Starting a new year can be both exciting and cringe-making at the same time, especially if you are in a job search. Life is full of successes, challenges and failures, and you want to maximize the first, moderate the second and quickly learn from the third. […]
After thinking about the Thanksgiving season, I have been reflecting on some key similarities between Christmas, work in general and the job search. As is generally accepted, this is a hard time to be in transition and looking for a new position – budgets are tight, self-confidence is probably low and there can be a distinct lull in focus and motivation. Now is the time to take stock about the positives and readjust your perspective in a way that allows you to keep moving forward, despite external circumstances. 1. Giving: This season has come to mean giving of yourself, of your time, talent and treasure, to someone you know and love, or to those less fortunate. People who are givers and not takers overall are a more attractive asset to any company’s growth, and they are generally more fun to be around anyway. Who in their right mind doesn’t appreciate the person who is ready to pitch in and not complain, to do what is necessary to promote the common good? Rather, it is the politic-players who may win in the short-run, but who can’t, because they focus on the wrong things, really play a large part in bringing success to everyone. 2. Community: A poet once observed that we are not islands, doomed to always be alone in life and cut off from society. Rather, we are all connected to those who have come to make up the vast matrix of our lives - family, friends, colleagues, direct reports, customers, bosses and others. You have something, indeed, a lot of things to contribute to the general good and growth of your present or potential company. You have proved it before, as your resume should [...]
When trying to understand something that is very important, such as the importance of a clear resume, it is useful to compare it with something else that is familiar. I want to apply the English grammar concept of verb tenses to your resume, assuming we remember those composition classes we all took when we were in elementary school. You must recall the 3 verb tenses: Past, Present and Future. I want to use them to illustrate a way that may help you get a fresh perspective on your career narrative as it is portrayed in your resume. It can help you learn how you can package and position yourself more efficiently for the interviewer and potential employer. 1. Past: At least half, if not most, of the resume is taken up in what should be a concise, yet high-impact manner – all within 2 pages, 3 pages in some exceptions, but almost always more than 1 page. It is also crucial to lay out your career narrative for the reader – how you got to where you are now – university, professional training, all jobs except the most recent one. What you chose to use as quantifiables and achievements will influence the careful reader in the direction you want them to think and how they should interpret your Chronological milestones. Avoid the temptation to over-write or under-write when you decide how to package your past – it is hard to reach a happy balance. Don’t hesitate to get direct and honest feedback from a resume-writing professional. 2. Present: Your most recent position can be the most important simply because it is the first one a reader reads on the 1st page. It may be years [...]
Now that we are past Thanksgiving and Christmas is only a short time away – and then we are in the rush of a New Year. What is the status of your job transition? Is it humming down the road - active, or is it still in the garage - passive? Take a second to reflect, and consider my points below - 1. Get Started Now: As the saying go – no time like the present – even if it is December! If you are currently employed – great! Most often, it is the best time to start looking. Many companies and recruiters will hire people who are “fresh” over someone with comparable skills and background, but who is currently unemployed. Fortunately, in today’s down-market, this is a brutal truth is not the stigma it once was. Whatever your situation, if you are making a change, now more than ever is the time to --- 2. Gather Your Resources: The “mission clock” is started! It is only a matter of time before you get the position you want. But you have to identify and pull together your assets are in terms of packaging professional skills, job achievements and industry knowledge. Triangulate with friends, colleagues and others who know you well in both personal and professional arenas. As another old saying goes – “Know Yourself.” While this self-awareness may take focus, effort and a bit of time, it is well worth it. You will be able to present and sell yourself in those interviews, when details count. So the next big step is to --- 3. Build a Job Search Campaign: As you can see from my website, there are 5 components to a successful job [...]
We are now entering the front-end of that season when we reflect on what we are grateful for and how we can give to others. It is good to take a moment and review all the positives we still enjoy. No doubt, there can be many negatives in our lives – a lot of people are in rough job searches and feeling very vulnerable at the tender mercies of our economy. Here are some thoughts that may prove to be helpful and get you through this holiday period with a better perspective on what you can still bring to your situation. 1. Capacity: Keep in mind that you really do have the energy, skills and talents to do the job you want to get. You do have a positive record of achievements and contributions to your current and former employers. This should be fully manifest in your resume. If it isn’t, or you don’t feel confident in the way you are packaged, contact me for a free phone analysis. Do you really want your career transition to be de-railed by a low-impact, unfocused resume? 2. Focus: When circumstances change every day, even every hour, you have to keep your eye on your job search map. Sure, you may take a wrong turn or chase a “bunny trail,” but you always get back on track. This is a critical quality I see in my successful clients. It is what you actually do with the pieces of your particular situation that makes the difference. Does your resume distort who you are professionally and mislead the potential employer? 3. Generosity: You always have the chance to be a light in these dark economic times by showing how you [...]
Many times when people are dropped into a new search after being let go from their jobs, a natural first reaction to the shock is to freeze and not move. And that’s OK - it can take some time to adjust and adapt to the new situation. Typically, it is good to take a week off and play, clear your head a bit and get your bearings. Much more important though is to get moving again and avoid the inevitable inertia that is sure to tempt you into inaction. Make sure you have an excellent resume, create a solid job search campaign and activate your network. Don’t worry about picking the exact target for your next job – most likely, you will figure out what position will best fit once you re-launch into the stream. Moving with a purpose will give you confidence, momentum and traction in the job search. Plus it is critical for keeping peak morale. However, on the other side, to set arbitrary expectations or to think the next opportunity will simply drop in out of the blue is really to walk right in front of the 18-wheeler of Disappointment. Manage your expectations and work the process! Each day your goal should be to keep forward motion. As the saying goes, it is easier to steer a moving car than a parked car, so don’t be afraid to make some mistakes! You may have to go down a few “bunny trails,” but that’s OK as it is part of the process. It is part of the larger processing of learning to live. The key to getting the job you want lies in being convinced that you will get it, and then doing [...]
99.99% of my clients over the years have been hard-working, resourceful people who want to get through the job transition as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, when they enter the job search, things seem to slow down for a variety of reasons. One can be that they are not familiar with the stress and strain of looking for a job – who is? Who should be? No one, but we all have to go through it at least once in our lives. Another is that their expectations are too high or misplaced – they assume it will be a matter of a few weeks, or months at the most. One more could be that, while they are organized at work, they are not so focused when involved in something that requires the same type of attention but not in the same environment. For instance, when I do resumes for people in sales, I have to stress that the same skills that made them a success at their job must also be applied to the job search – selling a product, themselves. Actually, sales executives have a leg up, sort of, over the rest in that they understand those sales dynamics already. They just need to “retool” their thinking and attitude. Most people feel the job search will never end, but it will – it only seems like you will never get a job. Actually, I have found that everyone eventually gets a position, sooner or later. The trick is in not letting your circumstances dictate what job you have to take. And this means that you have to work the process: get a better resume, build a job search campaign, sketch out your contact tree, activate [...]
Writing resumes and interacting with a diverse clientele over the years, I get to see some patterns and dynamics at play in career transitions. It is a natural tendency to try and understand why things happen as they do. This is very true with the job search process itself. One analogy I like is that the job search is like dating, or even Internet dating. Everyone, employees and employers, are looking to make the right connection and feel that positive chemistry. Nobody likes to spend time following up on something that just doesn’t feel right – it is a waste of time and a “bunny trail.” If a job searcher looks at finding a new position as finding the right person, then they must see that it means not marrying the first person who treats them nice. This is a bad reason to get married and a bad reason to take a particular job. What ends up happening too often is a “rebound” situation – someone accepts what looks like a great offer, only to find after a few months that the job was nothing like what was advertised. So they are back to square one and back into the search process. Better to take your time and identify what are your must-haves and do-withouts, and go on as many “dates” as it takes to get what you want and is best for you. It may seem to lengthen the job search, but actually saves you time in the long run because you are not jumping at the first half-good-looking opportunity. Like the dating game, the job search process requires you to do your due diligence. The transition may seem to be crazy and unpredictable, [...]
As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting, there is no such thing as a single resume version that a job searcher can use for any position. Sometimes people have the idea that the resume should be like those “Have you seen me?” posters put up on telephone poles and memo boards everywhere to help find a lost dog or cat. The idea is: Create one message and then get as many as possible out there and, eventually, the right person will see it and respond. This cannot be further from the reality of today’s job search! Companies have different specifications for each position they look to fill, even if it is for a similar position title. This means that your resume must be flexible enough to modify and customize for each one, without having to rewrite the entire resume at the same time. To have this option, your resume must have the type of Objective Title, Profile and Areas of Expertise sections at the top of your Combination format resume that allows you to swap in or out the high-impact language, key concepts or buzz words you need to make your case. The goal is to “mirror” the actual job opportunity as much as possible with the relevant skill sets you already have. This pulls the potential employer/reader along to see and understand how you would be the optimal match for their position opening. As easy as you make it for the employer to figure out what you offer and who you are professionally, the faster you sell yourself. Spell it out and connect the dots for the reader, and it will pay off. However, if you make it harder or less clear, then [...]
One of the first pieces of advice I pass on to my clients is – Manage your Expectations! This is great advice for life in general, but particularly for the job search. Why? If you don’t control your expectations, they will overwhelm you in a flood of fears. Clients frequently ask me such questions as – What do you think of the market? How long will it take to get a job? How many resumes should I send out – 50, 100, 500? What do you think an employer will think if I (fill in blank here)? All good questions, but no single or final answers. Or some clients will want for a “perfect” resume that will guarantee a certain outcome. They expect the resume is the “magic bullet” will get them the job they want. They stake all their hopes and fears on the resume itself. But there is no perfect resume or magic bullet – there is what works. The reality is that people come to the job search with a whole bag full of expectations, some realistic, most not. But another reality is that in the job search, as in life overall, there are more moving parts outside of a person’s control than within it. Keeping this in mind will help you avoid an ulcer and keep you focused on what you can actually control – how hard you work the process and how well use your resume. As the saying goes – “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Remember – keep your expectations on a “short leash” and get as much exposure for your resume as possible.
