CM Access

I hear this question from friends, family, friends-of-friends, and a lot from candidates seeking career transitions or new professional opportunities. So I wanted to include some thoughts for those who already know the “make sure there aren’t typos” rules.

A lot of professionals with more than 10 years of experience struggle with keeping a resume fresh, relevant and concise. “Should I keep it to one page in total length?”

I say no. The resume needs to tell a story. If you need more than one page to do it (and a smaller-than-legible font doesn’t help either!) then so be it. Each position you’ve had should be tailored to add to the ultimate goal you’re trying to reach. Bullets are helpful for an outline, but make it easy to fall into the trap of using phrases and fragments, which lead to talking about daily tasks instead of your actual contribution to the company or position. Each piece of your work history should include a problem you were faced with, your solution, and the results based on your efforts. However, the information included needs to be relevant to your objective and to the field within which you’re hoping to be hired.

The truth is, each person you ask for advice about your resume is going to give you a different opinion. How does one deal with such wide-reaching variations of the same end-goal (i.e. creating the resume that will get you noticed)? RESEARCH. Books, blogs, magazines, experts, the information is out there!

This short post from the Wall Street Journal had some good suggestions:

Talk to professionals in your field. Look for successful people in your chosen career field and human resources managers in that area. They’ll be able to tell you what employers want to see. … Search for résumés in your field. Teachers’, tech workers’, journalists’ and stockbrokers’ résumés will vary widely — what’s included and in what order, how many pages, references included or not, and so on. Look for a “best résumés” book for your field. You might check out “2500 Keywords to Get You Hired,” by Jay A. Block and Michael Betrus. It offers keywords to bolster your résumé, no matter what field you’d like to enter.

To be a successful job seeker, you have to know your competition, and your target. What is the hiring manager going to be looking for? Your resume has to mirror that of the person currently in the role you seek, and you have to far exceed them! The best way to get this information is by being involved with leaders in your field, through associations or volunteer organizations, and by asking for help from people who know: recruiters, mentors, authors.

I found a great book about improving a resume. It offers tons of before and after versions of resumes for a variety of industries, and explains how to integrate more information into the standard format most employers expect to see. The World’s Greatest Resumes by Robert Wm. Meier might seem like some to be a very presumptuous title from a relatively unknown guy. But he’s been in career consulting for a long time, presents the information very objectively, and makes it accessible to all levels of experience. The more knowledge you accumulate, the more opportunity to form your own, informed, opinion.

I’m definitely a grey-area person and don’t believe there are hard and fast rules about a stellar resume. But simple guidelines are always helpful and appropriate and can be found in so many places now-a-days. You just have to do the work.

Technorati Tags: Resumes, How to improve a resume, research, resume advice, resume answers

An article was passed to me, and if I could find its original iteration, I’d include it. But I found the information to be helpful and thought it clearly articulated many of the points I’ve already made here. So I must be somewhat on track if other sources have the same info, right?

Are you falling into any of the following job search mistake categories?

1. Be sure to tailor your search to jobs you are qualified for and that interest you.
2. Video resumes are not prudent unless you’re looking for an acting (or broadcast media) job.
3. Always start out using “mr.” and “ms.” in an interview and in email communications, until you’re corrected otherwise.
4. Keep your social networking sites private–pictures can be found and be detrimental to your consideration for professional opportunities.
5. Make sure you research the company and the position to the best of your ability before an interview!
6. Dress professionally and appropriately when interviewing; it’s better to show up overdressed than be dismissed from consideration because you “weren’t quite sure what to wear.”
7. Don’t be a “Yes Man”. This means, don’t talk too much during your job interview, be concise with your answers, and always back up responses with concrete and relevant examples. And if you have an answer you don’t think they want to hear (a “no” instead of a “yes”) be sure to back it up with a well-crafted response. Take time to think about what you want to say, they’ll wait, and it will make it worth the wait!
8. Have a professional email address!
9. Keep your resume short and to the point: relevant experience only! It’s hard to keep work experience like “supported myself through college while working at Hooters” but the truth is, unless you just graduated, your professional experience is going to override this piece of information, and it will actually hurt you.
10. Get to know a lot of people: your success will come from who you know!
11. Ask for help during your job search. From friends, mentors, relatives.
12. ALWAYS follow up with an email or a hand written note after an interview!! Even phone interviews!
13. NEVER talk negatively about a past employer, no matter how comfortable the interviewer makes you feel.
14. Ask good questions to show you’re interested in learning about the company.

and of course : Don’t talk about money in the first interview or conversation. Even if this is a make or break criteria for you, you are hurting yourself if you don’t at least talk with someone about their opportunity or their company because you don’t think they’ll match your salary. The first step is to make them like you, and want you on their team, THEN you can figure out if you want them. This very minor (and easy to fall into) breach of etiquette can ruin any chance you might have for a really valuable network contact!

FYI: CM Access can help answer any questions these mistakes might bring up! If you’re wondering how to avoid these problems, or how to recover if you’ve already fallen into one, just get in touch with your friendly Career Advocate today!

Technorati Tags: job search mistakes, interview etiquette, professional dress, do’s and don’ts of job search, networking

Hoping to continue to be a resource for job seekers and career-minded professionals, I thought it might be helpful to share this information that was shared with me about the top growing fields for employment in 2008.

Eight Top Fields with Major Job Growth can be found at the Yahoo Hot Jobs page.

While some are obvious, like healthcare and technology, there is also growth predicted for independent creative professionals (good news!) and support staff in facilities management. Anyone with a nursing certification or the ability to program and build computer software is definitely in a good position to seek out the best opportunity for their career.

The author, Sonja Carmichael Jones from EarnMyDegree.com also highlights a very smart strategy for helping to secure a new position, including many of the things we’ve mentioned here. Most importantly, take the time to research companies and know what you want.

Get to know what jobs fall within the major industries.
Determine the skills and accomplishments you have or need to meet the requirements and showcase them on your resume. If you’re not confident about your skills then consider taking a course, volunteering, or pursuing an internship to enhance your skills. It’s also a good idea to look for mentors — they can become your biggest ambassadors when you need an outstanding reference.
Locate and research companies that you want to work for, and then network to make the right connections.

She also says something I can’t say enough:

Keep a positive attitude and be ready to jump in and work with all the skills and energy you’ve got.

As someone who speaks with a lot of job seekers at all levels of their career, and all stages of the search process, I can tell you first-hand that there is a point of burnout and it is detectable by hiring managers and anyone in the hiring process. You must always stay upbeat, confident, and positive about your experiences and past employers. If this means visiting a counselor to reassess where your focus needs to be, then maybe you should! Take some time to re-center, to really get to know yourself.

ok, enough new-age mumbo jumbo! It’s a new year, and a great time to make a fresh start. Keep at it, and if you’re not sure you’re doing the right things, just ask any CM Access career advocate!

Technorati Tags: industry growth, new year job search, job search burn out, healthcare jobs, technology jobs

Happy Holidays! Just wanted to mention a few things that might seem like common sense, but as I’ve heard someone say recently: common sense ain’t that common!

If you’re looking for a new job, or at least open to hearing about new opportunities that might be better than the one you’re in, have you made sure to cover the following bases?

Is your voicemail still set to “YO! It’s the T-dawg, leave it!”
[tip: You’re not going to leave a good impression when a recruiter hears that after being interested in your resume.]

Is your resume error-free? Have you had an objective set of eyes thoroughly read through the whole thing?
[tip: You’re not going to be regarded highly for a writing or editing position if your resume has typos and formatting errors, or words that spellcheck won’t pick up, like “there/their/they’re”]

Do you have a professional email address?
[tip: If you’re not in college any more, then you shouldn’t use a .edu address. If you’re not in a gang, you shouldn’t use “T_dawg@juno.com” E-mail addresses are free, so you should really have one that uses your name.]

Is your resume in a Word or PDF format, and saved with an identifying filename? [tip:”resume.doc” increases your risk of your document getting lost on someone’s desktop, and it’s tough for some companies to open documents saved in formats or programs they don’t have in their system.]

Does your email cover letter clearly state what job you’re applying for? [tip: Many hiring managers are working to fill more than one position, so if you’re not clearly stating your objective, you’re making me work too hard.]

Remember, the goal of the job search is to get a job, right? The goal of the hiring process is to get someone hired? You will have much more success on either side of the process if you make it easier for your target.

Companies should have an easy-to-navigate application process, or a quick response time to make it easier for candidates and job seekers. And job seekers NEED to make the process easier for the hiring manager, the one reading and sorting through the resumes.

Technorati Tags: Job Search Tips, Resume errors, hiring process, job seekers

Happy Halloween! And, may I just say, the grocery store was totally sold out of vegetable trays and lo-fat ranch dip last night! I guess every office party has that person who waits until the night before to bring something slightly healthy for the pot-luck (like me)

Just a quick post because I thought this was funny enough to share. (funny, not a political opinion)

Work vs. Prison:

Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this should make things a little bit clearer.

@ PRISON
You spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell
@ WORK
You spend the majority of your time in a 6X6 cubicle/office

@ PRISON
You get three meals a day fully paid for
@ WORK
You get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it

@ PRISON
You get time off for good behavior
@ WORK
You get more work for good behavior

@ PRISON
The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you
@ WORK
You must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself

@ PRISON
You can watch TV and play games
@ WORK
You could get fired for watching TV and playing games

@ PRISON
You get your own toilet
@ WORK
You have to share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat

@ PRISON
They allow your family and friends to visit
@ WORK
You aren’t even supposed to speak to your family

@ PRISON
All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required
@ WORK
You get to pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners

@ PRISON
You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out
@ WORK
You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars

@ PRISON
You must deal with sadistic wardens
@ WORK
They are called managers

If your work is more like a prison, isn’t it time to explore your options? CM Access and other recruiters are able to keep you in mind for opportunities without you having to broadcast to your current employer or HR department that you’re searching. You don’t have to post your resume on Monster.com to be open to hearing about a new position. Talk to people!

Technorati Tags: work life, prison life, recruiters, passive search, Halloween

I want to start off with the good news, so you don’t think I’m a ranting and raving type of blogger:

You are worthy of being the next great employee. You will find a great company that will challenge you, help you learn new skills, where you’ll make a difference in the success of your team and your company.

But the Burn Out from a job search is common, and it’s a dangerous place to be in. If you need to vent, do it here (or other anonymous blogs) but don’t do it in your cover letter.

The following information is for the benefit of job seekers in need of a reality check.

Have you become entirely disillusioned and delusional with your search?

Here’s how to tell:

Here’s how to recover:

CM Access is always willing to be a buffer for you, to help you assess your cover letter quality, and your search strategy. And even just to spell check if you ask!

Technorati Tags: Job search burn out, recovery, spellcheck, resumes

Too much to write, and too little time to do it in! I have been collecting thoughts, ideas, opinions to share with my wide audience of readers (ok, myself really) but today I have just one important tidbit to share:

Fall Networking event-o-rama!

There are so many ways to actually go and meet new people, build those ever-important relationships you keep hearing that you need to have during your career, that you had better have a darn good excuse not to try at least one before the end of 2007! This site is just one of many resources to find out what’s going on in Philly. Try the newspaper (they always have a business section, and a calendar) or meetup.com or search for associations that are of interest to you.

It’s not easy to talk to strangers, so take a friend or colleague with you. Your employer will be glad that you’re representing the brand (whatever it may be) and there are many things you can gain from listening to a speaker or panel, or just plain ol’ socializing.

The AMA in Philadelphia (yes, I’m promoting it because I am on the board, and I believe our content to be relevant and helpful to marketing profesisonals) is hosting some great events this year, and our October 10th luncheon at the Downtown Club (oooh ritzy!) is a presentation on how to use new Web2.0 tools in your business with Molecular internet consulting firm out of NYC and San Francisco.

More info is available at the PAMA site, (with a new design coming soon!)

Technorati Tags: PAMA, Networking, Philly, American Marketing Association, Molecular

Ever wonder what it’s like to be the person conducting an interview, instead of just the person showing up on time? Surprisingly, even those who’ve been employed for a while might not have had the opportunity to interview potential new employees for their team. But, companies are increasingly realizing the need for the right people to be hired, not just anyone, and that involves having a more thorough interview process.

A good friend of mine recently went through this process, and provided me an interesting story about his first experience on the other side of the table.

“I never realized when I was looking for a job myself how important it is to evaluate the fit for the position from anything other than just ‘please hire me and give me a chance’. It’s really the best time to ensure that the position for which you are applying is really a good fit.”

I’ve said time and time again that you have to really have your ears and eyes open at the interview to assess if it’s really a viable opportunity. Don’t just take the first thing that comes along because if you leave 5 months later, you’ll have some ’splaining to do!

“This candidate interviewed first with the head of our unit, who explained the big picture of what the group does and what his role would be. After this, a project manager took over, perhaps explaining in more detail. When I entered the room, the PM said ‘This is my coworker, he actually does the job you’re interviewing for, so he can explain better than I can.’ I thought it was really valuable to be able to walk this candidate through a typical day for me, rather than just selling him on the company. I went out of my way to highlight the worst parts of the job on the assumption that it was better for him to learn about them now rather than after he had accepted. Too often a candidate would accept a position only to quit three weeks later.”

My friend was also able to more accurately assess the right personality and background, since the management may not understand that a particular educational skillset might be insufficient for the effective accomplishment of the project. ie. a technical background for a proprietary software application position might be detrimental because the person would come with expectations apart from the product’s functionality.

Just a final note of my own: this process is not unique-many large companies are more likely to have multiple rounds of an interview, involving multiple team members, in order to more thoroughly assess a match. It’s important to consider how you conduct yourself in each case, and trust your own instinct: if you’re not getting a positive vibe from one of your interviewers, maybe you should take a step back and assess if it’s the kind of opportunity you really want.
And if you’ve never sat on the other side of the interviewing table, and know how important it is to get the RIGHT person in your office, look into doing some mock interviews. It will help!

Technorati Tags: interviewing process, interview

(I can tell you they aren’t reading this thinking: “you’re not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition!”)

Let me explain why I feel the need for lazy people to be identified: day in and day out I realize that a lot of people, job seekers in particular, are more apathetic and less proactive than they should be.

While applications online are often aimed at being as easy, convenient and quick as possible, is that really the best way to show your interest in a job or a company? Guaranteed you or someone you know has said “I tried to apply online but it took FOREVER!”

Could the tedious steps be part of the screening process for the company or corporation who’s hiring? If a candidate isn’t willing to even fill out the whole application, they probably wouldn’t be willing to follow through on their responsibilities in a new position…

Now, my personal suggestion is that if a company is serious about hiring GOOD people, and not just someone “alive and breathing” for their team, a phone number should be set up and a person should be employed fulltime to field those calls. This receptionist (in that they are receiving the calls) should know the company brand inside and out, should truly understand what the role requires, and not only would then be able to identify quality candidates, but also maintain that brand’s standards and reputation because no one is saying “oh, they never responded to my application.” This is laziness on the part of the hiring side. And while I’d like to say “why would you want to work for a company that doesn’t pay attention to their candidates?” but it’s so prevalent that a rule can’t be made…

There’s a funny story Seth Godin relates here, which he calls the Blind Squirrel problem. “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.”

So sometimes a company hires an amazing candidate through their CraigsList posting, and sometimes people get great jobs by applying on Craigslist. But it shouldn’t be the most proactive thing you do for your job search.

Technorati Tags: blind squirrel, Seth Godin, laziness, proactivity

New grads, be aware of the challenges you’re facing whether they’re blatant or latent.

I’m often asked what I would suggest to new college graduates or young professionals to make their job search and career path what they’ve always dreamed. And for fear of being touted as a “hater”, I’m going to share a recently published article in the Business Journal about an internet survey (by the Internet Business Pulse Survey) asking readers to give a letter grade to the work ethic of the recent graduates who were hired in their companies. I was disappointed, being closer to the “recent graduate” age than the “experienced professional” one, to see that all the responses were negative.

The pie chart in the column showed that out of 174 respondants, 31% gave their recent grad new-hires a C, which, if you’ve been out of school too long, means average. Only 20.5% got an A grade.

Here are some of the quoted responses:
“Their attention to detail is horrible. Careless mistakes abound.”
“Recent graduates are not go-getters. They sit around and wait for someone to tell them what to do, or wait for someone to do it for them like their parents have done through their high school and college educations.”
“It would be nice if the majority of them could write in complete, correct sentences.”

Ouch! I mean, considering that almost every single resume and cover letter I receive from college graduates includes “excellent written and verbal communication skills” as an asset. Are these candidates lying or just not aware of how they measure up? Are these critiques overly harsh and generalized?

I’m sure some measure of ageism is evident, because each generation thinks their’s is better than another. “Kids these days have it so easy” and so forth. But there is something to be said about all of our technology creating a culture of convenience, and things that take a little effort are almost entirely avoided: I recently met someone who seemed astonished that a job search could be expanded to include resources other than Craigslist or Monster.com.

I find it precarious to be in between the professional world, where I see first-hand how valuable it is to ACTUALLY be a decent writer, and to handle yourself professionally with management; and to be a part of the technology generation who does find it easy to be distracted by gadgets and gizmos, and e-mail.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the answer is. But I do recommend to recent grads to continue working to differentiate themselves, to continue working to learn about themselves and their position within the marketplace (of job seekers) and to continue working to build professional relationships. (This is where talking to recruiters and career coaches, or advocates like at CM Access, can be very informative!) Then, the right job and the career path become evident on their own.

Technorati Tags: recent grad job search, ageism, work ethic