Blog - 1 Stop HR

September 5, 2012 by 1 Stop HR Consulting

How Does Your Resume Rate?

Are you confident in your resume or does it make you feel queasy? I cannot tell you how many people contact me with resumes that are screaming out “HELP!”. Let me give you a few quick tips to help make sure you don’t need to reach for the Gravol when you take a look at your resume!

1. The Length of your Resume:

Don’t – unless absolutely necessary or required, exceed the 2 page mark. Quite often resumes I receive contain much more information than required and what ends up happening is the individual
receiving the resume loses interest as soon as they spot the resume is pages and pages long. Condense information wherever possible and leave the extra points for interview discussions.

2. Objectives:

This is a personal pet peeve. Maybe it is because I have seen so many “drab” objectives like:
“Objective: To obtain a job as a Customer Service Agent at ABC Company.” Well, isn’t that exciting, thrilling and eye catching! Not! Look for a way to spice this up a bit. What can you do to stand out?

3. Spelling & Grammar:

Oh the spelling… Spell check was created for a reason – use it! BUT, remember that spell check does not catch everything. Read, Read Read your resume over. Have someone else read it.
Read it backwards….yes this may sound like a funny comment, but sometimes you can find a word that isn’t right. If English is not your first language and you are submitting an English resume – ensure you have someone review it prior to submitting it.

4. Formatting:

Don’t use many different fonts throughout your resume. You want to keep your resume eye appealing but not distracting. If you are submitting a cover letter – ensure it is in the same font as
your resume to ensure the consistent flow.

5. White Space:

A resume is appealing to the eye when there is extra white space on the page. Don’t feel the need to jam-pack your resume with information.

These are just a few tips to help you on your way. If you are struggling – reach out to an expert.
We are always ready and willing to help pave the way to a successful, professional resume!

info@1stophrconsulting.com www.1stophrconsulting.com

August 30, 2012 by 1 Stop HR Consulting

1 Stop HR August 2012 Summary

Boss Can Break the Chain that Leads to Stress

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/human-resources/boss-can-break-the-chain-that-leads-to-stress/article4097191/

How do you treat your ex employees?

What happens when an employee puts in their resignation at your company? How do you treat your ex employees? Here is a great little article on this subject.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/treat-ex-employees-right-and-theyll-come-back/article551550/

Workshops

Looking for a certain workshop for your Management Team or Employees? Let us know, we have a variety of workshops we can produce for you. Succession Planning, Motivation, Stress Management, Conflict Management…etc. Contact us today to find out more!

Leadership

“The great leaders are like the best conductors – they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.” –Blaine Lee

The Importance of Employee Recognition Programs

Found a short U.S. article on the importance of Employee Recognition Programs…take a look, some interesting facts… http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/08/employee-recognition-programs.html

August 28, 2012 by 1 Stop HR Consulting

Sharing Financials with Employees

Do you share the financial status of your company with all employees? Assuming you are a private company and are not required to disclose your financial information – do you believe it is important to keep all employees “in the know?” A survey was completed by Robert Half Resources that found the following:

76% – No, we don’t share financial information with employees

17% – Yes, we share financial information with select employees

7% – Yes, we share financial information with all employees

Robert Half suggests that if you are able to find a few basic metrics that are easily understood by the majority, that this would give staff a much better understanding of the challenges businesses face and give them a taste of the course of business.

Think about how you could use this information, involve your team members and motivate them to improve metrics, reward them for metrics achieved and continually encourage involvement to improve the numbers. Look at how you could build more comradely!

A couple of notes to be aware of. Robert Half explains that you want to ensure when you provide this information, that you provide context. Let employees know how their work contributes to the bottom line – show how it can impact it in a positive way and a negative way.

When there is bad news ensure this gets communicated too! If you don’t do this, employees will not have a taste of reality and it may also breed rumours.

By ensuring that your staff are involved in the financials, showing how their contributions impact the bottom line, you are involving them in the process. Involve them also in cost cutting measures and ways your business brings in money. Remember to reward them for new ideas and cost saving measures.

Some information for this article was taken from: http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/HR-Administration/Communication/3-reasons-to-update-employees-on-financial-perform/?source=RSA&effort=4

August 22, 2012 by 1 Stop HR Consulting

Job Seeker Tips for “DON’T’S” in Interviews

Job Seeker Tips for “DON’T’S” in Interviews

If you have reviewed the other two articles – “Job Seeker Tips for “Do’s” in Interviews” Part 1 and Part 2 you will have a good idea as to what to DO before, during and after your interview. What about the “Don’t’s”? Yes, there actually are some DON’T’S!

I could start by giving you the pointer around spouses and the tip NOT to bring them to your interview. Yes, this did happen. Someone brought their spouse to their interview and the spouse was not pleased when she was not let into the interview room to be with her husband
during his interview. So…tip here…as much as you love your spouse, please plan to attend
the actual interview on your own. 🙂

OK, now to the general DON’T’S…

DON’T:

Wear too Much Cologne or Perfume

So this doesn’t mean don’t shower and arrive with B.O. but it doesn’t mean bathe in cologne or perfume either. You may think you have a beautiful scent and you may, but too much of it can overpower the room and turn the attention away from the task at hand. It can also make interviewers very uncomfortable should they have an allergy.

Leave Your Cell Phone On

Please remember to – just like the movies – turn your cell phone off. How embarrassing would it be should you receive a call during your interview? It is extremely disrespectful to accept a phone call during the interview – yes this has happened as well. So, remember before entering the interview room to ensure your phone is set to “silent”.

Be Late

Being timely is extremely important. Being late sends all kinds of negative messages that you don’t want to send. Know where you are going, research it and ensure to arrive 10 minutes or so beforehand.

Curse or Swear

Do you have a potty mouth? Well if so, leave it at home. The interview is where you need to be on your best behaviour. Flush that potty mouth and bit your tongue!

Talk Badly About your Previous Employers

When you talk badly about your previous employers, you make the interviewers wonder about
who you really are. You never know either if they may know the company you are speaking about.
Always do your best to talk about previous employers in a positive light – or don’t go deep into detail if there was a negative situation.

Lie or Make up Stories

Usually we as interviewers can tell if you are making up a story, either that or should you be hired, it may one day come out. The best practice is to be truthful about your accomplishments,
responsibilities and history.

Oversell Yourself or Sound Desperate

Some people when they are extremely interested in a job, they present themselves as being so
full of energy and so positive it is almost overwhelming. Contrast this to others who almost beg you to give them the job. This doesn’t give the interviewer a good impression.

Be unprepared

Ensure you have researched the company and you are coming prepared with information on the
job and details of the company. Review their mission statement, and any details you can on their website to be prepared. Have questions ready to ask should you be given the opportunity. Practice your interviewing skills – be ready for a variety of different questions. Bring extra up to date copies of your resume. Review our “To-Do’s”.

Ok, as I promised you some Doozies… Here is a list to make you chuckle – these did actually happen during the many years of interviewing:

Don’t:

* Come to the interview with something hanging out of your nose
* Pick your nose during the interview ·
* Sneeze on the interviewer
* Come to the interview without knowing anything about the company or job you have applied for
and ask for the title of the job that you applied to
* Arrive an hour late and expect to just be “fit in” for an interview without offering an apology or even
a call as to why you were late
* Insult the interviewer(s) or company
* Beg for the job
* Take over the interview
* Offer a book of an answer to simple questions
* Crack rude jokes
* Insult the sex of the interviewer letting them know that their sex is not superior

There are so many more, but I think you get the picture 🙂 We wish you the very best with your interviewing and hope that these articles have helped you to prepare. Please note that 1 Stop
HR provides in depth interview training that is geared directly to the type of job you are applying to.
If we can help you with this, or with a professional Canadian/US resume, please do not hesitate to contact us for a quotation.

www.1stophrconsulting.com
Email us at:
info@1stophrconsulting.com