Posts filed under ‘Job Search’
Identifying, qualifying and quantifying your achievements
The first thing I ask people to do when they want to update their resume, is to give me a description of their work history and achievements.
For most everyone, it’s pretty easy for them to tell me the dates and places where they have worked, past job titles and companies. But it’s that achievements part that is hard for them to come up with.
Use this list to figure out what you’ve accomplished. Once you have the list, try to weave accomplishments in with your job responsibilities and duties.
Actions: Did you…
- open new accounts?
- create an infrastructure for any function(s)?
- design and/or implement standard operating procedures?
- develop the professional capabilities of people who were then promoted to positions of greater accountability and/or who outperformed peers?
- add new products?
- develop or strengthen vendor partnerships?
- launch a new brand?
- develop a training program?
- initiate and/or manage a major project?
- renegotiate contracts?
- reengineer business processes?
- restructure organizations?
- write or redesign job descriptions?
- reach new audiences?
- grow subscribers or membership base?
- improve the accuracy of sales forecasts?
- start a new division?
- grow your referral base?
- begin sourcing or production in a new region or country?
- start outsourcing tasks?
- expand your presence to a new geographic territory?
- establish quality standards?
- start evaluating vendor performance?
- write an employee or vendor manual?
- design forms or templates?
- introduce and/or direct programs that resulted in achievement of certain industry standards?
- expand or consolidate your vendor base?
- accelerate product development?
- implement new technology-based solutions or lead technology integrations?
- win support from internal or external groups?
- create a reference library or archives of key information?
- improve inventory accuracy?
- decrease order-to-delivery lead times or speed-to-market times?
- design and/or institute order tracking or call tracking systems?
- start a safety program?
- automate a process previously performed manually?
- eliminate unnecessary or redundant processes?
- design a business continuity plan?
- get rid of unprofitable product lines or customer accounts?
- align services with customer requirements?
Results: As a result of these actions, did you…
- increase sales/profits?
- reduce costs?
- grow market share?
- increase service levels?
- achieve better quality or consistency?
- improve safety and/or reduce risk?
- boost productivity?
- lower employee turnover?
- improve company’s reputation?
- position the company for future growth?
This list is adapted from a WiseBread blog post.
Canned phrases that (may) ruin your resume
A well-written cover letter and executive summary can set your resume apart from other applicants.
But when do key words and catches phrases become too much?
Liz Ryan, a blogger for The Savvy Networker, made this list of the 10 most over-used phrases that make resumes sound cliche and robotic:
- Results-oriented professional
- Cross-functional teams
- More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
- Superior (or excellent) communication skills
- Strong work ethic
- Met or exceeded expectations
- Proven track record of success
- Works well with all levels of staff
- Team player
- Bottom-line orientation
I get what she’s saying, but I think there’s a reason that theses phrases are used time and time again: employers are looking for candidates that have a strong work ethic, work well with others, can communicate well and deliver results. And when hiring managers are averaging 30 seconds per resume, seeing these words are a quick way to qualify (or disqualify) candidates.
What do you think? Should you spice things up and communicate your strengths in a unique way, or stick with the tried and true?
Read the original article on The Savvy Networker: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-experts-10_boilerplate_phrases_that_kill_resumes-97
Top Job Search Faux Pas from NPR
* Not having an updated profile, with recommendations, on sites like LinkedIn or similar sites relating to your line of work
* Having a husband-and-wife e-mail address
* Having an AOL address. Some executives say those are very outdated.
* Not doing extensive research about the company, its culture and the position you’re applying for
* Not filing your resume digitally, even if you bring paper backups
* “Cold” e-mailing executives with whom you’ve never made a prior connection, either online or in person
* Asking an executive you’re hoping will hire you to be your “friend” on Facebook
Read the entire article here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105483848
Important things you need to have on your resume
Sure it’s important to include your name, contact information, work history, education and key responsibilities.
The biggest mistake people make is leaving out their key differentiators.
What do employers really want to know about you? They want to know that you produce results.
- What problems have you solved?
- Did you serve as a project or team leader? Mentor to others?
- Have you helped the company save money, improve efficiency or increase productivity?
And it doesn’t stop here. Anywhere that you can, you need to quantify and quality your achievements:
- How many dollars did you save the company by your efforts?
- How much in additional business did you bring in?
- What was the percentage increase you brought about in productivity, safety, efficiency…?
In a tight job market, and as a young person just starting out in general, it’s important to include these extras to make you stand out in a sea of typical resumes and typical candidates.
Updating your resume after your first job
Making the transition from “recent graduate” to full-fledged “business professional” can be tough. The resume you have when you first get out of school may not have a lot of relevant job experience. Sure that part time job got you through school, but most employers aren’t really interested in your summer as a wedding caterer or camp counselor by the time you hit 25.
That being said, while you’re busy growing up and become a professional, your resume also needs to grow up. Here’s how you do it:
- If you haven’t already, get rid of anything highschool related. No one cares what your GPA was junior year or that you were captain of the math team. If you went to a prestigious high school (like many people in St. Louis), think about getting active in the alumni association and putting that in a Community Involvement section.
- Unless you had a very important leadership or employment role, you can probably remove most of your club or social involvement from college too. If you were a part of a Greek organization that may help for networking, get involved in the alumni association and put that in your Community Involvement section too.
- Move your education information down underneath your work experience. Now that you have job experience, that’s a lot more important that your liberal arts degree that everyone else has, too.
- Add an executive summary displaying your key skills and traits as well as your specific objectives for career development. Let’s face it, after graduation your objective literally translated to “please give me a job, any job.” Now that you’ve been out in the real world for a couple years, it’s important to know where you want to go next and what you’ll bring to your next employer.
To demonstrate the before and after of a resume makeover after a first job, check out Chris Mann’s new resume and his first resume out of school.
Still not sure how to make your resume mature with your career? E-mail me.
Myths about job hunting in a recession
A lot of people I know are looking for jobs right now… and they’re doing a lot of things wrong. First of all, they’re giving up the job search before they even start – expecting that hiring freezes or their lack of a lots of experience/an MBA will keep them from being fired.
So many only look for jobs online – in yucky places like job boards (ala Careerbuilder, Yahoo! Jobs, or Monster). If you’re gonna be online – try networking. Or maybe even create your own content via Twitter or your own blog. Make friends with valuable contacts on LinkedIn and catch up with old friends, professors, colleagues and family members to let them know you’re looking for a job.
How about volunteering with some of your free time? Or studying up on the latest industry developments or seeking additional licenses or certifications relevant to your career development?
The worst thing you can do when you’re looking for a job is not look for a job AND not do anything productive with your time while you wait it out.
Have you started to buy-in to these 6 Myths About Job-Hunting in a Recession?
- No one is hiring
- The best place to find jobs is the Internet
- Avoid companies that are currently experiencing “hiring freezes”
- Expect a pay cut
- People aren’t hiring if you’re 55+ years old
- Advanced degrees guarantee you’ll get hired
Advice on making a job switch in a tough market
Read Amy Hoover’s latest article “Salary and Title Expectations” on her Talent Zoo “Career Oxygen” blog for some great advice on how to make a job switch in a tough market.
I have a lot of friends that have been out of school for about 2 years now that are ready to make a move to a second job, but aren’t sure about what to do in an unstable market. Hoover’s article explains what to expect from the process, including moves that can help or hurt your career in the long term.
Advice to college students
Earlier this month I visited an Integrated Communications Campaign class taught by my former boss at SLU. She asked me to talk to the class of college juniors and seniors… telling them about my college experience, job search and job. After telling my story (and probably boring the poor kids for 30 minutes), I offered a couple bits of advice:
If I could offer you some advice, I’d tell you to do something that you love. Something that you don’t mind getting there early to do or staying late. Don’t know what you want to do? You need to get out there! Intern. Job shadow. Go on informational interviews. Volunteer. You’ll learn best by doing.
When at all possible, work with people that you respect and will make you a better person. I have been extremely fortunate to work with people like this.
Your personal brand is important. Who you know and what you’ve done… that’s who you are. Network. And never burn bridges.
If you’re interested in getting into interactive marketing, do it. Our generation is naturally more tech savvy because we’ve grown up doing it. Read blogs. Check out web sites. Talk to people in the business.
Keep idea books. Bookmark web sites you like or articles that have good ideas in them. Part of what makes people successful in marketing is knowing what’s already been done… and how you can apply similar principles to your clients and innovate by improving on what’s already out there.
Then, to my surprise, I came across an article today: 10 job hunting tips for this year’s college graduates. In his blog post, Edward Boches, Chief Creative Officer of Mullen, offers some very similar tips for how to get hired in advertising right out of school.
Beating around the bush
Salary negotiation can be scary. And with the latest job market – where people are getting laid off left and right – it’s even scarier right now.
Lots of people are being passed up for raises. Companies are in “hiring freezes” and often times the higher people are paid, the quicker they are to let go of you. It’s hard to tip-toe around numbers when it comes time for a job offer.
If you ever wondered what to do when someone asks you your salary requirements, please read this article by Penelope Trunk.
She does a great job of providing alternate responses to the dreaded question of “How much?”
You heard the woman
It’s already Christmastime! And chances are if you’re unemployed or thinking about making a career change – there’s a lot on your mind during this holiday break.
I just read this great article from Heidi Ehlers over at Talent Zoo about how to “Get Your Shiznit Together” during the next couple weeks.
Resume Rehab by Colleen 