Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
If you have to think about the answer too long, or if you’re satisfied with a flip response such as: “A great employee” without providing any supporting data to your statement, then you’re in trouble.
More and more companies are demanding that their employees prove their worth. It’s not enough to simply come in on time, engage in the tasks in your job description, then go home, especially if you’re in a contracting industry or your company is downsizing.
To be retained in this poor economy, you need to show your employer that you are invaluable. And if the worst happens and you’re laid off or your employer goes out of business, then you must market yourself to another company as being their only choice in a new hire.
How do you do this?
At your current job, keep updating your resume with all of your accomplishments (those activities in which you have either made your company money or saved it money). An up-to-date, polished resume will be invaluable should a promotion come available or if staff is going to be cut and your job is on the line.
If you’re looking for new employment, updating your resume is even more essential. Hiring managers and recruiters don’t know who you are and they won’t believe blanket statements like “I’m great at what I do”, “I’ll be an asset at your firm”. They want proof.
The only way to provide that proof is to again showcase what you’ve done at previous jobs. Make your resume accomplishment-focused rather than task-focused. There may be hundreds of other individuals who can do what you do on the job. But there’s only a few that will excel, proving they will grow a company, adding to its success.
From the first day of any job, you should be looking five years down the road to what you want next and how you intend to succeed. During that time, you should do all that you can to make certain your employer sees you as an asset rather than a liability.
Keep a running record of what you’ve achieved. That running record is a resume. Make certain it’s always updated, always ready for the new job search.
The kind of employee you should be is one that everyone wants. All you have to do is prove it.
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
You’ve decided to take the plunge and get your resume written or revised by a professional company. Naturally, the cost of such a service is your most important consideration, along with the company’s reputation and client success.
Once you get past those initial concerns, your next thought may be:
1. The format you like best. Reverse chronological, functional, a combination of the two.
2. Presentation or template choice. Resume writing companies often have several from which to choose in a variety of fonts.
3. Page length. One, two or more?
While you’re pondering these choices or considering what the resume writer suggests, it’s important to remember one thing: What you like or don’t like is not as important as what the hiring manager expects to see.
That’s right, your opinion as to style, page length and template choice isn’t important. After all, you’re not the target audience for the resume. The hiring manager or recruiter is. Therefore, it’s best to keep their preferences in mind. And to trust your resume writer.
Professional resume writers know from experience what will fly with a hiring manager or a recruiter. They know not to list every single thing you’ve done in your professional or academic career even if the data is dear to your heart. They know personal information isn’t wise to include either. Yes, you’re very proud that you once won a music award. However, if you’re no longer in the performing arts, the hiring manager couldn’t care less about that part of your background.
Other pitfalls to avoid include:
1. Going back too far in your work history. That invites age discrimination.
2. Keeping your resume task oriented (daily duties) rather than showcasing accomplishments (results of what you’ve done).
3. Failing to quantify achievements.
4. Writing a ‘general, one-size-fits-all’ resume that is so generic none of your skills stand out.
Even if you’re tempted to tell the resume writer what you prefer, it’s best to listen to the advice she or he has to offer. If you’re told a two page resume is best, given the resume writer’s past experience, then believe what’s said. Your resume writer wants you to succeed and to get an interview.
Trust the experts. Listen to what they propose. Benefit from their years of expertise. And put the hiring manager or recruiter’s preferences first rather than your own.
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Even if you’re currently employed and enjoy your position, you should think about updating your resume on a regular basis.
Why?
There are numerous reasons:
1. To use it as a reminder to yourself of what you’ve accomplished. If you let years go by without recording how you made your company money or saved it money, it’s unlikely that every significant accomplishment will be easy to pull from memory when you do need to look for a new position.
2. To remind management of your achievements during your annual reviews. By presenting your immediate supervisor with your updated resume that details all you’ve done for your division or office that year, you’ll be in a better position to get the raise you believe you deserve.
3. To employ it as a gauge for your career progression. If after several months you have absolutely nothing to add to your resume in terms of accomplishments or new projects/tasks, perhaps you’re stagnating at your job. That could mean trouble, especially if your company is downsizing. If you’re part of the deadwood, you may be one of the first to go.
4. To be prepared for the unthinkable: your company closing without notice because of an owner’s decision not to keep the place afloat or the company being bought by a competitor who will replace you and others with individuals from his firm.
In life and in this economy, anything can happen. It’s always best to be prepared with an effective resume to use in-house, for applying to new jobs or to assure yourself that you are doing the best you can at your current position.
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Often, I hear individuals state that a resume should be no more than one page in length. Beyond that limit, the hiring manager will either be overwhelmed or bored.
In one way that’s true – if the resume has extraneous data unrelated to the job search and is filled with fluff, the above reasoning makes sense.
However, if pertinent data is excluded from a resume in order to reach an arbitrary page length, that can be as disastrous.
Too often I’ve seen clients sell themselves short by asking for a one page resume when their background clearly calls for two pages. In order to reach their desired page length, margins have to cut to the point where text appears to be running off the page. And the text must be reduced to a size that’s unreadable to most.
Certainly, the page length is where the client wants it, but is it wise?
I know it’s not. No hiring manager will look at a stellar, superbly organized resume filled with pertinent data on the candidate’s knowledge/skills/abilities and dismiss the individual because of the resume’s length. That simply doesn’t make sense.
If you’re an executive with many years of experience, submitting a one page resume will surely reduce your chances of an interview, especially if you’re excluding vital data in order to meet page length.
Remember, content – not length – is what’s important. A modern, effective resume is as long as it needs to be, provided it contains relevant information about you in relation to the targeted job.
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