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Resume/job application advice


okonomi

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Sitting here fixing up my resume, I thought this might be a useful thread to make. [insert obligatory mention of thread search and hope that similar thread doesn't already exist.]

I'm a silly teenager, so I was kinda wondering: is it lame to mention in your cover letter that you're a customer of a store you're applying to? I'm surprisingly hung up over this.

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I can send you my resume and you can pick some things you like about it.

I got my resume checked and evaluated by 5 CEO's of companies in California and they all said mines was great.

let me know if you want it.

It's also gotten me 2 jobs and an internship lined up for the Summer.

And to answer you question.. i dont think they care much if you shop at their store or not.

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i wouldn't necessarily mention you shop at the store in the cover letter, but if its a clothing store for example, bullshit about how much you are into the labels they sell (namedrop a little, shows you know/have researched/care a little about what they stock), the companies 'ethics' or history, how/why you would contribute to their particular selling environment and clientele etc.

bar one, i've been offered a position at every retail store i applied to - everything from hugo boss to angus and robertson (RIP).

outside of retail and basic office shit, i am no help.

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it sucks how impersonal this whole thing has gotten. a lot of major companies use word search software to find matches with their listing and if you don't make the cut a human never even sees your app/resume. basically you have to balance rewriting the job description in your resume using key words and actually describing yourself and keep it to one page like mentioned above.

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I fucking hate writing my resume/cover letter. Gives me actual anxiety attacks. Probably the main reason why I've been working a shitty job with shitty pay for almost 4 years. Fuck I need to get another job so bad...

Also, the couple of decent jobs I've had in my otherwise pathetic professional life had nothing to do with my resume. Got in because i know someone who knew someone who got me an interview with barely a glance at my resume.

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Resume gets you in the door, but its completely up to the individual after that

Stick to one page and put most of your effort into a carefully tailored cover letter

I also avoided a chronological resume and focused on skills/experience, unless your relevant work history goes that far back. For instance, I didn't even mention any of the student jobs or anything before my "professional" experience aside from an award I received as a student. Obviously this will differ if you're fresh out of school, and you may have to tailor the resume and cover letter

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applying for a job at school (front desk of one of the dorms). standard university application says attach a resume but there's a supplemental section for the front desk specifically.

do i still attach one? i'm a first year with very little work experience and i kinda think that attaching a shitty resume would be worse than not attaching it.

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Note that a 1 page resume is not for a teen that's just trying to build some experience

it's for people that are established and can say "here is my more most relevant experience in a concise manner"

but if you don't have experience that's good enough for that, then there's nothing wrong with a 2 pager

in fact, depending on the job, i'll either send out 1 page or 2 when i'm applying (ex. consulting jobs require a 1 page resume, financial services i'll give them a 2 pager)

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sometimes it's not about your resume/cover letter, but which path you choose to apply for jobs as well.

i've had no luck since applying online at various companies starting sept.1st

my resume is pretty solid i like to think, to the point and entails all that i have done. i also write a cover letter for each application (freaking hard work), but for the most part my cover letter has the same body with a different opening. your strengths are always going to be the same, so I rather not touch the wording.

the thing though, going back to my opening thought, is that some if not most companies say "yeah we got openings etc...go check online"

ffffffff

i must be doing something wrong.

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there's nothing wrong. at the end of the day it's one HR person behind a desk filtering through a bunch of resumes. of those resumes there are underqualified people, overqualified people, people just right for the job. sometimes these people will get an interview, sometimes they won't. each one has their own techniques to filter through and decide which resumes aren't even worth reading.. etc.

i can tell you if i was in HR i wouldn't be reading each resume thoroughly and jotting down notes as to how qualified each person is. as soon as someone sends me an e-mail recommending someone then chances are they're gonna get the interview first cause

1. less work for me

2. if that person is absolutely useless then i can just blame the recommendation. if he's competent then boom, you're hired and you already know somebody so integration into company culture is already in progress.

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^ true.

just got interviewed today with a private wealth management company. they may have intern position possibly open. seems like a "wealth" of knowledge and resources to be had. not sure if it was my aunt, or because the company is small so they received my application quickly (i got a call literally 1hr or less after submission).

but to tie into what bryan said, it is true about who you know.

other than that, it is a waiting game to hear a call back.

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cover letter:

i am ______ at _____ college. My major is _____. I found your company name through _______ and i believe i can be a good candidate for the position. I am X, Y and Z and can contribute a lot to your organization.

I have attached a brief resume with this. I am available for interview at _______ or whenever. I'll be pleased to meet with you personally to further discuss with you more. Thank you for your time.

feel free to use this outline. Of course, you can do some more adjustment to it and make it more lengthy.

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^^

A cover letter is meant to add a personal touch to your application, think of it as an extension to your resume. You'll want to tailor your cover letter to each employer that you apply to. You can use that space to explain some of the experience that you have in your resume or better explain the qualities that make you well suited for the job.

Attaching a shitty generic cover letter like that will probably get your resume thrown out. Just sayin'.

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question to i wear shooes:

how were you able to get some important work experiences? By "important", i don't mean jobs like the supermarket, local retail shops, etc.

did you have connection with people, with the school, or did you randomly apply to get in?

I been looking into my school's website, went to numerous browsing sites like monster.com, simplyhired, etc and i am having a hard time landing a job/internship. I'm probably still young with zero skills but everyone have to start somewhere, right?

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Get a receptionist or office assistant job. Depending on what you want to do. Companies will hire high school students over the summer for this more than anything else. Filing, basic computer work, and interacting with people makes your resume look nice, especially since its your first job.

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