Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Friday, December 16th, 2011
Using a personal network is, by most opinions, the best way to get an interview. So how does one go about building/expanding a network of contacts.
Everyone has a personal network: members of the church, the bowling league, previous co-workers – and it is critical to see that every member of your personal network is a résumé holding member of your fan club and that the know you really need a job – to the point where you telephone them weekly to ask if they have placed your résumé on the top of their boss’s desk suggesting that you are someone that should be interviewed.
To get started in building your personal network list, begin by listing co-workers, vendors, important customer from your last employment, influential members (those in leadership roles, in organizations you belong to, neighbors, and plain old friends.
Then do a Linkedin, Facebook, or Google search of those names and look for professional organizations that the have listed.
Contact the individual privately (or socially while attending a function, and tell them that you admire them and would really like their help in finding a job. Give them a copy of your résumé.
Remember one fact: Your friend’s lives do not revolve around you and in order to get them to do what you ask you need to be persistent (e.g., the squeaky wheel) and call them at least weekly asking them how it (presenting your résumé to their boss) went. When they say, I just did have the time. Thank them again and say something like “I really appreciate your taking on this assignment for I know just how busy you are. Why don’t I call you next week to see how it went.”
Lastly, keep a copy of your resume in the glove box on your car (and a PDF version on your cell phone if you have that service). Then talk to everyone you meet and let them know about your availability and your skill set. If they say, I wish I had known this you were available earlier for we have an opening you would be perfect for – then offer to give them a copy of your resume or email it to them instantly – you’ll blow them away.
Tags: job search, Résumé, Who you know might get you an interview
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Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Blogs everywhere are talking about Social Media and whether it is a required element in the job search process.
Many professionals believe that you can spend a considerable amount of very valuable time on Social Media without much return.
Most of the time, without a solid plan, time spent posting to Social Media is really wasted time.
There are, however, some benefits to posting to Social Media
Social Media provides increased visibility access to many professionals within your targeted audience, especially within the strength of Social Media, niche groups.
Social Media is much like the résumé of Will Shakespeare: It shouts: “I’m available.” People need to know you are looking for work and that you are qualified.
Often you don’t know who out in cyber land can help you. As in real life: often there is a faster pace to employment through your personal network than through what you know.
The larger your number of connections, then, naturally, the larger your choices (e.g., more people in your network) in drilling down and developing more contacts.
Social Media, in the opinion of some, just isn’t a fad that some first claimed it to be. On the other hand, if you waste a lot of you precious time developing Social Media, time that might be better spent looking for work, (and that is VERY easy to do), you could be hurting yourself while thinking that what you are doing is valuable.
There is one critical element, infrequently addressed: If you have various Social Media pages (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) then you must verify that the facts on each match what you have included on your résumé – for, at a very minimum, hiring professionals often use Social Media to verify facts claimed on a résumé.
Tags: job search, Résumé, Social Media
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Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Frequently I see posts on blogs saying something like æ “The best results I have seen in the past 20 years in the business world is when the resume resonates with the job description. [This is very true.] It’s really that easy, a custom and tailored resume is like a custom and tailored suit, it just looks SO much better and gets all the positive attention.” [This is just a lot of marketing BS.]
As a former HR manager and hiring authority, I was most often turned off by a resume that appeared to be written for the specific job posting. I felt that when the résumé appeared tailored for the specific job that the candidate was ‘tweaking’ his or her résumé just so that it would appear that necessary skills were what the candidate would bring to the table. It is critical to understand the mindset of many HR managers and hiring authorities: let’s assume that every candidate lies and then the challenge is to find someone with the necessary skills that does not appear to be an experienced liar.
When I reviewed résumés that listed skills that were transferrable to any opportunity (and not using the specific words of the job posting) I was more inclined to offer the candidate an interview. So, instead of having a customized and tailored résumé using the words of the job posting, it just might be better to have your résumé fully present those transferable skills you would bring to any job.
In other words, too much on point equals a consummate liar while close with appropriate skills and credentials would mean a truth teller and more viable candidate. Having a tailored suit is of little value if you cannot wear it to an interview.
Sorry, no evidence, just 27 years of experience speaking.
Tags: Job Description Tailor Resume
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Monday, November 28th, 2011
I’ve heard some clients say that they are going to take the holiday season off from looking a new job
Looking for work is a full-time job (e.g., 40 hours per week). Finding an excuse to limit the amount of work, especially during the holiday season, is easy. However, you blow an great opportunity of securing employment.
You Can Land a Job During the Holiday Season
Assuming many others drop out during the holidays you will stand out and get noticed because your competition is less.
During the holidays, many managers and decision-makers are in the office or are not travelling. This means that the opportunity for a face-to-face interview is better during the holidays.
Many companies have completed their hiring/personnel needs budgets for 2012 are based on starting early.
During the holidays, there are often more events and opportunities for networking and making new contacts.
While you might want think you should avoid “seasonal work”, those jobs often lead to full time employment; and there are many seasonal jobs available. It is amazing how “hard work” leads to “reat luck.”
This is true – and this does NOT include jobs that are not advertised or those that are not directly or indirectly related to retail. In all probability, there are millions of jobs created during the holiday season; especially this holiday season with an improved economy and stock market.
If you are one of the individuals who believe that you should not look for a job over the holidays, you will still be unemployed come January 2012. However, those who work hard, diligently, and intelligently to land a job during the holiday season, will have a better chance of beginning 2012 gainfully employed!
Tags: Employment, job search, looking for work during the holidays
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Monday, November 28th, 2011
Applying for numerous opportunities and not getting any response? Blame your résumé. Listed below are some of the errors I see on many resumes that can cause rejection.
1. Your have tried to tailor your résumé to match the position available. When your résumé arrives to close ‘on point’ to the posted opportunity, employers are easily convinced that you are tweaking your résumé each time it is sent out so that all the information the firm had noted as important are included – this simply tells the employer that you can’t be trusted. As an old college professor, I flunked the students who used ‘cheat sheets’ or plagiarized the work of another and honored those students, who were ‘close enough’ with a higher grade. If you need to add something specific that didn’t fit well in the résumé then use the cover letter to deliver that message. (e.g., “golfer desired:” Now a résumé should not mention your skill at golf for that could anger the hiring authority if s/he was a tennis player. However, adding a PS on the cover letter than says something like this “Scratch golfer” could be beneficial.
2. The economy is in the worst shape in more than 25 years and many individuals have been unemployed for long periods of time, this can result in a major broadening of job search opportunities. Present a résumé that details out your skills that are transferable to many positions.
2. Many large firms scan résumés to cut down the large number that must be read. Many entry-level résumé writers insist that without a great number of “keywords” in the document, your resume will not getting past the computer analysis. I certainly do not want to diminish the value of “keywords” and often use the ‘properties’ section of the document to list keywords not on the résumé.
3. Length is critical – for managers manage and workers perform tasks. The higher the position you seek the shorter your résumé.
4. Order of data: some individuals with outstanding academic credentials tend to bury them at the end of the document (as if they were without value to the candidate). Selecting the order of material on the résumé is critical. I recommend the development of an annotated outline before starting on the résumé.
5. A résumé is a marketing tool and not an employment history. The reader needs to visualize what you are bringing to the table.
6. Spell-check is impotent. But trusting software to do the job could result in the error in the selection of words just as the fact that a wrong word, spelled correctly, has been used it this section. A great method for spell-check is to read the document out loud or ask a friend to check for errors.
7. Another killer is making it east for any reader to estimate your age (e.g., including the years you attended college or providing employment data older than 10 years). Any qualified professional (not having you as one of his or her first few clients) should be able to address periods of unemployment, self-employment, or stay-at-home work.
Tags: cover letters, help, Resumes
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Saturday, May 21st, 2011
If you’ve been successful and getting an interview, the you have gotten past the mail room, the filtering by HR, passed the keyword filtering, and even had your document(s) read by a human (if only a cursory 20-second review).
Without a quick reject (which happens to most candidates based on what is included on the CV or résumé and not what was excluded), you are well on your way to getting an interview — the real chance to get an offer.
When more than 100 résumés are reviewed for one opening, most employers done decide YES on the interview quickly, but they do decide NO quickly. Few candidates even get interviews but when you do, it is because your CV/Résumé got someone’s attention. Get a NO decision and you will not get an interview, period.
It is critical to remember, however, that the firm is going to interview more than a single candidate — perhaps as many as 5 so the odds are 1 in 5 that you will actually get an offer of employment. If you don’t it is not time to panic for the firm many have just interviewed another candidate that is either more qualified, has more impressive credentials, or has more experience playing shortstop on a company softball team.
The problem is that if you ARE getting interviews and you are NOT getting any job offer (especially after about 4 or more interviews) or if the interview becomes way too brief then the problem may very well be with your approach to the interview.
You may be blowing the interview!
Too many times a candidate will blow the interview by being either too aggressive, or too timid. HR professionals recommend a ‘balanced’ approach – don’t oversell and don’t undersell. If you have great strengths be certain that they are presented.
Be prepared to answer, in depth, any questions about anything you have put on your CV/résumé but be careful to provide short, brief, and to the point answers to questions – a word or two but not paragraph after paragraph. If you dominate the interview, you may not be chosen.
Demonstrate the passion you have for your career.
Show that you understand yourself – What are your biggest strengths? What are your biggest weaknesses? How do you work with others?
Demonstrating with examples from previous positions how well you have worked to overcome your weaknesses and accentuated your strengths to the benefit of your prior employers will be a big plus in your interview.
When you earned a degree (if you did) is not nearly as important as showing that you have continued to stay on the cutting edge of your profession. So be certain that continuing training is emphasized on the CV/Résumé as well as during the interview.
If you are lacking a particular skill that might benefit the company (e.g., the ability to speak another language) then have a solution on how you are going to learn that skill.
Often other professionals will tell you to asker the question about your weakness by saying: “I’m a perfectionist” or “I work too hard”. That is not a good idea – what it demonstrates is your lack of understanding of yourself and how well you work within team environments.
If the thread of an interview gets too far off point, it is YOUR responsibility to call a ‘time out’ and say something like: “While I could talk sports with you for hours, especially softball, I think it a wiser use of our time to discuss just how well I will fit in with the rest of your team.” Also be prepared to ask two or three good questions about the company or the role of the individual filling the position you seek.
Always dress a level above what you would expect – for it is far better to be over dressed than underdressed. Brush your teeth, rinse with a mouthwash, and, if you smoke, pretend you just boarded a flight of 8 hours when you awake and go without that calming smoke until AFTER the interview.
Questions about compensation and benefits are best delayed until the second (or third) interview – when you know, for certain, you are a favored candidate.
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Saturday, May 14th, 2011
Assuming you have lots of time and no money (or think you are smarter than those who found new jobs after getting help from a professional), then here are a few tips on how to write a killer résumé:
1. ALWAYS used MS-Word for the primary document. Also do not use a version of Word that adds the extension .docx (all newer versions) for most employers have not upgraded from the older version of Word to the newer version and the older version CANNOT open or read the newer version. The simple solution? Try a “Save As” mode and then select “Word 97-2004 Document (.doc).
2. Under ‘File’ use the pull down window and open “properties” to check that the author of the document is you and that there is no company name showing – which says you took time from work to build your own résumé and that is akin to stealing paper and envelopes from your present employer.
3. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you must have more than a single page résumé as often the advice comes from someone who charges by the page or who fails to understand that, in today’s environment, employers receive 100s or 1000s of résumés for each opening and honestly do not have the time to read a thesis instead of a marketing document.
4. List your computer skills generically. You could miss out on an opportunity if you say you know MS-Word (and the reader then assumes you do NOT know WordPerfect). Ditto on all other types of software – brand name usage is bad and too much information or alphabet soup is impossible to understand. Solution? Keep it simple and easy to understand.
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Saturday, May 14th, 2011
Simple answer is NO and 99% of all the great CV and Resumé writers in the world (less than a dozen have been the in the business for more than 20 years) no not, currently, meet clients on a face-to-face basis but, instead, interview clients over the telephone or using Skype. Most professionals have learned that with the enhanced listening skills needed to interview clients, comes greater understanding.
There are some individuals who feel that they must meet with their professionals one on one and to they Dr. Jerry says, check out http://www.parw.com/ (home site of the Professional Association of Resume Writers) and search for a local professional. However, never settle for anyone that does not hold the CPRW (Certified Professional Résumé Writer) credential. Note: Many of the world’s best writers no longer belong to this organization for a number of reasons but the CPRW credential, once earned, is valid for life. Dr. Jerry no longer belongs to PARW nor attends any of its conventions.
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Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
It is always tempting to use long words on a résumé to show the readers you are smart.
On the other hand, no professional résumé writer should ever be guilty of sesquipedality. The reason? They don’t want readers to have to drag out a dictionary just to read what the resume is trying to say.
On balance most people in the USA tend to be illiterate and read, on average, at about the 5th grade level – so simple words produce success and difficult words tend to bring rejection.
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Thursday, November 18th, 2010
After the disaster in employment that began after the nomination and eventual election of Barack Obama, everyone that is currently unemployed (or underemployed) needs to recognize that there is a very startling fact: The world of work will never return to “normal” (where a career was selected in high school or during college). Instead, everyone needs to understand that their carrer will likely change directions rapidly and frequently. The key to long-term survival: flexibility!
A well developed résumé presents the candidate with a very broad brush and presents them in such a manner that any reader can assume that the résumé represents the poster child of someone who brings a very high degree of flexibility and adaptability to any opportunity.
Parents that taught their children that “hard work always brings good luck” were correct – but being willing (and trained) to do anything asked of you is a rare and valuable talent. Those who have kept their jobs in the crisis of today are those who have shown their ability to do what is asked, without argument or delay.
Dr. Jerry
719.447.1147
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