Answers to your questions
Looking………… For the Next Job Opportunity?
Please note that these are my opinions! In the case of resumes, everyone that you speak with will have their own opinion.
MY RESUME
If I send my resume to a search firm will it help me get a job?
No, 98% of the jobs that are out there are filled by companies, sometimes internally, sometimes by internal referrals, but the bottom line is that the person that is looking for a job will be the person that will find the job. Yes, it is worth sending your resume to recruiter and search firms. But once you have sent a resume to the recruiters, forget them and find the job yourself, as that is what is most probably going to happen.
Who should I send my resume to?
Send it to the top search firms in your industry. Check out the Directory of Executive Recruiters, and find the firms that specialize in what you do, either function or industry. Once you have done this, forget recruiters. Don’t call! If we are looking for someone with your skill-set we should be able to find you! We will find you if you follow the following suggestions.*
How many resumes should I have?
You should have ONE resume. It should have your jobs in reverse order, starting with the most recent and go backwards. It should show dates and titles. Countless times I have seen resumes that didn’t show dates! The absence of dates could be one of the reasons that a resume would get passed on. It should tell what you were responsible for and what your accomplishments were as they relate to your responsibilities. You can tailor your resume if suggestions are made to bring out a quality or experience. You need to account for the time that goes back to college. This will serve to answer the question about whether you have spent any time in the military and to make sure that you haven’t spent any time up the river!
Should I have a resume shop do my resume?
NO, you are selling yourself. This is the first avenue you have to present yourself to a potential employer. It is a demonstration of your presentation skills, not the resume shop. There are countless resumes out there and by going to a resume shop you are going to get a resume that is going to look like countless others. The only difference is the names are changed to protect the innocent!
What should be in my resume?
Facts! Use numbers and quantify what you have done in your career. Don’t over-state what you have done as it will catch up with you. If you have had profit and loss responsibility you should include it as well as numbers. Another way to expand would be to indicate budgets and costs and how you were able to exceed budget numbers if you were in sales or stay under what you were budgeted for if you were a cost center.
If for any reason you are dishonest, know that you will get caught!
A true story out of day-time soaps!
We did a college verification on a fellow from a big name school. We contacted the college and ultimately he faxed us a copy of his diploma it looked real and seemed real and was accepted as proof of graduation. The fellow went on, took the job, had an affair, confessed to the other person. The affair ended badly and she turned him in. He lost the job, his wife and the university that he lied about graduating from came after him for lying.
How about Spell-checking on the resume?
A true Story
A number of years ago I received a resume from a very senior executive. Now please keep in mine that I am dyslexic and I found an error. It wasn’t a spelling error but a vocabulary error. I grew up in North Carolina and I know most of the schools there but I had never heard of North Carolina Statue University. I know that this person had spell checked his resume and if it hadn’t been a mistake that I found I would probably not have called him.
What should not be in my resume?
Don’t put anything controversial in your resume. That means no political affiliation, where you go to church, or what team you pull for! Recruiters are looking for a reason to eliminate candidates, not necessarily include people in a search. Do not assume that everyone knows the nomenclature of your industry. This means not to use acromns that are not part of our everyday language that your son or daughter wouldn’t understand as a test. Yes recruiters know and understand a great deal, but don’t assume!
An illustration story
I was once given the assignment of find someone who had CNC experience! I asked what CNC was and was told it didn’t matter, just find someone with that experience! I later learned that it meant” computer numerically controlled”. I am not afraid to say that I don’t know or understand something, but it is important when writing a resume that other non-industry specific people can read it!
*JOB SEARCH?
Where do I go? What do I do to find the next job?
First, decide what you want to do in your next job and be a specific as possible! Second, create a game plan on how you are going to find the next opening that you are going to fill in a company! This means creating a list of the companies that you would like to work with. It means knowing enough about those companies that they share the same values that you do and seem to be a long term viable company! Then find out who in that company has the job that you want. Talk with that person in a non-threatening way and make them your friend. If you think back on your career you have know about peer positions within you company and then guys like me(recruiters) will call you and present opportunities.
At this point there are two areas that you want to explore. First is there a peer position in the company that would fit what you are looking for? Second, would this person have anyone that could you could call as well to network with? Third you want them to have a copy of your resume so that when the next recruiter calls they can pass on your resume to the recruiter!
An illustration story
A number of years ago I was looking for an industrial purchasing agent in St. Louis Mo. I called all the industrial purchasing agents in St Louis and the state of Mo. I ultimately went up and down the Mississippi River. Down towards New Orleans I heard one guy’s name a number of times. He knew what his next job was going to be and he had gone out and talked with every one that had the job today that he wanted tomorrow! He knew what his next job was going to be and he had spoken with every one that had the job that I was trying to fill. The question that you need to ask yourself is how many times would I as an executive recruiter hear your name if I was looking for someone with your skills and in the functional area?
The resume trap?
Countless times I have talked with guys about their job search and asked how it is progressing? Then I have seen the same guy say with great pride that he has sent out 100 resumes for the week and he is just waiting for the phone to ring!
Sadly, I want to tell him that all he has done is keep the Postal service in business and added more paper to the recycling bin! Companies receive countless resumes every day, some may file them for the future, but most may get opened and then sent to the paper recycling bin.
Before the interview?
Do your homework and learn as much as you can! But don’t feel like it is your place to try and be able to run the company just because you have read their annual report. You need to know the big-picture and learn the little picture after you land the position,
So what happens when I get the interview?
Get pumped-up demonstrate the energy that would be expected with the position!
Wear the uniform!
This means dark suit, white shirt and red tie! It means that your black shoes are shined. It doesn’t matter if the company is all wearing blue jeans, or most probably business casual. This is the first impression that you are making on the company!
When does the interview start?
The interview starts with the first phone call that they make to you! So remember that when you are traveling you are “on” as you never know who you don’t know and you may be interviewing with. This means that when you pull into the parking lot, your car looks the way it should look. This means that when you meet the receptionist she is part of the interview and you want to go out of your way to make sure that she does have a favorable impression of you!
An illustration story
I have been in the position to see company receptionist after candidates have been there to interview and more that once I have been told that the candidate did well or didn’t do well from the way the candidate was received and perceived by the receptionist!
What not to say and do in the interview!
The best advice that I can give on this is use common sense! But that said I strongly recommend that you not start an interview with a statement that you are on day 100 of a 12 step program. It is also a good idea not to tell about living with your wife before you got married and you are interviewing for a Church based position. But probably the best one is not to tell about your kids you had before you were married when you are interviewing for a Risk management position!
Then there was the mom interviewing for an attorney position. Yes, moms and dads should be proud of their kids and it is OK to carry pictures of their kids. But it is truly poor form for a mom to show pictures of her daughter in her “Hooters” outfit!
SUGGESTED BOOKS
What Color is Your Parachute: This is a great book that will help you think through what is important in your life and career goals!
Knock’em Dead, Martin Yate: This is a great book for people that have not been through the interview process in a while. It is full of questions for you to think through and practice with.
I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was! Barbara Shear