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From Chapter 9:  Get Started Now, Stay Ready in the Future

Resumes

Here are several things to keep in mind as you update your resume.

First of all, remember that you create a resume to show how your skills meet the employer’s needs.  It’s a place where you sell your background and experience.  Focus on the employer’s needs, not yours.

Get started by listing all the skills, accomplishments and responsibilities you might want to include.  Then pare your list down to the most important things.  You probably want to have several different lists that will help you make different resumes for different job types you want to pursue.

As you decide what to include in your resume, keep the following in mind.  Emphasize accomplishments more than job duties.  Include items that show how you made a difference to the company.  See examples below in the details section of this chapter.

Don’t write a novel.  Nobody will read it if you do.  I know.  I’ve been the one reviewing resumes before, and I’ve seen others do it.  As an interviewer, it’s not possible to spend a lot of time on each resume when there are many to review.  The more concise and to the point your resume is, the better for you.   It’s a good idea to use bullet points, so they stand out, rather than writing in paragraph form.  The end product should be no more than two pages.

Present yourself in the best possible light.  Don’t exaggerate, but don’t minimize yourself.  If you took on the responsibilities of the controller for a year until a new one was hired, say you acted as the controller.  Don’t say you acted as the controller until they found a new one. 

You may want to have several resume versions.  You want each version to emphasize the parts of your experience that relate to the job you’re applying for.  Your resume will be more effective if you create different versions for different opportunities you want to pursue.  Emphasize different things for different jobs or industries.  For example, you may have experience in engineering, marketing, sales and product management.  Consider creating different versions that emphasize your experience in each of the job types you want to pursue.  To make sure you remember which resume you sent to each company, rename the resume with the opportunity or company name.  Then create a file on the opportunity, and put a copy of the resume in it.

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References

Be prepared to provide strong references.  Make sure you get your references’ agreement before you identify them to an employer.  In fact, set up your references before you even start looking for positions.  You don’t want to impede an interview process because you don’t have references ready.

Who to Choose:

It’s best if you can find a mix of former managers, employees, high-ranking people you worked with and same-level colleagues.  Those who can be specific about your work are best.

When you think about whom you should chose as references, keep this in mind.  The best reference is someone who will call the potential employer before they’re asked, and they’ll tell the hiring manager why they should pick you.  This really shows strong support from your reference.   It’s even better if they are a former manager.  You can talk about yourself to an employer all day, and it will not do as much good as having someone who speaks for you.  I acted as a reference in this way for a young woman who used to work for me.  She told me about a job she was trying to obtain, but she didn’t think the hiring manager was leaning her way.  When she told me details about the job, I knew she would be great for the position.  So I called the hiring manager to let him know what I thought.  She got the job. 

If you are in any customer-related role, a customer reference is great!  I have many customers with whom I have great relationships.  When I pursued the job I have now, the company asked for a customer reference.  I asked an ex-customer whom I had kept in touch with through the years to provide a reference for me.  He had gone out of his way to commend me to my bosses before, so I thought he’d be a good candidate.  It turns out he was probably the reference that really put me over the top.

Information to Gather: 

Make sure you have your reference’s address, home and office phone, email and even mobile phone information to provide to a potential employer.  Make sure your references approve the contact methods you provide.  After all, if they have a small baby, their home phone at night might not be a good idea.

You should provide all of this contact information, so it’s easy for the hiring company to contact the reference.  The last thing you want is to lose your dream job because the hiring company couldn’t get in touch with your reference.  Lack of response by a reference might well be taken as a “no” vote.  So the more options you can give the hiring company for contacting your references, the better it will be for you.

Educate your references: 

You wouldn’t believe it, but I have heard of people who gave names as references, and those people gave them bad marks.  It might sound obvious, but please make sure your references will give you a positive review. 

Also make sure you have agreed with your references how you’ll describe your relationship to them (customer, colleague, coworker, manager, subordinate, etc.) so there won’t be any differences between what you say and how they respond to your potential employer. 

Make sure to give them current copies of your resume.  Include all versions you’ve created.  Since you may update your resume many times in the process of a job hunt, provide your references with the most current and relevant version before a hiring company contacts them.

It’s a very good idea to coach the references. Make sure they know what you want to emphasize.  Sit down and talk with them. Send them emails or presentations if necessary to get the point across.  Also make sure they are aware of what you have said or emphasized to a potential employer.

In the case of the position I now hold, the company sent forms to my references.  I had the references send the forms to me, and I filled in information I wanted to emphasize.  Then I sent the forms back to the references.  Of course, they were free to change anything they liked, and they all did.  Each one added additional good comments.  But I made it easier on them by doing most of the work myself.  The easier you make it for your references, the more it helps you.

Document your references: 

Once you have the references arranged, make a Microsoft Word document with the information included, so you can provide it easily upon request.  See the example below.

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From Chapter 11:  The Hunt

Recruiters

The best way to find a good recruiter is to ask for referrals from people in your target field.

 You can also look through recruiter directories, but that will not give you a good view of the recruiter’s skills.  If you do go this route, look for the directories online or at your local library.  To find a directory online, use your favorite search engine to search for “recruiter directory”.  If you go to your library, the directories will probably be in a reference section.  Ask the librarian for help.

Whenever you contact a recruiter, begin by asking for their field or area of concentration.  Learn what job levels they typically place.  After all, you don’t want to use one who concentrates in pharmaceuticals if you are looking for a telecom job.  And you don’t want to use one that places entry-level people if you are at a higher level.

You should know that most recruiters work on commission.  They only get paid if they place people in jobs.

Also, recruiters work for themselves and the companies for which they’re filling jobs.  They don’t work for you.  They are not your friends.  They will only put you forward for a job if they see a high probability of placing you.  You have to make it easy for them to see why you’re the one for the job.

Some recruiters can provide you with information to help you learn about typical salaries in your chosen field.  Some of them know a lot about the industry and positions they’re working to fill.  Unfortunately though, some of them don’t. 

I know at least two very good recruiters, so I know that some of them are great.  Still, many recruiters don’t work particularly hard to cull through the pile of resumes to find the best candidates.  They just pass the resumes that contain key words or phrases on to the hiring manager.  

The fact that recruiters don’t always work hard to pull out the best candidates can actually work to your benefit though.  If you are willing to put in the extra effort to show them how and why you are exactly the right person for the job, you can jump ahead of other candidates.  I’ll tell you more about how to be the one that stands out in the following chapters on cover letters and tactical hints.

Your hard work makes a recruiter’s job easier.  It also makes their getting a commission more likely.  As a result, you’re more likely to get their help.

Keep in mind, there’s no reason you should be tied to just one recruiter.  Most recruiters only have contacts with a few companies.  Many specialize in certain industries or types of positions, so you have to work with whomever has jobs in the companies you want.  Just let them know you’re exploring opportunities from several sources.

Whenever you deal with a recruiter, make sure you have their agreement that they won’t submit your name or resume for any position until they get your approval. 

Make sure you tell them if you have already applied with any companies.  There are two reasons for this.  One is that it may not look good for your resume to come in through many different channels.  Also, if you’ve already put your resume into a company, the recruiter will not get their commission.  That will definitely not make them happy or very likely to help you in the future.

There is an exception to the general rule that recruiters work on commission.  When a recruiter works directly for the hiring company, they do not generally work on commission.  In this case, they are usually paid a salary instead.

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Leads Groups and Networking Groups

Leads groups are similar to sharing leads with your friends; however, these groups extend your reach even further because they expand your contacts to people you didn’t previously know. 

Members of leads or networking groups meet or send emails to share opportunities with each other.  They often provide learning opportunities and emotional support.  Some of the groups are very large and provide access to lots of jobs that might not be otherwise posted or available through recruiters. 

Many times the leads within these groups are known only by word of mouth.  This is a great situation because the number of applicants will be lower than if it was posted on a national job board.  Also, sometimes the referring individual will introduce you to the right people to help you get the job.  As mentioned before, a personal referral is almost always better than an anonymous submission. 

There are several ways to find networking groups.   

Yahoo.com has networking groups already set up in several localities.  You can find them by going to Yahoo Groups.  Then browse or search for your area.  If your search doesn’t find a relevant group, try browsing for it instead.  Browsing sometimes works better because the group name isn’t always what you expect.  If there is no group in your area, you can chose to form one there too.

Also look for groups through friends or colleagues, local college offices, chambers of commerce, social and country clubs, and local government and employment offices. 

You can find them on the Internet by looking through newsgroups and by using search engines to look for “leads groups” or “networking groups” in your area.

You will use different methods to get to newsgroups depending on your browser and its version, so I won’t provide details here.  Instead, open your browser and click on “Help” from the top task bar.  Then search for “newsgroups” for instructions.  Once you get to the newsgroups, you can browse or search for relevant groups.

 Another way to find leads groups is through the outplacement offices of companies that have had layoffs.  If your company doesn’t have such a service, go to someone in human resources at a larger company that had a layoff, and ask who they used.  Then go to that company and ask for information on leads or networking groups.

Be creative.  Think of any place large numbers of people gather.  They could be a networking source.

When you learn of an opportunity through a networking group, ask your contact to introduce you, personally or by email, to whomever you need to meet.  That will push you ahead further than if you just mention your contact’s name.

MORE EXCERPTS

Tax Savings for Job Hunters      Finding Company Info

Providing Value Gets You Call Backs  How to Find Contacts

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