Job Search Strategies - If You Don’t Realize Your Own Strengths Who Will?

I participated in a career fair a few weeks and was fascinated by the different attitudes conveyed by the candidates. By the end of the day I was really able to see the non-verbal communication attitude they emitted, before they even sat down with me to review their resume.

If I can see your attitude as you approach me, so can hiring managers, recruiters and anyone you need to impress with your experience, expertise and attitude. What I noticed was, those that walked up to me, smiled, shook my hand and were genuinely interested and interesting during the resume review, were the ones that came across confident, knowledgeable and dependable. This is the “something special” that gets you noticed and asked back for a second interview or even have offers made to.

Others that came to see me were timid, apologetic, looked away from me and fumbled with papers, folders or purses. They portrayed an unsure, un-confident job seeker with a look of fear instead of confidence. When they asked for help with some or all parts of their job search they seemed desperate, unsure and sometimes even defensive. Have you ever heard a car, insurance, beer or hair color commercial that isn’t completely confident in their product? Never.

You have to realize your strengths, believe in those strengths and make others believe in them and you, if you want to succeed in getting your ideal job. A resume is a selling tool and even the most concise, achievement packed document will only get you into an interview. If you come to the interview less than what your resume portrays, you will get passed by and be wasting everyone’s time.

Non-verbal communications can even play more of a key role than the content of your resume. If you’ve got great experience but have a poor attitude, no confidence or can’t communicate well during the interview you’ll never find the job of your dreams. Preparation, something I stress over and over, is the most important thing you can do to improve your confidence and succeed in interviews.

You have to play the part of manager, marketer, salesperson and the voice in your campaign. If you don’t feel you’ve got the right attitude start making changes today. If you feel intimidated because you don’t have a degree, sign up for a night class. If you need something that shows you are truly interested in the position, join associations, research the industry and company so you’ll feel confident when discussing current industry events and future expectations. If you don’t have enough achievements in your resume; start asking for harder assignments, doing a better job with current assignments, staying later during the day, or what ever it takes to get noticed with what you are doing today. Your improved work habits will be reflected in your next performance review, will improve what your references can say about you, and it will provide outstanding achievements to add to your resume.

You have to really own your strengths, skills, and value have offer, so you can let others know what you have to contribute. Start today, write a list of your 10 best attributes or strengths and see what you can come up with. If you’re having trouble, ask others you work with for their two cents. If you like what you find out, promote it. If you don’t like what you find out, make changes until you do and then get out there and confidently show everyone what you have to offer.

Submit Online Job Applications Successfully

Do you get intimidated when you find a job that looks perfect for, you but you’ve got to submit your application online? Even when you’ve been introduced to an interested hiring manager or recruiter, most companies have mandatory online job applications that need to be completed to process you for the position. Technology is increasingly becoming user friendly but the length and complexity of online applications can be challenging. Below are tips for a successful online application submission

Time is not on your side – Most applications have a time limit on completing online applications, and for most, the time allotted isn’t enough. If possible, download and save or print out the application before you actually apply. This puts you in control of your time, and allows you to complete the application at your leisure, and gives you ample time to locate all the information asked for. Once you’ve got all the information you need, you can cut and past all the answers into the actual application site, giving you enough time to complete the process accurately.

Many times they ask for your cover letter and / or references so make sure you have all the documents you need at hand before you begin the process. Your cover letter shows the hiring manager your character, interest in the position and is your voice. If at all possible make sure to include it.

Download your resume accurately – Often application sites will ask that you cut and paste your resume to their site. To do this right you need an application-friendly version of your resume and cover letter. Usually they are looking for your documents in a text version, sometimes called scannable, electronic or ASCII resumes. These documents have had all the formatting removed and don’t look very pretty. The documents in a text version can process through the filters and applications much easier then one in a word version.

Hint: if the application asks you to attach a document, they are looking for your presentation resume in word (.doc) version. If it is asking you to cut and paste your document, they are looking for your ASCII resume in the text (.txt) version.

Save every page – Remember to save every page of the application. If you move to the next page without saving the current page you are working on, in most cases your information will be lost. Usually it will say this in the instructions but incase you miss it; remember to save as you work. Many times you can go back and make changes and resave if you need too. Some application sites even let you leave the site and return later as long as you save each page.

Read the instructions – Every application process is a little different then the last. Make sure you read everything completely and answer all the questions. Leaving areas blank can send the wrong message, such as you can’t complete tasks, don’t follow directions properly or are not familiar with computers. In any case, completing the questions give you a better chance to express your interests and your skills. Some questions may seem unrelated, but many times the hiring managers are looking for something extra that will help them determine your potential fit into a team, department or company.

Advantages of online submission – When you apply online and send your resume through the cut and paste process, all of the formatting is removed and the only thing left is the content. If you’ve got the skills and experience a company is looking for it will be sorted and noticed during the filter process. For employers they save on paper shuffling and can use the information a number of ways to easily compare candidates as they narrow their selections. This is one more reason why resume content is so critical, if you don’t have hard achievements to back up your experience on the resume it just might get passed over.

Applying for positions online is still a viable way of sending resumes to companies; it is also convenient for the job seeker because it can be done at night or on the weekends. Getting your name out through networking and meeting new contacts is still the best avenue to find jobs, but you will be called upon to use online application throughout your job search process and is a task you should master.

Gung Ho – A Great Read and A Great Concept

Recently I read a great little book, “Gung Ho”, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. It is ten years old but full of insight on running a business and being part of one. It was a journey of a women re-assigned as General Manager of a failing plant and her transformation of the facility earning her and the plant national recognition for high productivity and revenues and a trip to the White House.

The turn-around techniques were based on the wisdom passed down to a Native-American employee, from his grandfather. With the help and support of her Indian friend, the General Manager incorporated this wisdom and saved the company.

The problems the company faced mostly were people problems. The wisdom enacted was simple but powerful and offered in three phases. The first is “Spirit of the Squirrel” which emphasized the significance of knowing the work you do is important and makes the world a better place. Also, goals should be shared and worked toward by all, and that all processes must be value driven.

The second nugget of wisdom is “The Way of the Beaver”, using the analogy that beavers work and make decisions independently, but focusing on a common goal with no supervision or guidance of tasks. Aware that that goals are challenging but achievable. And finally the “Gift of the Goose”, invaluable throughout any process and is the importance of compliments, encouragement and cheering on of others above and below you during the process as well as with the results.

By working to include employees in the complete understanding of the company they invest a stake in the company and take pride in working hard to help make results happen. The book reminds readers of the importance of communication, maintaining high employee attitude and self-esteem, and can be acted upon today! Great book and one worth reading.

Shine On!

Cover Letters – 5 Things Not to Include

Cover letters whether read or not are always expected with a resume. The debate of the importance of the cover letter may continue but its use can be very helpful for those that have a little extra information to share but the resume just isn’t the right place for. Extra information may include relocation information, additional achievements from earlier work, or the true dynamics of what makes you special and irresistible for the position.

There are also things that should definitely NOT be included in the cover letter. The top 5 don’ts that come to mind include:

Too Generic. Make sure you take the time to develop the cover letter into a strategic tool by using the company’s name, and referring to employees, projects or departments specific to the company. A generic cover letter will not only waste the time of the hiring manager and recruiters but it will also irritate the reader realizing it is a standard letter. Be specific and use that to your advantage by showing how your uniqueness can help a specific project, problem, or program currently being worked on.

Too much personal information. Sometimes additional personal information is necessary to clarify a situation or fill a gap on a resume. Including too much information on your cover letter should be avoided. Things to watch out for are rehashing information already in the resume, providing too much personal information or going through too much professional history.

Too long. Just as with providing to much personal information, making the cover letter too long can be a detriment to your job search. Cover letters should not exceed one page and they should be concise and to the point. Rambling on about achievements, your dreams, past experience or anything else will just lose the reader. The cover letter is a tool to draw the reader in and give them a taste of your personality and further reason to hire you. Being too wordy will lose attention, especially of recruiters and hiring managers that read many cover letters and resumes every day.

All about you. Although the cover letter is written about you it shouldn’t focus only on your wants. A couple of sentences about what you are looking for are really all there should be about what you want. Again, the cover letter is a selling tool and so additional information in the cover letter should be about tools, skills, or experience you have that you can contribute to benefit their organization.

Badmouthing past employers. If you have been fired from a previous position, or didn’t like a past employer – don’t mention it. You might think you are defending your reasons for leaving a previous position. but to a hiring manager it will sound like badmouthing and wining. Hiring managers will move to the next resume/cover letter package if they read your complaint letter. They don’t want new employees coming into their company and lowering morale or starting problems by badmouthing old or new employers.

Cover letters aren’t always read but they are almost always expected. The first line of filters that read your career documents might pass the cover letter by but someone further up the chain or even your future boss just might; so make it count!

Resume Update or Complete Revamp?

As you progress through your career it is important to have available an up-to-date resume. You never know what outstanding opportunity will come along. Your resume should be a selling tool focused on the wants and needs of the type of employer you would like to work for. As your career progresses so does your skills and achievements.

With each new position you are accumulating skills, knowledge, achievements and confidence in your abilities. The highlights of each position should be added to your resume, sometimes just adding the latest position to the resume is enough. This process might work once or maybe even twice if the work in the new jobs is the same as the old. Most of the time, however, it is worth the time to do a complete overhaul to make sure your resume is at the level it should be.

While your career is moving forward it is important to keep your resume in line with your goals. What are your goals and objectives these days? Have they changed since the resume was last written? If they have, you will want to figure out exactly where your current goals are in order to write a resume that moves you toward your new goals.

Completely revamping your resume is a great way to ensure your career objectives are clearly represented in your resume.

Let’s start at the top.

· Your resume should have a title. The title should be the name of the position you are seeking. If you haven’t held the position before, you can write “Executive Sales Manager Profile or Candidate” or something to that affect. Until the last few years the actual title the resume was written for had to be hunted for by the reader of the document. You don’t want the reader to hunt for anything!

· Develop a stellar qualifications summary, skills set and or powerful branding statement to articulate your most notable skills, experience, or achievements. Career Objectives are pretty outdated, honestly, I haven’t written one in years. It focused on what the job seeker / candidate wanted instead of what the hiring manager or recruiter was looking for.

· A thorough review of each job description should be completed to make sure the descriptions and accomplishments are targeted toward the job description of the position you are seeking. Make sure to use concrete examples that lots of quantifiable numbers such as size of company, sales quota’s, team / department size, percentage or dollar amount of revenue increases or cost reductions, projects completed and anything else that is relevant.

· Make sure you use industry and position-specific keywords throughout the document so it sounds like it was created just for the position you sent it to. It also improves your chances of getting through the filters it encounters before ever getting in front of the targeted audience.

· Review your education and training. Include any new training, certification, or degree completions. The same is said for new associations, affiliations or volunteer work that is related. The longer it has been, the less you need to include about your education. Usually just the school, degree, city and state (and GPA if 3.5 or higher) is sufficient after 10 or more years.

· Do not mention your references on the resume. Have them with you and available at the interview and assume they will want a copy. Just a note of caution on background checks. With the internet, your information will be checked on even past the contact names you gave. Make sure your facts and experience are accurate and honest. Your resume will be overlooked if any inconsistencies are found, even if the difference was just a typo.

Lastly, make it shine! Make it as concise, powerful and as targeted as you can. Include adequate amounts of white space and other formatting to make the document stand out and easy to read. The employer wants to be able to read your resume and imagine those same achievements can be accomplished at his company. Write it for others, not for yourself and you’ll be in the running for a great job.

Shine On!