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Boardman library offers resume writing class
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Kelly Kotel led off the resume writing class at the Boardman library. Kotel, a librarian at the Canfield library, gave a step-by-step presentation on writing a better resume.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Joe Kotel (left) and his wife Kelly gave a presentation at the Boardman library about better resume writing. Joe spoke of the need to tailor your resume to each individual company you apply to.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Kelly Kotel began the resume writing class at the Boardman library. She said one of the most common mistakes job applicants make on their resumes are typos and out of date information.
By TIM CLEVELAND
Area residents were offered a chance to learn better resume writing with a presentation at the Boardman library on Nov. 6.
Canfield librarian Kelly Kotel and her husband Joe, HR representative at global sourcing company Discover Global, gave a one-hour talk on how to write better resumes to better sell themselves to potential employers.
“We talk about very basic step-by-step,” Kelly said. “Assuming you have a blank piece of paper in front of you, what do you put on it. You need your contact information, you need a summary, you need education, work history and any kind of skills. I kind of walk you through how to create one, how to write impressive stuff.”
Kotel spoke on some of the more common mistakes people make on their resumes.
“It could range from as simple as typos, misspellings, out of date information, which are so easy to fix,” she said. “Probably the biggest problem is that people talk about themselves; ‘I can do this job, I’m ready to challenge myself.’ The employers don’t really care. They want to know what you can do for their company.”
Joe Kotel spoke about what HR professionals look for when they examine resumes they receive.
“I’m going to try and give people an idea what’s going to catch my attention in good ways and catch my attention in bad ways,” he said. “A strong submission will get my attention and want me to bring them in for an interview. They should really sell themselves well. They have the opportunity to take the time and develop that.”
Kelly Kotel said job applicants needs to take extra time making sure everything on their resume looks good, plus use resources that are available to help them.
“A lot of editing. Take a lot of time and borrow,” she said. “There are a lot of templates online. Tweak it until it becomes your own. You’re going to spend a lot of time polishing it, a lot of time fixing it. It’s a little bit of patience. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The library’s here to help. We’ve got lots of books and information to help people if they need it.”
Joe Kotel said applicants should not send out a mass resume to multiple employers. Instead, they should research the companies they are trying to join and tailor their resumes and cover letters to each individual company.
“Tailor it to the job,” he said. “Demonstrate through your resume and cover letter that you’re a strong candidate for this particular position. A lot of times you see they didn’t do their homework or you can tell it’s a mass resume that was sent out. You can tell they sent it to every position available.”