Monthly Archives: December 2012

Your résumé should make the employers choice to interview you easy

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easySome jobseekers have a misconception that, like a buffet dinner, more is always better on their résumé. What results from this misguided belief is a ton of unfocused and untargeted information that usually leads to information overload for the recruiter, human resources manager, or hiring manager.

These jobseekers feel that the more duties they list on their résumé increases their chance of getting an interview. (The person with the most toys wins.) What they fail to realize is a very logical point Colleen Roller raises in her article, “Abundance of Choice and Its Effect on Decision Making.” It’s this: if we give the reviewer too many choices, she gets bombarded by information and is likely to lose focus on the message the jobseeker is trying to convey.

I often take time to look at my Résumé Writing workshop attendees’ résumés; and at first glance I get the sense that a reviewer might see reading their résumés as a chore. This is not the case with all my attendees, but some of the résumés read like a novel…not good. Can you imagine how a reviewer must feel if she has to select 10 candidates from among 100 résumés, most of which are full of unnecessary text?

Ms. Roller is a usability/decision architect and her eloquent article is about how we take in and remember information, which is essential in creating an effective website. She tells us that when given a choice of chocolate, for example, on the surface we’d prefer 30 different varieties. (I bet you chocolate lovers can think of at least 15.) However, when presented with so many varieties of chocolate, we become overwhelmed. Instead, a choice of six chocolates is what we’re capable of handling.

So how different is selecting from among 30 kinds of chocolate than deciphering a résumé that is nothing more than a list of duties? Not much different.

Ms. Roller says, “As the number of options increases, the evaluation process can become overwhelming and intimidating, especially when it feels like making a choice requires expert information or skill.”

Take advice from résumé reviewers who have been clamoring for résumés that are rich with quantified accomplishments and fewer duties, than ones that only list duties and look more like a grocery list. The overwhelming consensus is that they want résumés that provide the information they need upfront—I refer to it as prioritizing one’s statements as they relate to the job requirements. When jobseekers list only what’s important, the reviewer is quickly able to see the value in jobseekers.

So the question is, “How do jobseekers know which skills and experience to list on their résumé?” The answer lies in a complete understanding of the positions they seek. They must examine and dissect the job ad, and focus on all of the competencies required by the employer. By doing this jobseekers will not overload the reviewer with 30 varieties of chocolate; they will make the choice an easier one to make.

Announcing my Person of the Year for 2012

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JobseekersTime just announced its Person of the Year, Barack Obama. To some this is a time to celebrate, to others it might be cause for having a stiff drink.

Last year I declared my Person of the Year; and because I believe in tradition, I will again announce my Person of the Year. This may come as no surprise to many of you; I am going with the same “person.”

The Jobseeker.

Although the Jobseeker was not, like Barack Obama, “both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America,” he or she demonstrated dignity and professionalism, networked and paid it forward, wrote compelling marketing material resulting in interviews, and finally (after more than a year, in some cases), landed a job. Or maybe not.

There were many Jobseekers who demonstrated true heroism throughout the entire year, simply by the way they handled themselves. They:

  • Woke up every morning to put in a full day of hunting for work, leaving no stones upturned and considering every possibility.
  • Maintained that screw-the-economy-I-will-get-a-job attitude.
  • Knew that every day was a day when they might have run into a person who could hire them, or someone who knew a person who could hire them.
  • Took a break every once and awhile to recharge their batteries, but not too long of a break. A day or two at the most. They even networked during the holidays.
  • Followed their career plan of revising their résumé, creating a list of companies they research and contacted, building a LinkedIn profile that meets today’s standards, and other best practices.
  • Attended workshops and took advantage of job-search pundits’ advice, learning that things have changed in the past ten years, but, nonetheless, trudge on.
  • Accepted and embraced the Hidden Job Market, making penetrating it a priority in their job-search plan.
  • Attended interview after interview until they hit a home run with an employer smart enough to hire them. The Jobseeker will never give up, despite the challenges they encounter.
  • Never forgot the important things in life, like family and friends, and taking care of their health. They didn’t let the job search consume them.
  • Faced despondency or depression with courage and perseverance.

These are just a few of the reasons why The Jobseeker  is my Person of the Year. If you think of other reasons, let me know by commenting on this article. I think I should send my reasons to Time and demand a recount.

A story of paying it forward

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salvation armyRecently I stood in the cold, relentless air in front of Market Basket in Lowell ringing bells for the Salvation Army. It was a great feeling seeing customers, who probably didn’t have a lot of money to spend, stuffing a dollar or whatever change they could manage into the slot atop the red bucket.

All the while my feet and fingers were freezing, but that didn’t matter because the spirit of Christmas was in the air. I started ringing the bells at 9:00 am and business didn’t start picking up until 10:00 am. I didn’t start feeling my feet until 11:00 am, the end of my shift.

I have one person to thank for giving me the opportunity to ring the bells for the Salvation Army, a person who personifies “paying it forward,” Kevin Willett.

I talk about the concept “paying it forward” in a career networking workshop and there seems to be some confusion among the crowd, so to simplify the concept I tell my attendees that the act of helping others creates good Karma. Further I tell them they should not expect the person you help to immediately repay the favor, because another person will step forward to help you. In fact, you may never receive reciprocation from the person you assisted.

Kevin who is the founder of Friends of Kevin, a business networking group, embraces the term “paying it forward” every Christmas season when he gathers his army of friends to ring the bells. When I asked him why he volunteers endless hours to organize this event and ring the bells himself, he told me he was once a recipient of the Salvation Army’s aid to people in need.

Kevin’s generosity extends beyond ringing the bells. His networking group not only helps businesses network, a few jobseekers are allowed to attend the meetings and deliver their elevator speeches. The goal is to expose jobseekers to business people who might have jobs to offer or know of companies that do. Kevin is a connector in the truest sense—he connects people to charities, and he connects business people to jobseekers.

Kevin spoke last year at our urban career center to a sold-out group of jobseekers eager to learn how to network. His presentation was a hit, and he made it clear that networking is a two-way street; you help someone and get help in return.

There are no hard statistics on how successful paying it forward is. Smart jobseekers simply understand that it makes common sense. It makes common sense because as you’re helping someone, another person is in the process of helping you. I’m convinced that the jobseekers who believe in paying it forward will receive the help they need. How do I know? Just ask Kevin Willett.


Don’t neglect this part of your LinkedIn profile; the Experience section

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Previously I wrote about the LinkedIn Summary section and how it should contribute to your branding. Today we’ll look at the experience section of the LinkedIn profile.

When asked which section of your résumé is most important, most people will say the work history. This section should clearly describe your duties in a brief job summary (paragraph format), followed by bullets that highlight your quantified accomplishments—how much you were able to increase profits, reduce costs, save time, enhance procedures, etc.

Your work history is the meat of your résumé. Some attest that the same holds true for your LinkedIn profile. I recently saw a poll that asked what people thought was the most important part of the LinkedIn profile, the title, summary, work history, or applications feature. A resounding number of people considered the work history section to be one of the most important sections. (The title was also favored highly.)

Let’s step back and consider the major differences between the résumé and the LinkedIn profile. The résumé must be tailored for a particular position. The LinkedIn profile is not.  (It is, however, inaccurate to call your LinkedIn profile a stagnant document because you will update it regularly with the update feature; however, the work history will generally remain the same.)

You have two options when creating your LinkedIn work history.

The first option is to keep it brief and list three or four accomplishments. Choose what you consider to be your top accomplishments at each position, and describe them with quantifiable results. Remember, numbers, dollars, and percentages speak loud and clear. This approach is similar to an accomplishment-based résumé.

Benefit: Your résumé will describe the duties you performed and, most importantly, the accomplishments you had at each company. You will not be repeating the same information that’s on your résumé. Think of the facts, just the facts. It will make the employers ask for more if they haven’t seen your résumé.

The second option is to pour your soul into your LinkedIn work history and present it as a complete profile of your work history. This means you will describe as many duties and accomplishments as possible.

Benefit: If employers are searching through LinkedIn for talent and not calling for résumés yet, they will get a good sense of what you’re capable of doing. This being the case, you will rely on employers to sift through the content and glean what is most important to them.

The question you must ask yourself, “Will I better brand myself by only mentioning my most outstanding accomplishments in my LinkedIn work history, or should I dump the whole unadulterated story into it?” Further, at this point in your short career, can you substantiate a long work history that reveals all, or would a more poignant story draw an employer’s attention?

From an expert: Chris Perry, founder of CareerRocketeer.com and MBAHighway.com, summarizes the work history in his book, Linked up: The Ultimate LinkedIn Job Search Guide: “Include as much of your current and past work history as appropriate for your desired career path. Highlight your key accomplishments from each position and quantify as many as possible to enhance your value proposition. Also, optimize your descriptions with keywords and phrases.”

Note Chris’ mention of keywords and phrases. No matter which way you decide to present your work history, make certain there occupational-related words. The expert says you can use Indeed.com or other job boards to identify the keywords.

My opinion is to keep the work history brief and tell your story in the summary section. Does this mean the summary holds more weight, or is more important than the work history? Certainly not. It simply means that you are presenting a fine three-course meal, rather than an endless buffet.

I’m thinking of résumés I see which are comprised only of accomplishments—I call them accomplishment-based résumés. They effectively bait the employer to invite the jobseeker in for an interview, where questions about their duties can be asked. It’s up to you as to which way to go with your work history. No matter what you decide, make sure you have strong accomplishments to brand yourself.

7 approaches to Customercentric Marketing in the job search

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imagesWhen I first heard Jim Grenier’s voice-over on his topic of customercentric marketing, I thought, “Bingo.” I was drawn to the message about customer focus, and I saw a parallel to to the job search. It also helped that my good friend Jim has a smooth. alluring voice. Jim’s a college instructor but has had extensive experience in business.

Customercentric in the job search means satisfying every need of the employer, beginning with an accomplishment-rich résumé that shows a complete understanding of the job and the organization. The résumé sings to the employer, “Hey, this guy understands my needs,” and makes the employer think she is a valued customer. The employer, in my mind, is the focus of your job search. She is your customer. Six other components of the job search include:

  • The cover letter. Sent with the résumé, it expresses your enthusiasm for serving the customer and adds a dimension to your candidacy.
  • The approach letter. This is your introduction to a customer who hasn’t advertised the job and doesn’t yet know he’ll need you.
  • The LinkedIn profile. Your profile should shout out your skills and accomplishments. The customer sees other dimensions to your ability to serve her needs.
  • Networking. Here’s how you form relationships that precede your contact with the customers, forming a solid foundation for your written communications and the interview.
  • The informational meeting. Part of your networking, this is a valuable tool to get known by the customer, breaking through the Hidden Job Market.
  • The interview. The big ballgame. Your big chance. Don’t neglect to make the customer know your customercentric attitude and practices.

Every step in between the résumé and job offer must also center upon the customer, the employer. I often ask my workshop attendees, “Who is the buyer?” To which they say, “The employer.” Better put would be to ask, “Who is the customer?” There’s a distinction. In my mind, the buyer is someone to whom you sell your product–you–the customer is someone to whom you offer the best possible solution, regardless of the sale.

Listen to Jim’s message on customercentric markeing. I promise you’ll relate to it, and I think you will see the customer and employer as one.