RESUME SERVICES The resume is more than just information about yourself. It is an important marketing tool and its objective is to get you noticed and your foot in the door. The interest of the recruiter needs to be captured in the time it takes to scan the first page of your resume. To avoid the common fate of rejection, it is worthwhile to check your resume for the following fatal errors: · LEADING OFF WITH INFORMATION THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT. Beginning a resume with a description of your first job may have no bearing on what you are doing now. Take a lead from the newspaper journalists – the lead paragraph in a story always contain the most important facts, with the subsequent facts in descending order of importance. · USING JARGON TO DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT JOB. Don’t expect the prospective employer to try and interpret the jargon of your organization. It is better to use plain English and to be concise. · WRITING LONG BORING JOB DESCRIPTIONS. Half the words could be cut out from most resumes and still convey the message. Quality and choice of words are more important than quantity. · PUTTING INFORMATION IN A CONFUSING WAY. Never mind what the “experts” tell you, but avoid functional resumes at all costs. These resumes organize work experience according to different skills and projects. Career counselors say such resumes can be very useful for people wishing to switch careers or who are still in entry-level positions, because it can highlight experience that might get lost in a more conventional presentation. But the frustration for the recruiter is that these resumes do not tell where you have worked in, in what capacity and when. Most prefer chronological resumes. Special skills, goals, or experience can be highlighted at the top of your resume or your cover letter instead. · ASSUMING THAT EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR WITH YOUR CURRENT COMPANY. Always include in your resume a brief description of your present employer and the business it is in. · FAILING TO PLACE YOUR JOB WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE. A job title and who you report to does not say very much. The recruiter wants to know how your job relates to the rest of the organization – is it by line? By subsidiary? By project? Geographically? Who are your peers and your direct reports? · FAILING TO REVEAL DATES. This is an irritable information gap, which raises unnecessary questions about age, experience, qualifications and career gaps. · GETTING CARRIED AWAY IN THE PERSONAL AREA. Personal accomplishments should appear provided they are important and relevant. Be careful and selective. Participation in a marathon could show you are persistent and competitive, but sailing could sound snobbish. · INFLATING ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Some people think they are improving their chances but recruiters see these as questionable judgements and ethics. Serious instances could result in criminal charges by employers. If you need help in re-writing or re-formatting your resume in the way professional recruiters present resume reports, CLYDE offers to do this through our resume service. Just send us your resume plus a fee of US$50/- in favor of georgeteo@clydesing.com. Payments will only be accepted through PayPal. Individuals registered with CLYDE’s Job Alert & Referral Service will also enjoy a preferential charge of only US$40/- for the resume service.
Get That Testimonial!!
The boom years when jobs were plentiful have relegated the importance of employment testimonials to just another piece of paper. As a result, many have not bothered to ask for one from their bosses when resigning from their jobs, and even expressed surprise when they are requested to produce testimonials. Unfortunately, this could mean the difference between winning or losing that all important job opportunity in the competitive employment market of today.
A testimonial from a well-respected superior goes a long way towards corroborating your career accomplishments and attainments. A well written testimonial can also serve to highlight your management style, strengths, personal qualities that the prospective employer may be looking out for. In this regard, it could be as important as a reference check. Generally, a testimonial is not given lightly, as they are a reflection of the judgement, values and therefore, reputation of the person writing it. Testimonials from different superiors also serve to confirm your performance over time.
THE ONLY WAY IS UP Demand for talented engineers has outstripped supply in Southern China. Companies are having a hard time recruiting, and holding on to staff has also become difficult. This demand covers all engineering disciplines as growth across Southern Asia drives rapid development. Engineers are needed for a huge range of projects, from major construction works in Macau and Southern China to smaller engineering projects unrelated to construction. Even organizations such as the investment banks are looking to hire people from an engineering background. As a result salary for engineers has gone through the roof. Those who are making a move can expect a 15% increase or higher. Experienced engineers in managerial positions are commanding annual salaries of between HK$750,000 to HK$950,000. December 2006
CFO’s ROLE SEEN FILLED BY MORE THAN ONE EXEC Demands placed on chief financial officers getting strenuous, diverse The demands placed on CFOs have become so strenuous and diverse that companies will increasingly fill the role with more than one person. The prediction comes from Martin Fahy, director of development at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Asia Pacific. “Everybody is looking at this great person who can do everything. But when you come down to it, you ask, which hat do you want me to wear?” The role of CFO has evolved in recent years. The new model is about value and growth and opportunity as opposed to the old which was all about control and risk. Today’s CFO is not just the chief accountant. Considerable emphasis is also placed on value creation and sustaining growth. The CFO is now called on to handle treasury, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), investor relations, strategic finance and planning. And after the corporate scandals at Enron, WorldCom and Tyco, the CFO must bear the increasingly heavy responsibility of compliance. Stricter regulations, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, were put in place in the US and there international financial reporting standards have been toughened. But all this demands a “super-CFO” who may not exist. “Organizations are going to come down on one side or the other,” said Dr. Fahy. In some, the CFO will remain the chief financial controller. In others the CFO will act as the chief financial strategist, with perhaps a vice-president looking at controls and compliance. The chief financial strategist will handle things like M&As. He will be the business partner of the CEO. And there need not be tension between the two roles. The chief financial controller makes sure all the necessary controls are in place, allowing the chief financial strategist to drive the business forward with the confidence the company has the ability to take risks. “It’s a balance,” Dr. Fahy said. “Shareholder value is ultimately the objective.” Ironically, while new demands have changed the role of CFOs, corporate scandals have re-emphasized their traditional role in compliance and as gatekeepers. But too much emphasis on this may not be healthy, according to Dr. Fahy. Companies may become reluctant to embrace risk and CFOs may be distracted from the main agenda of creating shareholder value. “We need to get away from the idea that someone is always running away with the money in the middle of the night,” he said. “Most of the time, no one is running away with the money.” CFOs – and those in the accounting profession – cannot be expected to police everyone. Building the right corporate culture may be the better approach. “The suggestion is that other parts of the business cannot be trusted. But I think this view that we somehow have a monopoly on integrity is hilarious,” Dr. Fahy said. Most of us know what is right or wrong, whether we are accountants or not. More and more, the right values and beliefs have to be incorporated into everyone in the organization. DECEMBER 2006 | 
