Five Steps to a Stronger Resume

Everywhere you look these days there is someone giving advice on writing a resume. It can get confusing and overwhelming at times. Perhaps I can help with some of the more common questions such as, “How many pages should my resume be? How many versions of my resume should I have? How do I make my resume stand out? Now that there is no Resume Objective, what should I use instead? How do I figure out how to display my accomplishments?” Here are a couple of suggestions.

1. Resume Length: Your resumes should be no more than two pages. If you have the type of job where you have published research or written white pages or supporting material, those items can be placed on an addendum.

2. Number of Resumes: You should have a resume for every position for which you apply. You’ll need to create a template resume and then use various versions of it for your job search. One suggestion that I like (although timely to create) is to create a word document of all of your previous position responsibilities with measurable accomplishments to support each statement. Also include examples of your strengths, again with supportive accomplishments. Once you create this word document, it isn’t difficult to copy and paste portions of it to match various positions.

3. Resume Polish: The best way to make your resume stand out is to include measurable accomplishments that will show the employer what you did in the past and the impact these had on your former company. The wording should be carefully aligned to the skills listed in the employer’s job posting. Make sure that you include the required skills (key words) and your accomplishments as they relate to these.

4. Good-bye Objective, Hello Summary Statement: A resume now includes a Summary or Qualifications Statement that succinctly describes your outstanding experience and qualifications. It is an attention grabber; something that makes the hiring manager want to read more.

5. Displaying Your Qualifications: The best way to display your qualifications is to first identify them and then display them boldly. The best way to do this is to chart out your past positions by listing your tasks, responsibilities, accomplishments, certifications and trainings. Make sure that you include any volunteer activities to this list because many of your accomplishments as a volunteer are transferable.

The common theme here is to include specific, measurable accomplishments. If not, most likely your resume will be overlooked.

A Letter to our Leaders

Dear President Obama and Speaker Boehner,

Something I learned when my children were teenagers was compromise. I learned not to be bothered with the small things and to concentrate on the larger, more life changing events. I would not nor could not tolerate lying, cheating and dishonesty. Instead I tried to listen, ask questions and negotiate. As an employee in corporate America I stuck to these same principles. Most of the time it worked, too.

Why can’t these same simple values apply within our government? Why have months and now, years passed without civil negotiation and compromise? Have you looked on LinkedIn lately? Have you seen the groups full of hopeless job seekers? Have you read the stories of heartache and disillusion? Our people are desperate. They are turned down for positions because they are seen as too old or too overqualified. They have tried every tactic imaginable to get into a job that may be several steps lower than what they had in the past just to get a paycheck. Our people need help. As a job search trainer I have had over 60 people crowd into a small conference room just to learn one new employment tactic. People from affluent areas, people from cities, and people from the suburbs are all suffering.

Name calling, bullying and childish behavior from our elected officials doesn’t help and only adds to the frustration. Come on, we teach our kids how to behave through civil discourse; it’s time for some real conversation in Washington.

Thank you America

To all our Veterans, thank you for your service. Thank you for protecting our freedom, thank you for your bravery, thank you for your sacrifice.

Career Assessment Tools

Last week I gave a job search program on Career Assessment and have another one planned for this week. Today, a woman asked me for advice on helping her 21 year old daughter find a career direction.

Since you probably can't make it to my class this week, I thought that I would give you some career assessment tools from my website. They are a combination of instruments that will allow you to focus on your values, interests, personality and skills. Several are from the U.S. government, one is from the Oprah Winfrey electronic magazine and one is from Rutgers University (Placement Office). All are free and you can take them as often as you’d like.

Good luck! If you have any questions, please let me know. I’d be happy to help.

NJ Women's Expo

The other day while on Facebook, I noticed that a friend "liked" a group called the NJ Women's Expo. I took a look at it and "liked" it too. The NJ women's Expo is a event that is planned for the weekend of November 5 & 6, 2011. It will showcase the area's very best products, services, seminars and attractions created especially for women.

I then contacted the NJ women's Expo site and asked for information for the 2012 show. I figured that while it is too late to get involved this year, perhaps I could think about speaking at the event next year. Yesterday I got a call from the group asking ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giff I would showcase my book for at least one day of the show. The best part? It's free.

The moral of the story is to take a chance. Don't be afraid to contact someone (or a hiring manager) because you don't think that you are qualified. You never know what might happen.

If you are in the NJ area on November 6, 2011 between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm, please visit the expo. I'll be in the Book Nook talking about my book, Job Search for Moms. Please drop by and say "Hi". It looks like a a fun event.

Watch What You Say in Social Media

My friend John Fox, The Golden Rule Guy posted an interesting link today that reiterated the point that a whopping 91% of employers are using social media to screen perspective employees. He also stressed that what you post is out there for all to see. Please check out his blog – it is very thought provoking.

John’s post got me thinking not only of the employment process but also of the thousands of high school kids who are right now applying to colleges. Our family went through the college application process last year around this time of year. We had to remind our son that he had to be careful of his Facebook posts and pictures. It’s very easy for a college to look up someone. Even if the security setting protects the “Wall”, the pictures may be open for all to see. Is a college going to think highly of someone with a beer in their hand or openly displaying ummm, affection for someone? And while we’re on the subject, remind your kids that if they leave their Facebook or Twitter pages open and walk away, one of their friends may think it’s funny to write something really gross or inappropriate on the page. I’m probably preaching to the choir here but this is something you may want to stress to your children.

Of course the same rules apply to the internships and the job search. It’s best to look at your profile and ask yourself if based on what you see, you would hire yourself. If anything there makes you question yourself; take it down. While you are at it, take a look at your friend’s posts. If there is anything inappropriate and it shows on your wall, hide it (go to the post and towards the upper right of it, you’ll see a small downward facing arrow. Click it and then click Hide Story).

With social media our words and actions are out there for anyone to see. It’s hard enough to find a job or get accepted to a choice college as it is. Why mess around with it because of something you or someone else posted to a social media outlet?

The Job Search and Dress?

Who ever thought that we’d have to talk about clothing choices in my job search blog? Unfortunately, inappropriate interviewing clothing has become a common theme. I know that in the corporate world the limits of the dress code were often tested and even last week at a corporate training session, this very subject was a topic of discussion.

A friend of mine interviewed with a major retail store recently. My friend has excellent taste in clothing and has a knack for dressing beautifully for whatever activity she is attending (she doesn’t spend and arm and a leg either). The retailer was holding an open house for perspective employees and hundreds of people attended. What surprised my friend was the number of people who arrived for the interview wearing shorts, tee shirts, flip flops, or looking as if they just rolled out of bed. What didn’t surprise her was that after several rounds of interviews, it was the professionally dressed crowd who were led into another room to sign the hiring paperwork.

What’s going on? Should people be taught the basics of dressing for a job interview? When my friend and I talked about it, I wondered if some of these people showed up for the open interview dressed like that because they didn’t care if they got the job. Perhaps they showed up so that they could report back to the unemployment office that they applied for position but didn’t get an offer. Who knows?

Another friend told me that she was looking at on-line job postings and noticed that several of them mentioned that “neat, professional dress” was written into the posting. Hummmm, not as uncommon as I had originally thought.

What do you think is going on?