Work the Web
It’s a given. The more information you have about prospective employers, the better prepared you are. Not only can you target your resume, but you can add facts to spice up your cover letter and casually mention during an interview. Unfortunately, you can’t always predict what information will persuasively demonstrate that you are a strong candidate for the job. Don’t let that stop you—your information-gathering is well worth the effort.
A good start is with a company’s Web site. Most companies fill theirs with public relations mumbo-jumbo that you must sift through to get to the company’s core. The “About Us” page might be a little PR heavy but it and the mission statement will certainly tell you something about the corporate culture, such as corporate diversity initiatives or employee benefits. Some experts think you should use the same terminology and buzz words found on a company’s Web site in your cover letter. Others think that’s over the top.
More sources to look for factoids that instantly reveal you are up on what the company does are press releases and articles. Pick apart the press releases from the last six months to find out what the company executives think is important. You will be informed about new products or initiatives—always a positive thing to note. Articles are also useful. General Electric’s Web site, for instance, posted articles about the company from The Economist, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Vanity Fair, all of which are easy reads and full of information.
Companies don’t always publish annual reports on their Web sites, but if they do, you will find ample material to give you a feel for the firm’s values and state of its business. Anything that helps you align with that company is what you are looking to uncover. Check out Internet sources such as Hoover’s Inc., CorpTech®, LexisNexis®, Dow Jones & Company, and Thomson Research.
Some information on a company’s Web site fits the “This is something I care deeply about and so I want to work for this company” category. Employers like to hear positive things about their company and know that if employees are behind their corporate culture, they are much happier and more productive.
Even the design and maintenance of a Web site offers insights about a company. For instance, if you are considering a career in marketing or public relations, you should note if a site’s links aren’t working or the information is months or years old. PR and marketing obviously aren’t a high priority for that company. Or, they might just really need your skills!
Another creative approach to finding information is through company blogs. Do a Web search on a company to find a blog someone is keeping. It might be about a speech given at a convention or just comments about the company picnic. Either way, there are nuggets of information out there to use to your advantage or to just give you the warm fuzzies about a possible employer.
Armed with compelling facts, you can go beyond noting that Company XYZ has been Number One on a business magazine’s list for the last five years. Instead you can make the astute observation, “I saw that Company XYZ is launching this unique product line and my experience in ABC can add to the expertise in marketing it.”
Dealing with Age Discrimination and Employment Gaps
You’ve heard the saying, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better.” Well maybe so, but employers don’t necessarily think that way when scanning resumes. Unfortunately, many of them shy away from hiring seasoned people because these pros are perceived as inflexible, over-trained, and worst of all, too expensive.
Likewise, what if you have gaps between jobs? It’s not that you decided to drop out for a while to find your inner self or lost a job and couldn’t get hired. Perhaps you had a baby and took some time off. Maybe you suffered an injury or had to take care of an aging parent. Whatever the situation, many people have employment gaps for very legitimate reasons. A resume doesn’t show why the gaps are there and employers often don’t take the time to find out. How do you get past age discrimination or explain why you didn’t work for a few years?
Your resume can overcome either obstacle in subtle ways that establish your capabilities. For instance, to overcome age discrimination, consider limiting your experience to 15 years for a managerial job, ten years for a technical job, and five years for a high-tech job. Leave other experiences off your resume or list it without dates. If you have gaps in your employment history, consider highlighting what you did during your time off. Perhaps some volunteering, part-time consulting, or freelance work encompassed the skills or experience the company is looking for.
You could also use a functional resume rather than a chronological resume. When you write a functional resume, you list your skills as they apply to a specific job. With this format, your resume explains what you can do, what you have learned, and what precise abilities you bring to a new job. Although not many job applicants use this format, it is often far more effective than the chronological resume in answering the prospective employer’s most important question: “What skills do you have and how can they help me in my company?” This format is especially effective for job hoppers, career changers, people just entering the job market who have little work experience, and applicants who have been out of the job market for an extended length of time.
Your goal is to only use information that is directly relevant to the job you are seeking. This is honest as well as fair to your prospective employer. After all, if you’re a 50-year-old applying for a job in accounting, why would your prospective employer care that you worked as a counselor for five-year-olds at Camp Gichi-Goomi when you were 16 years old? That’s exaggerating the concept, but you get the point.
A word of advice: No matter how you deal with employment gaps and age discrimination, always tell the truth. Always.
Using LinkedIN During Your Job Search
by Darlene Zambruski, ResumeEdge.com, ResumeEdge.ca Managing Editor, CPRW, SME
The use of social networking via Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace has changed the landscape of personal interactions. The same is true for the employment field. Today, job hunters can use networking sites to reach a wider group of individuals in their field. Your best source for this is LinkedIn.
Daily, I answer questions from candidates on this site. My answers, along with those of other experts, help individuals to navigate the currently unfriendly waters of job search. By joining LinkedIn and posing questions or readings the answers to others’ inquiries, you may be able to gain an advantage over your competitors.
Some of my previous answers on the site, include:
“Business cards” for students and non-professionals?
“You should absolutely consider using business cards. It will help you stay in the potential recruiter and/or hiring manager’s mind. I have seen business cards with a professional photo of the individual or their work product (if they’re in an artistic field) on the front of the card. Very impressive. On the back, you should list your qualities, skills, and accomplishments, personal websites (if any) as they pertain to your job search – somewhat like the opening summary of a resume. Darlene Zambruski ResumeEdge.com, ResumeEdge.ca Managing Editor Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)”
Does it help in an interview or career fair if the job seeker has a business card to include with his resume?
“Anything that can help you stay in the potential recruiter or hiring manager’s mind should be utilized. I have seen business cards with the individual’s professional photo or work product (if they’re in an artistic field) on the front of the card. . .very impressive. On the back of the card, could be a summary of your qualifications and skills, much like the opening summary of a resume. Be certain to include accomplishments. There are numerous internet and local printing companies that offer excellent work product at a reasonable price. I’d suggest using these sources for your business cards, unless you have a top-quality printer at home and you choose a high-grade paper. Darlene Zambruski ResumeEdge.com, ResumeEdge.ca Managing Editor Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)”
Hey which fonts are readable by machines & search engines when I post my resume online?
“We use Courier New, Times, Arial. To be safe, you might want to turn your Word or Works resume into ascii/txt. You should have no problems with that. Darlene Zambruski ResumeEdge.com, ResumeEdge.ca Managing Editor Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)”
What is the “value” of working with a career marketing company?
“It would depend upon the company, including their credentials, years in the business, partnerships, and success rate. Individuals looking for assistance in writing their resume and honing their job interview skills would do well to determine if the company they want to hire is a member of an industry organization, such as the PARW (Professional Association of Resume Writers), and if the company writers are certified as CPRWs and CEIPs. Next, they should determine if the company is a resume writing or job interview partner with any major company, for example the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. Are they a member of the BBB? Do they guarantee results (be wary of those sites, it’s impossible to guarantee results when the actual job hunt is in the individual’s hands). If an individual has trouble organizing their professional data and ‘blowing their own horn’, they would do well to hire outside experts. It takes the strain off them, provides a fresh perspective, and results in a document and marketing plan that’s professional and proven. Darlene Zambruski ResumeEdge.com, ResumeEdge.ca Managing Editor Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)”
What should a 21st century resume look like?
“First and foremost, a resume should convey your value proposition to an employer. To do that it should contain: 1. An opening summary with one (preferably two) quantified and relevant accomplishments for your new career goal, an overview of your skill set, willingness to relocate, language skills (bilingual, multilingual), and any pertinent certifications. 2. Accomplishment section: Here, you should list by company name, your quantified accomplishments (do not repeat those from the opening summary). Make certain your accomplishments dovetail toward the new position. 3. Professional Experience. Don’t go all the way back to the first day you started working. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t go back more than 10 to 15 years. Include only those job duties that are relevant to the new position you seek. Begin each bullet with an action verb. Be specific in your verbiage, not general. 4. Education. Include college and post college work. The above organization allows a hiring manager to quickly scan your resume and determine if you should be invited to interview. No hiring manager will scan a three to four page resume looking for data. It’s important to remember that a modern resume is as long as it needs to be, provided it contains only relevant information for the new job search. Cut out the extraneous material. Darlene Zambruski ResumeEdge.com Managing Editor Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)”
As you can see by the above – the questions are diverse, the answers comprehensive. LinkedIn is a perfect (and free) resource to ask an expert your pressing question so that you can get on with your job search.
My answers can be found on a daily basis within the Resume Writing and Job Search categories of LinkedIn.
Keep the Momentum Going
After you’ve written a great cover letter and resume and sent everything on its merry way, the real work of getting a job begins. Following up on all the resumes you’ve sent is not fun. Maybe that’s why many don’t follow up. It does take guts. No one wants to experience the downside of getting a straight out “No” or being blown off. Grit your teeth and do it anyway.
Following up demonstrates your drive and initiative. Someone who calls and says, “I have applied for such and such position. I understand you must be busy, but I would love to hear back from you because I am really interested in working for XYZ Company” is not only proactive, but also shows consideration for the employer’s side of the process.
However, there is a fine line between aggressively following up and being downright annoying. From your perspective, you’re anxiously waiting to hear if you got the job. On the other side of the equation is a stressed-out human resource manager trying to make a decision from a stack of resumes. Follow-up calls are acceptable … up to a point.
It’s a tough situation. If you call and the recruiter has six positions open and 125 resumes for each one, no way will he or she stop and search through the piles. You are more likely to get voice mail anyway. Some advise to call after hours and leave a message. Then you’ve made it known you’re really interested, but the employer doesn’t have to respond, only note that you’ve called.
Employers who use electronic application processes usually have clear guidelines as to how they want people to follow up. They don’t want to get calls to see if an application was received, since many automatically send out an acknowledgement or receipt. Some also have procedures in place for applicants to track their resumes online.
There is no way human resources people in large companies can physically get back to every applicant anyway. A corporate recruiter from a large asset management company notes that because of the tremendous volume of applications they get, their Web site clearly states applicants are not to call. So if applicants do call, it is seen as a bad move along the lines of “You are not following the process on our Web site. You have shown us already that you don’t know how to follow instructions.”
If there are no instructions about how an employer wants you to follow up, the consensus is to wait about two weeks and then have the follow-up call or e-mail. Most agree that if your cover letter states you will follow up in a specific time frame, follow up in that time frame. If you don’t, you send the signal that you are not doing what you said you would do. How’s that for a recommendation? In any case, err on the side of caution to ensure that you aren’t pegged as pushy, irritating, or a waste of anyone’s time.
