​A layoff can create gaps on your resume, however, there are a few things you can do to address the layoff, so that prospective companies do not penalize you for any gaps in employment. During the period of transition when you are looking for a job after a layoff, it is the perfect opportunity to update your skills and to use your time off in productive ways. Consider doing some of the following activities.Be open to other employment options such as part-time work, working on projects, temporary assignments, or consulting in areas where you have experience and expertise. Volunteering for an organization where you can gain new skills and experience is another option. If you decide to volunteer, don’t forget to add the new information in the Experience section of your resume. This is especially helpful if you are looking to switch careers. Additionally, look for organizations that offer internships for adults.Related to the point above, during your time off, consider investing in your career by going back to school and taking classes to update your skills. This will demonstrate to prospective employers that lifelong learning is important to you, and that you are someone who capitalizes on opportunities. Include your professional development activities on your resume.Use a functional resume to direct the hiring manager’s attention to the results you delivered in the past, your industry-related strengths, achievements and expertise, your transferable skills, your updated skills and experience acquired while off work. You can consider using only years and not months on your functional resume, but if you decide to go this route, be consistent, using years for other previous positions held.Although these activities will enable you to address layoffs on your resume when you spend your time off productively, you should be thoughtful about the process, because every step that you take, should lead you closer to securing a new job. And in the event that you have to explain a layoff in a job interview, be honest about what happened, but present it in a positive light. For instance, “My competencies and expertise were not the right fit for my previous employer’s needs, but it looks like they’d be a good fit in your organization.” And if they are concerned about how long you have been unemployed, simply say that you took time to reflect on what’s next for you, and that you are also being selective about your next move. Then without missing a beat, describe how the position aligns perfectly with your expertise.This article is contributed by Right Management, www.rightmanagement.sg, the global career experts within the ManpowerGroup.

​Want your resume to look cutting edge? These digital tools can help tune up a resume for a digital format without any special coding or technical skills.​The days of mailing your physical resume to human resources or a recruiter are long gone. Today, almost everything is conducted online. So why continue to adhere to the convention of a boring, text-heavy, single-page resume?  It does makes sense to use the traditional resume format in most formal job interview situations. However, for professions that call for more creativity, you can set yourself apart by breaking free of the format everyone else is using and taking advantage of online tools.  Fortunately, there are digital resume services that can help tune up a resume for a digital format without any special coding or technical skills. Here are some of those tool that will help you dazzle employers with your digital resume.   Standard Resume Website: https://standardresume.coIf you want to be web friendly but don’t want to break too much with tradition, Standard Resume will give you the best of both worlds. Standard Resume converts your LinkedIn profile into an elegant one-page website that looks like the traditional resume. It converts the data on LinkedIn in seconds, and allows you to customize or delete any individual sections. The finished resume is mobile friendly and convenient to send online.  VisualCV Website: https://www.visualcv.comFlair is the focus of VisualCV. The online tool allows users to add photos or graphics to their resume, select sample templates based on industry type, or outsource their design to a team that will format a CV or resume. Once the resume is finished, VisualCV will generate a URL for the design that can be shared in social media and indexed by search engines.  Cake ResumeWebsite: www.cakeresume.comWhile many other resume builders let users choose a template, Cake Resume takes customization one step further by allowing users to select the individual design components of a resume. Do you want to add a video, a quote or a slide to your resume? Just drag and drop that section into your template. Do you want to add a link to Twitter or GitHub? Add or delete these icons. After you are finished, Cake Resume lets you publish your page to the web and then monitor statistics of how many people are viewing your page.  Remember, whether you are creating your resume in Microsoft Word or VisualCV, there’s always a temptation to add more bells and whistles to your design. But your goal should be to let your qualifications shine through in an easy-to-read format. Keep that in mind when updating your resume for the digital world.  ​This article is contributed by Right Management, www.rightmanagement.sg, the global career experts within the ManpowerGroup.

​Getting the job interview in today's competitive job search environment means creating a resume that stands out in the crowd. Here are five hacks that will do just that.Writing a resume is one of the most important career management tasks you can do. The key is to write it in such a way that it stands out from the crowd. That doesn't mean using colored paper and large, interesting fonts. Those tricks don't work, and they're just as likely to get your resume sent to File 13. Follow these five tips to make simple improvements to your resume that really make you stand out from your job search competitors: Customize your resume by using words pulled from the job description. You'll impress your potential interviewer if you use the language they used in their job ad. Read the job description carefully, and when you describe duties and achievements at previous jobs, use the words you find in the job description to show that you have the requisite experience.Give your resume a title.Most job seekers don't do this. They just put their name and contact information at the top of the resume and hope it catches someone's attention. If you give your resume a suitable title that is relevant to the job you are seeking, it is more likely to catch its reviewer's attention and land you a job interview.Bold important words.You have six seconds to grab the reader's attention. By bolding important words in your resume, you make it easier for the reviewer to find the information they are looking for, which will save them time and increase your chances for a job interview.Make it scannable.Today's interviewing managers spend a lot of time online reading blogs, website content, and other online copy that is easy to scan. Make your resume scannable by using bullet points, lots of white space, subheads, and other visual features.Customize to the job you are applying for.That includes keywords that will make your resume search engine friendly and increase your chances of getting the job interview because you make it easy for the person reviewing resumes to see if you have the necessary skills to perform the job.By making your resume easier to scan, read, and discover your most valuable skills, you will save the resume reviewer time and present yourself as a more valuable candidate for the job. That will increase your chances of landing the job interview so that you can close the sale and land the job.

​A recent college graduate is considering adding relevant and substantive evidence of on-campus leadership to her resume. She was a 3-year officer of a very active and visible group on campus, leading efforts to bring in nationally known guest speakers, arranging campus rallies, and posting the group’s activities and viewpoints on a range of social media and web-based sites. The group, by the way, was the leading advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students. She has no other leadership roles to list. Should she put this on her resume? A 35-year old African American CPA is ready to leave public accounting for an in-house accounting role, and is putting his resume together. He was named to the “100 Most Influential African American Residents” list in his home town this year, and is an active fundraiser for his alma mater, Howard University. He was President of his college’s chapter of Alpha Pi Alpha. Should he list these accolades and accomplishments?  While social media may be breaking some of these old rules, when it comes to your resume, we are still not quite there yet with the types of information you reveal. As a rule, do not include information that is illegal for the prospective employer to ask, in addition to other ‘no-nos’. So for now, here’s a list of what not to put on your resume: AgeHeightWeightPhotoMarital statusReligious affiliationPolitical affiliationSexual orientationEthnicityNumber of childrenSocial security numberSalary informationJobs you held while in high schoolHome ownership statusDetails about your petsNegative details such as a criminal recordEarly/Unrelated ExperienceMinute details about positions held When reviewing your resume, be sure that it does not reflect: Unfocused career objectiveIrrelevant job experienceUnusual hobbies that have nothing to do with the job being applied forUnprofessional email addressesThat you were fired from a job and reason for terminationFalse information Following these resume writing tips will prevent your resume from being filtered out during the screening process.

From personal websites to social networking, job seekers have a wide variety of tools and resources to help them land a new job. With all these options, don't forget the importance of a solid resume.Modern job seekers enjoy the benefit of many helpful tools and resources to assist in their search. From social media and online job boards to professional recruiting agencies, there are so many new things to try to expand your network and help you stand out. As you're experimenting with these new resources, it can be easy to forget the important role a resume still plays in your job search. Besides the fact that your resume is required for most employers (and is one of the necessary elements to help get your foot in the door), it is also a helpful tool to help organize your experience and define your personal brand. The best approach is to leverage your resume in parallel to your other job search efforts. Here are a few ways to make your resume work in sync with everything else you are doing to find a job. 1. Include links to your social media profiles on you resume Job searchers use a variety of methods to accomplish this. One way is to include a social media section on your resume. More often than not, this section is at the bottom of the resume. Other job searchers include social media profiles with their contact information at the top of the page.2. Link to your online portfolioSome people use LinkedIn as an online portfolio, but there are other websites that serve as portfolios for creatives, entrepreneurs, and specialists of one stripe or another. If you have an online portfolio, link to portfolio items from your resume. This is particularly effective if you post your resume online anywhere.3. Post your resume onlineSpeaking of online resume posting, you can upload your resume to your personal website, to your LinkedIn profile, and to other sites such as job search websites where it can be found by potential employers.4. Brand your resume to look like your online publishing assets One sure way to stand out in the crowd is to use design as a branding element across all of your online publishing assets. This includes your website, your social media accounts, and your resume. Instead of simply creating a bland black & white resume, if you post it online, brand it for easy recognition and credibility.Your resume is still an important part of your job search strategy. Make it more effective by ensuring it works with all of you online job search methods. This article is contributed by Right Management, www.rightmanagement.sg, the global career experts within the ManpowerGroup.

Here's a sample of a welder resume for your reference:​

Resumes remain the basic starting point for your job search.While there are new ways to get your information to prospective employers — a LinkedIn profile, a personal blog, your Facebook page, networking events, etc. — the resume still is a necessity. Employers use resumes to narrow the list of candidates they call in for an interview. Your resume is often the ticket into the interview. Use it to show why you are the best candidate for the job.Showcase Your SkillsStart your resume off strong with a clear objective that highlights your main qualifications for the position. Then, for every job you’ve held, list in a concise manner:The company name and time period you worked thereJob titleYour primary skills, duties and responsibilities, using key words from the job postingAdditional skills and responsibilities you brought to the jobAccomplishments: New procedures you introduced, ways you improved productivity and/or reduced costs — using results and numbers when possibleAny additional qualifications and technical skills relevant to the job openingPay Attention to DetailsKeep in mind that employers are scanning resumes for specific criteria. Create your resume with the details they want to see:Specific skills for a specific job. Does your resume clearly indicate that you are qualified?Specific levels of work experience. Make it easy for employers to see you have what they need by listing experience in terms of number of years.Reliability. Make it easy for employers to see your work history is consistent by listing dates of employment at each company.Leadership and initiative. Show you’ve had a desire to grow in each of your jobs by listing leadership roles, examples of your initiative, and times when you trained others.Commit It to MemoryEmployers will use your resume as part of the basis for your interview. Review your resume in advance and be prepared to discuss all of the qualifications, skills and work experience you have listed.