The Great Resume Debate is Really a No Brainer…

 As you know, I’m an executive resume writer, career coach and blogger and I am not shy about sharing my views on the purpose of a resume, what to include and exclude in it, and especially how important visual appeal is to generating the impact and mass appeal needed to generate job interviews.

To this end, I’ve shared my thoughts on an individual basis with countless readers of this blog who emailed me their resume for a free resume review, and I look forward to exchanging views with many more of you in the weeks and months ahead.

Now about the great debate; recently a discussion on a Linked-In group debated whether it was worth the time and effort to create a visually appealing resume, or if a simple plain text resume would suffice. The initiator of the post was of the opinion that since both versions present the exact same information, there is no benefit to going through the time, effort and expense to enhance a resume’s visual appeal.

Taken at face value this is a valid point, and many who commented agreed. I vociferously disagree and said so in writing. However some responders said I only feel this way because I get paid to write resumes, so naturally my opinion is skewered.

So let me publicly state my case and you can judge for yourself if it is valid or prejudicial.

Last month I happened upon an acquaintance who is a marriage counselor. We got to talking and he said he had a story that would interest me.

Recently a woman came to him who was concerned about her marriage. He told me she works long hours at her job and takes care of a new baby and two other young children when at home. But she makes sure to have a home cooked meal for her husband at least three work nights a week. Most times she cooks his meals ahead of time and either freezes them or puts them in the fridge overnight and reheats it before dinner time. The problem she said is “my husband comes home from work and just picks at the meals and then leaves the table.” So my friend asked her “maybe he has a stomach problem or some ailment that prevents him from eating.” She replied, “No, there is no such problem. As a matter of fact he loves to eat. You should see him at weddings or when we attend frequent fund raising dinners. He sits down and savors those meals. Plus he insists we go out alone to a restaurant at least four times a month and there he finishes every last morsel on his plate.” The counselor was at a loss and did not know how to respond.

A few days later he arranged to casually run into the husband and engaged him in conversation. After the small talk he told the husband about his wife’s concern and asked “is your wife a bad cook, is that why you only nibble at the food she cooks at home?” The husband grinned and said “no, actually my wife is a great cook and most times her food tastes a lot better than the meals I get when we eat out.” Somewhat perplexed the counselor asked, “So why do you enjoy the meals so much when you go out to eat and just nibble at the food at home?”

The husband looked at him and said one word; “Presentation.” Asked to elaborate he said, “My wife means well. But she is so busy with work and the kids that when it comes time for my dinner the table is full of dirty dishes and stains on the tablecloth from the baby and the kids. And although she’s a magnificent cook she just sets out a pile of paper plates and disposable plastic cutlery and plastic cups on the table for me. On top of that the food is left on the table in Ziploc containers for me to serve myself.” “I know it’s wrong, but for some reason, as good as the food is at home it is not appealing, so I just nibble a bit. Now in a catering hall and the restaurants we go to without the kids the food may not be as tasty, but the presentation is elegant and the ambiance makes the dining experience 100% better than the food is.”

Now this might sound strange to you but it is not uncommon. As a matter of fact if you happen to watch Iron Chef, a show I love, you will notice that 1/3 of the score is based on taste, 1/3 on presentation and 1/3 on creativity. Do you know why? Because all the competing chefs are equally qualified, and the dishes they prepare are all delicious. But what differentiates them that night in the minds of the judges is their creativity in using the same ingredients along with the intangible appeal generated by the plating style. I am of the opinion that decision makers will judge one candidate’s resume against another’s in the same manner. The richer the presentation, the better the chance is of being called for an interview.

Now if that analogy does not work for you try this one.

You never saw Avatar in the movies so you rent it from Redbox. How do you think it would be most enjoyable to watch: on a vintage 50” Zenith B&W television with hi-fi sound, on a 9” Coby kitchen model color TV, or on a 42” Samsung 3-D HDTV with a Bose surround system. If you are like me the answer is, hands down, the later. Why? Because the Samsung 3-D HDTV offers the viewer the best presentation of the movie, therefore it is the preferred choice. Again, quality presentation trumps the competition.

If I have yet to convince you on the importance of presentation in a resume here is one final analogy I am certain most of you can relate to.

You have a brainstorm at work that you think will get you noticed and maybe even promoted. So naturally you want to champion it. You spend countless hours trying to pull it together. You create a foolproof strategic plan, research all the facts and figures, and look for any loopholes. The only problem is you never learned how to use PowerPoint or another presentation tool. However you’re too scared someone will steal your thunder so you refuse to ask for help because you are convinced the idea is so good it will sell itself.

Comes the big day and your boss brings the rest of her team along to participate in your presentation. A half-hour later you finish and ask if anyone has any questions and everyone is silent. A few days pass and you have yet to receive feedback. So when you see your boss in the cafeteria you ask her if it is Ok for you to sit down, and when you’re seated you ask her what she thought about your idea and presentation. She replies, “The idea is brilliant. However we thought your presentation skills are very weak and we asked Harry (your biggest rival in the company) to run with the idea because he can get stakeholder buy-in. We’re sure you’ll understand its best for the company.” You take a deep breath and say “But it is my idea, I should be leading the project.” To this she replies “You’re right it was a fantastic idea and we loved it. But based on your presentation we all felt you are not the right person for the job!” End of story; Harry goes on and leads the project, it succeeds, and he earns a promotion and is now your boss.

This is how it goes in the real world and how decision makers and hiring authorities think and how they will judge your resume against your competition. Now as a Brooklyn boy through and through, if you still don’t believe me that people value presentation above all else, “I have a bridge I’d like to sell ya.”

Author

Perry Newman, CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized resume writer, career transition coach, certified social media strategist, as well as a AIPC certified recruiter and former executive search firm owner known for his ability to get results. You can view his sample resumes and client endorsements at http://www.perrynewman.com, and request a free resume critique by emailing your resume with contact information to perry@perrynewman.com.

TIS THE TIME OF THE SEASON

The holiday season is almost ready to begin; a time of great joy for many but not for all.

I don’t know about you, but on the resume writing, military and business/industry Linked-In groups I follow the tone of some discussions is showing signs of despondency over the past few weeks.

I understand that many of those commenting online at this time of the year are simply frustrated about spinning their wheels and getting nowhere fast in their job search. Worse yet, many sound ready to give up looking for a new job completely thinking it’s a hopeless situation, and many of their peer responders are fortifying this opinion.

We all agree that times are tough. But job hunters need to keep the faith and work a lot smarter today then ever before, and some need to also work a little bit harder to achieve their goal.

So if you know a job hunter in a negative frame of mind, give them an early holiday present by tweeting this post and emailing to them as well..

Dr. Glenn Cunningham (1909-1988) was a world-record-holder in the mile race and an unlikely member of the 1932 and 1936 U.S. Olympic teams.

Cunningham was born in rural Kansas in 1909. As a very young boy his mother brought him up to believe in the American Dream and that he could accomplish whatever he wanted to in life as long as he never gave up trying.

Tragically, in 1916, Glen and his older brother Floyd were involved in an accidental fire in their schoolhouse. Glen’s older bother Floyd died in the fire while Glen was rescued, in excruciating pain, suffering from 3rd degree burns over his entire lower body and legs. Medicine being what it was in those days doctors told his mother he would likely not survive. They then told her if there was any chance for him to survive, since his legs were so badly burned they would need to amputate both legs. Mrs. Cunningham would not listen. She refused to accept their diagnosis or allow the amputation to happen.

Glen did survive this ordeal and when he returned home his mother massaged his legs day after day, putting on ointments to soothe the burns, and telling little Glen not to give up. She told him ‘no matter what the doctors, the neighbors or anyone says eventually you will not only walk again but you will run like all the other boys.’

Amazingly sensation began to return to his legs. One morning while sitting outside in his wheelchair during the summer of 1918, Mrs. Cunningham told Glen how proud she’d be if he would just walk to the fence 5 feet away. Glen smiled and said nothing. Then one morning she came out and saw Glen was holding on to the fence crying. In shock she asked him what happened. He said he wanted to make her so proud of him but he failed; he did not walk to the fence, he only took one step, fell, and then crawled on the ground the rest of the way. She broke down crying and told him how proud she was that he tried and succeeded. “You did not fail. This is just the first of many small steps you will take in life to reach your goals.”

That summer Glenn never gave up and soon he started to take one more step, and then another and soon he could walk to the fence on his own. Eventually Glen regained full strength in his legs by running. By the time he was 12, he had beaten all the local high school runners. His legs remained deeply scarred, however. Throughout his life, he would have to massage them and spend time doing long warm-up exercises in order to maintain circulation. In addition, his injuries meant that he could never run smoothly or efficiently; he compensated with endurance and strength.

Dr. Glen Cunningham attended the University of Kansas where he ran for the track team and in the 1932 Olympics, held in Los Angeles, he came in fourth in the 1500 meter race. In 1936 he again represented the USA, this time in the Berlin Olympics, as a teammate of another great world class athlete and role model, the great Jesse Owens. Glen later earned a master's degree from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in Phys Ed from NYU.

Dr. Glen Cunningham is just one example of how you can beat any odds as long as you don’t stop trying. With a positive and realistic outlook, the help of one’s family and friends, and lots of perseverance and perspiration no goal is out of reach, no matter how hard it may seem today.

This story has been an inspiration to me and I hope it is for you as well.

Let’s not kid ourselves; job hunting is a hard task in this economy but in the end we will all succeed if we just do the right things and keep on trying with a positive frame of mind.

PS: Join me this Wednesday November 16 at 9 pm Eastern time on http://www.internetvoicesradio.com for an internet radio show with Tome Dezell in which we will discuss networking at this time of year. If you can't listen live, the show is available for download after live airing as well.


Author
Perry Newman, CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized resume writer, career transition coach, certified social media strategist, as well as a AIPC certified recruiter and former executive search firm owner known for his ability to get results. You can view his sample resumes and client endorsements at http://www.perrynewman.com, and request a free resume critique by emailing your resume with contact information to perry@perrynewman.com.

Open Your Eyes to the Job Search Reality

A most difficult and frustrating aspect of being a career coach and resume writer is telling people what they need to know, as opposed to telling them what they want to hear.

Especially when you need to tell them what they already recognize, or at the very least surmise to be the truth yet struggle to acknowledge and accept, or flat out refuse to admit.

Over the past year I’ve been in contact with countless people from coast to coast at all levels and in all professions. What I found is more individuals than I expected are totally unaware of, or still not accepting the new realties of the job market in the second decade of the new millennium. Plus many older people are still stuck in the so called glory days of the 20th century and await their return. Sadly they have a long wait as illustrated by Can you still move up in America? the cover story in Time Magazine [11/14/11] written by Rana Foroohar.

So when people in the know offer you the following advice; heed it rather than fight it.

1: If at this time you do not have the requisite skills and experience to get the job you are focusing on rethink what you are doing and why, and try finding a more realistic goal.

2: If your resume is outdated or lacks the proper focus don’t look to justify it just listen and ask how you can fix it.

3: If you no longer want a job in which you have the most recent and relevant experience and instead want to focus on jobs that require skills and experience you last used 5-20 years ago realize that this job search will take a lot longer than you might expect. Also job boards will offer you negligible results, and your resume may need to be unconventional in order to take the focus off how long it’s been since you last held and qualified for this position.

4. If you are expending the bulk of your job search efforts on resume posting, resume blasting and scouring jobs boards and applying for jobs online, stop. This is not the optimal use of your money, time and effort.

5: If you expect people in your network to advocate for you and pass your resume along to people in their company and people they know make sure it is eye-catching, properly worded and has relevance and the right focus.

6: If you do not understand how Social Media works have someone teach it to you.

7: Don’t dwell on why you can’t find a job, why people won’t interview you, why they won’t take your phone call, or on anything that is negative. Keep positive and look for answers on how you can make things happen in the future and don’t dwell on past failures.

8: Don’t justify being frugal because you don’t have a job. If you need additional education, certification or to gain valuable experience as an unpaid volunteer don’t procrastinate, do it. If you need a new interview outfit or a costly visit to the hair salon, need a professional resume and coaching, or need to join an organizations or attend valuable networking event, and then if you need to follow this up by taking someone who can help you out to lunch or dinner don’t think twice about it. Just do it.

Author
Perry Newman, CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized resume writer, career transition coach, certified social media strategist, as well as a AIPC certified recruiter and former executive search firm owner known for his ability to get results. You can view his sample resumes and client endorsements at http://www.perrynewman.com, and request a free resume critique by emailing your resume with contact information to perry@perrynewman.com.