Resumes Are Not Just For The Un-Employed!

Question For Today: Who more urgently needs an up-to-date resume ready to send out at a moment’s notice - professionals who are employed or those who are out of a job? Up-to-date meaning from the perspective of both the information contained within the document as well as the resume’s aesthetic presentation.

My Answer: My expert opinion is every professional will benefit greatly from having a top-notch resume available for immediate submission. This includes professionals who are happily employed, working full time or part-time on a temp job or as an independent contractor on a long or short term assignment, and every professional who’s out of work or seeking to change careers.

I can’t tell you how many employed people (and even some who are unemployed) reach out to me to tell me that a wonderful opportunity just presented itself but they must submit their resume within the next 24 to 48 hours; the number is way more then you can imagine.

Sadly most of these people were totally unaware of the complexity of the information gathering and resume writing process, or they were unwilling to push themselves to meet their deadline. Thus the majority forfeited or passed on what could have been the opportunity of a lifetime.

In a number of instances, if they could find the right person, people ended up paying a professional a well deserved premium for a ‘Rush Job’ and prayed it was only a rush job in time and not in the quality of the final product.

So here are some thoughts to consider for professionals who would rue being overlooked and/or missing out on an outstanding opportunity if it comes knocking and they are ill prepared to answer the call.

1: If you have not been an active job seeker or prepared a new resume over the past 3 years you should prepare one ASAP instead of dusting off the one you used the last time you looked for a job. There are numerous changes in how resumes are written, submitted, screened, read and perceived, so I for one believe it is in your best interest to start over from scratch.

2: If you have a newly prepared resume you are pleased with, written for or by you within the past 6-12 months, it is now time to update it. In my opinion a resume is a living document, so it must be reviewed at regular intervals and updated at the very least once every 12 months, or within 30 days after any change in your current job status. If opportunity knocks you want to be 100% prepared to answer the call.

3: If you have not yet done so, take a written inventory of your skill sets in terms of technology, management skills, interpersonal skills, core, primary and tertiary business skills, and the special skills that pertain to your field and industry. Next cross reference this inventory with your resume and see if all the key points are referenced and/or expounded upon in the document. If they are not it is time to rewrite or update your resume. I suggest repeating this exercise at least once every 3-4 months.

4: If you have not yet done so I suggest you perform a S-C-A-R exercise analysis on your career dating back up to 20 years. For those who are unfamiliar with this exercise you write down all of the Situations/Challenges you faced in each job or new position you held, the Actions you were a part of individually or as part of a project or group, and the Results you can concretely claim and validate as an achievement on a resume, and make it a point to quantify and/or qualify all points as accurately as possible. Here too I suggest repeating this exercise every 3-4 months.

In addition, I suggest you immediately begin keeping copious notes as you undertake new projects and encounter and overcome new challenges on the job. Write them down and update them daily, weekly or monthly as you see fit. Be especially careful to quantify positive changes in dollars, percents, and effects on the bottom line.

5: If you have not had your Linked-In page professionally critiqued or recently updated I suggest you do so ASAP. You never know who might be looking for someone just like you and how many plum job opportunities you missed out on, or how much new business and how many valuable contacts you lost out on as a result of a poor Linked-In page.

About Perry Newman

Perry Newman CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized career services professional – an executive resume writer and career transition coach, certified social media strategist, AIPC certified recruiter, and an original member of the Career Rocketeer team.

Perry is passionate about all things related to career management and is dedicated to helping people get hired and back to work ASAP in today’s marketplace where the average job search lasts 285 days.

As a resume writer he understands how a resume is perceived and therefore how it should be written. He is best known for choosing the perfect style and format to make a candidate standout in a crowd and identifying their key selling points and artfully integrating them into their resume, bio and dossier.

As a coach and social media strategist he helps individuals including CXO’s, professionals and career changers in all fields to understand and master the job search process form A to Z. He coaches and mentors them on relevant topics such as understanding the role of social media in a job search, developing and using a network to get known and generate interviews, how and where to submit a resume and cover letter, as well as how to interview for a job, and evaluate and negotiate a job offer.

As a recruiter he has long standing contacts with employers and other recruiters in numerous fields can introduce you to decision makers seeking top talent in the continental USA.

Perry offers a no cost/no obligation Resume and Social Media critique you are invited to email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com

Resumes: Skills or Grammar

For those who take advice from bloggers on how to write a resume at face value, you would be better served hiring a professional resume writer. Why? Because people take note of advice that sounds good when in actuality it is not. Also, when choosing a resume writer solid business acumen trumps excellence as a grammarian 24/7/365.

You may ask, how can I make bold statements like these? By examining a blog post I just read I think you will see what I’m talking about. The post is titled “Four mistakes you probably don't know you're making in your resume.”

Starting backwards, here are excerpts from the blog in question (quoted verbatim)

Mistake #4: You use passive voice: Verbs can be in either active or passive voice. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb; in passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb. This is passive voice: “The migration project was led by my group. If you want to turn it into active voice, and therefore, make it more of a dynamic statement, you’d say, “My group led the migration project. You should be sure to employ active voice, particularly in a resume or cover letter where the purpose is to convey action that you’ve taken. You don’t want it to sound like you were a passive employee that things happened to.

This makes perfect sense since the goal of a resume is to use words that convey ACTION over passivity. However in my opinion both sentences convey the same message, and I think few people will notice the difference between the two and fewer will use it as a reason to deselect a candidate.

Here is where it gets interesting.

Mistake #1: Your bullet points don’t have parallel construction. For some of us, it’s really jarring to be sailing along in a gerund-friendly bulleted list only to be smacked in the face with a noun. If you use gerunds (the -ing forms of verbs) , then be sure to use them throughout your bulleted list.

Wrong:

•Maintained change management database

•Updated infrastructure configuration database

•Project manager for transition of support services from a vendor to internal staff

Correct:

•Maintained change management database

•Updated infrastructure configuration database

•Managed transition of support services from a vendor to internal staff

WHAT I FOUND AS POOR & INCONSISTENT ADVICE IN THIS BLOG POST

First off, in my opinion none of the bullet points are especially well written from a marketing point of view, however in Mistake #1 the sentence this blogger calls Wrong is the sentence I would use.

Why?

In my opinion the bullet point deemed WRONG was determined to be so through the eyes of a proofreader based strictly from the perspective of grammatical parallel construction. Whereas, if looked at from a business/marketing perspective this choice conveys a unique statement of fact in a neutral tense that is grammatically acceptable and at the same time lets us know this candidate possesses a unique and highly marketable skill set; Project Management. Which is more important to the hiring authority recruiting for this job a valuable skill set or the use of parallel construction?

Remember in Mistake # 4 we were told that a sentence that conveys action is preferable over a passive sentence. But earlier on in Mistake # 1 it seems the blogger contradicted her point of view.

An academic may not, but an astute resume writer with business savvy knows there is a major difference between the role of managing a transition project and the role of being a Project manager for same transition project.

Telling employers you were a Project manager, which was totally eliminated in her Correct sentence, conveyed that this candidate has more skills to offer than a run of the mill manager i.e. using project management methodology, and hands-on involvement in the pre and post implementation process including needs assessments and end user training etc. This is not conveyed in the Wrong sentence that just alludes to this person as an individual who managed an undocumented project, which failed to convey results.

In addition, by changing the sentence “Project manager for transition…” to “managed transition...” the writer not only changed the message but eliminated an important key word search term, Project manager, from the resume.

There is lots of advice you can get for free by reading blogs on the internet, however it pays to be wary of what you read and whether it is correct or applicable for your situation; and this includes my advice which on occasion some people disagree with as well.

Any questions or comments feel free to contact me at perry@perrynewman.com, and you can also email me a copy of your resume if you would like a free, no obligation resume review.

About Perry Newman

Perry Newman CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized career services professional – an executive resume writer and career transition coach, certified social media strategist, AIPC certified recruiter, and an original member of the Career Rocketeer team.

Perry is passionate about all things related to career management and is dedicated to helping people get hired and back to work ASAP in today’s marketplace where the average job search lasts 285 days.

As a resume writer he understands how a resume is perceived and therefore how it should be written. He is best known for choosing the perfect style and format to make a candidate standout in a crowd and identifying their key selling points and artfully integrating them into their resume, bio and dossier.

As a coach and social media strategist he helps individuals including CXO’s, professionals and career changers in all fields to understand and master the job search process form A to Z. He coaches and mentors them on relevant topics such as understanding the role of social media in a job search, developing and using a network to get known and generate interviews, how and where to submit a resume and cover letter, as well as how to interview for a job, and evaluate and negotiate a job offer.

As a recruiter he has long standing contacts with employers and other recruiters in numerous fields can introduce you to decision makers seeking top talent in the continental USA.

Perry offers a no cost/no obligation Resume and Social Media critique you are invited to email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com

Resumes: The Power of Expectations – Why the mind gets what it expects

When resumes are reviewed do the people deciding their fate see the candidate at face value or do they see what they expect to see based on personal preconceptions and the image presented by the resume itself.

Over the years I’ve observed that decision makers see only what they want to see and this is why, in my opinion, you have lesser qualified candidates chosen over more qualified ones on a daily basis.

How can this be? Here is an example that can help you understand why reality is not always viewed the same way under the same set of circumstances.

John Brady is a chef and prepares the exact same meal in his French Bistro and his Diner in West Hampton NY. In the bistro in July he serves a Monday supper special of Vichyssoise, Coq au vin with haricot vert, Mesclun & tomate salad and a glass of Alsace Pinot Blanc for $39.95. In his Diner, the Monday blue-plate special is chilled potato leek soup, chicken with mushrooms in wine sauce with a side order of green beans, lettuce & tomato salad and a glass of white wine for $19.95. Remember these are the exact same meals. Same chef, the exact same ingredients and preparation with the exact same utensils used in both kitchens.

However, and not surprising, the sales and customer perceptions of the meal differ drastically in each eatery.

On Monday you need reservations to get into the bistro and John serves 40+ specials while in his Diner he’s lucky to sell 8 Monday specials.

When asked why they chose this meal, bistro patrons said they were looking forward to enjoying a fine French culinary  experience, plus they mentioned that the ambiance, plating and the buzz about John and his bistro certainly influenced their decision to dine there as well.

On the other hand, when asked why they passed on this meal customers at the Diner said that all they saw was overpriced cold soup, a salad, and a chicken entree with only one side dish and a glass of wine, therefore other sides on the menu held greater appeal for them.

The bottom line was the meal's ppresentation and perception made a $40 meal look like a worthwhile bargain for the bistro customer while the exact same meal for $20 less at the Diner was perceived as overpriced and lacking in value.

Similar preconceived notions and misconceptions also apply in how your resume is looked at and how people judge your value; and most often the reality of how good you are has nnothing to do with whether people choose your or pass on you. 

I think that most employers, especially when looking to hire personnel in the $50k-$250k brackets, tend to judge a person’s value in their resume with the desire to hire a candidate who resembles the meal at the French Bistro.

They are swayed more by the perception of value in what they perceive to see than in what may actually exist, and they can be won over by precisely targeted messages and visual appeal that enriches and enhances the value of what is being sold. They have a clear perception of exactly what and who they want to hire, and of what the more valuable employee will look like on paper. The problem is most people who write a resume fail to understand this. They’re of the opinion that no matter how you present the truth people will see it and judge you accordingly. They fail to understand The Power of Expectations and why the mind gets what it expects.

Resume writers, amateur and professional, need to understand that people will assume the meal in the bistro to be a better value than the meal in the Diner when in actuality they are 100% the same. They need to understand how to market the resume as much as how to write it and how to make the candidate come across as being perhaps a bit more expensive than the other candidate’s but still a bargain in comparison.

If you’re not sure if your resume achieves this or what you can do to accomplish this you can email me your resume for a free critique at perry@perrynewman.com

A Modern Debate (or is it?): The Online Undergraduate Degree vs. The Traditional 4-Year Degree - A Guest Post by Aniya Wells

For many years now, online degrees have been working towards the goal of simply being referred to as "degrees" in both academia and industry. As our society continues to shift more and more into the technological world, online degrees and online degree programs are becoming significantly more common. Now, when online degrees first emerged into the world of higher education, they were followed by a pretty heavy stigma. Many people in academia, industry, and everyday life discredited online learning and online degree programs at their outset. Today, however, more and more people are seeking education in a less traditional format and a more convenient structure. Online degree programs have become options for traditional students seeking a quality education as well as no-so-traditional students looking to earn a degree while raising a family or working fulltime. While the popularity of the online degree has gone up, has the stigma remained?

Online vs. Brick and Mortar
The world of higher education has long been at least in part about reputation and names. With elite brick and mortar schools referred to as the Ivy Leagues, it's no wonder the name your alma mater once played such a significant role in employment. Today, while there is certainly some of that favoritism among higher education institutions, the name label means significantly less in many areas of industry. The old argument against online earned degrees was that they simply couldn't provide the same quality education a traditional degree did. Brick and mortar schools boast face-to-face interaction and personal instruction. However, today many of these arguments just don't apply to online learning and many individuals no longer stand behind them. With advanced technologies, online learning and the online classroom has gained much the same availabilities as the brick and mortar classroom.


Things Employers Value in Online Degree Holders
With tech jobs and web related industry booming in today's economy, more and more employers are actually seeking candidates who hold online degrees.

1. Tech Savvy: Many employers value the online degree over the traditional degree because it may demonstrate a greater familiarity with modern web and computer use. Because online degree holders spent their entire undergrad career dealing with computer and online interaction and tools, these candidates are seen as tech savvy individuals. An online degree holder typically has a strong level of comfort and understanding with online and computer communication. This can be extremely valuable in industry. Moreover, online degree holders show proficiency in easily picking up new programs, tools, and technologies with computers. Technical know-how will continue to play an important role in industry and therefore on job applications, resumes, and cover letters.

2. Self-Initiative: While not all online degree holders come from unique situations, part of the appeal in an online degree is its openness with location and scheduling. It is this aspect that draws in many individuals who are going back to school after working fulltime in the industry for many years or after starting a family and playing parent for a while. For those who seek an online degree in one of these more "unique" situations, many employers are drawn to the self-initiative and determination it takes to complete a degree in this way. Self-initiative is a "non-paper" trait that many employers value over all else. Employers are looking for individuals who want to work and are willing to do so without "hand-holding". An online degree can demonstrate an important level of self-motivation and independence.

The online degree seems to only be gaining in value in the working world. While there may be some individuals who still hold a bias against the online realm of higher education, most areas of industry recognize the value of an online degree holder as an employee and equate the two degree types equally.

About the Author:
Aniya Wells is a freelance writer and blogger whose writing interests are decidedly consumer-focused. In an age in which consumers have access to unprecedented amounts of information, Aniya hopes to help her readers decode this information to make better decisions about online degree programs, personal finance, parenting, health, and more. She can be reached at mailto:aniyawells@gmail.com

The Career Lattice is Replacing The Career Ladder

Being a well known blogger, resume writer and career coach I’m constantly offered books in the career services genre to read and review. I accept a few in hopes they contain information that can advance my career and yours; and sad to say most fall short of expectations.

Not so with “The Career Lattice” authored by Joanne Cleaver. It immediately caught my attention; it delivers a clear and meaningful message for employees and employers in the current global economy. It is a must read for anyone looking to begin, advance or change their career, and for those who are engaged in talent acquisition, retention and development.

When I started out in the career services field the road to success in business was just like it is in the TV show Mad Men. You jumped on the Corporate Ladder at the bottom rung and steadily endeavored to claw your way upwards as high and as fast as humanly possible; and this was done with myopic eyes focused dead straight ahead and with a mindset that did not allow for the slightest deviation in purpose or path.

Joanne Cleaver recognizes that this is no longer the case, and she artfully articulates what I myself have espoused for the past number of years, that getting ahead and developing talent via the Career Ladder is passé.

In her book Joanne explores the changes in the business world in this millennium and how instead of following the 20th century path of predetermined corporate hierarchies, employees & employers need to explore and implement more flexible career paths. She calls this new paradigm The Career Lattice and it involves both employees and their employers adding new skills to current abilities – while discarding or lessening the importance of things which no longer have relevance or are slowly but surely approaching extinction.

She offers a new and refreshing perspective on how to research and plan a career, on the topic of education and training in the workplace, on networking, and among others on two topics that are critical for career longevity and growth.

The title The Career Lattice expresses the need to replace the narrow vertical career ladder, which places someone above and below most employees at all times, with something new. Especially since nowadays the ladder can often be log jammed with limited or no opportunity for advancement unless an employee changes jobs. Joanne proposes, and rightfully so, in replacing the ladder approach with a lattice that allows employees to move up, down or laterally at any time without losing respect or career momentum.

Another important topic Joanne delves into is replacing the animalistic instinct for self preservation with advocacy.

A few weeks ago I was asked by a friend, a corporate training professional at P&G, to help her write a speech she was delivering at her farewell party upon leaving the company after 16 years.

In her speech there was one line that struck a chord in me as I read this book. She came to P&G through a merger and thus wrote, “I was still travelling the Americas like crazy. Then one day about seven months after the merger {my new manager} caught me in the hallway and asked me “what is it that you do?" Slowly but surely I learned the importance of advocacy since it was a key part of the OGSM.”

Advocacy on both sides of the ledger is something we need to instill in our business DNA if we desire a long and productive business life.

The Career Lattice is filled with useful information, career advice, tools, charts and best practices that we all need to learn about and apply if we want a successful career and productive employees. I recommend it quite highly.

PS: OGSM (Objective/Goals/Strategies/Measures) is a corporate strategic planning tool used by many companies.

About Perry Newman:


Perry Newman CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized career services professional – an executive resume writer and career transition coach, certified social media strategist, AIPC certified recruiter, and an original member of the Career Rocketeer team.

Perry is passionate about all things related to career management and is dedicated to helping people get hired and back to work ASAP in today’s marketplace where the average job search lasts 285 days.

For a no cost/no obligation critique of your resume and Linked-In page you are invited to email your resume to perry@perrynewman.com