What Do Employers Want Anyway?

As I read through some of the thousands of resumes submitted to JobOpenings.net every day, I am struck by how many do not seem to have even the vaguest notion that potential employers will be reading their resumes.  If they did, they would not list as their employment objective “A job that will offer me the opportunity for advancement” or other similarly phrased career objectives.  The focus of both the cover letter and the résumé is on the needs and desires of the job seeker.

 

 

As an employer, I may see resumes from thousands of job seekers.  Not only am I not able to help all of them realize their dreams, I have no desire or motivation to do so.  Employers are rarely in the business of helping you realize your dreams.  If anything, they are far more interested in their own dreams.  Employers are looking for people who will help their company make more money than those people will cost the company.   Otherwise, there is no business motivation to hire anyone at all, right?

 

 

Ideal job candidates will:

• Have experience doing the actual job that is available.
• Have a history of being a reliable, competent employee
• Be loyal to the new employer
• Get along well with current employees of the company
• Be trained or educated at a level needed by the current position being filled
• Have demonstrated the ability to make positive contributions to the company’s profitability
• Be able to learn new tasks quickly
• Have a good work ethic
• Be able to work with reasonably little supervision
• Be conscientious about preserving or improving the level of quality the company currently enjoys.
• Be a real asset to the company.

Have you read your resume recently from the prospective of your future employer?  Does your resume display any of the traits of the job candidate your future employer would want?  If all you have accomplished on your resume is to list your former jobs, your awards and your education, you probably have addressed none of the needs of the recruiter, human resources staff or manager who will be reading your resume.

You may need to highlight a few choice accomplishments at your most recent job.  For example, did you make a good suggestion that saved the company time and/or money?  Did you do anything better, faster or more efficiently than prior people in your position?  Most employees can point to several things along those lines without giving away any trade secrets.

If you have never had a paid position, you may need to mention the organizational skills you used on one of your volunteer positions or even a group project at school.  Almost everyone can find some kind of evidence in their past of some of the items listed above.   This is an area where a professional resume writer or employment counselor can be particularly valuable.

Also, it may help you to talk it over with a family member or a friend.  Once you realize how much you have to offer, find ways to get that information to your employer.  You have 5 opportunities to do this: 1. your resume, 2. your cover letter, 3. letters of recommendation 4. the interview, and your follow-up thank you letter.  Your task is to make a list of all of your positive qualities that will interest your future employer and then decide which of the five methods would be best to use to convey that information.

Finding all of your fine qualities will not only help you construct a more informative resume package, it will give you greater confidence as you look for a job.  Job hunting is always easier when you believe in yourself first!