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

Let us think of the job search and career path process as a game of strategy, involving precise timing, strategic positioning and occasionally defensive maneuvers to protect your own survival.

Then, we can identify the involved parties:

you, the job seeker, are on the offensive, trying to break down the impenetrable walls of the enemy fortress: your ultimate job within in a thriving company that protects its own resources fiercely.

me, the recruiter from an agency, is the strategic ally who plays both sides for the altruistic benefit of all involved.

and the hiring manager is the general of the army of corporate Human Resources and departmental henchman. They’re not really fighting against you, take this with a grain of salt please! They’re just trained to resist change, especially to personnel.

So here’s an article I found that is addressing recruiting practices for hiring managers (the generals) and what they should be utilizing to go about the process in the best possible way. This might help you, the job seeker, to understand what you’re up against, since most hiring managers are NOT doing these things.

Start at the top. Take a close look at the top performers in your organization and determine what the key characteristics are that enable them to succeed. Incorporate these into your job description.

If the hiring manager of your target needs to be told that this is important information, then you are ahead if you ask them when speaking with them. This is valuable for you to be able to assess your own fit as a team member, and for showing your intelligence and interest in the company and the team.

Look ahead. As you begin hiring for a position, consider what success will look like a year from now for the person you hire. What will the person need to have accomplished to be deemed a success? Which key stakeholders will play a role in this person’s career at the company? How will this person fit culturally with these stakeholders and the rest of hte core team?

If the hiring manager hasn’t included these items in the job description, then you have every right to ask these questions. And chances are they havent. And you should. All job descriptions start to sound the same after a long while, because companies outsource their recruiting, or in-house recruiters aren’t trained to know the nuances of each different role in a department and aren’t able to look beyond the quantifiable skills.

Clarity. Have a clearly defined job description at the onset. Avoid being generic….Quick turnover happens as a result of a lack of clarity around what a job truly requires.

Here’s where you should notice that many job descriptions are vague because no one puts time or energy into truly understanding what the day to day requirements are versus the long-term objectives. And you should be aware that your resume needs to be targeted. If you have the same catch phrases and generic format, you’re causing as much trouble as you’re experiencing. Again, the more information you can get about a job before sending your information, the more you can ensure that it’s perfectly relevant. When dealing with the landmines of unclear descriptions and missing pieces, you could be wasting your time and need to think about redirecting your efforts.

this is probably more than enough to read for today. keep your eyes peeled for part 2!

Technorati Tags: Counter Intelligence, Job search war, hiring manager generals, generic resume, interview questions

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

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

For those who’ve ever been to a job fair, you are probably aware of the rather deflated feeling you get as you’re leaving the huge auditorium/gym/conference room: a whole lotta nothing.

That’s not to say that job fairs aren’t a great way to learn, or that they’re not worth your time. They certainly can be! But are you working the room, or is the room working you?

It can be intimidating, especially when passing by booths that are manned by extremely outgoing company representatives, eager for the next person to talk to about their outstanding management trainee program, or their fabulous opportunities in the stockroom. But what other opportunities might you be missing by simply judging each exhibitor on their visual promotions, on their “list of opportunities”, or their reps’ first impression?

I see the job fair as almost the same thing as a trade show. Have you ever been to one of these? (A bridal expo is a good example of a trade show too.) It’s essentially a place for people to get exposure for their product/service/brand and to generate sales leads that will result in increased revenue. Trade shows are more effective when they get incredibly specific: almost any industry you can imagine has an expo for vendors and buyers. And since the job search is the “marketing me” process for you, the job seeker, this can be a great way to get some exposure of your brand!

Philadelphia has job fairs coming up in the next few months, and I thought in a good opportunity to share some tips about working the room, and not letting the room work you!

The general idea is this: (and kudos for reading this all the way to here!) The job fair can feel disappointing because there are so many others just like you. So make yourself stand out! You know you want to hit up that booth with the chocolate covered strawberries–make them want to write “call her!” on your resume the second you walk away. Be remarkable!

Technorati Tags: job fair, trade show, remarkable, follow up, be unique, research

This will probably sound like a rant, but if perhaps, just maybe, someone reads this and takes a couple of minutes to change something about their standard job search habits, then I’ll have done my job. We (my former self included) can get so stuck in our habits, and the easy way of doing things, we don’t see what could be a more effective way to get results.

I always ask how the job search is going, and what resources are being utilized for that process. The answer almost always includes “CraigsList.” And that’s fine. But it also includes the following comment: “but I don’t get many responses.” Here are a few of the possible reasons, directly from the horse’s mouth:

Suggestion: Do NOT send a resume attachment to a CraigsList posting without any information in the body of the e-mail. What makes a prospective employer interested in giving up 5 minutes of their time to open the resume, when you clearly didn’t spend 5 minutes of your time to write some more information about why you’re the right candidate?

Suggestion: Please proofread your resume and your cover letter, AND your email. If there is a misused word, or misspelled word, or grammatical error, you’re significantly lowering your chances of being called back.

Hope this sheds some light! I don’t intend for it to be harsh or mean, but maybe it will give you some motivation for ways to get a bit more response when you’re applying to the black hole that CraigsList can be!

Technorati Tags: CraigsList, job postings, resume submission, e-mail applications, job search habits

Make sure it’s worth your time! We all know we should be attending events for the Marketing Association, for the Ad Club, for the Business Leaders Consortium, for the Sandwich Artist’s Union…[oh! Sorry, that was a former life…but you know what I mean!]

And from experience, I can tell you, I KNOW how awful they can be sometimes! Doesn’t this sound familiar?

…I’ve been there.

And before you get all “here comes another plug for her own projects” let me preface this with the absolute truth that I only promote things I strongly believe in. Honest. And I believe that the awards ceremonies that many creative professional associations hold in the springtime are some of the best networking events of the whole year! They recognize successful people and companies, typically a great turn out, and while more expensive-you get better quality!

These types of events typically draw a lot of local support from companies and agencies, too. Not only are great people recognized, but sponsors are in attendance to associate their company with those successful award winners! It’s a great way to meet the right people.

The Philly American Marketing Association is re-launching their recognition program for excellence in marketing with the Marketer of the Year. This year, the SVP of Comcast! Marvin Davis is the keynote speaker. That alone is enough reason to go, don’t you think? But even if you don’t get to talk to Mr. Davis, his colleagues and competition will be there, too!

And I could start another whole entry encouraging you to encourage your agency or department to consider submitting for any of these competitions. These are those things that make your resume stand a bit taller than the rest of the pile: “2007 Marketer of the Year recipient.” What do you have to lose, but a few minutes filling out the forms!? You’ve already done the work for your client, now get recognized by your peers!

::whew:: I can be long-winded, I know…but it’s true!

More info about the Marketer of the Year is at the PAMA website. (or through me!)

Technorati Tags: Philadelphia American Marketing Association, PAMA, Ad Club, awards, recognition, Comcast, Marvin Davis

As testament to the awesome power of networking, I was able to connect to a really talented creative professional today. He was referred by someone in my network, and while I knew very little about him, it shows respect to my contact to give the guy a call. Thank goodness I did!

Ken Thurlbeck is a very accomplished problem solver in the advertising and design world. He has a successful photography side, has created over 1000 television commercials, and can even claim ownership of one of the first successful websites back in the 90s.

I just wanted to share a personal experience of networking success-I simply appreciate that he took the time to listen to what I had to say about CM Access. And even more importantly, he let me know that he recently published a book entitled “Creating the Breakthrough Portfolio” which is a very effective resource for those looking for help in putting together materials for the job search.

You can see sample pages here and you can buy the book here. This guy knows what a successful portfolio should look like.

Let me know what you think! And, as always, if you have a success story–share it!

Technorati Tags: Ken Thurlbeck, portfolio, breakthrough, networking

Sounds so obvious, right? Well, what I mean to say is that if technology is changing the way things get done, need to change the way we’re doing things, too!

This article from eMarketer Daily highlights some research done by Neilsen that demonstrates that DVR owners are watching commercials anyway.

A March 2006 survey by Forrester Research of the members of the Association of National Advertisers indicated that almost 70% of them believed DVRs and VOD would reduce or destroy the effectiveness of the traditional 30-second commercial and, furthermore, that when DVRs were in 30 million homes the majority of the advertisers would reduce their spending on TV advertising.

That sentiment is likely born more of fear than reality. What it does mean is that many advertisers are reassessing their strategies to reach DVR users.

This got me thinking. Advertisers are forced to alter their media buying tactics, their creative concepts, their general marketing strategy to work around (and through, and with) the changing technology. We need to alter our job search tactics in the same way.

Just as the fear is that DVR owners are increasingly choosing what they want to see and when, hiring managers are extremely selective about who’s resume gets read and when.

Try new tactics, don’t fall into the CraigsList, Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com rut. Everyone else is doing the same thing, you’re going into a huge pile of resumes that must be whittled down somehow. Ever think about this?: maybe you are the PERFECT fit for the position, but you never even get considered because you were at the bottom of the inbox, and after 10 calls were made, 10 interviews conducted…you were number 11.

How will you be adapt with changing technology? Change your tactics.

Technorati Tags: technology, Neilsen ratings, DVR, search strategies, new

I have to admit I’m a bit embarassed. I thought I came up with an idea on my own, but have recently discovered that I’m far from the first person to come up with this idea. I guess there’s something to be said for “no ideas are new anymore”.

I thought I discovered a correlation between the job search and the marketing/sales process. And while I still believe it to be the best way to approach the situation–applying the principles of marketing to yourself as the product–it turns out someone has already done a great job of telling you how. [Ok, I admit that it’s silly to think I’m the first to have come up with the idea.]

I mentioned it just the other day, that I’ve started reading this book called “How to Land Your Dream Job” but now that I’ve gotten further into it, I’m able to truthfully proclaim it’s greatness! Yes, I’m still bummed that I didn’t think of it myself, but this book is a great guide to how to apply marketing principles and the sales process to your job search. Highlights include:

–glossary of sales terms and how they apply to the job search
–easy to read style and short chapters make it easily digestible
–motivation to be creative in your search: you may not be a salesperson or a marketer, but you’ll learn quickly how necessary those skills are for success in your job search.

I could go into more detail but I won’t for the sake of redundancy. It’s already here and in this book! Jeffrey J. Fox knows what he’s talking about, so no need to restate it!

In related news, part 2 of my conversation with Chris Penn of the Financial Aid Podcast is up today. It’s the section that talks about resumes, cover letters, Linked In and how to approach the search more from a marketing perspective. Thought it was appropriate for emphasis on the “MarketingMe” side of the job search.

Technorati Tags: MarketingMe, LinkedIn, Financial Aid Podcast, Jeffrey J. Fox