Would You Rather Do Your Taxes Than Write Your Resume?

I find that most people hate searching for a job, and especially hate writing their own resume. Even writers, marketers, and journalists who write for a living…hate writing a resume.

I think it’s because the process is so foreign. All the rules have changed, so resume writing is a different skill with different strategies than just a few years ago. Add to that all of the conflicting advice a job seeker gets – no wonder it’s more painful than a root canal without Novocain.

So job seekers have a task that they rarely do, feel they’re not very good at, the rules have dramatically changed in the past few years, everyone has a different opinion (usually conflicting), and it’s a task you feel guilty about not being comfortable with – because it’s writing about yourself!

So what do you do? Of course you could hire someone to write it for you, but you’ll still need something to start with. Here’s some help:

1) Schedule a day to write. Plan nothing else that day, so you’ll have time to procrastinate, and still get the job done. Choose someplace quiet – get a babysitter if you have to and go someplace else. Exercise first, to get the blood flowing, and the endorphins humming. And have a fresh pot of coffee. If you don’t have a laptop, arrange out of house activities for the kids, so you’ll have the house to yourself.

2) Use a template to start. There are resume templates everywhere, from the major job boards to alumni sites, or just Google resume template. Don’t sweat it which template to use. This will be a draft, and you’ll change it many times.

3) Don’t try to write a final copy when you are starting. Your resume is an iterative process. Even for a draft, you’ll want to have a process of writing then reviewing….a few times. You’re bound to find things to change for at least 3 review, minimum.

4) Take a break. After you’ve done a first draft, take a break. Go for a walk, or a run, or just get away from your resume. Take an hour, clear your head, and come back fresh to do a critical read and edit.

5) Have others review. It’s next to impossible to write a good resume without a third party reviewer. The reviewer will read it from a readers’ perspective, a difficult viewpoint for the subject of the resume…you.

6) Don’t worry about conflicting information. Plan on it, you’ll get conflicting advice – it’s going to happen. When you get conflicting information on your resume, I suggest you thank the person for their input, and make your choice of who’s advice makes sense for you. After all, it’s your resume at the end of the day.

7) Spelling, grammar, format, tabs, margins, fonts all matter. You only get two chances to be perfect in your life – when you’re born, and on your resume. You’ll be competing with hundreds, or thousands of other applicants for a single opening. Why would a HR reviewer or hiring manager choose an imperfect resume, when they see almost limitless numbers of perfect ones?

8) Don’t settle. Don’t settle for ok, good, or good enough for your resume. With the amount of competition you’ll face, your resume has to be stellar, exemplary….because your competition is. Hiring managers see only the top 2-3 % of resumes. So good enough just isn’t good enough anymore.

9) Stop procrastinating. I know you dread this…everyone does. I feel your pain. Now gut up and start.

So…what are you waiting for? Get typing!

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.recareered@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

What I Learned at SHRM

This week, I was the SHRMinator, running all around McCormick Place in Chicago getting great interviews, which I’ll publish over the coming weeks.

I learned SHRM is a big deal and big money. 15K attendees were there, over 700 vendors, and some massive parties. Vendors were throwing a lot of money around, with prizes giveaways, stuffed animals, food, and of course lots of writing instruments.

While I didn’t win an iPod, I did learn a lot of details about job boards, from interviewing CEOs, VPs, and Directors from 9 of the top 10 job boards. I interviewed CareerBuilder, Monster, HotJobs, Dice, Beyond, SimplyHired, TheLadders, Indeed, Jobing, and Jobfox. The only top job board not in attendance was Jobster.

The most important thing I learned, was something I already knew, but was surprised to hear from the job boards. Nearly every top job board admitted that cover letters are not searchable by the job board databases. So to all you who still try to tailor your experience through the cover letter….you strategy doesn’t work well.

Every job board said the best thing you can do to get your resume seen is to customize it to fit the job description.

What’s interesting is that each approaches the job seeker in a different way. From Careerbuilder that uses its massive size, Beyond produces 15K niche sites, SimplyHired that has great analytics and search filters, Jobing that specializes in local search in 18 markets, Monster has great content and user experience, and Jobfox has a matching survey that’s like the eHarmony of job boards.

Over the next few weeks I’ll give the details when I publish the actual interviews I had with the Execs and managers of these top job boards. I’ll also try to get a meaningful comparison between each, but most aren’t true head to head competitors. For instance Jobing is the best for local search, but they can’t list all jobs within a local marketplace. SimplyHired covers 5K job boards and websites, but they might not have many jobs dealing with your profession or industry. If you’re looking for job content, there are sites that have a great many articles on career search.

There’s no one size fits all in the job board biz.

I’ll also review Payscale.com a great salary tool, will publish an interview with USIS about the prevalence of lying on resumes (and how easily you’ll be caught), a cool way to use printed materials to stand out, and the .jobs domain name and why you may not have heard much about it.

Finally, I learned that the worst job on the planet is owned by the hairy guy who dressed in the pink fairy suit to be a booth babe for PeopleClick. They can’t pay this poor guy enough….

As for an update on my dog Tuanis, she’s still gainfully unemployed, snoozing away. While I learned how I could get her a job, I didn’t learn anything about writing a great doggie resume.

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.recareered@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

How SHRM Helped Me Get My Dog a Job

My dog Tuanis (Costa Rican for “The Good Life”) is the sweetest, smartest dog I’ve ever owned. She lives to have her belly or ears scratched, is a wonderful doorbell, and protects my home against unwanted junk mail. But mostly, she sleeps.

All that’s about to change, because it’s time for Tuanis to pull her weight around here, and start bringing home some bacon. So, sweet Tuanis, it’s time for you to get a job.

Fortunately, I met with SimplyHired’s team at SHRM today, because they have just the tools to help me get my dog a job. If I was looking, they have some great tools for me also, reviewed at The Secret to Getting SimplyHired. But this is about Tuanis, not me.

SimplyHired has a special search for dog friendly companies. For instance, if I wanted to get Tuanis a job as (let’s say) a recruiter within walking distance (she doesn’t drive), I’d search under recruit, enter my zip code, and check the box for “Choose only dog friendly companies”.

There were two listed in my zip code. Tuanis could recruit for an animal hospital chain, or be an inside sales manager for a national recruiting firm.

Now if she gave me lots of kisses, and brought me my slippers to convince me to drive her and not be so controlling about her career choice, there are 89 new jobs in the Chicago area at dog friendly companies. Of course, many of those career choices would require me to transport her, and help her with the day to day duties, since I’m the one with opposable thumbs.

SimplyHired has other special search tools also:

Mom-friendly jobs (Don’t worry Mom, just because I’m putting the dog to work, doesn’t mean you have to ditch retirement)
Age 50+ friendly jobs
Eco-Friendly jobs (Wear your green tie!)
GLBT jobs

I got so much detail about SimplyHired’s site and search tools, that I’ll have to cover in later articles, but you can check them out yourself at SimplyHired Special Searches.

Mom, that nursing home is getting expensive….there’s 6 Mom friendly jobs, and 556 age 50+ jobs in your little home town.

Maybe you can commute with Tuanis!

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.recareered@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Live from Chicago, It's SHRM!!

The SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Conference in Chicago, Illinois is the country's largest HR conference, with over 700 exhibitors, 15,000 attendees, and hundreds of classes for HR professionals.

So why should job seekers care about a room full of headhunters?

I’m attending Sunday – Tuesday to get the inside scoop on candidate job boards strategies and new tools for candidates.

I'm finding some incredible information that I'll be passing to you over the coming days that will give great inside tips on your career search. I've got some overall demographic information, new tools for job seekers, and interviews with representatives from all the major job boards about how to use their boards more effectively.

Yesterday was the kickoff, led by a talk by SHRM's management. SHRM has some great research for job seekers, and is doing some interesting things in the HR marketplace.

Sue Meisinger, outgoing CEO of SHRM talked about SHRM's lobbying efforts to make discrimination against sexual orientation illegal, researching the state of diversity, and the best small companies to work for in America.

Steve Williams, Director of Research of SHRM, discussed that people are leaving jobs due to long commutes and gas prices. SHRM finds that companies are reacting by offering 4 day work weeks (40%), flexible schedules (25%), and telecommuting options (20%). 1/3 of the companies surveyed offered part time telecommuting options. Steve also shared that relocation fees & benefits were among the most popular job benefits offered today, as the mortgage crisis has made relocating more difficult for families.

Stay tuned for live updates as I interview USIS about prevalence of lying on resumes, Payscale.com about their new tools to compare salaries to the marketplace, Careerbuilder about how cover letters are not included in search databases, Monster & Yahoo Hotjobs about inside tips on getting your resume noticed, Dice about their new format and new ways to use their service, all the cool new tools from SimplyHired, and many other vendors from SHRM this week.

Stay tuned!

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.recareered@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Now You Can Have a Great Facebook Profile and Have Fun Too!

So you want a professional Facebook profile, but you don’t want it to be boring. After all, this IS Facebook, not LinkedIN, and Facebook is supposed to be fun.

Great! While LinkedIN is all business, your Facebook profile is a great way to show your personality.

Just remember that employers look at your Facebook profile to get a glimpse of who you are, while they find what you can do from LinkedIN. So it’s ok to keep it a little light, just avoid making yourself look bad in the process.

Here’s some tips to bring out your personality in Facebook:

1. Use a funny picture….but not too goofy. Some people use creative cropping or photo editing, to make a professional looking photo look more interesting. Some will only display half their face (consider displaying the left half if you’re a left brainer, right half if you are creative) while some like Seth Godin just display his head from the eyes up. I’ve seen great uses of pics that are sideways or upside down. I saw a great one with a globe morphed into a woman’s face – if you’re in global business, what a great visual.

Don’t put a picture of your kids or your pets on your profile. Make it about you. If you want to include family members or pets, great! Just make sure you’re the main part of the picture.

2. Include a summary of your resume. Keep it less detailed than LinkedIN.

3. Your ResuBlog – If you’re ResuBlogging, or have a blog, include it. Facebook has apps (My Blogs) that will automatically post your blog entries to your profile.

4. Include pictures of your family, or of your vacation. Show who you are in your non-work hours. Include hobbies, musical tastes, books you like, things you like to do. You never know what kind of common interests your hiring manager might share with you.

5. Use Facebook for networking. There are plenty of Facebook apps to help you network. Make sure to add them to your profile.

6. Recommendations Facebook App – include it so people can recommend you. Why not start by recommending others?

7. Video – Include your favorite (clean) YouTube videos, especially if they have something to do with your work. I include Monty Python interviewing sketch videos.

8. Twitter – Include the twitter application, that shows your tweets. It shows you’re a thought leader because you’re a twit, and it shows your Facebook visitors what you’re saying.

9. Your Online Profile – Facebook can be your online portfolio, showing not just photos, video and audio, but you can also post reports, PowerPoints, spreadsheets, and documents using the share button.

10. FriendFeed – Sign up for FriendFeed, and share what your other social networking activity with your visitors. Show what you’re tagging on Del.icio.us, Diggin’ on Digg, and Stumbling. Again, you never know what common interests might trigger a bong with a hiring manager.

11. Join groups around your hobbies as well as your business interests. Let your audience see what you like to do in your free time. Just keep them clean hobbies, ok?

For what NOT to put on your Facebook profile, see my earlier article, Online Reputation Management.

Wow….Looks like I should lighten up my Facebook profile!

How will you manage yours to look both professional and fun?

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

How Online Portfolios Put You At the Top of The Candidate Pile

How many of you have a digital portfolio?

Online Portfolios are a great way to bring your background to life. You can build a portfolio no matter what job you have, whether you’re an Accountant or Artist, a Programmer or Pie Maker, a mathematician or a musician.

When you send a resume, you‘re one of thousands who send the same resume in….same style, same words. To the reviewer and even the hiring manager they all look the same. Yawn!!!!!

Resumes are flat, one dimensional pieces that at their best, are shameless self promotion. Resume readers know that they are full of self aggrandizing language , and even lies. Resume readers know they’ll have to guess what the candidates work product will be like, but it’s at best a wild guess.

What if you could show a hiring manager what great work you do? Would that help you get your next job?

Pictures are worth 1,000 words. That must make audio worth at least 10,000 words, and video worth 100,000.

I’m an Accountant – I don’t make videos, or record audio. I’m not an artist. What kind of portfolio could I build?

Here’s a great story from back in my recruiting days. I was in an interview with a Financial Analyst candidate who was bombing. The candidate was an older gentleman who spoke slowly and softly, and the interviewer was a young hard charging in-your-face kind of guy. It was late in the day, and the candidate was literally putting the interviewer to sleep. Then magic happened.

The candidate pulled out a manila folder and opened his portfolio. The interviewer leaned forward to look. The candidate had these amazing charts! His written reports described monthly variations brilliantly and clearly! The interviewer was asking “How did you do that?” All of a sudden, the candidate started speaking a little faster, and some emotion crept into his voice and he leaned forward. Magic was happening – the portfolio saved the interview, and the company offered a second interview to learn more about the dashboard reports the candidate created.

This candidate was clearly wrong for the environment and for the hiring manager’s personality. But the hiring manager didn’t want to hire the candidate, he wanted to hire the portfolio - if this slower older guy had to come along with the portfolio, then so be it. These reports obviously solved a problem that was bothering the hiring manager.

Want to stand out from the thousands of other applicants? An online portfolio shows why you’re special, and clearly demonstrates that you’ve gone the extra mile. So few people prepare digital portfolios, and if done professionally, they're insanely impressive to hiring managers – it blows them away.

This strategy works for C-Level Managers, Middle management, Accountants, Financial Managers, Sales professionals, Marketers, Lawyers, Engineers, Scientists, Programmers, Inventory Managers, Procurement professionals, Office Managers, HR Professionals, just as well as portfolios work for the creative professions.

Artists, Musicians, Writers, Photographers, Advertising creative directors, Video producers, models, Actors/Actresses, Cameramen all have portfolios….why not you?

I’ve listed 7 ways you can easily create your own online portfolio:

Personal Website: Today’s technology makes building a portfolio easy. In the past, your only choice was to build your own website. Today, you can still build your own site, with web design tools that are given by your hosting company (recommendation: GoDaddy has design tools that make this easy). But you have many other choices.

MySpace: MySpace is made for hosting portfolios of content. You can attach video introductions, audio introductions, files like your resume, sample reports, power point presentations, Photos, videos of projects you’ve worked on, writing samples, and blog posts on MySpace.

Facebook: Facebook allows you to share content, by posting it on your main page, and allowing you to manipulate it.

Blogs: Blogs allow you to attach files, links, embed photos, video, audio into blog posts. You can host a blog for free at Blogger.com or Wordpress.com.

Ning.com: Ning combines a personal webpage, places to attach content, blogs and social networks. You may need to know some rudimentary HTML, so it’s a little more technical than other options.

Interview on Demand: I reviewed this online service in April. Interview on Demand allows you present your resume, a video introduction, plus an online portfolio…all for free.

Netvibes.com: Netvibes has an easy way to create your own free webpage and attach content. I’m sort of surprised that I haven’t seen this capability with Google, Yahoo, or MSN yet.

With all these options, when are you going to create a portfolio to show how you make spreadsheets sing? And then attach a audio file, so employers can hear YOU sing “Stairway to Heaven”?

Executives exploring Career Change: For a free 30 minute resume consultation, or career advice for executives, email your resume confidentially to reCareered (phil.reCareered@gmail.com), and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Staff, Managers, Entrepreneurs, and career changers outside the US: Send your resume to phil.reCareered@gmail.com to enroll in a free group teleseminar "Accelerate Your Job Search - tools you can use".

Where the Coolest Jobs Hide

Where do you look for jobs?

Are the coolest jobs on the largest job boards with their masses of jobs? On niche job boards, segmented by geography, function, industry, or level? How about on one of the job board aggregators?

Are the coolest jobs even online at all? Are the coolest jobs controlled by headhunters? Are they not even released yet? Are they only reachable through networking?

Yes….

Yes to each and every one of those possibilities of where cool jobs are. Sure, some jobs are hidden (esp at small companies), but most are out there. Cool jobs are everywhere, and take different strategies to find them, depending on where they are found.

The first question to consider is what’s a cool job? Is it cutting edge, flexible, telecommuting, career enhancing, educational opportunities, feel good, close to home, great benefits, great pay, great boss, socially conscious, environmentally conscious, stable, executive?

Everyone has a different definition on what a cool job is, because different employees have different needs. So before you can find a cool job, you have to define what your personal cool job looks like.

After you define it, recognize that your cool job could be found most anywhere. A balanced approach to find your cool job works best.

1. Job Boards: Consider using up to 5 job boards. SimplyHired is a terrific aggregator of job boards, scraping information from 5K boards, company websites, and submissions. SimplyHired will include jobs found on Careerbuilder, Monster, Dice, and Craigslist among many others. Regional job boards are a good place to focus in on only local jobs. Job boards from your industry association are more likely to have needs that your specific subject matter expertise can solve. Job boards covering your job function are other places that seek your expertise, and a good way to change industries.

2. Social Networks: Network, Network, Network. Update your network that you’re in active networking mode, and offer to help connect others. Don’t blast spam just to ask everyone for a job. Instead, pay it forward and offer to help. You’ll be amazed how many offer to help in return.

3. In person networking: Work these, and not just the industry events. Most large cities have general networking events. Again, use the approach to find ways to help others to build Emotional Equity. You’ll get many times the results over the way most people selfishly just ask “You know anyone who’s hiring?”.

4. Alumni networks: Call or email your alumni office. Get lists, get listed on job boards. Call and invite everyone for coffee. You/ll have a caffeine buzz for weeks. Don’t ask for a job, ask to learn more about what made someone a success at their company – people love to brag about themselves. Talk about how you are in networking mode, and ask how you can help…paying it forward works with alumni also.

5. Recruiters: Work with the right recruiters. Work with a recruiter that is honest, who’s company has lots of listings in your field. Work with senior recruiters who know their stuff. Offer help to the recruiter, with the best recruiter currency you have. Knowledge, leads, jobs, networking, other candidates….these are all recruiter currency.

Cool jobs lie everywhere….where will you look for yours?

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Ten Things to Do After You’ve Told All Your Friends

You’re between jobs, you’ve told all your friends, and you sent them all resumes – now what?

1. Email your LinkedIN & Facebook network, but do it the right way. Give before you ask….what can you give? Tell your network that you have great news! You are actively networking - Ask your network how you can help each of them….what opportunities you can be on the lookout for them in your networking journeys?

2. Don’t ask for a job, instead ask how you can help. But definitely attach your resume – people are pretty intelligent and will figure out if you attach your resume, you might just be looking for a job. Make it personal. Make your email an update like a Holiday Letter, including family details, even pictures.

3. Build your LinkedIN and Facebook networks. These articles can show you how to build broad networks FAST!
Now That I’m LinkedIN, Who Do I Link TO?
Who Else Wants to Add More Facebook Friends?

4. Send your active networking, family introduction letter to all new contacts, and people you meet at networking events, with resume attached. Let your new contacts meet you and your family. People help others that they like…be likable.

5. Revise your LinkedIN profile to reflect highlights of your resume. Include keywords and industry jargon to be searchable. Your LinkedIN profile should reflect your primary Subject Matter Expertise. See Build a LinkedIN Profile You Can Be Proud Of!

6. Revise your Facebook profile to reflect highlights of your resume. Use a similar strategy to LinkedIN, but consider these also:
- Hide or erase all potentially embarrassing Facebook apps
- Review your pictures and videos for potentially embarrassing content
- Change your privacy controls to require approval of any picture or video that tags you to be included on your profile

7. If you’re on MySpace, you’ll probably have LOTS of work to do to clean up your profile and main page. Assume an employer will look up your MySpace page. Make sure there’s nothing that would prevent you from being hired. You’ll likely have to be more careful if you’re going or a job in banking, and less careful if you’re looking for a bartender gig.

8. Google yourself. Search until you find yourself. Write the page number where you’re first displayed. Do the same with a Yahoo search. Make sure you identify if there are any results that you don’t want employers to see that are revealed in your search.

9. Investigate Networking events and groups. Many job seekers just look at one or two industry groups and thing they’re hard-core networkers. There are general networking breakfasts, lunches, and events in most cities. In large urban markets there are networking events most every weeknight, that can give you the opportunity to meet the person who can will connect you to your next job.

10. Contact your Alumni organization. List your resume with them. Find out about networking events your Alumni office or Alumni club sponsors. Get a list of Alumni in your town (Inviting them to LinkedIN and Facebook would be nice!). Inquire about job postings your Alumni office has, and get a login to their job board.

What will you do next, after you’ve told all your friends?

If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Inside the Head of the Headhunter – Scott Green

Today we go inside the head of Scott Green, Recruiting Manager for SNI Financial, focusing on mid to senior level full time accounting and finance positions. Scott has many years experience in search and staffing in accounting, finance, and specialty consulting.

Scott was kind enough to share his thoughts and experiences in the finance and accounting job market,

reCareered: Scott thanks for taking the time to share your views with our audience. With all the talk of a soft economy, how busy are you these days?
Scott Green: We’re still seeing strength in the mid level accounting and finance areas. There’s a shortage of candidates with 2-8 years of large company and public accounting experience for junior and senior staff positions, due to short supply and increased reporting needs.

reCareered: Any areas you see as especially hot?
Scott Green: The biggest needs today are in Tax and Cost Accounting. New government regulations have caused corporations to expand their work in these areas. We see Tax and Cost accounting being hot for a while. With the weaker dollar, pockets of manufacturing are expanding. Reduced supply of accountants entering the marketplace combined with companies need to reduce costs by replacing higher level accountants with less costly staffers, equates to a huge demand for Staff Accountants. I see these areas being hot for a while.

reCareered: What areas do you see as slow?
Scott Green: The generalist controller market and Senior accounting/finance manager is slowing. As companies further automate and streamline their financial systems, some work previously done by a controller may now be handled by managers or seniors with less experience (and less cost). In general, greater automation allows companies to push more work downstream, creating increased demand for managers, and high demands for senior staff.

reCareered: With the baby boom retiring, do you see companies increasing their willingness to train new employees, especially in specific software user skills?
Scott Green: Companies are getting stingy on training new employees on basic skills and software skills, because turnover has gotten so high. In addition, software becomes outdated so quickly, that employers are getting a lower ROI on training investments (except as a part of new systems roll out). So employers are looking to hire people with existing specific software skills, that can hit the ground running.

reCareered: What other things do today’s employers look for in candidates?
Scott Green: As a rule, hiring managers look for subject matter experts – people with comparable industry experience, who have already solved similar challenges that their company faces today.

reCareered: Do you see an age bias in hiring managers, even with the large numbers of Baby Boomers retiring?
Scott Green: Especially for Senior Managers and Controllers, there’s a challenge in securing a job where they are considered “overqualified”. It’s not fair, and it may not even make sense, but it’s a reality with many hiring managers, regardless of their company’s EEOC policies. I’d guess the fear of over qualification is driven by maybe 75% political concerns of a more experienced direct report, and 25% cost concern.

reCareered: So how do you recommend Controllers and Senior Managers react to the softness in their segment of the market?
Scott Green: Get started now, because it may take you longer to change jobs or find re-employment than you anticipate. Consider that you can provide a great deal of value for smaller companies (than your past employer) in similar industries.

reCareered: When evaluating a potential job offer, what do you recommend?
Scott Green: If you have a good boss, you’ll have a good job. If you have a bad boss, you’ll have a bad job. The best path to career success is finding a good mentor and leader. But people don’t do a great job researching a boss’ personality, willingness/ability to mentor, or talk to the boss’ current direct reports.

reCareered: Any suggestions for people currently in the midst of a job search?
Scott Green: A “door opening” or “distinctive” resume is typically overlooked in the search process, but can make a huge difference in a candidates’ success. I highly recommend that all candidates take a sales course (especially if not in sales) - Nearly all unemployed (and employed) workers in today’s economy must learn selling/marketing fundamentals in order to promote themselves effectively which to increase their career options. Accounting managers are seeking candidates who can market the value of the accounting function within the corporation.

reCareered: Other than taking a sales course, what would you suggest to someone who’s not looking for a job, due to uncertainty in todays’ economy?
Scott Green: The economy’s soft, and business is constantly changing. Both bring uncertainty to your current job. Carve out 1-3 hours each week for your own personal career development. This can include networking, investigating careers and companies, investing in yourself, training and reeducation in new skills.

Scott, thanks for your insight today. If mid level Accounting and Financial professionals are looking for a solid recruiter for Chicago area employers, email your resume to Scott Green at sgreen@snifinancial.com.

About SNI Financial: SNI Financial™ is a professional search division of Staffing Now, Inc., focusing on mid to senior level full time accounting and finance positions for our clients. They work closely with candidates in order to best represent them to client companies. They actively search for positions to meet the career goals of candidates. SNI represents candidates throughout the course of the interviewing and hiring process until an offer is made, accepted, and all parties are completely satisfied.

About reCareered: If you’d like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

You Never Get a Third Chance to Make a Second Impression

“You Never Get a Third Chance to Make a Second Impression.” I love this quote from Seth Godin (Free Prize Inside, pg. 217), as a humorous take on how important first impressions are.

First impressions are especially critical in an interview. Why do so few people do anything to manage the first impression they give, when research shows that most hiring decisions are made based on first impressions in the first 2-30 seconds (see Interview in a Snap for details). Most people treat the most important part of an interview as a random event, when it can be planned and managed to give the candidate a high chance of success.

Most candidates just make sure they are completely undistinguishable - their clothes are clean, hair is brushed, and their shoes are shined. If you want the job, wouldn’t you want to stand out?

A few people can pull this off naturally, and are great in interviews. Often, these naturals are very attractive, great at putting other people at ease immediately, instantly likable, or really naturally funny.

What about the rest of us?

You don’t have to be America’s Top Model or a standup comedian. First impressions can be managed. Managing and carefully creating a first impression takes research, planning and practice.

Act & communicate like you already work at the company. Use their style, speak their language, and look like employees at your target company look. If hiring managers make their decisions in the first 2 – 30 seconds of the interview, the decision is made just before or just after the initial handshake. There’s no way you can communicate detail in that timeframe, only impressions to influence “gut feel”.

Research: In 4 Killer Ways to Use Research, I describe great places to look for company research, and how to use it on your resume. Of course it’s great to use research to understand challenges, goals, and to develop questions. But you can use research to understand culture also.

Understanding culture is a crucial piece of creating a winning first impression. Hiring managers hire others like themselves…it’s described as being a “good team member”, or “someone who fits in”. First, you’ve got to understand what that means, specifically. Research company websites, annual reports, and articles paying attention to jargon, word choices, and tone. Look at the list of research resources in the 4 killer ways article for more content.

Look for the following to understand culture:

- Pictures – What do employees look like? What do they wear? Does the company have a formal or informal atmosphere?
- Tone – How do employees communicate? Formally or informally?
- Jargon, Keywords, and Mottos – These will be sprinkled all over marketing literature, websites, and company blogs. Find words you can use in your own conversation

Go stealth – Part of your research is talking to employees first hand. Hang out where they eat lunch or go to happy hour and listen in. Better yet, introduce yourself and ask questions about the company. Use your Face-to-face, LinkedIN, or Facebook networks to find others at your target company. Talk to company contacts on the phone, or if you have time meet them for coffee. It doesn’t matter what you ask about the company, because you’ll want to listen to HOW they answer, the tone and speed of their speech, and the words they choose. In person, look at how they stand and sit – are they straight or relaxed, formal or informal, expressive or flat, do they gesture or keep their hands unused? Finally, ask about the hiring manager, to see if they are like everyone else, or a rebel.

Plan your attack: Most people “wing it” to prepare for an interview, and end up randomizing their chances of success. Plan your first 2-30 seconds. Determine how you will stand and walk when you first meet the interviewer, how you will shake hands, how close you will be to them, the gestures you will use, and the first words you will say, and the tone and speed you’ll use when you say them.

It’s dangerous to just assume a suit interview these days. If you wear a suit to an informal company, you’ll look like you’re from the FBI, and find it difficult to establish trust and rapport. Ask HR or your phone interviewer what is the normal dress at the office.

If you learn the hiring manager is a rebel, someone who’s really changing things, or someone described as “different”, you’ll want to ask a little detail. Try to get a contact who knows them, and discover how the hiring manager dresses, how they communicate, etc. If you can’t get details, then change something in your dress – if everyone else is wearing white shirts, wear a blue one. If everyone else wears maroon striped ties, wear a wild tie.

Practice: Have you heard that it makes perfect? Practice in front of a mirror, in front of a video camera, in front of friends. If you can video, and then email the first 30 seconds of the video to close online networking contacts (who have never met you in person, but who you’ve communicated with extensively), ask them for their gut reactions. Ask them what they think of the person in the video. Is the person trustworthy, hardworking, intelligent, personable, dedicated, savvy, insightful, or empathetic? Look for the key words that the company uses to describe successful employees, and see if your networking contract interprets that from your 30 second video.

How will you manage your first impression, so you’ll get a second or even a third chance?

If you’d like a free 30 minute resume consultation or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Make Your Network Links Strong Like Bull

If you use a tight networking strategy in LinkedIN or Facebook, you want strong links. But even in a broad networking strategy you’ll want a subset of your links to be strong….someone who will do you a favor if you ask, give you their time and help.

So how can you make your networking links "Strong Like Bull?" That doesn’t come easily, nor does it come cheaply. By not cheaply, I mean it takes time and effort.

So often, when we meet someone at a networking event, we collect a business card, and maybe follow up with a WWD email – What We Do. We email back, in an attempt to strengthen a connection, but end up just talking about ourselves. Compare that to dating…ever been on a first date when the other person spends the whole night talking about themselves? Did you enjoy yourself?

Most do the same online…just take a look at my Facebook wall and you’ll see lots people who send WWD.

How often do you follow up from a networking event, or a Social Networking connection by asking someone what you can do … FOR THEM? How often do you offer to give first, without asking for anything in return? We’re not used to it, because it feels like giving money to a sales clerk, without taking our merchandise…and who does THAT?

Is there a different analogy when you pay money, but get no hard goods in return? Could you think of networking as making a deposit in a bank - only it’s not money that’s building up in your account, it’s goodwill, or Business Karma.

The more Business Karma you build with someone, the more of a fan they become. If you’ve offered to give help to your in person network, as well as your online social network, just think of how big of a fan base you’ve built!

Personally, I try to build Business Karma daily, to a large extent through this blog, by letting “people crawl around inside my brain for awhile” as one very nice email response described. Before I wrote this blog, many of my readers who met me in person or through social networking heard me ask “How can I help you?”, or describing my job as “helping people, but my hobby is helping people find jobs”. But this blog isn’t about me…it’s about helping you.

I can tell you from personal experience that this kind of follow up isn’t easy. It takes time and effort to keep track of what others in your network need and can offer others, so that you can easily offer to help people. It takes patience not to talk about yourself and what you do, but to ask how you can help others. It takes a very broad view to be willing to give without expectation of return. I’ve found, however that this networking method provides returns many times greater than asking for business.

How can you strengthen your network in your job search? It goes against the common advice (seems like lots of things I say goes against common advice, doesn’t it? :) ) of telling everyone you’re looking for a job. Instead of telling the world about yourself, why not try asking about what’s important to the person you’re talking to?

It might just make you a more interesting and memorable conversation, and should serve to build Business Karma. Then after you’ve found a way to help someone and have offered help – then answer the other person’s question. Offer help first before you divulge that you’re looking for a job.

Do you think you’re more likely or less likely to find help and build a network that’s “Strong Like Bull”?

Executives exploring Career Change: For a free 30 minute resume consultation, or career advice for executives, email your resume confidentially to reCareered (phil.reCareered@gmail.com), and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Staff, Managers, Entrepreneurs, and career changers outside the US: Send your resume to phil.reCareered@gmail.com to enroll in a free group teleseminar "Accelerate Your Job Search - tools you can use".

Source: http://reCareered.blogspot.com

Related Articles:
Achieve Enlightenment Through Networking Karma
Other articles about personal networking

For access to more information:
Become a fan of reCareered on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/reCareered/21126045429
Join Career Change Central on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1800872

Who Says You Have to Give 2 Weeks Notice?

Industry standards used to be that departing employees and companies terminating employees each gave 2 weeks’ notice. That standard held for years, until many employers stopped upholding their end of the unwritten deal, and claiming employment at will, did away with notice selectively.

That opened a big can of worms, as it made employees think of what used to be unthinkable – immediate resignation, without giving the usual two weeks’ notice.

So immediate resignation may now be a more popular option, but is it right for you?

There are many considerations, including legal concerns, when deciding to leave with less than a 2 weeks’ notice. Since I’m not an employment lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, I asked Dan Felix of The Executive’s Attorney to offer his views. Dan is an expert in helping employees determine their termination options and risks.

Dan suggested that if you’re thinking about giving less than two weeks’ notice, the first thing to ask is “Why?” If an employee leaves with less than two weeks notice, it’s most often due to one of these typical reasons:

1) An offer from a new employer who needs the employee now
2) The present employment situation is uncomfortable for the employee
3) The employee doesn’t want the awkwardness of being a ‘lame duck’

If your new employer wants you now, you’ll have to balance the benefit of moving to your new employer immediately vs the potential badwill or even loss of earnings by leaving your old employer early. Perhaps you can negotiate with the new employer to make you whole on any income losses from leaving your old employer early.

If the present employment situation is uncomfortable for you, you’ve got to ask yourself why, and be honest with yourself. If you are being asked to do something illegal or immoral, leave. If you’re uncomfortable because you don’t like your boss or coworkers, consider gutting it out – the risks or lost income might not be worth it. If you are uncomfortable due to harassment, consider talking to a lawyer.

If you just don’t like being a ‘lame duck’ (and who does?), just deal with it. It’s not worth possible income losses and potential badwill from jumping ship early, just so you can hang out in the backyard and tan.

When considering giving less than two weeks’ notice, Dan suggested that you should first look at your employment contract, if you signed one. Check out the file you kept of all the papers you signed when you joined the company, subsequent non-compete/non-disclosure agreements, or employment agreements you may have signed. Dan mentioned that in most states “There’s nothing in the law to say ‘Thou shalt give notice.’ Expecting an employee to give a 2 week notice is legal to the extent they signed an agreement or obligated themselves to give that notice.”

Dan added “Most companies just have cultural expectations of ‘that’s how it’s done around here.’” Some companies will make the day you give notice your last day. Be aware, so if that’s the norm with your employer, you can prepare before giving notice.

Employment-at-will says that either party can walk away without hindrance or penalty. All States enforce Employment-at- will to some degree, according to http://employeeissues.com, but each state is different. Dan Felix suggests you consult an employment attorney with expertise in the specific employment laws of your state.

Two week notices policies in Employee handbooks usually aren’t legal contracts in most situations. Dan mentioned that “Most companies go out of their way to affirm that employee manuals are not a contract.”

But if you’ve signed an employment contract, here’s what is at risk:
- Unpaid Bonuses
- Severance benefits
- Accrued Vacation pay
- Unpaid Commissions
- Unreimbursed expenses
- Other issues

Even if you haven’t signed a contract, if cultural expectations are to give two weeks notice, you may risk a poor reference from your old boss if they felt slighted.

So before you decide to ditch your employer early, make a transition plan, determine if you need a Lawyer’s help, anticipate issues, risks, and opportunities for negotiation. Specifically consider the following:

1) What are your goals? Why do you want to leave early?
2) Did you sign an explicit employment contract, and what does it say?
3) Consider the culture, and company norms – what happened when others left with less than two weeks' notice?
4) Is there any opportunity for leverage or negotiation? Consider Legal, business, moral, and personal leverage opportunities.

Dan stressed “Don’t just take your friend’s or a recruiter’s advice, and definitely don’t just depend on your career coach’s advice. Even with the best of intentions, they don’t know the law. Each situation is different and each employer is different. Most employees look at the issues myopically, but legal expertise helps you see the whole picture. Talk to someone who’s evaluated hundreds of these situations, who can help you make a calm, informed, rational decision.”

Kids, don’t try this at home. Call in the cavalry and get an expert to help you make the right decision, not an emotional decision that could be expensive.

As The Executive’s Attorney, Dan Felix has assisted scores of employees, independent contractors, professionals and free agents understand, negotiate and litigate the legal aspects of employment, including both hiring issues such as employment contracts, and separation issues such as severance agreements. For legal help regarding two week’s notice and separation issues contact Dan at DanFelix@The-Executives-Attorney.com, or check out Dan’s website at http://The-Executives-Attorney.com.

If you’d like a free 30 minute resume consultation or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

The Secret of Search Efficiency

Way way back in the year 2000, things changed.

They changed for the better for employers, but worse for most job seekers. Only the fortunate few who learned how to make these changes were able to make these changes work for them – and it gave them an Unfair Advantage. Sad thing is, this is still the state of today’s job markets.

What happened in 2000? 2000 was the first year that the majority of resumes were delivered digitally. And the whole game changed, but it was silent. Most job seekers still don’t understand the profound changes that occurred when hiring markets reacted to digital resumes, that affect today’s candidates.

Ever have a recruiter ask you to add something to your resume in order to better qualify for a job? Recruiters knew what was happening, because they saw it from the inside. But it didn’t benefit recruiters to train candidates to be successful in this new paradigm, as the recruiter would lose their knowledge advantage and have diminished value. Besides, recruiters work for the hiring manager, not as a career coach.

When resumes went digital, they had a major effect on employers – employers were flooded. In a growing wave in the late 1990’s and into 2000, employers started getting crushed as 3-10 times the number of resumes had to be processed for each job advertised. Worse yet, most of these additional resumes were from under or mis-qualified applicants who found it easy to just press send.

So how did employers react? They became incredibly efficient in finding applicants who met the minimum requirements.

One positive aspect of digital resumes is that they are searchable. Another positive is they can be digitally filed in a database. As employers experimented with resume databases, they found they could micro-target skill sets by doing keyword searches…just like a Google search. Employers now had thousands of applicants to choose from and could search for 10, 15, maybe 20 criteria and find 20-30 applicants with those words on their resume…just by dumb luck and sheer volume.

And what happened to the job seekers who didn’t include those words on their resume? Their resumes stayed in the black hole, never to be seen by human eyes. Ever feel like you were perfect for a job, but didn’t get the call?

So when I talk to job seekers who tell me they’ve sent 150 resumes over 6 months, and only generated 3 interviews, I ask if it feels like no one is even looking at their resume - Because with those odds, no one is looking at their resume the majority of the time.

While choosing to interview only based on meeting minimum qualifications is dysfunctional, it’s also efficient. Hiring managers figure that if they can have HR pull 20-30 resumes, and visually screen out ½ of them, the remaining 10-15 resumes should produce a good employee.

While this is an efficient process for employers, is it also efficient for applicants? Usually not – because most candidates haven’t changed their methods to react to changed employer methods.

However, for those applicants who figured out how to game this system, it’s INCREDIBLY efficient, and can get savvy job seekers interviews from 15-25% of the resumes they send.

How can you be efficient as a candidate? Here’s 6 ways:

1) Be specific in your resume, not a generalist. HR databases punish generalists, because they search for specific terms. Even managers need to stay away from describing general and leadership skills to be successful in the new paradigm.

2) Throw out cover letters. If the employer demands it, use a standard cover letter. They aren’t included in the search…employers strip them and don’t include cover letters in their database. It’s easy to customize your resume, so employers expect it, and HR databases reward it. So why would you spend any time on a cover letter when you could be customizing your resume?

3) Heavily customize your resume. Employers reward resume customization. I don’t mean just add a word or two. Write your resume specifically to show how your subject matter expertise solves the target company’s or hiring manager’s problems, and helps the target company/manager meet goals.

4) Use the target company’s own language. Don’t think that just because you’ve described your experience that it’s a match. The ACTUAL WORDS need to match to count in your favor. Cut and paste the actual words from the job description to use in your resume.

5) Make it perfect. Reviewers have a zero tolerance policy for resumes, because there are thousands of other applicants. Spelling and grammar count. Formatting, fonts, and lined up tabs and columns count.

6) There are only two times in your life when you are perfect….when you are born, and on your resume. The hiring manager expects and rewards a perfect resume, and throws out imperfection. Have 2-3 friends proofread. Have it read on screen, and have it read on paper.

Sounds like a lot of work? Sure, but you won’t have to waste your time sending so many resumes.

You won’t have time….you’ll be too busy interviewing.

Executives exploring Career Change: For a free 30 minute resume consultation, or career advice for executives, email your resume confidentially to reCareered (phil.reCareered@gmail.com), and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Staff, Managers, Entrepreneurs, and career changers outside the US: Send your resume to phil.reCareered@gmail.com to enroll in a free group teleseminar "Accelerate Your Job Search - tools you can use".