They say you can only make an (good) impression once … I believe this is true and … that preparation is key! So don’t have a bad hair day

I am very fortunate that I can say that I love what I do and that I do what I love! I am the Managing Director of Bitfactory USA. Bitfactory does everything that has to do with Internet | Graphic Design | Multi Media. We love to design and make things beautiful. Again … you can only make an impression once.

I grew up in the Dutch inland shipping industry and have some sea time under my belt. I am passionate about international trade and have the water running through my veins. When I was 25, I decided to do a Global MBA. I studied a semester in the UK and in the US. The final stage was writing a dissertation. I ended up working for Transoceanic Cable Ship Company, a business unit of the big conglomerate Tyco International. Man … did I feel like a fish in the water!

My goal was to write a killer dissertation. And … I did! But before I landed this great gig I had to jump through some hoops meaning I had to write a chrystal clear resume (and introduction) to get my foot in the door. In January this year we launched MaritimeJobSearch.com: a global employment website for the Shipping | Transportation | Engineering industry. This is a lot of fun and as you see, you always go back to your roots.

Ultimate goal is to make MaritimeJobSearch.com the niche job board of choice for many maritime and marine industry and market leaders. This means we have a lot of resumes in our database and frequently I take a peak in order the maintain a certain quality level. You really have to study and invest time in writing a killer resume. Unfortunately, not everybody takes this task seriously. Please see below some important key ingredients of a good resume:

• State your objective: this shows that you know who you are, what you can, and what you want!
• One pager: try to keep your resume on one page … maximum two pages;
• Communicate clearly: don’t try to impress with corporate mambo jambo but write clear and effective. Less is more.
• Schedule a phone screening around your time table so you are comfortable;
• Discuss money on the second ‘date’ because you don’t want to waste each others time;
• Network, network, network (these points are in random order b.t.w.);
• Stand out and mail your resume and cover letter. There are a lot of spam filters nowadays;
• Don’t call us … we call you! Take initiative, pick up the phone and market yourself!
• Only start filling in all kind of forms ‘when it is love at first sight’. References can be given when there is interest from both sites;
• Don’t post your resume on every job board but utilize your network!

What do you believe are key ingredients in a killer resume?

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