits, health insurance and a retirement plan. I guess you could say I helped make the phone jacks that got you connected.

I wondered if it changed over the years regarding those Job Fairs, and I guess there was because in the early 80's, there weren't any websites that people were sent to. At least there wasn't for AT&T.

 

[Debbie S]

I wondered if it changed over the years regarding those Job Fairs, and I guess there was because in the early 80's, there weren't any websites that people were sent to. At least there wasn't for AT&T.

Applying to jobs was probably a lot easier in the 80s. With factory/assembly-type jobs, there are still companies in my area (Amazon, for example, has a large distribution center) that hold open job fairs. They need to hire a couple hundred workers for holiday season or whatever, it gets advertised, media covers it, there's usually a line of people stretching around the block. Or there's a new plant opening and they put out a call for workers in X specialty. The plant manager or director or whoever gets interviewed and it's great for co PR - we hire local, etc. I assume the masses just fill out an application when they get in the building, they probably don't have time to do interviews - maybe they ask people if they have experience and then their apps go into a different pile. Given numbers, obviously most of those who attend aren't hired.

I knew people my age who attended job fairs post-college, in the early-mid 90s, before online apps, that found job fairs to be a waste of time. They were looking for finance, IT and similar positions, and said companies attending weren't even hiring, just handing out info about their company and telling people to check job listings. During that time, I worked for a newspaper and the editor attended one of those fairs. We didn't have any job openings, except for summer interns, but he'd been persuaded to attend by the sponsoring org and he didn't want to alienate the org b/c he knew we'd probably need them to comment for stories sooner or later.

I myself attended a job fair during business school, held on campus (for both undergrads and MBA), which I thought might yield better than usual results, given that the school's career center had organized it. Not so. Most of the attending companies were just handing out general brochures. I overheard a couple convos where the company rep told people they weren't recruiting for new grads, they were in their "experienced hiring cycle" so check with the career center about their recruiting visits to campus. I get that - this was early fall - but they couldn't really speak about the post-college or post-MBA career tracks that the attendees would be interested in. And there were also the insurance sales orgs - Aflac and others. I wondered why the school would allow those types to attend, but they were likely wanting to pad their numbers and were happy to take anyone interested.

The only type of job fair I might suggest is one that is industry or function-specific and is held in conjunction with a conference or a professional association event. A 'cast of thousands' cattle call-type is no better than sending your resume off to a faceless website.

 

[Simone411]

I found an interesting article on my homepage this morning. This is actually about what to put on a resume and what shouldn't be included on a resume. I thought this might be helpful for anyone that's looking for a job.

Ten Things To Add To Your Resume And Ten To Remove Immediately

Ten Things To Add To Your Resume

1. LinkedIn profile URL

2. Relevant Brand

3. Powerful Summary

4. The word “I”

5. Full sentences

6. Explanation for every job change

7. Framing statement for every employer

8. Framing statement for every role

9. Dragon-Slaying Stories

10. Your human voice

Ten Things To Remove From Your Resume

1. Street Address

2. Inappropriate email address

3. Generic Summary (or none)

4. Months you started and ended each past job

5. Company’s own branding

6. Tasks and Duties

7. Praising Adjectives

8. Endless bullets

9. Old, irrelevant jobs

10. Formatting

 

[Debbie S]

^^ I agree with most of those things, but everything else I've read says not to use first person language on your resume. And your accomplishments and summary should be bulleted for easy reading (and phrases are fine, as long as they make sense and there are no typos), and quantified whenever possible - i.e. you saved X amount of money, your plans increased efficiency by X, you brought in X amount of additional sales leads. Whoever reads your resume spends about 30 seconds scanning it to see if you have the skills and experience they are looking for. At that point, they don't really care or need to know what you "love to do", why you are seeking a new job, and why you left your previous ones (if they ask for a cover letter, you can address the first two in that). I do have "position eliminated" in parentheses next to the dates (which should be in month and year format...HR and hiring managers get annoyed when people try to fudge by just putting years) of employment, just to answer the question of why there are gaps and why I'm not currently working full-time. But you don't want to waste space with explanations - if they call you for an interview/phone screen, you can address it then. Same with what you want to do/why you want the job.

 

[meggonzo]

Tasks and duties are things you should remove from your resume?

 

[manhn]

I do not want to read why someone left every job. And keep the months. December 2014 to February 2015 is a lot more telling than 2014 to 2015.

 

[Debbie S]

Tasks and duties are things you should remove from your resume?

I think what this particular author (who does a lot of writing on career issues for Forbes and other pubs and I have issues with a lot that she says) means is that you should focus on your accomplishments. I've read some advice where that says to describe your tasks in a few sentences and then list accomplishments in bullet points below that. But that takes up a lot of space (I've read conflicting advice about whether to keep your resume to 1 page, I do but not everyone does). And it's hard to quantify an accomplishment with every responsibility so most people (including me) have a mix of tasks and accomplishments.

 

[Japanfan]

I edit/compose resumes as part of my job. I don't agree with using "I" and complete sentences, and avoiding formatting/bullets.

A typical resume usually just gets a few second pass before the reader decides whether to reject it or read it more carefully. The "I" is implied, and bullets and other formatting such as italics or bold text make a resume more readable/easier to follow.

Visual appeal is important, although less so if a person has a lot of relevant experience for a specific job, in which case the reader might be more invested in reading a text-heavy resume.

I once worked on a resume that had pictures beside each heading, like a graduation cap for 'Education' and a phone image before the phone number. Although that could get wearisome if every single applicant did that, I found it immediately caught my attention.

I like the use of verb parallels to describe job experience as well.

 

[Vash01]

I edit/compose resumes as part of my job. I don't agree with using "I" and complete sentences, and avoiding formatting/bullets.

A typical resume usually just gets a few second pass before the reader decides whether to reject it or read it more carefully. The "I" is implied, and bullets and other formatting such as italics or bold text make a resume more readable/easier to follow.

Visual appeal is important, although less so if a person has a lot of relevant experience for a specific job, in which case the reader might be more invested in reading a text-heavy resume.

I once worked on a resume that had pictures beside each heading, like a graduation cap for 'Education' and a phone image before the phone number. Although that could get wearisome if every single applicant did that, I found it immediately caught my attention.

I like the use of verb parallels to describe job experience as well.

What are verb parallels?

I am having difficulty making my resume visually appealing because there is too much material, even after I dropped half of it. I cannot use bold or other formats, so all I can use are spaces between lines, and paragraphs. That's the trouble with having too much experience in two completely different fields. If I drop the semiconductor experience, where I have more accomplishments, there is hardly anything to list for my accomplishments in the environmental field.

ETA: Just updated my LinkedIn profile with a more recent photo and a more attractive headline. Haven't posted my resume there yet.

 

[Japanfan]

What are verb parallels?

Starting each item on your resume with the same type of verb - i.e. managed, delegated, coordinated.

I am having difficulty making my resume visually appealing because there is too much material, even after I dropped half of it. I cannot use bold or other formats, so all I can use are spaces between lines, and paragraphs. That's the trouble with having too much experience in two completely different fields. If I drop the semiconductor experience, where I have more accomplishments, there is hardly anything to list for my accomplishments in the environmental field.

Is one type of experience or field more important to your job search than the other? In that case you'd obviously emphasize the more important one.

I assume the formatting limitations are due to the application style/using a template? If so, it would apply to all the other applicants as well, so you'd all be on equal footing in that regard.

Also as I mentioned above, I think text-heavy is okay for applicants with a lot of experience. I tend to focus more on the visual aspect of resumes when I do them for young people who are just starting out on their career path. When a resume is for a professional or executive, the text matters more, because the person has more to say, and I would think the reader would have more interest in reading in it than he/she would for an entry level generic resume.

Of course the writing has to be top-notch and perfectly capture your experience.

 

[Vash01]

Starting each item on your resume with the same type of verb - i.e. managed, delegated, coordinated.



Is one type of experience or field more important to your job search than the other? In that case you'd obviously emphasize the more important one.

I assume the formatting limitations are due to the application style/using a template? If so, it would apply to all the other applicants as well, so you'd all be on equal footing in that regard.

Also as I mentioned above, I think text-heavy is okay for applicants with a lot of experience. I tend to focus more on the visual aspect of resumes when I do them for young people who are just starting out on their career path. When a resume is for a professional or executive, the text matters more, because the person has more to say, and I would think the reader would have more interest in reading in it than he/she would for an entry level generic resume.

Of course the writing has to be top-notch and perfectly capture your experience.

Thanks.

Yes, they are completely different- Semiconductor industry (private ind) and Environment (Govt. agency). Also one is high tech; the other has mostly rules and regulations, and not high level technology or statistics.

I am not using a template but I read at many places to not use bold face, underlining, etc.