A Non-Scary Look at Resumes

Maybe it's the influence of Halloween, or maybe it's the reality that individuals get frightened by the overwhelming task of updating or creating a strong resume. Whatever the reason, I think it will be helpful to many to examine what makes for a strong resume – one that gets results.

Before we get into the resume framework, let's take a look at the meaningful message that must be sustained throughout the process.

Purpose: the purpose of a resume is to introduce your capabilities to a potential hiring manager or networking acquaintance. Your goal is to make them want to know more about you. By sharing the highlights of your knowledge, skills, and experiences as they relate to the position you are interested in, you start the exploration of how you fit and what expertise you can bring to their organization.

Therefore, please be aware that unless all the openings you are responding to are for exactly the same responsibilities, within the same industry, within companies with the same type of culture, one resume will not be appropriate. You need to get comfortable adjusting your resume so it speaks exactly to what each employer is looking for.

Remember, in the market today there is a lot of competition. Your resume has to make it easy for the person reading it to quickly assess where you fit and how you can add value. Today it’s likely that your resume may be initially read by a computer. Make sure you are using the language and keywords they are looking for. Make it easy for them to get excited about what you have to offer. Make them pick up the phone and call you!

Getting Started

Objective or not?

There seems to be a debate these days among career coaches and resume developers about whether it is appropriate to include an Objective Statement at the beginning of the resume. I happen to be in the camp that supports offering some direction to the reader about the talents you are most interested in offering. People are very busy. Your resume may only be viewed for 10-20 seconds before a decision is made, up or down on your being a match. Don't add the task of having to read your entire resume to see where you would fit to serve the company; give them a place to start.

On the other hand, I do believe that it is not appropriate to list a particular job title, especially since you don't want to be excluded from other positions you are qualified for - unless, of course, you are only interested in one job.  Instead, I think it is appropriate to include a sentence that highlights your interest and those primary competencies you can offer to help the organization achieve their goals and objectives.

Example: Over 16 years experience guiding organizational improvements utilizing organization development expertise in strategic planning, leadership development, project management, and meeting design and facilitation.

Qualification Summary

This may be the only section of your resume that gets read, so make it dance! This section is most often set up in a two- or three-column table. The table contains bulleted "keywords" that quickly illustrate the relevant competencies and characteristics you bring to the job. This is also the area where you will want to highlight key technical skills and primary functional areas you have knowledge in. The bullets should be brief, often just one or two word descriptors. Naturally you will also use applicable keywords used in the jobs posting that match your experience.

This section will determine the information you will include in the rest of the resume. The remainder of the document should offer strong examples to support how these competencies were applied in past positions, along with the quantifiable results you achieved.

Experience - Reverse Chronological Order

Some of our competitors prepare "functional" resumes rather than reverse chronological. You want to avoid functional resumes unless of course you are working with a headhunter or a recruiter who will be supplying the hiring manager with additional information about your background.

Functional resumes are fast and easy to construct; however, they are very difficult for the hiring manager to sort through. Information is not provided in a logical manner to allow a map of your career to be drawn. These resumes require a lot of work on the part of the employer, so they often end up in the trash. Recruiters and hiring managers want to see sharp, concise reverse chronological resumes. These start with the last job and work back to the first job you held, or at least your career over the last 15-20 years.

Headline each position you've held by providing the following information, in bold: name of company, city, state, and the years (no months) in which you worked for this firm. A job title that is understood by individuals outside of a particular firm or industry should also be noted. NEVER lie about anything on your resume, but if your title was Chief Number Cruncher, it's perfectly alright to indicate your title as Accounting Specialist, or Accountant, whatever is the most recognized equivalent title to the outside world.

Next, the experience information shared for each job title held while at each company should be begin with a statement such as, "Responsible for managing the day-to-day accounting operations for a national IT consulting firm with revenues of $10 million per year."

Now that you stated the overarching responsibility that you held, the following 8-10 bullets should highlight the primary functions you performed and the results achieved in each area. This is also the section where you would note awards. Each bullet should begin with an action word, such as achieved, coordinated, managed, analyzed, etc. Follow this formula for each bullet: responsible for = quantifiable result.

An example would be: Supervised and managed a team of six Accounting Specialists consistently recognized by management for their high levels of productivity and employee engagement.

As you detail job experiences after the most current job, you will begin to have fewer bullets. It's very important that each bullet is never a repeat of a task or function you have already detailed. Make each bullet a new fact about your background and experience. Make sure you include results that speak to improving elements of the organization such as results and processes, saving money, managing organizational change, and building teams. These are all points that are very important to potential employers. If you have global experience or can speak another language, highlight that as well.

Education

I often have clients ask me if they should include their high school information. The answer is, it depends. It depends on whether you have a college degree to list (if yes, than no to high school). Or perhaps you have college coursework that you can note. Everyone will assume if you took college courses, even if you didn't graduate, that you completed high school. Depending on the number of years you've been out of high school, it isn't necessary to note the date. You will complete that information when you complete the application.

Don't forget to also list all the training classes and workshops that are applicable to the type of position you are applying for. Also include certifications, licenses, etc.

What Not to Include in Your Resume

Be careful about putting too much personal information into the heading of the resume, especially if you are posting on a board where you don't know who will have access to it.  Take all precautionary steps to protect against identity theft.  Be mindful of the information you have included in your resume and where you post it, as well as the comments and information shared on Facebook and LinkedIn.  Thieves are very clever about pulling all the pieces together from various sources.

Don't take up space noting that references are available upon request. We all know that you will supply references prior to getting hired, so be ready with that information when you are called for an interview.

Your resume should not be longer than two pages, with margins of at least an inch, and a font no smaller than 10 pt.; 11 is preferred. The process will take a few iterations, so be patient. Get all your information down, and then start editing. Have someone else read through what you've developed and give you suggestions. It's hard to write a resume alone; that's why so many people use resume writers and coaches. It's a challenging process to get to the right level of detail, but you can do it. Please check out some free examples on my website that may be helpful to you and check out the links on the right side of this blog for additional resources.

A solid resume is critical to your job search and career development plan. Take the time to think through how you want to brand yourself and the skills you have to offer. If the industry you have come out of is struggling, examine the skills and talents you have to offer and reframe those experiences for a different industry or line of work. Help the reader see how your skills transfer regardless of industry.

Have a Reflective Journey

The process of searching for a job is a journey.  Although it can be frustrating at times, be open to learning more about your skills and passions and how you identify and articulate who you are.  The reflections you make during the process will help align you with the right position, prepare you for the interview, and help you be more authentic in the new job.  Best of luck with your resume process and job search journey.

Do you have specific questions related to the job search process?  Visit my Dear Jobseeker page for answers.

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A Graduation Gift – A Solid Job Search Strategy

It’s that time of year again: graduation announcements, celebrations, and job search. Some ambitious students may already be implementing their strategy, while others may not have had time enough between projects and exams to think about it yet. Whatever situation you or your graduating friend is in, there’s good news. According to the 2011 Job Outlook Report issued by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers are indicating a hiring projection well improved from last year. Good news, and another reason to celebrate!

But before the celebrations begin, the graduate should devote some quality time to developing a job search strategy that will deliver a good job. So here’s my early graduation gift: a road map for planning a successful job search strategy.

After the years of dedication you’ve put into your education one thing I’m sure you’ve learned is that no one is just going to give you a job. In fact, unless you’re totally clueless, you are aware that we’ve been experiencing a downturn in the economy and hundreds of thousands of people are out of work, making the competition for every job more intense. Analyzing these two data points, you also realize you’ll have to be sharp, prepared, and strategic in your job search to make the most of your time and efforts. So what’s the first step?

Getting Started
As you think about your job search, keep my EMI Job Search Model in mind. This model forms an integrated strategy of:

• a well developed, growing and utilized network of friends, family and colleagues interested in helping you succeed
• a strong and focused resume that quickly illustrates the value of the knowledge, skills and abilities you have to contribute to the right organization
• a confident and prepared interviewer who is comfortable speaking with others about her strengths, as well as those traits she is still developing

Surrounding these cornerstones of the model is a communications strategy implemented through continuous follow up.

Key actions before leaving campus include the following:

• Clean up your social media presence – remember HR types and hiring managers will be looking at what you’ve got posted. If you can, take down controversial comments, links, photos, etc. It’s time to get professional – meaning not everything you do, think or experience should be public.
• Make sure your ‘LinkedIn’ profile portrays you with a professional image and that you connect with all your professors, friends, and college acquaintances and then begin to expand from that base.
• Take advantage of the career counseling offered through your Career Center – resume preparation, speakers, job boards, job fairs, etc.
• If you haven’t been a student member of the professional association that supports your field of interest – join! (I have more to say about this later) Try to go to a few meetings to meet more people to include in your job search network. Often the Student Chapters are invited to the larger association meetings – a great networking opportunity.
• Check in to available internships – these may be managed through the Career Center or directly by your Department Chair.
• Utilize relationships the college has with business partners to schedule networking interviews with business leaders. This will help you formulate your search strategy, as well as expand the pool of companies that know you are available and ready to make a difference for their organization. 

Is Your “Old” Room Still Available?
For many students without a job, the only option may be to move back home with Mom and Dad while you are in job search. Be aware that this can be difficult for everyone – it’s not just about you. Also, be aware that they want you to be successful and probably feel that they have some life experiences that would be helpful for you to know about. Be respectful and kind. Yes, it’s a different generation, but they have probably held more jobs than you have and just may have some nuggets of wisdom that will help you. Listen and be grateful.

Remember how earlier I congratulated you for knowing about world affairs and the global economic crisis? Those events have some far reaching ramifications that will impact your job search:

• more competition as a result of the number of people out of work
• employers reluctant to hire full-time positions; you may have to consider part-time or temp assignments in the short term
• expanding opportunities with small businesses, but you’ll probably need to wear multiple hats
• expanding opportunities for spammers and rip-off artists; be careful protecting your personal data – if the opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is
• finding ways to reduce costs has led many industries to embrace technology-based operations – this is good news for you since your generation is comfortable using and adapting to technologies. Make sure you bring that out in your resume and interview

With the marketplace changing, so goes the hiring process. You will see fewer jobs being posted on sites such as CareerBuilder and Monster. You may have been too busy studying to hear the story about Delta Airlines. A few months ago they posted a hiring need for 1,000 flight attendants -- they received 100,000 resumes! No organization has the internal capacity to deal with that type of response. So, as jobs become available, more organizations will be working through recruiters and through networking. Do you see why I want you to get comfortable networking? That’s where the jobs are, and will be for the near future. So I realize that you like to text and chat, but get yourself comfortable with face-to-face interactions. Be aware of your communications and interpersonal skills. If you need a coach to improve in these areas, get one – it will be an investment in yourself that will pay off for many years. Also, while you were in school did you ever come across the growing reliance on Emotional Intelligence (EI) in hiring selection and job fit? If you haven’t, you should become familiar with it and keep the principles in mind as you practice interview questions.

Bringing It All Together
One of the first networking tasks you can create is to ask a few trusted individuals for feedback on your resume. Hopefully you received some great help from your Career Center. Don’t overlook the many avenues for information on preparing a resume available on the internet, as well as the free Career Transition resources I offer at my website www.evolutionmgt.com. Consider your resume a work-in-progress and always look for ways to improve it.

Another activity you can do in conjunction with your networking is to take on a job as a volunteer. Include the position and your accomplishments on your resume, even though you aren’t getting paid; it’s all about your talents and experience. A volunteer job allows you to demonstrate your self-motivation, energy level and willingness to take on new activities in order to learn. This could also be the perfect place to gain a good reference.

I mentioned earlier that I had more to say about associations, and it’s all good. Last month I had the honor of serving as a judge for the SHRM Southeast Student Conference which was held at Clemson University. The Conference was set up with educational sessions, as well as case study competitions for the 7 SE teams. The entire experience re-enforced for me that associations dedicated to student and professional development are a wonderful source for networking, learning, and career transition support. I know the business and HR students attending this conference walked away with a lot of good information as well as a healthy dose of confidence when it comes to presentation and communication skills and personal image. Here are a few of the many tips on Pam Greene’s Career Management Checklist that she shared with the students. Pam is the Chief Membership Officer for SHRM.

• Do your homework: research employers before you start applying – know whether you will fit in with the corporate culture and be prepared to answer the question, “What do you know about us?”
• Read! Keep up with news and trends in your field of study and be able to talk to professionals intelligently about your knowledge. By the way, have you seen this issue of TIME?
• Control helicopter parents!
• Create your own business cards
• Be a lifelong learner – don’t stop educating yourself when you graduate; continue to take courses, read books, and consider graduate school
• Don’t be late for interviews or work (most companies have a policy that you can be fired for tardiness)
• Dress for success – never go to work in clothes that are too trendy or inappropriate for the office 

In closing I’ll add two more things to the list:

• Understand what the business community knows, or thinks it knows about your generation and present yourself in a way that supports that assumption or challenges it
• Recognize the power of the first impression.

The job market is challenging these days. There are jobs, but there are lots of people applying. Know who you are and what you are good at. Recognize that this is your first job and not one that you’ll hold for the rest of your life. At the most, you’ll probably only be in this position 3-5 years and then you’ll be moving up, over or on to other things. Brand yourself and treat everyone you meet with respect.

In addition to the other Career GPS blogs available for your review, please also check out my website for free resources and my workbook Position Your Next Move for a Successful Job Search.  Congratulations and good luck with your career!

One question for those readers who are already out in the work world: What would you say are the top three “must dos” for students trying to find that first job? Please click below and offer your suggestions.

Q&A
Dear Job Seeker Q&A:
Since I want to check out all job search channels, I’d like to find out what jobs are available in the government sector. Can you suggest how I go about this.
Charlie

Check out Dear Job Seeker... to see my answer to Charlie's question.