Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Disqualified!

Welcome to the next exciting installment of resume advice… What qualifies as a qualification?

These days, most Human Resources professionals and hiring managers understand that Behavioral Interviewing which focuses more on experience than checklists of qualifications, is the key to finding candidates that can truly succeed in the position.

However, I think qualifications have their place in fields like Information Technology, Engineering, Nursing, etc., where either you have the skill or you don’t. In these cases qualifications might include certifications and licenses, software competencies, or familiarity with industry specific codes and standards.

Examples of Qualifications:
  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
  • Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Access, PowerPoint and Excel
  • Advanced skills in Adobe Photoshop 7.0
  • Skilled in using schematic capture systems

Note: If you are posting your resume online, it’s a good idea to list the full name of your certification and the common abbreviation

Examples of Dis-Qualifications:

  • I'm a lean, mean, marketing machine.
  • I have a current passport.
  • Excellant at people oriented positi9ons and organizational problem solving.
  • Minor allergies to house cats and Mongolian sheep (just the Mongolian ones?)
  • I have lurnt Word Perfect 6.0, computor and spreadsheat progroms.
  • I am creative, dependable, and housebroken.
  • Eight arms and eight legs with excellent interpersonal skills (trying to qualify for the sideshow?)
  • I'm a rabid typist.
  • Excellent memory; strong math aptitude; excellent memory.
  • Loyal to my employer at all costs. (Please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voicemail/email)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Comments on the dis-qualifications:
for #5: (but not well or how to use spell-check!)
for #8: (rabid? Should we get shots before interviewing?)
for #9: (ginko biloba anyone?)
for #10: (irony? what irony?)