Traditional Resumes Are Worthless

In almost 30 years as an executive recruiter, I have looked at at over 100,000 resumes and through our candidate university coached/instructed hundreds of candidates with their job search. One consistent theme in all of this is that candidates receive a lot of mixed messages on resumes. Too often candidates lose sight of the real purpose for this document or overemphasis its importance.

In a previous article,”Resumes Have Only One Purpose,” I wrote the only reason for a resume is to get an interview. That is all it is good for. It isn’t to get a job. Candidates forget this. As a result, they want to include a lot of unimportant and sometimes irrelevant information on the resume. You only need enough information on the resume to get an interview. Everything else is over kill.

This is why, “Traditional resumes are worthless.”

With all this extra information the important and relevant information is lost in the clutter. Most people only spend between 10 and 20 seconds on the first screen. If your resume doesn’t catch their eye in that time it is discarded.

We believe for this reason the important and relevant points have to stand out so they don’t get overlooked. There can’t be a lot of useless information cluttering up the resume.

The fact is every resume is simply a marketing document. Its purpose is to catch the reader’s attention, get to the reader’s underlying motivation, have them read it and invite you in for an interview. Sounds similar to any advertisement or marketing brochure.

Marketing whether in print or electronically doesn’t try and attract everyone with one advertisement. Companies well know as “marketing” companies, Nike, Coke, McDonalds, Apple have multiple ads each with a specific purpose to reach a specific customer. They are very targeted with the listener’s or reader’s motivations in mind. They rarely if ever assume one-size-fits-all.

Candidates resumes on the other hand often assume a one-size-fits-all. Most candidates put together a generic resume, all about them, with what they think is important and relevant, then cross their fingers and hope it gets to the reader’s underlying motivations. It rarely if ever does.

Change your paradigm about your resume. Begin thinking of it as a marketing document. Ask yourself, “Is this relevant to the specific needs of this hiring manager or company?” Have you targeted the reader’s motivation rather than yours? Do the bullet points hit the target like a bullet or more like a shotgun? Do the important and relevant points stand out? (Without highlighting or gimmicks). Are you helping them with their pain? Do the bullet points help them solve their problems? Is your resume about you or them?

For all those wondering, yes this means you may have more than one marketing document (resume). Just like companies do. There is no law that says you can’t. There is only one rule regarding resumes, everything on it must be completely honest and verifiable. That is it.

In summary, target your resume. Make it a marketing document instead of a resume. Get away from the generic traditional one-size-fits-all. Build a marketing document with the reader’s motivation in mind.

For help with your resume we offer a complete resume development system. The CDs, templates and examples will ensure you have a marketing document. To review our “Complete Resume System” CLICK HERE. Many charge as much as $500 for the generic one. Our complete system is less than 10% of that.

You can also download for FREE on our website our, “Job Search Self Assessment Scorecard.” Take the assessment and see how effective your search is and what you can do to improve in the areas you aren’t excelling.

Resumes have only one purpose

We were working to fill a VP Operations position. A candidate we had known for a few years was out of work and we believed he was a good fit for the position. While we were talking on the phone, the candidate mentioned the VP Operations position had been open for a while and he had submitted his resume but never heard back. We explained the company had tried filling the position, but was unsuccessful, so they decided to retain us to conduct the search.

When we met with the hiring manager we mentioned the candidate’s name. The hiring manager pulled out a file from the drawer and sure enough there was the candidate’s resume. It became clear why the hiring manager hadn’t gotten back to him. The resume was generic and very general. It did not address any of the specifics of the job. We worked with the candidate and developed a resume that highlighted his accomplishments that tied directly to the position. It was easy to get him the interview, now that the hiring manager could see how well he fit the needs of the job.

He ultimately was offered the position and accepted. Had he taken the time to revise his resume the first time, he would have been successful.

Remember, always align your resume as closely as possible to the accomplishments the company is looking for. A specific resume, for a specific job, with specific accomplishments, that are directly linked to the needs of the position will always beat out a generic resume.

We have extensive resources available to you that will help you with your resume. Our audio library has a one hour free audio file “Why Traditional Resumes Are Worthless.” We also have numerous articles on the homepage of the career blog that discuss in great depth how to get your resume noticed.

Right now you can also get Complete Resume System for $39.95 plus shipping. Others charge up to $250 and The Ladders can charge up to $700. Our comprehensive job search workbook is also available to review for just the cost of $5 shipping and our complete home study course can be reviewed for just $14.95 plus shipping. These tools have extensive information on resumes, templates to develop an effective resume, examples of what a winning resume looks like, four resumes that didn’t get noticed and why they missed the mark, and resume do’s and don’ts, just to name a few tools available. All for less than many will spend at Starbuck’s in a week.

Busted – Age Discrimination Revealed

Anyone that has read the discussions in our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group knows that I am not a big believer in age discrimination. That doesn’t mean I think it doesn’t happen. What it does mean is that I don’t think it happens as frequently as many candidates do. In fact, I believe it is far more rare than most.

Well I am wrong. Age discrimination is alive, living, and doing very well. My last two executive searches prove that I’m wrong and it definitely exists.

I have been retained to fill a CFO and VP Manufacturing search. Both positions are very senior level spots and in two different companies. In a normal search, we will present 4 or 5 candidates to the client before they hire one of them. These two were a little different. I had presented my normal 5 candidates and the client was interested in, but not sold on, a couple of the candidates. They still wanted to see a few more. (By the way as a side journey, in today’s market that is very common. Clients seem to always want to see a few more. After all, there are so many candidates on the market.)

The candidates they liked were all 7 or 8’s on a scale of 1 – 10. They all had 15-20 years of experience and judging from when they graduated from college, ranged in age from late 30’s to mid-40’s. Both of these jobs were very senior, and due to the nature of the challenges facing the companies required a real depth of experience and not just the normal depth one gets in 15-20 years. These candidates just weren’t “mature or experienced” enough were the words the clients used.

As the client requested, I presented 2 more candidates to each company. These last 4 candidates all had no less than 30 years of experience, and all had graduated from college in the late 70’s and early 80’s. You can do the math on their ages. My guess is mid to late 50’s and possibly even 60. To no real surprise my clients each hired one of these 4. The comment the client made to me at some point during the hiring process was, “If I can get a good 3-5 years from them, that is all one can expect in today’s world, and I’m more than fine with that. Hell, I may not even be here in 5 years.”

WOW, a clear case of age discrimination if I ever saw one. The first group was clearly discriminated against due to their age.

Again, before you write me a nasty comment, I agree age discrimination exists. But it works both ways. I also don’t believe every time a person doesn’t get a position, especially more senior candidates, it is age discrimination. Often they are just plain over-qualified for the job, just as these candidates were under-qualified for these jobs.

Part 2 on this topic will be more in-depth as to some other contributing factors that helped the second group win the job. There is hope, and by following the suggestions in part 2, you can avoid age discrimination on either side of the equation.

We provide a large repository of free tools and resources (CLICK HERE FOR LISTING) for candidates of all ages to help you significantly reduce your time in search. Every day of lost wages costs you hundreds of dollars and stress. I personally want to encourage you to spend some time reviewing these. There are audio files (CLICK HERE to enter the audio library), templates, assessments, and articles. The topics cover just about every aspect of the search process, networking, branding, resumes, interviewing, common mistakes, leveraging social networks, etc.

Our bi-weekly Candidate Open Forums are available to all who want to participate. You can speak directly with myself or Barry on the conference calls. Our homepage list the upcoming forums. CLICK HERE FOR LIST.

We are committed to assisting you in your search as best we can. These free resources are the best we can do for now. We have even more ideas coming and all will be free.

Key Word Searches For Resumes

“I’m perfect for the position. So why didn’t you call me?” Have you ever thought or said something similar to this?

The answer to that question in my experience is that candidates rarely demonstrate in the resume they are the perfect fit. Most important word is, “demonstrate.”

So I decided to test this theory.

I circulated a search that I was working on for a VP Contract Manufacturing and Supply Chain. The total ad was about 6 sentences. In the ad, contract manufacturing appeared 7 times and supply chain appeared 6 times.

Just curious, what KEY WORDS do you think I’m looking for on your resume?

Only 2 of 188 resumes received made it a point to ensure these words would stand out on the resume. The 2 had accomplishments using these words, they had them in the heading, the words appeared in multiple positions and they also were in the cover letters/emails. The words were not highlighted in yellow or bold. They just appeared frequently on the resume.

Most of the other 186 simply sent me a generic, one size fits all resume. Some mentioned in the cover letter/email that they had this experience, but many didn’t even do that. Yet their email stated, “I think you will find my background a good fit for this position.” REALLY?

So who do you think got the call from the recruiter?

Another way to look at it is 186 candidates are wondering, ‘Why didn’t I get called for the position, I’m a perfect fit. Those recruiters never call me.”

There are three mistakes these 186 candidates made.

1. Humans look for key words just like search engines. People reviewing resumes are looking for certain words to stand out on the resume. It is the only way to screen the volume of resumes. In this case, it couldn’t have been clearer what key words I would be searching for.
2. One size fits all resumes don’t work in this market. Companies are looking for specific and very targeted candidates. It is the candidate’s responsibility, NOT THE READER OF THE RESUME, to ensure the right information is communicated.
3. Cover letters/emails are not a substitute for the resume. Just because you state it on the cover letter/email doesn’t mean you can leave it off the resume. In fact, just the opposite is true. If you claim in your cover letter/email to have the right experiences, then the reader is going to expect to see it on the resume. Hopefully, under multiple positions.

Your resume is your marketing document. Like all marketing documents, it must get to the motivations of the reader. If it doesn’t motivate the reader then they will move on. The 186 did not get to the motivations of the reader.

You can download a free audio on, “Why Traditional Resumes are Worthless” from our website. CLICK HERE. It will point out some of the frustration recruiters and hiring managers encounter when reviewing resumes, but that isn’t the reason to listen to this. The real reason is that it will also help make sure YOUR resume stands out. THAT IS THE REAL BENEFIT.

Are Recruiters Looking For Qualified People?

NO.

A common assumption made by most candidates is that, “I’m qualified. Why don’t you call me?” Simply put, you answered your own question. We don’t want qualified people.

Recruiters are only looking for exceptionally qualified people.

Especially in this market, companies don’t need to hire us to find qualified people. They can do that on their own for FREE.

If you want to have recruiters notice you, if you want recruiters to call you once they receive your resume, and if you want recruiters to return your phone call, then you must demonstrate why you are exceptionally qualified. We are not looking for just qualified, or as most candidates indicate in their emails, “I think I’m a good fit.” Recruiters don’t want “a good fit” either. We want exceptional fits.

Our book, “This is NOT the Position I Accepted” was written for this exact reason. We really attempted to help candidates understand how to demonstrate they are an exceptional fit. The 5 steps in the book give great detail on being or becoming exceptional. These 5 steps closely follow a sales model, after all, you are now in sales.

1) Define the product. That is you. Why are you so different from your competition? This is the, “what makes me exceptional” part. If you can’t define this, then you are not exceptional. Don’t feel badly. Not everyone can be exceptional. Only the top 15 – 20% are exceptional.

This is probably the biggest reason most candidates fail at being exceptional. They don’t take the time to perform an in-depth analysis of their strengths and transferable skills. (We have a free skills assessment tool for you do download at the bottom of our home page CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD).

2) Identify Customers. All good sales people have a target list of customers , who they want to talk to in that company, and how to get to them. This is your network. Of the thousands of candidates I interview, very few have a real focused, targeted list and a plan to get to the person. Real sales people don’t just randomly call on companies and neither should you.

3) Marketing Materials. This is your resume. Sales people know that marketing materials are just support documents that open doors. These documents don’t close the sale. Most companies that are market focused have multiple marketing documents. They know that customers are motivated by different things and they need to get to what motivates that customer to make a sale. One size fits all, doesn’t work.

Your resume should be focused to the company/hiring manager/recruiter’s motivation. Your resume should clearly articulate the benefits to the person or recruiter whose attention you want to attract. This is not one size fits all.

You can download a free audio on, “Why Traditional Resumes Are Worthless” by CLICKING HERE

4) Sales Presentation. In the candidate’s case the presentation is the interview, either via phone or face-to-face. Sales people practice this at length. Sales reps often have the manager go along to ensure they are skilled at this. Sales reps anticipate objections, seek out the answers to overcome the objections, and then practice to make them appear unrehearsed. Sales people know exactly what questions to ask to elicit the information needed to make the sale.

Most candidates don’t rehearse their presentation to anyone. They practice answers in their head, but rarely write out the answers. I have watched more interviews collapse when the hiring manager asks, “What questions do you have for me?” The candidate sits there like a deer in the headlights. This part of the interview is so important that we have included over 150 questions to ask in an interview in our book and have even divided the questions into categories. The list includes questions on leadership, initiative, values, management style, and questions specific to the job, organization, etc.

The questions you ask are often more important than the answers you give.

To receive a free chapter on, “Winning the Phone Interview” CLICK HERE.

We also have a whole chapter on the ten most important questions to ask in an interview.

Less than 10% ever ask even one of these. Amazing.

5) Follow-up and closing. It is all a waste of time if the follow-up and closing doesn’t happen. For candidates, this happens in a couple of different areas, thank you letters (we even provide an example), second and third interviews, and of course closing the deal. This may even include a contract.

Mastering, NOT JUST KNOWING THESE, but mastering these will make you the exceptional candidate recruiters are seeking.

Knowing them will ensure you stay a qualified candidate.

For more information on becoming exceptional see all of our free resources, review the free audio library where we post new audios every week, read our other career management blog entries and even listen to our talk radio show on Monday’s at 11 – noon PDT on www.latalkradion.com.

You can receive our candidate job search workbook for FREE by CLICKING HERE

Now you have the resources and tools to become an “exceptional” candidate. We hope you will pick up the tools and begin using them.

Your Job Search Questions and Answers

On Friday from 9 – 10 AM PDT we often conduct free “Candidate Open Forums.” These are conference calls open to all of our candidates, in which we discuss topics and answer questions directly from you – our candidates. Unfortunately, we are limited to 50 people on the line at one time, so often we can’t get to all of the questions submitted ahead of time via email.

We believe these are important, so from time to time in this blog we will discuss the topics and questions we, 1) don’t get to during the conference call, 2) are asked over and over again (so these are probably on your mind too), and 3) just consider important for you to know.

Remember, we are retained executive recruiters so the answers and thoughts come strictly from that perspective.

1) Chronological vs. functional resume? Easy answer –  NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, use a functional resume. In my almost 30 years of recruiting I have never had any recruiter or hiring manager support the functional resume. I have also been on many panels where all of the panelists agree to NEVER use a functional resume. Functional resumes just scream out,”Try to figure out what I’m trying to hide.” See our free audio file on resumes.

2) How do we overcome negatives such as age, turnover, time between jobs, etc? We believe you address them head on. If you have a negative, avoiding it doesn’t make it go away. We have a blog entry “Preemptive Strike” which you should also consider reading. If you have a negative item, you should bring it up straight away, discuss it openly and then whatever happens, happens. Don’t assume, “They didn’t bring it up so it must not be a problem.” They didn’t bring it up because they already settled it in their mind. You need to preempt any preconceived ideas before they come into play.

3) What is the best method and frequency for following up on a resume? For us, as recruiters, we prefer via email or one of the social media forums, Linkedin or Twitter. Recruiters have reduced staff just like many other companies, while the number of calls from candidates has skyrocketed. It isn’t possible to call every person. Email allows us to reply late at night, on weekends, or even while waiting in the lobby of a client. I can’t do that with phone calls. Regarding frequency, if in fact you are dead on perfect,  then after two weeks send a follow-up email.

4) With so many top level executives in the market, how do you differentiate yourself from the pack? This is the 64,000 dollar question. We believe the best answer is to have a very compelling resume which is targeted specifically to the position. A generic, one size fits all resume will not differentiate you. That is what “generic” means. In today’s market our clients and therefore recruiters, are seeking very specific backgrounds. We are not looking for the proverbial, “Jack of all trades,” we are looking for the, “King or Queen for a specific role.”

5) Is negotiating with the employer different today due to the economic situation, and if so how? There is a difference given today’s market. For example, most companies will not relocate today especially in a large market area. Also, companies tend to be closed to severance agreements. If you aren’t working, they figure there is no reason to give an agreement and they are in control. You have to pick your issues and know where to compromise. This is all part of the pre-planning process for a job search. What issues will you compromise on and which ones should you dig in your heels?

This is enough for now, check back regularly for more Q&A.

We realize not everyone will agree with these answers and that is healthy. So if you don’t agree, or wish to comment, we encourage you to do so. Just click the link below.

We offer a wealth of free resources to anyone in a job search. To see what is available to help you simply CLICK HERE.

Only 5% of resumes receive an “A” rating

Marc Cenedella, Founder & CEO, of TheLadders.com, Inc. recently sent out an email that didn’t surprise me as a recruiter, but may surprise many candidates. Marc indicated, “About 5% of the resumes we review get an “A” from us. The vast majority are “B”s and “C”s.” Given this statistic it might help candidates understand why their resume isn’t getting noticed.

As recruiters we often review upwards of 300 resumes for a search. Of those 300 hundred on average only 30 will get calls from us and 5 will go forward to the client.

The main reason for the low number of calls is too often candidates leave off so much important information, the reader just doesn’t have the full picture needed to go forward. This is basic information I’m alluding to. It is not reasonable to expect recruiters or hiring managers to call every person to determine if they excluded some vital information from their resume.

Having an “A” resume is the candidate’s responsibility. PERIOD. It is not the reader’s responsibility to try and figure out your background.

I applaud Marc for clearly stating what most recruiters already know.

We have a free 1 hour audio available to help you make sure you know what vital information to include on your resume. To download this free resource CLICK HERE and it will take you directly to the download.

Clicking this link will show you all our FREE CANDIDATE JOB SEARCH RESOURCES.

Resumes Are Worthless – Audio Program

“Why Traditional Resumes are Worthless” is because they leave off vital information. This is all about resumes and why many never get noticed. Why do some work and some don’t. What special information is required for Sales and IT people. Why the resume isn’t about you. How to focus on benefits and not features and why most resumes never get past the 20 second review. I answer emails about how to show 30 years of experience, should you use functional or chronological resumes and whether or not to use a professional resume writer. If you want answers on what to do to get your resume noticed all you have to now is listen.

On our radio show heard Monday’s from 11 – Noon PDT on LaTalkRadio we discuss why most resumes never get past the 20 second screen. They are missing vital information that the reader needs to make a decision. In fact, cases such as sales and IT require special handling.

You can just click the link below to hear the complete show and find out if your resume is missing this information. If you have been sending out resumes to jobs you are a perfect fit for and not getting calls, then you should consider if you a missing some of this information.

resumes_are_worthless just click this link to hear the complete show.