The #1 way to stand out on your resume

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By Laura Smith-Proulx

Worried that your resume won’t stand out for that perfect job when compared to hundreds of eager job hunters?

One of the BEST ways to distinguish yourself is to measure and document your performance against that of peers (or previous incumbents).

Competitive intelligence isn’t new. Anyone who sells solutions is constantly positioning their product for a win against similar offerings. And guess what? In a job search, YOU are the product.

Therefore, your resume must explain the reasons you’ll continue to outperform others in your next job.

Here are 3 tips to help gauge your work against others, and then add the results to your resume:

1 – Assess your predecessor.

Most employers find it necessary to reorganize teams from time to time, so you’ve probably found yourself taking over a role from a former colleague.

You may have even been hired to replace an underperforming manager, which gives you a great foundation on which to base achievements. If so, you’ll want to quantify the results you gained over that of the previous incumbent.

Turnaround performance is a great differentiator, and was used as part of the strategy on this resume for a Denver-based COO in the real estate investment industry – showing how he walked into specific challenges and removed obstacles to revenue success.

2 – Compare yourself against colleagues.

Believe it or not, a side-by-side correlation between your results and that of your peers will help your resume writing skills.

Think carefully about efforts you’ve handled at work such as special projects or collaboration with leaders at your company. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Was there a reason your boss selected you to lead a particular initiative?
  • Were you promoted faster than your colleagues?
  • Are you frequently pulled into leadership meetings to provide strategic input?

If any of these situations apply to you, document the ways you’re differentiating yourself, and then leverage them!

This example of a Sales Resume for a B2B sales executive in Minnesota shows how we compared his revenue achievement to peers – demonstrating better (and faster results) that intrigued employers.

3 – Evaluate your performance against the entire industry.

Here’s where economic conditions come into play. If you’re in a sales role, you might find that you’ve earned Top Producer ranking in a down year… when others in your industry struggled to even make quota.

Take stock of your performance against that of peers in other companies. Did your company stay in business – even when others shut their doors?

Were you able to produce revenue-generating or market-capturing strategies in an industry known for slow growth?

If these scenarios apply to you, note both the achievement and the conditions on your resume. Employers are keen to hire candidates that are able to address and resolve obstacles, especially in a recession!

In summary, even if it seems that you’ve just “done your job” throughout your career, chances are good that you can think of ways your performance differs from that of other team members or executives.

Adding comparative analyses to your resume – with a full description of your results against others –will help you make a stronger, standout impression.

Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Director, National Columnist, Author, LinkedIn expert, and former recruiter.

As a social-media savvy leader in the resume industry, Laura combines a lifelong passion for writing with recruiting expertise, global recognition, awards, and master-level credentials held by less than 30 resume experts worldwide.

Response to the Frustrated Recruiter Lady

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While reading an article titled, “You are the Laziest Jobseeker Ever,” I felt sympathy for a recruiter who writes in near stream of consciousness describing lazy, apathetic jobseekers. From the sounds of it, she had certainly had enough of jobseekers who don’t give a damn. She is a frustrated recruiter lady.

I once wrote an article on jobseekers who actually care about their hunt and make great efforts, despite being rejected many times over. They are the people I meet on a regular basis in my workshops and coach them through the process, the ones who go about the search the proper way—networking, sending targeted résumés, using LinkedIn, etc. They are not the ones portrayed in this article from the Frustrated Recruiter Lady.

Frustrated Recruiter Lady describes in her article jobseekers I optimistically like to think don’t exist, ones I conveniently store in the back of my mind. They are the people over whom my colleagues and I pull our hair out. “Does this person want this job?! He won’t even return a phone call on a sure thing. The employer says she wants him,” we say with exasperation. But these jobseekers are far and few between.

Frustrated Recruiter Lady exasperatingly writes that when a jobseeker responds to her with a fragmented e-mail instead of a well thought-out cover letter, it is inexcusable and deserves her wrath. She writes, “THEY did not sign their names or include their phone numbers which means that I had to go back to CareerBuilder to look them up… well guess what YOU MOVE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST THAT WAY!”

Chill out, lady, I want to say when she overuses those all-cap words. Doesn’t she know writing in all caps is like shouting? But I can also  understand why she is misusing capitalization; she is frustrated, as I would be.

“So I am not going to dig back through Careerbuilder to find you again?” she continues. “Yes I most likely saved you in a folder or put you on my work list, but still, your lack of investment in the process makes me think you are flighty.”

This is how she reacts when she gets a response like, “I’ll get back to you.” I’ll get back to you? No, I think, you should answer Frustrated Recruiter Lady’s message IMMEDIATELY. (Yes, I’m shouting.)

I have to admit that my desire to help this type of apathetic jobseeker is minimal at best. The way it works with recruiters is that they are not working for the jobseekers; they’re working for the companies that pay them money to satisfy a very important need—filling a vacant or soon to be vacant position. They are not the jobseeker’s best friend, but by helping their customer, they are ultimately helping the jobseeker. They’re simply the middleman…woman. The jobseeker holds only one card, the card that tells them to put it on the line.

The recruiter is the person who won’t or can’t penetrate the walls of companies who prefer to engage in the Hidden Job Market.

I understand Frustrated Recruiter Lady’s annoyance, and it’s not because of the way she capitalizes the eleven words above. It’s the same way I feel when I’m leading a workshop and an attendee forgets to turn off her cell phone. And when it rings she doesn’t turn it off. She lets it ring until I mockingly say, “I like that ringtone. Where did you get it?” Many in the room laugh at my sarcasm.

Yes, Frustrated Recruiter Lady, it should be the way you want it to be, as long as you’re fair and honest and care one little bit about your next-body-to-fill-a-position person. When you think about it, the job of a recruiter can be difficult. So give her the respect she’s owed and pick up the phone or send a cover letter. That’s the way the game is played.

One of my jobseekers approached me the other day and asked if she should send a quick text to a recruiter’s inquiry or reply with a well-thought-out cover letter and résumé. I smiled and, of course, told her to play her card the right way.

Don’t neglect this component of your LinkedIn profile, Skills section

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Have you seen the Skills section on LinkedIn? No. It’s really cool and something you should take advantage of. I’ve listed 25 skills that are associated with my job as a career trainer. And it’s a feature of LinkedIn that I show my workshop attendees as part of their online branding. They are usually taken with the Skills section.

Key words are essential to being found on LinkedIn. They should be included in your branding title, Summary, Specialties section, Experience—essentially everywhere on your profile. This is yet another place on your profile where you can highlight your valuable skills. From Edit Profile, you simply click Add Skill and go crazy.

Here is what you’ll see when you create your list and click on one of the skills. I chose MBTI as an example of one of my skills.

  1. Related skills, including other self-assessments and skill areas—such as SDS, mock interviews, Strong Interest Inventory—allowing me to click on these additional skills to build my list, thus enhancing my search-ability. More key words.
  2. Description of the skill. LinkedIn starts off with a short description of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is linked to a full-blown Wikipedia description.
  3. People with whom you my like to connect—In my case, people who have MBTI on their profile, e.g., title, summary, work experience, groups, etc. MBTI experts who can provide you with information.
  4. Groups you might like to join. I’m a member of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® Assessment and there are three other groups I could join if I were so inclined.
  5. Relative growth relative to other self-assessment tools. Strong Inventory shows 12%, whereas MBTI shows only 5%. Bummer.
  6. Related companies—I am shown a list of companies that produce materials for the MBTI.
  7. MBTI jobs—jobs at those companies.
  8. Related countries—People who have worked in certain companies—London, for instance.

If you haven’t added your skills to the Skills section, take some time to do it now. Formulating your skills list will give you a better sense of what you’ve accomplished by using your skills. It will also increase your likelihood of being found by employers and potential networkers.

Why preparation and practice do make perfect with interviewing; tips for success

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Contribution from Dorothy Tannahill-Moran.

Recently, I conducted an interviewing workshop where I polled the group on how many times had they interviewed and how many times had they practiced interviewing.  Out of 16 people, only 2 had interviewed at all in the previous year; and none of them had practiced.  How can you expect to be any good at something if you don’t practice?  How can you be any good at something you only do once or twice a year?  Quick answer: You can’t be any good at interviewing if you don’t prepare and don’t practice.  It’s like expecting a toddler to walk well the first time – it’s just not going to happen.

This is like getting in shape for an athletic event; there are things you need to do and continue doing now and throughout your job search to be at the top of your game.

Interview preparation:

Create a list of interview questions. Obtain a list of most-asked interview questions. You can find them all over the internet. Or, at the next networking event you attend, ask people what questions they’ve been asked during interviews.

Write your response.  Sit down, think through your approach to the response and write down your response to each question.  Walk away from what you’ve done and come back later to reread what you’ve written.  You may discover you were brilliant, or that you need to refine your thoughts.

Read your responses out loud.  When we go through the process of writing and then reading what we’ve written out loud, it helps solidify the message in our brain.  It also helps us really hear whether or not what we’ve written sounds good.  Don’t memorize your responses or they will sound memorized when you do the interview.  Your brain will remember the main points of what you want to convey if you make the list of questions, write your response, and read your response out loud.

Repeat.  Refresh yourself on a regular basis, like weekly or minimally bi-monthly.  You want to read your answers out loud over and over again.

Practice:

Conduct mock interviews. Find other job seekers and friends who would be willing to spend a half hour interviewing you.  They can cook up their own questions or you can give them your list of questions.  Make sure to give them a copy of your resume so they have a basis for their questions.

Ask for feedback.  Find out if your answers sounded good and if you conveyed energy and interest.  Ask if you had any nervous habits that you need to eliminate or body language that doesn’t work well.  This will be one of the few times you might get some useful feedback throughout your entire job search process; so ask for it and do something with it to improve.

If you haven’t done these steps, you aren’t ready for an interview.  You might think well “on your feet,” but think of how much better you will be if you have prepared and practiced.  If you don’t think well on your feet, this is a critical activity you need to be scheduling right now.

Dorothy Tannahill-Moran is a Career Coach and expert on helping her clients achieve their goals. Her programs cover: Career growth and enhancement, Career Change, Retirement Alternatives and Job Search Strategy. Want to discover specific career change strategies that get results? Discover how by claiming your FREE gift, Career Makeover Toolkit at:http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com

Don’t neglect this component of LinkedIn, post updates

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The last article I wrote on the LinkedIn series discussed the (work) experience section. Prior articles talked about the summary and branding headline. Something that’s not discussed enough is the importance of posting updates on LinkedIn to better network with your connections.

This feature allows you to inform them about matters such as which events and seminars you’ve been attending, share information and advice that pertain to your industry, talk about training courses you’re taking, plus much more.

Share an Update from your homepage or Post an Update from your profile page are two places where you can share any news you find worth mentioning. There are some things to keep in mind when updating.

Do it often: I advise my jobseekers to update at least once a day. This may be too infrequent to effectively network, however. Your network should hear from you at least four times a day. You may not have news about seminars you’re attending, or training courses you’re taking; but this doesn’t mean your input is invaluable. Become a source of information by posting blogs written by industry pundits; even post your own blogs. Simply “liking” a statement someone posted is keeping your presence alive.

Keep it professional: For jobseekers and professionals alike, it’s important to keep your updates professional. An update that would not be appropriate on LinkedIn is, “I just had an interview that didn’t go too well. Oh well, I’ll try it again.”  This is more like it, “I had an exciting interview at a great company. Time to write thank you notes.” You could write an inspirational quote, if you’d like. “Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.” Hamilton Holt

Attach a URL to a blog article: Part of networking is sharing information, so what better way than suggesting an article you found informative and pertinent to your network? If you blog yourself, it’s always great suggesting other bloggers’ articles as a way to network. Click the link “Attach” and copy and paste the article’s URL; LinkedIn will compress the lengthy address like tinyurl.com does.

Give tips: Here are some examples of tips you might update to your network. “Your résumé should sell you and prompt employers to invite you in for an interview.” “A great job search book is What Color is Your Parachute.” “I ran across a great webinar series on the job search, ‘How to Brand Yourself in a Down Market.’ Check it out.” Remember to keep them pertinent to your network’s interests.

Make enhancements to your profile: Your networking efforts can be as simple as making improvements to your LinkedIn summary, experience, or education sections; and writing or receiving recommendations. Be sure your settings for activity broadcasts are on. However, you may want to turn off your activity broadcasts when you are in the process of building your profile.

Participate in group discussions: Every time you comment on a topic in your group/s, the news is delivered to your network. You may not blog or answer and ask LinkedIn questions, so joining group discussions shows others that you’re willing to share information and give advice, both of which are essential aspects of networking.

This topic came to mind when an article I wrote on being on LinkedIn and making use of your time was discussed in one my group’s discussions page. The respondent commented that one should update often to better make use of LinkedIn, to better network. I was remiss in not mentioning sharing updates in that article. Clearly this is one feature of LinkedIn that deserves more attention.

If you’re on LinkedIn, put effort into it

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In my LinkedIn workshops I ask how many attendees are on LinkedIn. Some reluctantly raise their hand, clarifying they’re on LinkedIn but haven’t touched it in years. I tell them we’ll do something about that, because otherwise it’s a waste of time.

Alison Doyle of About.com wrote an honest article entitled “Don’t Waste Your Time On LinkedIn.” Let me rephrase: If you’re going to be on LinkedIn, do it right so you’re not wasting your time and the time of others who visit your profile, including employers who are searching for talent.

What I like about her article was that Alison tells it how it should be. I also like the article because she confirms what I’ve been telling my LinkedIn workshop attendees about not engaging in LinkedIn in a half-baked way. It’s better they hear the truth then spend the time starting a profile only to forget about it and take up space on the many servers LinkedIn use s to host over 120 million users.

“If you’re not going to do it right, there is no point wasting your time (and everyone else’s) on LinkedIn,” Alison writes. “LinkedIn is ‘the” site for professional networking.’”

Amen. Furthermore, she explains that when she is invited to connect with people on LinkedIn and goes to their profile to glean information on them, only to find their title or, worse yet, a “Private Profile,” she’s not likely to connect with them.

I sense her frustration and understand the reason for writing her article. She’s absolutely correct. What motivation would I have for connecting with someone who is unidentified? And for you employers, why would you pursue someone who has a profile that gives you very little information in terms of their skills, accomplishments, and related experience? The answer to both is a resounding none.

The bigger dilemma. This leaves the LinkedIn newbies with a dilemma. Should they join LinkedIn and put themselves out there if they’re not going the make the investment needed to succeed in networking on LinkedIn—let alone identify themselves? The truth is a poor LinkedIn profile will do more harm than good. Here’s why:

No photo will send a message to employers and potential networkers that you have something to hide—namely age. Whether we like it or not, LinkedIn wants us to be visible. While business people have no reason to fear age discrimination, jobseekers might. Jobseekers simply have to bite the bullet and have faith that their age will not hurt their job search.

An undeveloped Snap Shot is the quickest way to turn someone away from your profile. I’m referring to more than the photo; there’s the name and title, as well as potential blog or website URLs, that visitors see when they visit your profile. A developed Snapshot includes a full name with a descriptive title. Don’t be vague and announce yourself as a “Public Relations Professional,” when you’re a “Strategic, bilingual HR leader/business partner who achieves strong results through innovative solutions.”

The Summary section is often neglected by people who simply copy and paste their four-line résumé Summary statement. Folks, we have 2,000 characters with which to work. Let’s use them to craft a creative, descriptive Summary that states our value proposition and showcases our attention-grabbing skills and experience. Have fun and use the first person narrative, or even third person narrative if you’re accomplished.

The Experience section is also an area where visitors like to learn more about your identity. Simply listing your job title, company name, and dates of employment says, “I’m too lazy to give this any effort.” This laziness will get you nowhere. List three, four, or five major accomplishments for each job.

The last section I’ll address are recommendations, which do a tremendous job of telling visitors who you are through the eyes of your former supervisors, colleagues, vendors, partners, etc. Ask for and write at least five or six recommendations. This is especially important for jobseekers who need to deliver a quick punch.

Alison Doyle’s article had a little bite to it—I imagine because so many people with poor profiles asked to connect with her. I took a gamble and asked Alison to be in my network. Within half an hour I was accepted and also invited to join her group. Thank You, Alison. I’m glad I passed the test.

Soccer and doing what it takes; 7 things to do in your job search

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The other day, my son and I were shooting the soccer ball at the net. He was loving it, and I was hating it for the mere fact that my feet were numb from the cold. Regardless, I was constantly telling him to shoot with his opposite foot. “Why?”he asked me.

“Because you need to be multi-talented,” I told him. “You need to be able to shoot the ball with whichever foot it comes to. If you have to turn your body so you can shoot with your left, you’ll lose opportunities.” I’ve played some soccer in my day, so my advice was sound, albeit not what he wanted to hear.

While I was “coaching” my 10-year-old kid, I got to thinking about the advice I give jobseekers, most of whom listen and others who don’t. The ones who listen are those who send me e-mails or even stop by the career center to tell me about their upcoming interviews or, best of all, their new jobs. It’s all about the effort they put into their job search that makes the difference. They do the hard work, while I simply provide the theory. Such as:

  1. Network, network, network. Tell everyone you know that you’re looking for work. Be clear as to what you want to do and where you want to do it. Clearly explain your occupation (human resources vs. human services is a big difference), your greatest attributes, and your extensive experience.
  2. Look for a job where most people aren’t. In other words, penetrate the Hidden Job Market, which, coincidently, has a great deal to do with networking. “Why?” as my son would ask me. Simple, employers gain a lot more from not advertising than they do from advertising their positions. When they advertise, they spend more money, have to read hundreds of résumés, and interview strange people.
  3. Research, research, research. Always know the requirements for the jobs for which you apply. Know about the companies as well. This will come in handy when you write your résumé and other written marketing material, as well as when you interview for said positions.
  4. Market yourself with targeted résumés for each job, rich with quantified accomplishments and a strong personal profile that makes the employer want to read on. One of my respected contacts on LinkedIn, Laura Smith-Proulx, wrote a great article called Is Your Resume Summary Boring Employers? In it she advises jobseekers to include a substantial, quantified accomplishment in the professional profile.
  5. Send a cover letter with each résumé, unless instructed not to. True, some recruiters do not read cover letters, but many do. And if your job will involve writing, you must send a well-written, targeted cover letter that isn’t boring. Refrain from using a pat opening line that reads something like this, “I was pleased to read on Monster.com of an opening for a project manager….”
  6. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Never go to an interview unprepared. You’ve researched the position and company, so you should have an understanding of what questions might be asked. Prepare your answers for a behavioral-based interview using the STAR formula (Situation, Task, Action, Result). If you are asked traditional questions, you’ll be better prepared to answer them because you’ll have examples to share.
  7. Finally, consider building a LinkedIn, FaceBook, or Twitter networking campaign. Online networking should not replace face-to-face networking; rather it should supplement your networking efforts. LinkedIn is considered the premiere professional networking site, but the other two have garnered results for some people.

I explain some very basic job search methods, yet some jobseekers refuse or don’t understand how to begin and follow through with the basic tenets of the job search. Like my son who shies away from shooting with his opposite foot and, thus, will miss opportunities; these jobseekers will find it more difficult to find a job.

When someone writes your résumé, they need to thoroughly interview you. The experts will tell you

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You’d think that writing a résumé that is typically one, two, three, or even four pages long shouldn’t be difficult, yet even the most accomplished professionals find it daunting. Self-analysis is not an easy thing, as it involves some soul searching and brutal honesty.

Although some can easily identify their skills and experience, others need help in the form of a résumé  interview. Professional résumé writers will tell you that the interview is just the beginning of the entire process.

My Résumé  Writing workshop attendees often confess that they dread writing their résumé —these are people who have written white-pages, proposals, product documentation, newsletters, and other business correspondences. To answer them, I’ll say, “You just have to do it. Your livelihood depends on this document.”

The workshop runs two and a half to three hours long, depending on the number of questions I get as well as how talkative I am. The focus of the workshop is to help my customers 1) formulate a strategy, 2) position themselves through a Summary/Personal Profile, and 3) sell themselves to the employer by showing quantified accomplishments. This, however, is all theory. In other words, it tells them how they should go about revising an existing résumé , how to make it stronger.

Where my customers benefit the most is when I meet with them one-on-one. They revise their résumé  after the workshop and then send a copy of it to me. I’ll review and write comments on it, usually pertaining to a lack of accomplishments and/or a Summary statement that fails to illustrate their job-related skills. If their résumé  is outstanding, I’ll say so; but in most cases it needs at least some minor work.

What results from the critique is usually a soul-searching meeting where I’ll interview my customers for half an hour to dig into their background. The interview process is where it comes together for them. It’s the “Oh Yeah” moment where they see better their accomplishments and understand why a Summary statement full of fluff is not impressive.

“You say in your Summary that you trained staff to be more productive,” I’ll begin. First of all, employers have seen this claim many times. How can you elaborate on it? Give me a WOW factor.”

“OK. When I trained other staff on how to use the proprietary office management software, I noticed a rapid improvement in their output, perhaps double what they were doing prior to my training. Do you mean like that?”

“Exactly. Now tell me more about your training style. Why was it effective?”

“Oh, and also I won an award for training my colleagues. I, like, totally forgot about that.”

And so it goes. With fresh new ideas in their heads, my job seekers leave my office armed to revise their résumé  for yet another time, and probably not the last.

Some jobseekers have the resources to hire a professional résumé  writer who will guide them through the entire process, beginning with the interview and culminating with a product that should get them a number of interviews.

I won’t dissuade my customers who ask me if they should hire a writer, especially if they can afford the cost. However, there’s one condition I lay down; if a résumé  writer is going to take their money, the writer must interview them for an appropriate length of time before going to work writing it.

I’ve seen too many job seekers come through our urban career center with a poorly written résumé . In some cases, they spend up to $700 for a résumé  that is worth no more than the paper on which it’s printed. One woman I spoke to said she was interviewed for 10 minutes. What she showed me was no more than a work timeline with a long column of keywords. Oh, but it had a nice border around it. Plainly stated, it wasn’t a résumé .

Writing one’s own résumé  takes self-reflection, so it follows that assisting with or writing another person’s résumé  requires the time to completely understand the client’s relevant experience, scope of their duties, and, most importantly, what accomplishments they’ve achieved that separates them from the rest of the pack.

WHAT THE PROFESSIONALS SAY:

Wendy Enelow, Co-Owner of Career Thought Consortium and author of many résumé  writing books, articulates in one of her blogs the need to capture her clients’ accomplishments: “As professional résumé  writers, we all know that a great deal of a résumé ’s effectiveness is based on accomplishments—what a job seeker has done to improve operations, increase revenues, strengthen bottom-line profits, reduce operating costs, enhance business processes, upgrade technologies, and so much more.” To write about a job seeker’s accomplishment, the résumé  writer must invest time in learning about that person. Wendy puts no limit on the time it takes to interview her clients and write some of the best résumé s out there.

Darrell DiZoglio, Owner of RighteousRésumé s, emphasizes the importance of setting his clients apart from the ordinary. He states, “[Clients] want a serious advantage over their competition in the race to get hired and do not mind paying for it. It is my mission in life to give it to them.” I’ve spoken with Darrell on a few occasions and got the impression that he loves what he does and takes pride in producing the best possible résumé s for his clients. When talking about the time he takes to interview his clients, he says, “I don’t wear a wristwatch.”

“The amount of time I spend interviewing a client before pen is put to paper is no less than 2 hours, but there is no restriction on time. Our process is one of working to accomplish a goal that is not driven by time.” states Marjorie Kavanagh, President of Panoramic Résumé s. She also says the interview process helps people realize accomplishments they may not have considered.

Tracy Parish, CPRW, Executive Résumé  Writer, says that sometimes her clients don’t talk enough. But knowing the importance of getting valuable information from them, she won’t give up until she has that information. She mentions a funny occasion when her fear of a silent client was subsided after she used her charm to warm him up, “I’ve also had the extreme where you couldn’t get them to talk at all. I’m usually great at getting them to open up. One guy had his wife sit in on the call too—she warned me he wouldn’t talk much so I thought having her there for input would be nice. However, he talked so much [his wife] was shocked. She told me she had never seen anyone get him to talk so much!”

Whether my customers attend my workshop and a critique session or pay someone to write their résumé , the interview process is an essential component of the process. I understand the difficulty of interviewing job seekers, as do the professional résumé  writers who I contacted; but when done well, it lays down the foundation of the most important document of their life.


States with the most volunteers have the lowest unemployment rates…5 reasons to volunteer

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A recent report by the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) claims that volunteering can contribute to reducing unemployment rates. This study points to volunteering in the community and for nonprofit organizations and says this about volunteering:

“Participation in civil society can develop skills, confidence, and habits that make individuals employable and strengthen the networks that help them find jobs. 59% of volunteers in national service programs believe their volunteer service will improve their chance of finding jobs, perhaps because it helps them learn marketable skills or because it broadens their professional contact networks, or both.”

Let’s revisit why volunteering is beneficial to your job search success.

1. Volunteering is a great way to do a positive thing. You may consider choosing an organization where your efforts are meaningful in a big way. The Salvation Army comes to mind. Every year around Christmas holiday thousands of volunteers ring the bells in front of businesses. All for the sake of helping the less fortunate get by during the holidays. A customer of mine said she volunteers at a soup kitchen. While she’s an accountant, she has a soft spot in her heart for the less fortunate. This appeals to employers.

2. Volunteer to network for your next job. Choose an organization that’s in the industry in which you’d like to work. If marketing is your forté, approach a company that needs a graphic artist or publicist to design some art for their website or write a press release or two. This organization in which you’ve managed to get your foot in the door can help you with leads at other organizations, especially if you do a smashing job. The director will want to help you because you’ve come across as competent and likeable. Who knows, you could possibly join the company if a position opens up…or is created.

3. Develop or enhance some skills that will make you more marketable. You’ve had it in your head to start blogging but haven’t had the time to dedicate to it. The organization that took you on as a volunteer in their marketing department not only can help you network; it can assist you in enhancing your diverse writing skills. Your approach might be to offer starting a blog for them, as the rest of the marketing department is up to their elbows in alligators. They gain a talented writer to write entries, and you learn the fine art of blogging. “Tie the skills needed to do the volunteer position back to the skills needed to support or enhance your profession,” says Dawn Bugni, owner of The Write Solution. “This keeps your skills sharp. You might learn something new….”

4. Feel useful. Yes, instead of sitting at home and watching The View, you can get back into work mode. Do you remember work mode? It begins with getting up at 6:00am, doing some exercise, leaving for some job from 8:00am to 5:00pm, all the while having that feeling of productivity. When you get home from volunteering, you can watch those episodes of The View on DVR.

5. Volunteering will pad your résumé. Yes, employers look at gaps in your work history. Instead of having to explain (or worse yet, not having the chance) why you’ve been out of work for three months, you can proudly say that you’ve been volunteering at Organization A in their marketing division where you authored press releases, created their newest website designs, and started them on your way to a new blogging campaign. Of course you’ll indicate on your résumé, in parenthesis, that this experience was (Volunteer) work. Nonetheless, it was work.

Any time you feel ripped off for working without pay, remember why you’re doing it; to do something positive, to network, to develop or enhance new skills, to feel useful, and to pad your résumé. If these five reasons aren’t enough, then by all means stay home and watch The View.

Companies that are doing it wrong, you might learn some things from “Blink”

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The book, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, talks about decisions made from our unconscious and the negative or positive consequences such decisions produce. Some may call them split decisions or acting without thinking; Gladwell calls this phenomenon “the power of thinking without thinking.” The point is that whether we know it or not, there are decisions we make based on what little knowledge we have of a situation. 

Two specific examples in the book stand out for me. The first one: four policemen in Brooklyn, New York, shoot an innocent man because of their instinctive reaction to a sketchy situation. This is a sad occurrence as a result of not knowing enough about the situation, relying completely on “blink.”

The second and most poignant story Gladwell tells is about how the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra hires a talented Italian trombonist player. The search committee, striving for total objectivity, sets up a screen so the auditioning musicians cannot be seen. They hire the best trombonist they hear. To their chagrin, the musician they choose as the best player is a woman.

The consequence of this instance of “blink” is hiring the best trombonist for their orchestra—a far cry from unloading 42 bullets into an enclosed entryway and killing a man because he was reaching for his wallet. Nonetheless, they are devastated to find that the winner is a woman.

This second instance of “blink” makes me wonder is this is a viable practice all employers who are hiring jobseekers for positions should practice. What the Munich Philharmonic accomplished was to prove that total objectivity yields the best result, albeit not what they wanted in terms of gender. Perhaps employers continue to use ineffective ways of hiring people because they make their decisions based on biases, or…they’re given the opportunity to think.

Following the practice of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra would most likely preclude employers from discriminating against various populations, including the disabled; minorities; woman; one of the hardest hit populations, the older workers; and other groups. In other words, the most qualified candidates would be hired the majority of the time. But there could be some drawbacks for employers who, for instance, are trying to get a viable “fit.”

How would employers emulate the success of the Munich Philharmonic?  To safeguard against preventing them from discriminating against the aforementioned populations, they would have to abide by the following rigid steps:

Step One. Conduct telephone interviews to determine minimum technical requirements met and salary expectations are in synch with their budget. The telephone interview remains pure and objective to this day. Next a face-to-face interview would be scheduled if the two issues are ironed out.

Step Two. Candidates, like the musicians who auditioned for the Munich Philharmonic, would enter the interview location unseen and unheard. Interviewers would not see their bodies and faces—it’s a well-known fact that the “blink” phenomenon has played a role in determining a person’s perceived greatness. (Ex. The notorious President Warren Harding, explained by Gladwell in Blink, was elected, in part, because of his physical stature.)

Step Three. Interviewers will literally conduct all interviews with a twelve-foot screen separating them and the job candidates. All candidates would be equipped with a voice scrambling device, thus disguising their gender, ethnicity, age, or vocal disability.

Step Four. There would be no trick/illegal questions asked to determine candidates’ isms. Questions like these would be forbidden:

  • “What country are you from?”
  • “When did you graduate from college?”
  • “Do you favor the current President, or the opposing party?”
  • “Who is the breadwinner in your house?”
  • “Do you require any special accommodations?”

Interviewers may ask questions that are neutral and reveal the candidates’ required skills and experience. These could include any technically related questions, behavioral-based questions, and questions that get to the applicant’s personality fit.

Step Five. Once the interviewers’ decision is made, based on objective, unbiased questions; it is final. Had the interviewers hoped for someone in his/her 30’s; tough. If they wanted someone who was a man, or woman; too bad. Tough cookies if they wanted someone as healthy as a horse but ended up with someone in a wheelchair—install a ramp.

What are some possible drawbacks of this approach to interviewing? Interviewers would not see the candidates’ body language and visa-versa. Interviewers would have to rely on the content of the candidates’ answers to ensure overall fit, including technical, transferable, and personality skills. Further, candidates would not be allowed to see the companies’ facilities in order to maintain total anonymity. The personal nature of the interview would be eliminated.

The likelihood of employers conducting this kind of interview is very slim at best. Employers have a right to hire who they want. But to “blink” and not be given time to think, would eliminate some of what’s wrong with the interview system. Let’s look at the Munich Philharmonic’s example of objective hiring as something that’s attainable in a theoretical way. Lord knows too many qualified people are slipping through the cracks.