Before You Interview

I believe you should have only one version of your resume. I recommend using your cover letter to present any additional information you want a potential employer to consider. This is my viewpoint and others think differently. It isn’t wrong to construct multiple versions of your resume. But, if you do I recommend that you ensure you submit the correct version when applying for a position.

In this blog I am going to cover a few things that I think are important and may not always be covered in posts about conducting a job search. In addition to the recommendations below I recommend that you search for “2019 Job Interview Prep.” In these articles you will find a lot of information to help you in your preparation and in the search itself. While there is much that is common among these posts there are also many variations and conflicting recommendations. Focus on those that you are comfortable with as you may not be successful if you try to do something that doesn’t feel right to you.

Here are the few things that I think are important. Begin by finding multiple postings for the role(s) you are interested in. Look at both local postings as well as ones from across the US. More information is always better. Take note of the role responsibilities listed. Also take note of the educational requirements for the position, and any other information that is consistently mentioned.

Compare your knowledge, skills and experience with what they are looking for. You want to find as much information as you can, but don’t spend too much time on this. Your goal should be to stop when you begin to see the same information over and over. If there are too many requirements that you don’t have, you may want to look at different positions. At this point it is likely that you are seeing enough to move forward to the next step.

Next, research the companies listing the position(s) you are interested in. Do research for each company in general. Also see if you can find any information about the role(s) for which you want to apply. If the company is private this step may not provide a great deal of information, but there may be information available in articles about the company.

Hiring managers frequently look for applicants on LinkedIn. If you are not a member I strongly recommend that you join. Because you have completed your resume it is mostly just a matter of transferring the resume information to LinkedIn. There are other sections to complete, but, even if you aren’t ready to do that, begin by posting your resume content. Once you join LinkedIn, you can search the site for the positions you are interested in, as well as searching the companies looking to fill your desired role.

Look for people who are in or have held the role(s) you are looking at. Read the comments people have made about why people have done well in the roles. For what areas are they commended? Perhaps you have done something similar that you can include in your cover letter. Be sure to mention it if you think it might be appropriate for the specific role for which you are applying.

Not all people who conduct interviews are trained and know what questions to ask or how to get the information they need. I recommend that you make a list of the information that you want to communicate about yourself to the hiring team. You want to let them know as much about your qualifications as you can.

Prepare descriptions of what you have done related to what a person in the job role needs to do. Then if the interviewer doesn’t ask you for this type of information. Integrate what you want to communicate into a response to a question the interviewer asks. Say a bit and then ask the interviewer if this is information that they would like to hear. If they say “no” don’t be afraid to ask for more specifics about what they want to know about your background and experience.

Different interviewers may approach the interview process differently. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need more information or you need clarification in order to answer a question. If you don’t know anything about a topic you can say something like “that is an area that I hope to learn more about, I hope I have the opportunity to learn about it here in this company”.

It will really be worth your while to do the research before you interview. Again check out the job interview articles. The more you know the better you will be able to prepare for presenting yourself to potential employers. Good Luck!

It’s Not Too Early

Now is the time that some people in their senior year of college are beginning to think about applying for jobs. These are the people who are likely to do better than their fellow students who haven’t yet thought about what comes next. While some college students have a resume that they have been maintaining and updating, others have not. If you are a college student and don’t have a resume I hope you will consider developing one, regardless of where you are in your college career.

Some college students have held jobs, paid or otherwise, and can talk to their accomplishments on those jobs. Others have not been employed. However, as a college student, you have many opportunities to demonstrate your capabilities and you can document them in your notes for your resume.

Think about the classes you have taken and the assignments that you have completed. Have you done research and presented your findings? Have you worked with others on a class project? Have you done other things while in school that you would like to do more of? And perhaps get paid for? Whether you have an idea of what you would like to do once you graduate or not, you have accomplished some things that showcase who you are and what you can do for a potential employer.

Getting started doesn’t have to be difficult. Begin by making notes on what you enjoy doing. You may want to include activities unrelated to school. You may want to do this over a period of time. But don’t take too long before you start.

As you begin your list remember it is not a resume so make it as long as you want. You may decide that something you listed earlier no longer interests you. That is fine, you can delete it from your list.

The next step after you list things that you enjoy doing is to list what you have accomplished that is related to those activities you have listed. For example, maybe you did a research paper on a topic that you found interesting. List that you wrote the paper and also list any positive comments the instructor made about what you wrote. Perhaps you participated in a team activity? Here is where you can document the specific things that you did that contributed to the successful outcome of the project.

As you begin to consider the types of roles you would like to do after graduation you can go online and look at job descriptions for those roles. Review what they want entry-level people to do. Are these things you want to do? Are these things you can do? Remember as an entry-level person it is likely you will learn a lot on the job. But you do need to have certain capabilities and these are listed in job descriptions. You can also find sample resumes of people who are in the roles you are thinking about.

Of course you want to speak to your professors and advisors and get their advice too. However the key point is that isn’t too early to begin thinking about a resume while you are in college. And of course, by beginning to document your accomplishments you will hopefully find it a relatively easy task to complete that job-winning resume.

Good luck and if you have any questions please comment.

 

What Can I Do?

Like so many of us, I am grappling with the shocking and horrifying recent events. When things like this happen, I ask myself, what can I do? The answer, at least in the short term, is to keep doing what I can do to make my life and the lives of people around me just a little bit better. Sometimes, all you can do is what you do. One of the things I do is to help people develop, update, revise, or change their resumes. In the last few weeks, I have been hearing from a number of people looking for my assistance as they grapple with the loss of their jobs. While not on the national scale, this is something I am qualified to help with. So I do what I can where I can. This blog is my way of trying to contribute useful information to those who need this type of assistance.

The people that I know who are receiving notice have been in their roles for many years and have been successful at what they do. But, the companies they work for are changing their focus and no longer need people in those roles. Several people have told me that they had been thinking that they would be with these companies until retirement. Some will now retire a bit early, but many others can’t. They were not prepared for this. Yet, life threw them a curve ball and they need to find the path to their futures. What I can do is talk to what I know and, hopefully, I can help people who need to find new jobs.

Even if you don’t think you are ready to move forward, it is important to begin the process, even if it is only in a small way. Start by opening a new document and creating a list of all the things you like to do and are good at doing. The items on this list can be anything at all. Maybe you want to list some work-related items and also things that you do in your personal life. Just write. Don’t try to categorize or edit. Just get things from your mind to your document. Don’t spend a lot of time on it. But, save the file and think about things you might want to add to your list. Continue to get back to this list frequently until you think you have listed everything. Now divide your list into two parts, job related activities and non-job related activities.

Next list all the jobs you have had in the last 10 years in reverse chronological order. Start with your most recent role and work backwards. If you have any activities on your list that you did more than 10 years ago add them to the end of your list. Carefully review your list. Are there any items on the list that you no longer want to do? If yes, delete them. This is you planning your next step. For right now, make it a plan that will make you happy. Next list all your non-job activities in reverse chronological order.

Now for each role and each activity, list your accomplishments. List the things that you did, not your responsibilities, but rather what you did and the end results of what you did. Explain your specific contribution.

For the items that you have listed that were not part of a job role, briefly explain how these activities would contribute to a place of employment. Adding these items to your cover letter when applying for a position where performing these activities along with all the activities you have listed in your resume will allow you to showcase all that you can do and want to do.

Hopefully these steps will help you start to develop a resume and cover letter that will help you get your next role.

These are just the first few steps towards building a winning resume. We all have a lot of work ahead of us, but small steps can help when you feel paralyzed. Try to do something productive every day. Before you know it, you will have done quite a lot. For my part, I’m going to keep writing this blog and hoping I can help make my little corner of the world a slightly better place.

Good Luck and see you all next week!

Better Resume Development Through Teamwork

Here are some of my thoughts on ways to develop or update your resume. Working with a colleague who also needs to update their resume can allow you both to effectively update your resumes. It is important to have a current resume even if you are not currently looking for another position. There are many good reasons to have a current resume. Maybe your manager wants to present expertise in their group; maybe you will be invited to speak to a class about what you do. There are many other circumstances in which a current resume is a good thing to have, so take the time to update your resume. You won’t be sorry.

To begin with, keep in mind that your resume is what you are presenting to the reader about yourself. It is what you are saying about yourself and your background. Therefore it is unwise to say how great you are, as the reader won’t be impressed with you just saying you are the best thing since sliced bread. You need to share accomplishments and results that tell your readers what you have done rather than having a statement that says you are wonderful but doesn’t explain why.

Maybe you think you need help in presenting your accomplishments. One way to get this help is to work with a colleague to identify what you each have done that shows experience and success. Here are some things that I recommend you do. Starting with documenting everything as you go along. You may not use everything, but you won’t know what you want to keep until you are done.

In general I have found that people find it much easier to talk to someone else’s accomplishments instead of their own. Here are some pointers to consider:

• List 3 work related things that they did in their current role that resulted in successful outcomes
• Describe each of the outcomes; explain what made them successful
• Explain how the knowledge and skills used to create each outcome could be applied to one or more different situations. Describe some of the different situations
• For example your colleague created a new process for handling requests coming in to the organization. You can talk to how the process could be used for other types of requests or inquires.
• Now look at what your colleague documented about your successes. Is there anything you can add to what they said about your accomplishments? What did you do that was different but yet could also be applied to another situation?
• For example you documented a process and identified where things could go wrong and the steps needed to mitigate issues
• When you are both satisfied with the 3 activities from your current role go ahead and add as many additional key accomplishments for your colleague as you can. Use the same process.
• Review the accomplishments developed for you. Are there any additional accomplishments that you want to add that your colleague may not be able to document? If yes, go ahead and add them using the same process.
• Next move down through each of your prior roles. It is likely that you will have to develop the accomplishment statements for yourself as your current colleague most likely didn’t work with you in your prior roles. Use the same techniques you used for developing statements about your colleague. Maybe you only want to list a few accomplishments or maybe even one for a previous role. That is OK; go ahead and work through your prior roles.
• When you have completed this activity, which at this point is still a draft, review what you have. Are there things that you don’t want to do again? If yes, delete them. You do not have to list everything you have done in the past if it isn’t something you want to do again.
• Do you like the way these statements are presenting you? If not work with your partner to modify them until you are comfortable with the way the statement presents you.
• Step back and consider whether there are accomplishments that are not yet listed. Work with your partner to document them.
• When you are comfortable with your success statements it is time to consider if you have too many. A resume should be no more than two pages, with white space for notes. Consider that you also need to add your education. You may also want to add a summary statement at the top.
• Once you are done you may want to share it with others to get their feedback. Does it effectively communicate what you want a reader to take away from your resume? Essentially you are field-testing your resume.

I hope you find this process helpful and that you wind up with a current resume that you can add to as time goes on. As you add things, remember that a two-page resume is ideal. If need be, find line items to delete.

Good Luck!

Keeping Up To Date

Just about everyone should have a current (or almost current) resume just in case you want or need to make a move. But getting your resume updated – or developed from scratch – is a major undertaking. Understandably, people tend to put it off or at most add a line item from time to time.

Yet even when you do have a current resume, is it really ready to serve your needs? What I mean is, does your resume present you and what you want to do next as effectively as you’d like it to?

There are lots of places on line, in books, journals and many other places, where resume development advice is given. It seems like there are all sorts of recommendations about how to format and what to include on your resume.

There are, of course, additional steps before you get to adding, revising or beginning a resume from scratch. However, before getting to these steps I believe that you should begin with an assessment of who you are and what you want to do next. But this first step is crucial and that’s why I want to talk about it in this blog. This step will allow you to define your foundation, finding what you what to do next. Once you work through the process for this step it will be much easier for you to develop or add to your resume.

So where to begin? I suggest that you begin with a conversation with yourself. Maybe you don’t know what you want to do next. That is OK but it isn’t a reason to not work on your resume. You can begin by writing a list of the things you like to do. Choose from things you have done before. Do not limit yourself to work-related things. List everything you really like to do. At this point it is even possible that you won’t list any work-related items on this list.

Next look at your list, do you have 5 to 7 unique activities? If you have more than 7 combine some so that you have no more than 7 areas of activities that you enjoy. If you really can’t combine any of them find some that you can drop off the list. It is important to focus on a few areas rather than trying to explore too many roles. If you find you want to you can go through this process again with additional roles.

Now you have a draft list of the things you have done before and would like to do again in a job role. Take each item on the list and write a few words about what you did and when. Also write down why you liked doing what you did. If there are several times when you did this activity in different situations list all of them.

Next identify all of the activities that you did as part of a job or those that could be done in a job role. For those that are left, list a few situations where those activities can be done. Do an Internet search to see if there are places where this is something that can be done as part of a job role.

Now list all the jobs you have held beginning with you most recent role going down to your first role. Next if you have listed activities that you did outside of a job role add where you did them to your jobs list. List it chronologically so that it is listed with your job roles, as these are job roles too. Give them a title that describes where you carried out the activities. For example school, volunteer activity, social event, political, etc.

Now expand each statement. Explain what you did, what the result of what you did was and how it impacted the business or other entity. For the non-job related activities review what you found in your Internet search. Find people to contact for informational interviews or request information from these people about their job roles. Not everyone will respond but usually someone will get back to you. Find people to contact on-line, on LinkedIn or perhaps talking to people who might help you find people in those roles. Tell them what you have done and why you think you could contribute to an organization in this type of role. There are usually organizations hiring people to do what you did even though when and where you did it you were not being paid to do it.

I encourage you to give yourself an opportunity to work and enjoy what you do and also have an income stream that will support you too.

A Resume For All Seasons

You have probably read multiple articles, posts, blogs, and books about developing or updating your resume. But what you haven’t found is how to communicate unique circumstances. Perhaps you have military experience in a field. Maybe you were hired into a small group in a low-level position but gradually you were shown how to do things. You were asked to do more so that you gradually became proficient in the work that was needed. Maybe you worked with adults doing XYZ and now want to work with children to do the same type of activity.

But, while you are knowledgeable and competent at the work, you don’t have that piece of paper that says you are an official practitioner in the field. Perhaps you have a degree, but it is in a totally unrelated field. For one reason or another you have experience and expertise in a field and now you’d like to apply for a position. But you also don’t have that formal document. How do you present yourself to a potential hiring manager or clients?

But, before a discussion of how to present your qualifications a word of caution, doing the work is made up of two components the physical and the mental. Qualification is not only doing the activities needed, but also being able to do the thinking required before and also during doing the work. Too often people working with someone will see what that person does and they may erroneously believe that they can also do what they see the person doing.

But, what they do not see is the thought that goes into making a decision about what has to be done. It may be that in nine out of ten times the same decision is called for. But the tenth time is different and needs a different approach. Before you present yourself as being able to perform in a role, make sure you know how to address not only the most common situations but also the one offs and the unique or difficult situations. It is important to remember what is seen is only half of the work. The other, and more important half is the thinking, bringing to bear your knowledge, and experience so that what you are seen doing is based on all of the thought needed before action is taken.

How do you go about translating this experience into resume statements? I recommend that you begin by listing all the things you have done and the end results of your activities. How did the work that you did contribute to the success of an activity, business, or other entity? What specifically did you do and how did it move things to a successful conclusion? Also what learnings might you have gained during working on this event.

Sometimes we learn a lot from some steps that weren’t successful. Even when things turn out badly there can be a great deal of learning to apply to future efforts. We can often learn valuable lessons from all outcomes. Perhaps you learned some valuable lessons that, while not necessarily contributing to the desired out come, were nonetheless applicable going forward.

Write out in detail not only what you did, but also your thought process to determine what you needed to do. Then explain how that thought process could be applied to solving problems in the field where you are applying for a position.

Don’t expect the reader of your cover letter and resume to make the connection between your experience and the role you are now applying for. Provide detail for how they relate. Show how your experience and knowledge can work to solve the problems the job you are applying for will need to handle.

Once you have your list of the work you have done, it is time to develop your resume statements. Begin by listing how the experience you have in a different area can contribute to the work you are now applying for.

For example, if you were doing volunteer work in another country and you taught people how to solve on-going problems and you later apply for a position that needs to address a different on-going problem. No matter how different the problem is, it is likely that you would need to use some of the techniques you already know and have used. In the accomplishments section of your resume, describe the rationale you used for each step. You might say something like, the problem was XYZ. I began by talking to all the impacted parties, people in charge, people doing the work, and people receiving the results of the work. I had a short list of questions, I asked each group the same questions. I then reviewed the responses and identified areas where differences or issues existed and then worked with all the teams to find a way to resolve the issues.

So you need to describe the process and procedures you used rather than talking to the specifics of the situation. In your cover letter you can briefly explain how you believe the problem the organization is facing can benefit from the structured approach you have used in several situations in the past that are contained in your resume.

Yes, this is a bit longer statement than what would normally be on a traditional resume. But you are not developing a traditional resume. You need to be as succinct as possible, but you may need a bit more space to present the information you need the hiring team to see. You still have to keep to the two-page maximum for the resume so make sure you don’t include anything that isn’t germane to the position you want. If you have received any awards or have other important information you can include it on a third page. Less is more in the world of resumes. You want to hit the high levels and leave the detail for the interview.

While I don’t pretend that this will be easy, I do know that if you help the team you want to join understand your qualifications, you will have a better chance of being successful.

Good Luck!