Happy Memorial Day

By Tripp, Senior Ticket Counselor 

Happy Memorial Day from EmployReward Solutions, Inc.! We will be closed on Monday, May 30 in order to allow our employees to observe the holiday with their families and friends. We will reopen at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, May 31 for your convenience. Please be safe and responsible, and have an enjoyable holiday!

10 Things HR Won't Tell You About Your Resume

Condensed from Reader's Digest Magazine, April 2011

Use key words and not colored paper -- plus other resume tips from potential employers.

1. "Once you're unemployed more than six months, you're considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don't want anything to do with you."

– Cynthia Shapiro, former human resources executive and author of 'Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn't Want You to Know'

2. "When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your resume is or how great your experience may be, it's all about connections."

– HR director at a health-care facility

3. "If you're trying to get a job at a specific company, often the best thing to do is to avoid HR entirely. Find someone at the company you know, or go straight to the hiring manager."

– Shauna Moerke, an HR administrator in Alabama who blogs at hrminion.com

4. "People assume someone's reading their cover letter. I haven't read one in 11 years."

– HR director at a financial services firm

5. "We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it's something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com."

– Rich DeMatteo, a recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

6. "If you're in your 50s or 60s, don't put the year you graduated on your resume."

– HR professional at a midsize firm in North Carolina

7. "There's a myth out there that a resume has to be one page. So people send their resume in a two-point font. Nobody is going to read that."

– HR director at a financial services firm

8. "I always read resumes from the bottom up. And I have no problem with a two-page resume, but three pages is pushing it."

– Sharlyn Lauby, HR consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

9. "Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan resumes for key words. The secret to getting your resume through the system is to pull key words directly from the job description and put them on. The more matches you have, the more likely your resume will get picked and actually seen by a real person."

– Chris Ferdinandi, HR professional in the Boston area

10. "Resumes don't need color to stand out. When I see a little color, I smirk. And when I see a ton of color, I cringe. And walking in and dropping off your resume is no longer seen as a good thing. It's actually a little creepy."

– Rich DeMatteo

Seeking Employment?

By Tripp, Senior Ticket Counselor 

Daily at ERS our Employment Counselors strive to help our ticket holders find gainful employment in the field of their choice.  C.R. in Texas is one of our latest success stories.  We are here to help you too! Call us at 1-888-322-9570 and let us help you succeed. If you have an ERS success story, call us and share!

Disability Disclosure @ Work

By Tripp, Senior Ticket Counselor

Disclosing a disability to an employer can be an anxiety producing situation for many individuals.  Unfortunately it may be necessary to share information about your disability, if you are seeking to have an employer provide you with reasonable accommodations for you to excel in your position, or to modify current policies and procedures in place to avoid discrimination.  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is designed to protect you from disability related discrimination in the workplace.  The law requires that qualified applicants and employees with disabilities are to be provided with reasonable accommodations, however in order to benefit from this law, one must disclose their disability to the employer.  Employers are only required to provide work related accommodations when you disclose your disability to the appropriate individuals.    

Keep in mind that you do have protections available to you when you choose to disclose.

• You are entitled to respect and confidentiality regarding your disability.

• Obtain information about hiring practices from organizations.

• Disclosing your disability at any time during the employment process.

• Receive reasonable accommodations for applying and interviewing for jobs.

• Being considered for positions based on merit and skill.

There is never a right time or place for disclosing a disability.  It is best to keep the following tips in mind when deciding when and how to disclose your disability to an employer:

• Will disclosing information about your disability help you to be successful at your job?

• Do you need accommodations or assistance to successfully complete your job?

• Choose a private and confidential setting.

• Allow the employer time to ask questions.

• Don’t dwell on your limitations.

• Weigh the pros and cons of disclosure at each point of the job search, recruitment, and hiring process such as in the application letter, before or during an interview, after a job offer has been made, during your employment with the employer.

• Prepare yourself ahead of time to disclose your disability by knowing what needs you will have in order to successfully complete the job tasks, your plan for accomplishing daily tasks, including practical suggestions for reasonable accommodations if needed.

• Practice your disclosure with someone that you trust.  This will allow you test different methods to see what will be the best fit for you.

• Most importantly keep it positive!  You only have to disclose relevant information, but keep in mind your strengths and that you can do the job.

When you are ready to disclose your disability to the employer, keep it simple.  Provide information such as:

• General information about your disability.

• Why you have chosen to disclose your disability.

• How the disability may affect your ability to perform key tasks on the job.

• The types of accommodations that have worked for you in the past.

• The types of accommodations you anticipate needing to do your current job.

When you are ready to disclose, make sure that you do so with an individual who has the authority to handle your accommodation request.  For example, the supervisor that is responsible for all hiring and retention of staff.