Get Your Resume Reviewed by an Expert, First 50 OzBargain Users Only

Laudeamus on 12/12/2017 - 11:47
Last edited 26/12/2017 - 08:46 by 1 other user

Update: Merry Christmas everyone! I will be pumping through as many of these as I can this week until the first 2 weeks of the new year.

Update: some people cannot be sent messages due to your settings, please check them before posting a request

Hey Everyone,

After having reviewed resumes for 100s of friends, colleagues, and students I have a knack for reviewing them As such I want to offer to review your resume as a freebie.

After working in both a university careers service as well as having hired multiple interns, volunteers, and staff members across various organisations I know that resumes are a challenge for many.

I am doing this because I have been inspired by my friend @epicsaletime who is helping out 30 OzBargan users in reviewing their LinkedIn profiles. We are having a friendly challenge between us because we want to see how we can potentially make this service commercially viable and we want to to help as many people as possible in the process

I can send you an example of my resume on request and my LinkedIn is also viewable at the link below

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronngan

Important Guidelines: Replace any personal details that you would like as follows: [mobile] etc or use a pseudonym (fictional details)

The following things should also never be on your resume, please take them out before you send your resume:

  • Date of Birth
  • Home Address
  • Gender
  • Religion
  • Ethnicity

These things cannot be part of any hiring decision but avoiding any subconscious bias is in your best interest. It can be tough to mask things like gender and ethnicity if it shows through your name but these do not have to be listed as information dot points at all.

To redeem: please comment below, I cannot yet PM you as I am a new member but I will do so as soon as I can in the order of comments below.

Cheers,

Education & Work

Comments

  • bobbified on 12/12/2017 - 12:25
    +7

    Firstly, let me thank you for offering something to fellow ozbargainers.

    The following things should also never be in your resume, please take them out before you send your resume:
    - Date of Birth
    - Home Address
    - Gender
    - Religion
    - Ethnicity
    These things cannot be part of any hiring decision but avoiding any subconscious bias is in your best interest.

    I don't have all of these items on my own resume, but where an employer is going to judge me on any of them, wouldn't I be better off that they do it before I dress up and waste my time coming in for an interview?

    Even if it's not on the resume, most of those can be guessed with a pretty high degree of accuracy upon sighting the person. (Except, the home address, of course.)

    Genders are quite difficult to hide - for most people, the name would give it away. I've never heard of a dude with Kate or Rosie as a name! haha

    • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2017 - 12:49
      +5

      Including these details would give some people an advantage. I would consider the role being applied for when considering including these details

      • bobbified on 12/12/2017 - 13:32
        +2

        If I was a decent looking chic, I'd even include a picture. (Too bad I'm not!)

        • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 15:00

          Unfortunately, most people who put up photos are competing with professional headshots, (and the photos that are attached are anything but)

          Photos are not recommended for a standard resume. Even if you considered yourself a decent looking chick there is no accounting for taste and I would recommend that the type of employer that would hire you primarily based on appearance is one that is focusing less on things like performance.

        • bobbified on 12/12/2017 - 17:00
          +10

          @audeamus:
          If I was the employer and two people came through the interview with similar experience, similar attitudes and similar everything else, I'd take the better looking one.

          That's just me being honest. haha

        • unwashed00 on 14/12/2017 - 12:40
          +1

          @bobbified: I'm pretty sure there are studies proving that employers do hire based on appearance. Even if subconsciously.

        • Eisa01 on 14/12/2017 - 22:44

          @warsch:

          On the money. I think I read somewhere years ago that there was a percentage advantage: a few percent, but that would be on average. If your better looking, or have a more general appeal, your chances of being hired are better. But you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. It can be easily associated to the human reward center.

        • audeamus on 17/12/2017 - 11:13

          @Eisa01:

          That said, with more than 50% of people who ever get surveyed saying they feel they are MORE attractive than average, who is to say that you putting your photo up will give you that advantage rather than rule you out?

    • peterpeterpumpkin on 12/12/2017 - 13:09

      Just to keep employers on Linkedin on their toes, it might be worth skewing one's gender, ethnicity to be as non-specific as possible using technology (https://corporate.moonjee.com/action/gender.php).

      • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 15:08
        +1

        As an employer I would find any form of lying in a resume (including changing of name/appearance/etc) to better "fit in" to still be disingenuous and I would be unlikely to hire someone who did that.

        I recognise though that there is clear evidence that shows that this type of discrimination does exist. This is not fair and telling people who experience this discrimination that "those are the companies that you don't want to work for anyway" is not really much comfort if you remain short of a job.

        That said, there are ethical employers out there and there is a hidden job market full of opportunities that is harder to access but so much more valuable when you can build yourself up within it.

        Cheers,

        • dealman on 15/12/2017 - 06:04

          Well it doesn't have to be untrue. I've recommended many friends to anglicize their name or use a shorter Anglo version of the name to get markedly better responses.

          It makes a huge difference if employers see a Caucasian name as compared to an Asian name. Personal experience.

        • peterpeterpumpkin on 17/12/2017 - 10:15

          Thanks for the detailed reply.

          Just in case it wasn't clear, my comment was sarcastic and I can't imagine anyone would change their appearance with one of these apps for anything legitimate. It might make an interesting prank video though. If trolling the troll, touché :)

        • audeamus on 17/12/2017 - 11:14

          @peterpeterpumpkin:

          ;)

    • sloshie on 12/12/2017 - 13:26
      +3

      but where an employer is going to judge me on any of them, wouldn't I be better off that they do it before I dress up and waste my time coming in for an interview?

      Or perhaps rather take advantage of the opportunity to challenge their bias in person through presenting your best you and what you can bring to the role. :) Better that than being rejected on a paper assessment, and at the very least you gain further interview experience to take into the next interview!

      • bobbified on 12/12/2017 - 13:30

        take advantage of the opportunity to challenge their bias in person through presenting your best you and what you can bring to the role

        Maybe the above works for you because you're just not as ugly as I am! hahaha

    • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 14:33

      Gender and to an extent ethnicity are tough to hide with some names and you should definitely put your real name. There is no need however to list either of these as a description item.

      Discrimination based on ethnicity is not allowed but there are times when certain attributes are required. e.g. Ability to speak in a certain language, or experience working with XYZ demographics of people. The key thing is that you can have these experiences without necessarily being of a certain ethnicity and as such you should demonstrate your experience and achievements rather than listing an ethnic background.

      As for whether or not to put them on and be ruled out in the first place, the application process (resumes, cover letters, interviews) is designed for companies to weed you out and rule out unsuitable candidates. The strategy for job seekers is to get the highest number of relevant offers so as to be able to make a choice between suitable offers.

      My advice would be to do your best to get the interview and use that interview to demonstrate excitement, enthusiasm, and good cultural fit in the ways that are hard to convey on a piece of paper.

      Hope this helps!

      • Efendy on 12/12/2017 - 16:15

        My advice would be to do your best to get the interview and use that interview to demonstrate excitement, enthusiasm, and good cultural fit in the ways that are hard to convey on a piece of paper.

        You recommend putting in your real name in the resume but this, I believe, vastly reduces my chance of getting an interview being an immigrant.
        What do you suggest to do to get out of this dilemma?

        • bobbified on 12/12/2017 - 17:03

          putting in your real name in the resume but this, I believe, vastly reduces my chance of getting an interview being an immigrant.

          Strange you think that… has something happened to make you think that?

          I've got an ethnic name too and I don't think it's ever hurt my chances of getting an interview.

        • Efendy on 12/12/2017 - 17:25

          @bobbified:

          I have an unpopular middle-eastern name. There have been studies which found westernizing your name increase your chances of getting an interview. Such as this: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/minorities-who-whiten-job-resumes…

          Of course, it can't be applied to all the people who read resumes but my anecdotal experiences (not getting short-listed for a number of applications despite having good qualifications) also supports this finding.

          Simply, I don't want to waste my time applying for jobs with my real name where I would be subconsciously eliminated from a short-list.

          My solution is to get a legal first name and use my real name with an initial if this trend continues. My surname, fortunately, is OK!

        • dealman on 15/12/2017 - 06:06

          @bobbified:

          I've got an ethnic name too and I don't think it's ever hurt my chances of getting an interview

          so you think.. Science and experiments have repeatedly proven otherwise

    • GetOffMyUnicorn on 12/12/2017 - 17:46
      +1

      As a non binary disabled African midget I clearly have an advantage. I'm a box ticker.

      • Antikythera on 14/12/2017 - 17:45
        +2

        my diminutive friend, it is spelled "tickler".

    • pformag on 14/12/2017 - 11:48

      We just went through a hiring process, we google mapped the person address and because they had good looking gardens and nice lawns, we picked them.

      • drewbles on 14/12/2017 - 12:55
        +2

        If any potential employer did that to me, i'd literally be homeless (Streetview hasn't been past my house in the past 4 years, and it's not 4 years old) ;)

    • magic8ballgag on 24/03/2018 - 18:16

      Genders are quite difficult to hide

      I don't think the purpose is to hide it, but more so it's not very relevant to the resume.

  • gaz3342 on 12/12/2017 - 12:39

    Very kind of you OP.

    Interested, PM cannot be sent because you are new. Can you PM me?

  • FireRunner on 12/12/2017 - 12:47
    +4

    I would also say adding in marital status is a big no-no.
    I find that most online job applications asks for DOB, address and gender anyway.
    Also couldn't adding address be an advantage if applying for job nearby?

    • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 14:40

      I agree re: marital status, it is not relevant and unfortunately, many women are unfairly discriminated against because of this.

      In an online application these things can't be avoided. A switched on employer however will redact all such information internally from decision-makers to ensure that they don't make themselves liable for potential discrimination charges. (Sadly those are often very hard to prove)

      Address could be an advantage in this instance however I would advise only to put your suburb/state (e.g. Ultimo, NSW) rather than your full address. This is more to maintain your own privacy than anything else. For locations where you are far away, it is presumed that you are applying to the role and will be able to attend work at the required time and meet your obligations. As such your proximity to work is irrelevant to an employer and should not be considered. Recruiters and candidates are all potentially fallible and no-one is perfect so I would avoid having that factor in their mind (even subconsciously) as something to weigh you up against other potentially suitable candidates. You would not want the company to pick someone to interview over you just because they live closer with all things being equal *(which they never are).

      Hope this helps!

      • pformag on 14/12/2017 - 11:50
        +1

        Can you blame a small business for not hiring a young woman? The chance of pregnancy is higher and the cost on the business does become a factor.

        • BartholemewH on 15/12/2017 - 22:09
          +1

          Yes, everyone can now be blamed for everything. It's a recent development.

        • muncan on 16/12/2017 - 00:51

          @BartholemewH: This is fantastic news! I’m looking forward to blaming a lot of people now for the inconveniences in my seemingly modern life.

  • kusama on 12/12/2017 - 13:03

    Interested :)

  • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2017 - 13:25
    +8

    please take them out before you send your resume:
    - Date of Birth
    - Home Address
    - Gender
    - Religion
    - Ethnicity

    Given my poor education, no hobbies or interests and no employment history these are the only particulars I have to offer in my resumé. I guess I can send them my name. Do I include my middle name or just the initial?

    • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 14:44
      +1

      Someone has previously raised religion and asked if they should therefore avoid listing their volunteering in their church on their resume. The short answer is that they should keep it as it demonstrates certain skills and levels of committment.

      If you do not have education/work experience/hobbies/or interests I would encourage you to seek opportunities in your local community or nearby major city to volunteer or contribute to the community.

      You can develop valuable skills and experience in this way. Many organisations (including my own) value the efforts of volunteers and work hard to provide experiences that will boost your career.

      Using either your middle initial or your full middle name is fine. Your first and last name should be in full always.

    • GetOffMyUnicorn on 12/12/2017 - 17:51

      Just put professional ozbargainer, winner winner chicken dinner.

      • GregRust on 15/12/2017 - 10:16

        Unless applying for a job at Harvey Norman?

    • [Deactivated] on 15/12/2017 - 07:51
      +2

      Include life skills. For example, when applying for a computer tech job I put:

      Competent with the installation, maintaining and upgrading of internal computer hardware.

      In reality:
      I built a computer 3 or 4 years beforehand. I had no professional experience.

  • Mikinoz on 12/12/2017 - 13:31

    Interested, although would you not need an email an email address to view said resume and send back with your feedback?

    • Ryanek on 12/12/2017 - 14:14

      Just make sure your email address isn't [email protected]

      • Mikinoz on 12/12/2017 - 14:30

        Hahaha, dam its close

        • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 14:46

          yep we've already reviewed [email protected]'s resume, it was very colourful!

          yes, you're spot on in that the resume would likely need an email, but other options for the

          Those guidelines are mainly for anyone who wishes to maintain some privacy, most people are not that concerned when getting their resume reviewed about this but I am happy to help regardless of your inclinations to privacy.

          If someone didn't want to send one in via email we could very well use dropbox or similar to upload the file, this type of back and forth however would reduce the amount of time I would have to effectively review the resume though. Up to you!

        • Mikinoz on 12/12/2017 - 14:53

          @megasaletime: Sounds good to me, im happy to provide an email. So do you PM ppl who are keen or do we wait for your user account to be available to PM?

        • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 15:01

          @Mikinoz:

          Yep it goes both ways i think, as I created this account at around 1:30am this morning it seems I can't PM (or be PM'd) for the first 24 hours,

          I will PM everyone then with instructions.

  • Rockhard on 12/12/2017 - 13:47

    I'm interested too. Will send you a pm soon

  • Kingfabay on 12/12/2017 - 14:10

    Im interested too!

  • mitmiu on 12/12/2017 - 14:23

    I'm interested. Thanks

  • Almost Banned on 12/12/2017 - 14:49
    +4

    if I don't have my home address on my resume how will they know where to send the rejection letter?

    • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 15:02
      +1

      you'd be lucky these days if you received any correspondence via mail just to knock back a resume. most resumes that do not get past first sweep don't get a response sadly.

      • Jofzar on 14/12/2017 - 21:37

        Your lucky to even get a response on the second round interviews I found

  • Davo1111 on 12/12/2017 - 15:32
    +3

    These things cannot be part of any hiring decision but avoiding any subconscious bias is in your best interest.

    I can see 2 sides to this, even if you do get to the next stage of the hiring process, depending on what it is, they could work it out during the interview, and discount you anyway.

    In the same way that people advertise for "asians only" or "female only", yeah i think it's shit, but at least they're not wasting my time.

    • smpantsonfire on 14/12/2017 - 18:57

      But at least you have a chance to sell yourself.

      • Davo1111 on 14/12/2017 - 23:59

        If the person is biased, I doubt it's going to change their opinion

  • Latino on 12/12/2017 - 15:42

    Im interested too!

  • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2017 - 16:25

    Did the op change username?

    Or am I just going silly?

    • audeamus on 12/12/2017 - 16:40

      Yep! I created the first one as a joke because my mate @epicsaletime kicked this off by doing the LinkedIn reviews,

      I decided to change it something I use a bit more often (which also felt less spammy than #megasaletime)

      Sorry team, still figuring out OzBargains a bit!

      • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2017 - 16:48
        +4

        All good

        Just going to add observant to my skills section

        • [Deactivated] on 14/12/2017 - 17:11
          +1

          You are a tightarse knockoff!

  • ropdoh on 12/12/2017 - 16:41

    I'm interested to see what you have to say, so please add me to the list. Thanks.

  • Toph Beifong on 12/12/2017 - 17:28

    Also interested, thank you for providing such an amazing service OP, ozbargain members really do appreciate this kind of stuff.

  • Duc on 12/12/2017 - 18:24

    I am interested. Thanks

  • beefabear77 on 12/12/2017 - 19:39

    Interested!

  • DoctorCalculon on 12/12/2017 - 19:46

    Count me in. Thank you so much for this valuable service, OP.

  • lainey13 on 12/12/2017 - 20:15

    I'm interested! Looking to get out :)

  • borntospeed on 12/12/2017 - 22:46

    I'm interested too! Count me in :)

  • mezzmorized on 13/12/2017 - 07:25

    I'm interested. Thanks for offering.

  • jag121 on 13/12/2017 - 07:53

    Thanks for the offer. I would like to participate please.

  • mvbc85 on 13/12/2017 - 08:23

    I'm interested. Cheers!

  • MGDT on 13/12/2017 - 09:33

    I'm interested. Thank you.

    • audeamus on 15/12/2017 - 13:16

      Can't PM you mate, PM me and i'll send you instructions

  • nutbunny on 13/12/2017 - 09:56

    I'm interested too. Thanks.

  • gormsby on 13/12/2017 - 10:39

    I'm interested

  • CodeXD on 13/12/2017 - 14:26

    Interested! Please PM :)

  • SlickMick on 13/12/2017 - 15:11

    I'm interested. My wife was furious with me because she submitted my resume to her boss, then when she looked at it she reckons it's rubbish and no wonder I can't get a job!! :)

  • audeamus on 13/12/2017 - 15:26

    Hi Team, i've now been on OzBargain for more than 24 hours, i'm going to start sending out PMs with instructions in small batches so I will get to yours shortly if you have indicated "you're interested" or "count me in" or anything similar

    also feel free to PM me and I will send you the instructions and put you in the queue as per this thread.

    Thanks!

  • jimbargain on 13/12/2017 - 17:46

    Ive commented in @epicsaletime forum thread - im assuming i would make it onto their best effort list? Not sure if im supposed to comment on here as well or not. Im intrested depending on whoever is available :)

  • LesDon on 13/12/2017 - 19:18

    Interested! thanks.

  • tecnica on 14/12/2017 - 10:14

    Interested, Thanks in advance

  • porleng on 14/12/2017 - 10:20

    Interested.

  • Ottah on 14/12/2017 - 10:35

    Interest as well for my wife's résumé.

  • ssjgesus on 14/12/2017 - 10:37

    interested, thanks

  • Shadowsfury on 14/12/2017 - 10:40

    Interested in case there's a waitlist

  • jc11 on 14/12/2017 - 11:02

    Interested as well, if there's still spots available, thank you.

    • audeamus on 15/12/2017 - 13:33

      you'll have to PM me, you don't accept new PMs
      Cheers,

  • murkywater on 14/12/2017 - 11:15

    Im interested!

  • Danger on 14/12/2017 - 11:23

    I'm Interested. Thanks

  • G-Dawg on 14/12/2017 - 11:30

    Interested!

  • xabiso on 14/12/2017 - 11:37

    Hope I'm not too late! Interested.

  • kainomac on 14/12/2017 - 11:40

    I'm in, thank you!

    • audeamus on 15/12/2017 - 13:35

      can't PM you, your settings don't accept new conversations,
      PM me please

  • pinchies on 14/12/2017 - 11:51

    I’m interested too! Thanks.

  • fioney on 14/12/2017 - 12:20

    If not too late me too please! Thanks

    • audeamus on 15/12/2017 - 13:35

      can't PM you, your settings don't accept new conversations,
      PM me please

  • simowns on 14/12/2017 - 12:39

    I am interested as well if there is still space!

  • ruku on 14/12/2017 - 12:40

    I would be grateful for your help, too. I haven't read all of the comments fully but I think I counted the number of requests and is at about 26.

    • audeamus on 15/12/2017 - 13:35

      can't PM you, your settings don't accept new conversations,
      PM me please

  • pod67 on 14/12/2017 - 12:49

    Interested, thanks.

  • fryandlaurie on 14/12/2017 - 12:55

    I'm very keen to get reviewed if you still have the capacity. Thank you.

  • moflare on 14/12/2017 - 13:10

    interested, thank you

    • audeamus on 15/12/2017 - 13:56

      Heya, I can’t PM you as your settings don’t allow it, can you PM me and I’ll send instructions

      • moflare on 16/12/2017 - 23:40

        amended thanks

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