JOB HUNTERS READ THIS NOW
I get so many resumes from friends and associates job hunting, but most don’t realize how competitive it is out there. They don’t realize that employers see LOTS of resumes, and your’s better stand out. I refer them to this article, some read and get it, most don’t, and they end up taking jobs paying less than they were worth. Also, say they cant afford to get help, or think their "brother in law" can help, but don’t get the help of a true professional in this area. So they take a job paying $15/hr, but could have gotten the job paying $17/hr, which would pay them back in 2 weeks for the help, then give them $4,000 more over the next year in earnings. (and think of several years of pay and advancement built on a higher base) A professional in this area will have the pulse of business, know what’s hot, what’s deadly, and likely even have job leads. Its strategic suicide. Bottom line – always be trading jobs UP, not laterally or down. I will also do blog postings for some before and after resumes, search for "resume" to find some of those postings. Read on…
Careers and Job Hunting
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about hiring people – and that’s helped educate me in what works (and what doesn’t) for people who are trying to get hired. This set of columns looks at some of the tips I’ve learned about getting hired … and about keeping that job once you’ve got it.
Resumes and the Power of Networking For Job Hunters
I am constantly amazed at the skills people exhibit when they are job hunting. I know that job hunting isn’t something most people do every week, so maybe I should be more sympathetic.
I get at least two requests per month from friends who are looking (or know someone who is) and want me to help them find work.
Email is a powerful tool. When I need to help someone find work, I circulate their resume in my network of business owners, along with instructions to forward it to their friends.
I have never done this when a job offer didn’t appear. The list of friends I distribute it to is a few hundred people. Just think about all the jokes and crap that you get that have been forwarded repeatedly. Imagine how much exposure a good resume can get in just a few hours in a network of people with the capacity to hire.
About half of the job hunters who come to me for help don’t have a resume! Another quarter have horrible resumes. With so many tools on the Internet to help prepare a resume, there simply isn’t any excuse for not having one. Many applicants are younger or looking for blue-collar jobs, and they don’t think having a resume is important.
They are so wrong.
When I used to hire a parts puller or wrecker driver for an hourly wage, I always had plenty of applicants. Very few of them showed up with resumes. Who was I most likely to interview first? Of course, the applicant with a good resume.
A good resume is part of marketing yourself for jobs at all levels. It’s a simple way to stand out, get noticed, and get interviewed, especially for blue-collar jobs. When few people take the time to apply with one, you can bet your extra effort in preparing a good resume will get you noticed.
Making Sure You Get the Interview: Resume and Cover Letter Etiquette
The resume isn’t the only important tool needed to get an interview. In most cases, an employer gets plenty of resumes in response to an advertisement for a job opening.
What can really make your resume stand out – and get you in the door – is your cover letter.
Before you apply for a position, research the company thoroughly. Your cover letter should discuss your qualifications and show that you have done your homework on the company.
Have someone else check your grammar and spelling, as the cover letter and resume speak volumes about you and your attention to detail. Once you establish your credibility in the cover letter, you can briefly describe how your qualifications match the job requirements.
The trends in resumes are constantly changing, so you will always want to double-check your resume and see if it is consistent with today’s trends.There are three common types of resumes: Chronological, functional, and a combination of the two.
- A chronological resume is almost always written in reverse chronological order with most recent employment at the top, listing strong achievements in recent positions.
- A functional resume typically uses functional headings to highlight areas of expertise or specific skills. Functional resumes benefit someone making a career change or an applicant with gaps in employment. Functional resumes highlight areas of expertise and skills, rather than listing recent employers
- A combination resume offers the best of both worlds. Typically, combination resumes begin with skills and accomplishments and then follow with job titles listed in reverse chronological order.
I recently placed an ad to hire an Administrative Assistant. In all, we received more than 300 resumes. I found the combination resumes the most straightforward because they highlighted both work history and skillset.
Make your resume clear and easy to read, don’t mix and match font sizes and styles.I tossed resumes that were hard to read because of overuse of font sizes and styles.
One other resume tip: Do not embellish or exaggerate on your resume. I interviewed a promising candidate for the AA position, but some things about her past employment did not add up. Some simple checking revealed that she had lied about her qualifications. We did not hire her.
Employers expect you to tailor your resume to fit the job that you are applying for, but customizing a resume should not include exaggerating your qualifications.
Another tip for sending resumes by email: Use the header to your advantage, reference the job number or position. Make it easy for the person receiving your resume to get it to the right person!
Would You Trade $250 for $8,000? Plenty of Today’s Job Applicants Don’t
If you are entering the workforce today, how many times do you think you will change jobs before you retire? A dozen? In fact, Penelope Trunk, a columnist on careers for The Boston Globe, estimates that today’s new employee will change jobs every two years.
Because it is an important investment, most people spend hours (or days) picking out their next car, but how much time do people devote to investigating their next possible employer?
Certainly choosing the place where you will spend 40 or more hours a week for the next several years should be a decision worth investing lots of time to research.
Having interviewed job applicants many times in my career, I find that most don’t prepare themselves by studying the company where they’re applying. With so many resources available online and elsewhere, doing even basic research can put you far above most applicants in an interview.
Think about the last time you were a job seeker. I’ll wager that you started by updating or preparing your own resume. If you did, ask yourself these questions: How much training have I had in preparing resumes? How much do I know about creating a resume that will be sorted into the must interview pile?
If you answered not much to either question, you should make a smart money investment in yourself.
Before you start sending out resumes, seek the help of a professional resume preparer. Look for the best-qualified person to prepare a winning resume for you. If your new position equates to $10,000 more a year, why worry about spending $250 to make sure that your resume looks sharp enough to get you an interview?
Not presenting your resume in the best possible light can cost you a small fortune. Last week I tried to convince a bright 36-year-old woman who had been laid off from a $14 an hour job in the mortgage industry to ask for $16 an hour. She had the skills and experience to warrant the increase, but her resume sucked because she prepared it herself. As a result, she was struggling to get interviews for jobs that paid less than the one she lost.
I advised her to invest in having her resume professionally done. She said that she couldn’t afford it. Assuming a better resume could get her a $2 raise, she breaks even three weeks from her hire date. From then on, she’s banking an extra $4,000 a year.
She should have invested in marketing herself to prospective employers with a professional resume, and so should you when your time comes.
I’ve had a lot more training reviewing resumes than preparing them. From the hiring side of the table, I can report that most resumes I see look like they were created by the applicant. I rarely see a resume that has obviously been professionally written and edited, even when I am interviewing executives. A professionally prepared resume is a smart investment in yourself and an easy way to make the right impression, even before the first interview question.
Remember, only you can make business GREAT!
Learning From The Apprentice – Competence Isn’t Enough
I read an article recently about one of the candidates in The Apprentice, Amy Henry, from
She observed that competence in the workplace isn’t enough to ensure success. I agree completely. We all have employees that are very competent, but for one reason or another, they don’t advance very far. Many of these people, I believe, have good technical skills, but that’s all they have. Some even have good management skills, and although a plus, even that doesn’t ensure maximum success. In today’s fast-paced and complex business environment, it takes a full set of skills to get to the top.
Amy went on to say, “You have to embrace more assertive strategies in order to move up. You have to speak up for yourself, feel comfortable about bragging. Embrace high profile appointments, take risks.”
This is very true.
Many of you know me personally, but for every one of you who has met me, I find there are many more who know of me. You have heard about me or something that I accomplished.
As most of you know, my dad passed away when I was a senior in high school, leaving me an old VW to keep running, and my step mom threw me out when I couldn’t pay her rent. I received little college education, and started a repair business with one employee and an old car. Later, I got into the auto salvage business with 35 parts cars that I had accumulated.
The headline, from my experience, is that almost anyone can achieve maximum success. I am self-taught or taught by a mentor on everything from accounting, marketing and sales management, to private stock offerings and real estate construction, sales and management.
As Amy points out, you have to be assertive. And you have to speak up and be willing to discuss your success. The world is a noisy place, and only those that speak up are going to get noticed. Yes, it offends some people.
Even in the salvage industry, some people resent me because of my accomplishments, self-promotion, and assertiveness. I try to not let it bother me, and you shouldn’t either. Every time I issue a press release, or got published somewhere, I send a copy to my bankers, and sometimes to friends. The bankers drop that information into my file, and it always makes my relationship better. How will others know about your accomplishments if you don’t tell them?
Amy gives one other tidbit of advice. She adapts by, “…being a strong listener and choosing your battles. If you go out and fight every battle, you will lose most of the time.”
Again, I agree. You have to remain focused, and we simply don’t have enough energy or hours in the day to do everything, or fight every battle. When I teach clients to use operating metrics, I tell them to pick one that they believe they can change, which will make a real bottom line difference, and work on it. Trying to work on improving too many metrics at once is just a distraction, and creates stress with almost no benefit. In any case, although I don’t watch a lot of TV, I tune in for the business lessons taught on The Apprentice.