Monthly Archives: March 2016

Resume Mistakes To Avoid

March 29, 2016

resumeWhile technology and the internet have dramatically changed the way we search for jobs, one thing still remains constant: the resume. Even if you are conducting your job search entirely online, your resume is still a necessary component in the process. You may have updated it to include all of your career accomplishments, training,awards and certifications, but there are also several things you need to make sure that it doesn’t include.

• Leave overly personal information off your resume:  no social security numbers, marital status, family blogs, pictures, or information unrelated to your skills and work experience.

• References and salary requirements should not be included on your resume. If an employer requests this information, references should be presented on a separate page and salary requirements can be included in a cover letter.

• Limit the use of jargon or specific industry terms unless they are directly relevant to the position for which you are applying.

• Limit your use of bolding, italics and underlining – too much of these can clutter the content. Use a standard font like Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman and use that font consistently throughout all documents.

• Your resume should be free of all spelling and grammatical errors. Always have someone read your resume before sending it. Attention to detail can very easily put your resume on the top of the pile; failure to fix errors quickly moves you to the bottom.

• Present yourself accurately at all times. Never lie. Companies have the time and resources to verify your background information including education and employment history.

If you haven’t done it recently, ask a friend or colleague review your resume. Get their honest feedback and make improvements. You can also get constructive feedback on your resume from a staffing service. At Allied we always provide our candidates with tips and advice to help them improve their resumes and their chances of landing the job.

What’s Your Career Path?

March 14, 2016

One of the best things about what we do at Allied is helping our employees develop the skills and experience that they need in order to have successful, fulfilling careers.  Sometimes that means providing them with an opportunity that will lead to full-time hire by our client companies, and sometimes it means giving them a chance to learn new skills and grow into a new career.  It’s especially rewarding when our client companies recognize this unique aspect of temporary employment and share feedback with us on the growth of our employees.  We just heard great things about one of our employees–he is doing an excellent job on his assignment–but the best thing his supervisor had to say about him was this:

path_fork“Brian will be developing his technical and mechanical capabilities as well as logistical skills which will help him for future opportunities within the QA Technician career path.”

Helping our employees succeed over the long term is always our priority, and giving them the opportunities to be successful and progress down a strong career path is one of the best ways we can do that.  Temporary assignments can expose you to new companies, new skill sets, and new opportunities you may not have otherwise known existed.

Allied has worked with the best companies in the Lehigh Valley for over 31 years, and we can help you with both short-term (A job! Money!) and long-term (New skills! A career path!) career goals.  Visit our Allentown or Easton offices today to see how we can help you.