Archive for category job search
Wondering Where Employers Find Executive Candidates?
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive job search, job search on December 22, 2008
Check out this Newsweek Article that gives tips to employers on where to find the best talent pool.
You’ll notice, of course, that face-to-face networking is touted as a great method for finding a new employee, as is LinkedIn and other professional associations.
If you’ve read my book, How to Get Hired Faster, a lot of this information should sound familiar!
I’ve long advocated finding connections through both online and offline strategies, and for the busy professional, there’s nothing like maintaining a presence on LinkedIn to get things rolling in your search.
Save Your Executive Career, Start a Blog
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive job search, job search on November 17, 2008
I’ve long advocated blogging (in my How to Get Hired Faster book) for those who want to be seen as experts in their field.
Now, there’s new evidence that blogging can actually rescue your career in our competitive market. Save Your Career, Start a Blog focuses on the reasons why you should consider blogging to be a viable job search tool, and how it’s helped other job hunters.
Have You Bought Into These Resume Myths?
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive resume writing, job search, resume writing on November 6, 2008
It seems that “advice” on how to structure your resume is everywhere, with varying opinions from numerous sources. Now that tight economic times are upon us, you might need even more information to help you land that perfect job.
Unfortunately, many resume ideas that should have been cast aside years ago still seem to float around, and taking them as truth can actually impede your success.
Take a look at these 5 long-standing myths, and check your resume against them to ensure you’re using cutting-edge techniques:
Myth #1: Employers want absolutely every detail of your background.
Reality: Hiring managers need to see relevance in the information you’ve provided.
If you’re focused on presenting yourself as a sales professional, for example, the fact that you have run a cash register at a summer job may not be helpful to the reader. Conversely, a list of your sales training would actually be of use in that same scenario.
Remember that overloaded resume screening systems and HR personnel can’t make sense out of extraneous information. Instead, highlight crucial qualifications that can help employers make a hiring decision.
After settling on one career goal for your resume, tie your background directly to the role you seek with the keywords, skills, and accomplishments required for success in the new job.
Relevance is also the key to creating a personally branded resume (see samples here), which re-weights information according to how it qualifies you for your goals.
Myth #2: A resume should contain your job descriptions so employers can tell what you did.
Reality: Most professional jobs have the same description. Differentiation is key.
If you to want to stand head and shoulders above your competition, then skip the lengthy and mundane descriptions of your jobs. Focus instead on how you solve problems, and the results you have gained.
Employers already know that mortgage professionals handle loan paperwork, and that engineers solve complex analytical problems. Rather, describe how your work affected the company’s revenue or how the project was delivered on time.
It’s easier for employers to see how hiring you will make a difference if you talk about quantifiable accomplishments, as well as the strategies you used to achieve them.
Myth #3: A resume should be no longer than a single page in length.
Reality: A concise, well-written resume can still take up 2 or even 3 pages.
It’s hard to believe this concept is still in use, as it simply doesn’t make sense for anyone with more than 8 years of experience. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to deliver a true picture of your strengths and achievements into a single page, unless you are an early-career job seeker.
Worse yet, people who’ve held on to this idea tend to cram as much as possible into one page–making the document limited AND hard to read.
Today, many resumes fill up 2 pages, with a third page for many executives and IT professionals.
A word of caution, however: don’t forget relevance! Stick to facts of your career history that you can tie directly to your career goals.
Myth #4: Add all of your skills, training, and experience to your resume so that employers can see every job you’re qualified to perform.
Reality: Flooded with resumes, no one has time to connect your skills to their needs.
A “general” resume, as you’ll find, will rarely get calls for interviews, simply because employers can’t figure out how your background will benefit them.
If you were hiring a Marketing Director, and reviewed a resume showing skills in IT, operations, marketing, and sales, what would you think? You’d certainly prefer the candidate whose resume tells you in no uncertain terms that marketing is his area of expertise.
Creating your resume around a specific job tells companies why you’re qualified to solve their business problems, and how your work history, training, and special abilities will add up to a solution for them. That’s a powerful draw.
Myth #5: A resume summary should display many of your “soft” skills.
Reality: Employers need facts that exemplify the reasons you are qualified for your target role.
While your work style is an important qualifier, it isn’t as helpful to HR managers as your credentials. Keep it short and straightforward–employers aren’t impressed by a long paragraph of fluff.
Use a concise profile paragraph to give facts that might otherwise be buried elsewhere, such as your MBA, certifications, or expertise in a particular industry. If you must add soft skills, show how these have made you successful in your work.
Skip tired phrases, such as “team player” or “self-motivated.” After all, most applicants fit this description–or they should!
In summary, a powerful resume is often the key to a shorter, more successful job search. Pulling out differentiating factors will help you build a personal brand–and distinguish yourself as the perfect candidate.
If You’re Not Already on LinkedIn, Here’s Some Good Reasons to Start
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive job search, job search, linkedin, networking on October 29, 2008
And if you are already linked, you know that I wholeheartedly endorse creating a branded profile to accelerate your job search results.
LinkedIn, as you may be aware, has become a hub for professionals engaged in all kinds of business activities, including job searching.
Now, as they’ve added more features to support collaboration and connection activities, there’s even more reasons to polish up your LI profile and use it as a major portion of your job hunt.
Check out this New York Times Article on the new LI capabilities.
Have You Googled Yourself Lately?
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive job search, job search, online identity on September 14, 2008
If you’re an executive looking for a new role, you know the drill: ready your resume, examine your references, and build that network.
However, the job search HAS changed. Now, there’s one more item you’ll need to focus on–your online identity.
Employers turn to the Internet to dig up information prior to even considering an executive candidate, according to many recruiters. And, as you can imagine, what they find can either propel your job search, or put a damper on it.
If you’re sending out numerous resumes without getting a response despite your leadership abilities and qualifications, I highly recommend checking out your online presence to see what it says about you, starting with these steps:
1 – Find yourself online–and regularly.
Given the importance of online information about you, it’s imperative that you monitor the Web for your own data so that you’re not caught off-guard during your job search.
Set up a Google Alert on your name, which allows you to monitor any fresh information about you that comes online. (Go to http://www.google.com/alerts to use this feature).
This tool acts as an automatic search agent for the criteria you provide, and allows you to receive quick notification by email of any new Web data that contains your name.
You might find that there’s nothing untoward appearing about you on the Web, but monitoring this will save you time and the potential for a surprise in your job search.
2 – Take steps to address what you find.
Suppose you do find negative information? After looking it over carefully, I recommend contacting the source of the data to resolve the situation, if possible.
However, even if the other party actually removes the data by issuing an update, be forewarned that it can take months for the information to slide lower in search engine rankings, and it may never totally drop out of sight.
If you share a name with someone else who has negative online information, you could also consider using a different form of your name, such as your first initial and middle name, in order to avoid being confused with the other party.
If negative data about you persists online, you can start to counteract the effects by placing positive information where executive recruiters can find it. This is best accomplished by creating an online profile through networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, as outline in Step #3 here.
Also, you’ll need to prepare a strong interview response to directly address any damaging information, should the subject arise at that point.
3 – Create at least one active online networking profile.
Creating an online profile practically guarantees that the data you provide–which will accurately and positively reflect your career history, of course–will rise to the TOP of searches on your name.
The reason? Search engines love fresh content, and the more often you update your profile, the more prominently it will be featured during search results for your name.
Choose one or two popular sites to get started, and create a profile that includes a professional summary of your skills.
Add a bullet-point list of your top achievements, along with keywords that represent your core competencies, and a description of your leadership abilities, in addition to your work history and degrees.
Keep in mind that the data you add is searchable by others and must reflect your leadership brand. Add a descriptive title such as “Chief Technology Officer” or “Marketing Strategist” to generate hits on your profile.
Be sure to use the networking site’s import functionality to add “connections” to your profiles–and don’t limit connection activity to your first sign-in. Doing so will refresh the profile data and ensure that search engines will recognize its relevance for searches on your name.
As with all online activity, be watchful of the image you create. Less-than-professional photos, casual blogging on an activity you’d rather keep quiet, or other potentially negative information can make its way to the Web with astonishing speed.
Overall, it pays to support the image you convey to employers with an online presence that matches it, by controlling the information others can find out about your background.
Be aware–and watchful–of the impact your online presence can have on your job search, so that you can stay one step ahead of anyone else who is researching your identity.
Update Your Resume Month is Here – How About Updating Your Job Search?
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in job search on September 9, 2008
For those of you in the know, you’re already aware that September IS “Update Your Resume Month.” But did you know that it might be time to just toss in the towel on your original job search?
That’s right – all too often, there comes a time to take a hard look at what you do regularly that may or may NOT help you in the long run.
Updating your resume? A magnificent idea, especially given the fact that many professionals can’t recall what projects were of significance during a given year, nor the results achieved from them.
However, I’d encourage you to also refocus your job search methods, especially if it seems that finding a new role would be an arduous task. You can find more information on why you should be applying fresh eyes to your job search here.
3 Keys to Tapping the True "Hidden" Job Market for Executives
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in job search on August 29, 2008
If you’re job hunting, you’ve probably been caught in the endless search-apply-wait cycle.
You send off your resume, then wonder why you’re not getting a response–or if anyone even looked at it.
Well, have you heard about the “hidden job market,” why you need to use it, and how quickly you can land a job with it?
Most people think of the hidden job market as just a pool of unadvertised positions that seemingly fly under the radar. However, the phrase does NOT apply only to groups of unposted jobs!
This market ALSO contains jobs that never make it to the Internet because they are in the soon-to-be-created, formative phase, PLUS jobs that are known only to company insiders.
Here are 3 ways to gain access to this vast pool of opportunities:
1 – Pay attention to timing for new jobs in development.
For jobs that are still being created, timing rules! This means that you’ve got to get ahead of the game in order to catch a great opportunity.
Case in point: A good number of leadership professionals find their next position by being among the first to sniff out the potential for a new opportunity.
One great way to do this is to look for a lot of movement in one industry, because it can create need among the companies within that field. I recommend identifying companies that are actually competitors to the firms you’re already applying to, so that you can actually be first in line for new opportunities–right as they’re created.
To spell it out, suppose Company A needs two Senior Sales Executives (since they have posted openings for these positions), and Company B just happens to have some.
When Company B’s sales executives leave to take the new roles at Company A. who’s going to fill those newly opened jobs at Company B?
YOU are, because you’ve thought this through and been waiting for your golden opportunity, AND you applied to BOTH companies in anticipation of this need.
2 – Consider sending your resume for a firm’s NEXT open job.
Many of my clients have found positions simply by sending a resume unsolicited. What’s magic about that, you might ask?
Well, having a great candidate in hand means the employer has less reasons to post a job, OR it might only be posted as a formality, since they already have YOU.
In addition, some firms struggle for a long time with a business need, without realizing that someone (you) has skills to fit that need.
If you send a resume that clearly outlines how you solve business problems that match theirs, it can make quite an impact.
Sound farfetched? It’s happened several times to my clients, who are able to make such a strong case with their skills that the companies actually CREATED jobs for them.
3 – Refresh your network–frequently–to stay in touch with future company insiders.
There’s a reason everyone is telling you to get moving on your network–it’s the strongest strategy you can find, with up to a 70% return for your efforts.Moreover, it’s backed up with plenty of research that suggests most prime jobs (again, those that NEVER hit the Internet) are snapped up by well-networked leaders.
When I recruited for technical organizations, for example, we put a lot more weight on an insider referral than we did with ANY other form of hiring, including job fairs, ads (online and offline), and applications from job hunters.
Since most professionals won’t refer a colleague without being certain of their work quality, we knew this was the best way to get highly qualified candidates.
My strongest recommendation is to stay in touch with colleagues and professional contacts in any way possible.
Exchange email, add them to your LinkedIn profile, or ask if they’d like to join you at a local association meeting.
When you nurture these types of contacts, the value to your career over time is quite significant, and can make the difference between waiting months during your next job search, to being selected quickly for a great opportunity by a great company.
As you can see, there’s a clever strategy to being at the forefront of job market happenings. Being the right place at the right time can pay off in much faster results, with much better job opportunities–all allowing you to create your OWN version of the “hidden job market.”
3 Clues That Your Resume is Giving The Wrong Information
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive resume writing, job search on August 21, 2008
For job hunters, there’s nothing worse than filling your resume with your duties, focusing on overused phrases, and spelling out a dry list of your jobs. The reason?
Employers want to hire not only a person that meets the qualifications for a particular role, but a solution—a candidate that can help solve business problems, lead work teams to productivity, or deliver cost savings to the organization.
All too often, job hunters commit a cardinal error by loading up their resumes with the wrong kind of information, meaning that the document fails to answer the “So what?” question for hiring managers.
In effect, this writing style will put your qualifications into a category whereby your background is seen as identical to other candidates vying for the same job—and that can’t be a good thing.
To correct this problem, start with a fundamental shift in the way you view the purpose of your resume—changing your focus from a dry list of “here’s what I did” to “here’s what I can do for YOU.”
Here are 3 main clues that your resume needs an overhaul in order to move an employer’s response from “So what?” to “Call for an interview:”
You forgot to emphasize results.
Today’s hiring managers are looking for consistent proof of performance. So how can you provide it? Start with a list of your contributions to the team and the company, then describe the effect on the employer’s bottom line.
The idea, of course, is to RID your resume of the obvious (everyone knows that an accountant manages the general ledger, managers supervise, and network administrators monitor servers), while giving employers a clear picture of the extent of what you can do.
Many people think that employers are focused on job duties and don’t want more details, while just the opposite is true. It’s of utmost importance to give the outcome of each task that you’ve initiated or completed while at work.
To do this, take EACH resume sentence and scrutinize it for results. Does it present just the facts, or does it convey what happened?
Rewrite each sentence with a clear focus on what happened after you took on that project, led a new team or developed new policies. You’ll be amazed at the difference in the responses to your resume.
You failed to be specific about your achievements.
This is probably the biggest problem found in most resumes circulating the Internet. It’s concise, focused description of your accomplishments that lands the interview.
For example, say you increased sales – by HOW MUCH? You implemented changes for efficiency that reduced hiring – by HOW MANY PEOPLE? If you increased new business – by WHAT PERCENTAGE?
Grew revenue by 435% to $5 million by winning major contracts drives your point home better than Provided contract negotiation support.
The best way to come up with these figures is to review each sentence in your resume to see if it can be quantified. Make a list of questions such as the ones noted above, and ask yourself for additional detail as if you were at a job interview.
Remember that figures in this case speak much louder than anything else you can use.
Quantifying your contributions is an absolute MUST in order to make your credentials stand out above others, and to make the case that you bring verifiable strengths to your next job.
You copied or re-used phrases.
It seems basic, but many candidates bore hiring authorities by using the same wording repeatedly, or re-use what they’ve seen elsewhere.
For example, how catchy is the phrase “Responsible for…?” Yet, it populates the average resume at least a half-dozen times. Essentially, if you don’t use interesting verbiage on your resume, then don’t expect much interest from the reader.
A resume should be written to engage the hiring audience so that they want to know MORE about you, not less.
The good news is that there are more than 170,000 words in the English language, meaning that you have a lot of choices. For example, “managed” can be changed to “directed,” “spearheaded,” “oversaw,” “championed,” “led,” etc.
As you can see, there’s no need to re-use the same information to convey your point. Revitalize your resume to deliver a powerful, compelling message, using what professional resume writers call “Power Verbs”, by consulting a thesaurus.
In summary, remember that your resume’s job is to give employers an accurate and powerful picture of your skills, and that going against conventional, outdated styles can be the right thing to do.
Since reading hundreds of resumes can wear down even the most energetic hiring manager, it’s best to leave the tedious resume wording for use by someone else, in order to market yourself as the PERFECT SOLUTION that will produce bottom-line results.
How Long Will My Job Search Take?
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in executive job search, executive resume writing, job search on August 7, 2008
That’s a great question… and one for which there is no “magic” answer. But if you’re in the job hunt at this point, you might swear that the process seems to be taking longer than ever before.
At the heart of the problem is the fact that most companies receive unprecedented volumes of resumes in response to any job posting. In other words, the popularity of Internet job search is at least partly to blame for extending the job search process.
However, even seasoned professionals and executives using targeted networking and other types of job search methods are finding their quest is ongoing. Some prominent studies suggest that a job search will take one MONTH for every $10,000 of salary.
What’s a well-qualified candidate to do?
Here are some ways to gauge how long your job hunt might take, and some methods to start addressing it—long BEFORE frustration sets in:
1 – First assess the factors that may affect the duration of your search.
In particular, the amount of time you’ll need to invest will be largely dependent upon the following:
- Your qualifications for the role you seek vs. that of your competition
- The industry in which you may be limiting your search
- Economic conditions affecting demand for your skills or within your industry
- Any factors that play into selection by recruiters (an unfinished degree, frequent job changes, short tenure at your current position, etc.)
- Any other mitigating circumstances, such as large numbers of people exiting your field (such as in the mortgage or construction industries) or relatively high pay for your career goal (including the field of pharmaceutical sales) that encourages applications to flood employers with resumes
- The type of job search you conduct (i.e., online only or using networking to expand your options)
- Your level of preparation for the job hunt itself
While a few short years ago, candidates could call a few recruiters and quickly line up interviews, hiring authorities—and systems—have become increasingly particular about the content of your resume.
Spend extra time developing one or more resumes (and cover letters) that concisely reflect your career goals, keeping length to two pages or less. Be sure to address any potential issues in your work history, such as gaps in employment, potential age bias, or other issues, as the payoff can be significant.
2 – Next, take a look at your methods, and expand them beyond Internet-only search.
Online search efforts CAN be fruitful, but for many applicants, the low rate of return (anywhere from 4 to 18 percent) can severely limit your success.
There are numerous ways to expand your search beyond the Internet. For example, look at professional associations as a source of networking. While each organization is different, some conduct in-person meetings frequented by recruiters.
In addition, take a look at the social networking sites, including LinkedIn, Ryze, Naymz, Plaxo, Twitter, FaceBook, and others. Maximizing your connections and availability on these sites can put you in front of hiring authorities—plus give you another avenue to search for job postings.
Don’t forget about using recruiters. If you haven’t found a good source in your industry, simply google to find recruiting firms that specialize in your field. Think of professional recruiters as another networking source that you must cultivate and manage; after all, they’re in front of employers constantly and can let you know of great insider opportunities.
3 – Last, revise your thinking about job hunting itself.
A successful search is no more than a means by which to spread the word about your qualifications. Job hunters who embrace technology and the latest wave of search techniques are actually CREATING demand for their skills, using a combination of viral marketing and online networking.
Tools such as establishing a blog in your area of expertise, or creating a web portfolio that allows the reader to drill further to get more detail on your accomplishments are part of the emerging “job search 2.0” movement.
In essence, the theory is that the more you establish yourself as an expert in your field, the easier it will be to have others pursue YOU for your unique capabilities.
In short, while some facets of a job hunt may be beyond your control, you CAN significantly cut down the amount of time needed to find your next opportunity by using the most productive search methods, and developing a business presence that can catapult your job hunt from ordinary to cutting-edge.
How Should You Evaluate a Denver Resume Service?
Posted by Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume Writer in denver resume service, job search on August 1, 2008
As the owner of a resume service company based in Denver, Colorado, I’m frequently asked by potential clients how they can find a resume writer that will fit their needs–especially in cases where they are not an executive, management, or IT client.
I’d like to address this question, especially since there seems to be a number of resume companies popping up online that claim to be in Denver–but aren’t.
First of all, please do a WEB SEARCH for any resume service that claims to be in Denver. You should find some information on the company, and at the very least the writer.
In addition, for writing companies that aren’t here, but say that they serve the Denver area, remember that the economy in the Denver and Colorado area has always been different than other areas of the country. The hiring climate here, in particular, has always posed special challenges for job seekers.
If you’ve been here longer than five years, you’re well aware of the boom-and-bust cycles that have dotted the economic landscape in this area.
What you may not realize is how employers have set themselves up for a reactive (read skeptical) response to resumes, or that WHERE they’re from (meaning the culture that makes up their hiring leadership), makes Denver a very conservative setting for the average professional.
Since most employers with any significant presence here (not counting the companies like Qwest, Frontier, etc.) are actually headquartered somewhere else (and that somewhere else is more than likely the Midwest), job hunters have to match the conservative tone set by employers.
Resumes that pull the best results in the Denver area work with these facts, and use a straightforward, non-flowery description of your potential.
Case in point: I recently worked with a client from New York who couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t making inroads in the Denver market. He had a unique blend of IT and marketing expertise.
At the top of his resume, the “G” in his name was displayed as a LIGHT BULB. That’s right, an actual drawing of a light bulb. I told him that any employer I knew would make sure that document hit the trash ASAP–after a good laugh, of course.
Of course, you know the rest — we reworked it and he landed plenty of interviews.
My point is that the resume writer who encouraged him to do this was NOT from the Denver area, and seemingly had no idea that this kind of gimmick just doesn’t cut it in a conservative market that still, somehow, has a small-town (don’t say cow town!) feel.
My other point is this: ensure that the writer you work with has a good, if not superior, grasp of your market.
Resumes written for the East Coast should, to be effective and get results, have a much different look, feel, and tone than those developed for the Colorado market.
As an aside, beware of companies that advertise in barely readable English, who claim to be a member of ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONAL RESUME WRITERS.
No such association exists!
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