This short video highlights why most traditional resumes are never noticed. Is your resume about you? About your skills, experiences, and companies you have worked for? If they are then this is probably why your resume is going in the “B” pile.
To get your resume in the “A” pile it can’t be traditional. Standard resumes that worked as little as two years ago will not even get noticed today.
This video will even give you an example of how to change your resume so it isn’t “traditional” and isn’t about you.
Click this link to watch, “Traditional Resumes Are Worthless.” Your resume doesn’t have to be traditional.
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After an interview, sending a “Thank You” letter is common etiquette and a nice thing to do, but saying “thank you” should not be the main reason for sending it. Most candidates send one after interviewing with a company, but as a recruiter, I rarely receive one. I personally don’t need one, but on the occasions when I have received one, I think the candidate misses a great opportunity by just saying, “Thank you for the interview.”
I believe a good “Thank You” letter should be used to reinforce your ability to do the job and/or address any potential issues that came up during the interview. It can be another marketing document. It is important not to over do it, but a tactful letter, that does some subtle marketing can have a big impact on the person reading it.
For example, a few years ago a candidate called me after an interview and said, “I think I blew the interview.” The CEO asked me, ‘What my career plan is for taking this position?’ I answered how over the next few years I would impact my department and how that would impact the company. The CEO responded, “That is fine, but we really want people that want to grow and maybe some day have my job.” The candidate asked me what would be the best way to recover from this or if there was a way to recover. The answer was the, “Thank You” letter.
A carefully worded, “Thank You” letter explained to the CEO that the candidate interpreted the question as asking for the short term impact he would have once on board. He went on to explain, in the “Thank You” letter, that certainly in the long-term his desire was definitely to advance, but he realized that was dependent upon him doing an exceptional job in the role he was being hired to fill, hence the reason for answering the question as he did.
The candidate had the opportunity to address a miscommunication during the interview, which is a common problem with interviews. Ultimately, the candidate did get the job. Would he have gotten it anyway? Hard to tell. One thing is certain, the candidate didn’t think he would have.
Some other basic issues regarding a “Thank You” letter:
- One page maximum
- Send shortly after the interview
- Not an email (with the possible exception of IT professionals)
- Addressed to a specific person, not “Dear Interviewer” or salutation left blank
- Individualized to the particular interview, personalized to the specific topic
- Do not use a generic one-size-fits-all thank you letter
Consider using this as one more chance to market yourself. Don’t over do it. This is not the time for a hard sell. It must be subtle and tactful. It won’t work all the time, but hopefully as in the example, it will work the one time you really need it.
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Brad Remillard
This is so often the first question asked in an interview. It may not be worded exactly like this, but in one form or another, many if not most interviews start this way.
Knowing this question is coming, why do most candidates get so frustrated answering this question?
It is, for the most part, a break the ice question. It gets the candidate talking, gives time for everyone to relax, is wide open, and generally a meaningless question. However, just because it is meaningless, doesn’t mean you can ignore it. In fact, this is an excellent opportunity for you to engage the interviewer.
You have a golden opportunity to hit the salient points in your background, open a discussion around what defines success in this role, and to get the interviewer excited about this interview.
In our opinion this should be a short 2 minute, so well rehearsed answer, that is doesn’t appear to be rehearsed. This is not the time to give your autobiography, go over every position in your background or bore the interviewer with a long winded answer.
In most cases, the interviewer is using this to simply start the conversation. They aren’t looking for a complex or even complete answer. They just want a quick overview. That is it.
We recommend starting with your most relevant position and hit the accomplishments that closely relate to the position. It is even acceptable to outline some of your current responsibilities, organization, relevant company information, products or services, and basic duties. The goal is to give the interviewer the information they need to better understand how your company, industry, experiences and organization aligns with theirs.
This is not the time to give a lot of information that doesn’t align with the company. For example, if the company is a small entrepreneurial company, it would be a fatal mistake to highlight your experience in a large Fortune 500 company, that you managed a staff of 30 people, and your department budget was bigger than the company’s sales last year.
A better answer would be to highlight a past company similar in size that you enjoyed working at, felt more fulfilled by the impact you made, preferred the ability to be hands-on and what you did to contribute to the growth of the company. This better aligns with the interviewer’s needs.
You should have a number of canned, well rehearsed, thoughtful answers to this question. This is your opportunity to start the interview on the best footing for you.
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Brad Remillard
This is one of the most common mistakes I have seen in hundreds of interviews. Yet, it is one of the easiest to fix. Candidates know this is going to happen in 95% of all interviews, so why are they so unprepared for it. I don’t get it.
Avoiding this mistake cannot only ensure your success, but when done correctly and with some preparation it can ensure your success. You don’t have to make this critical and very common mistake.
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Does your resume list all of your experiences, all your skills, and even some accomplishments?
Does it outline all of the things you have done in the past that you think are important and can fit on two pages?
Does it clearly indicate all your past duties, tasks and responsibilities for your positions?
All good stuff, but for the most part, missing a lot of the important stuff.
Most resumes are based on, what in selling is referred to as, “features” or “facts.” Every junior sales rep and marketing person knows that people don’t buy on features, they buy on benefits.
Most resumes are simply a list of features the candidate thinks (key word – thinks) are important. In marketing terms it is a, “fact sheet” not a marketing document. If you want to get noticed you have to have a marketing document not a resume. One that markets benefits.
Marketing 101 teaches marketing is all about getting to the customer’s motivation. It is all about what’s in it for them. Few resumes are a true marketing document. Most are some combination of features and benefits, with heavy weighting on features. Few hiring managers will get excited reading a list of features. These are nice to know, but unfortunately, don’t create any emotional reaction. Benefits, on the other hand, do create an emotional reaction. It is this reaction that creates the desire to buy.
For example, you could have the following feature on your resume, “Substantially reduced turnover in first year.” A good fact but no emotional reaction. Instead you could market the benefit to the hiring manager, “Reduced turnover from over 55% to less than 10% in my first year. This resulted in an estimated savings of $150,000 in just hiring costs. It also dramatically increased the quality of work, completely eliminated errors and reduced overtime by 90% resulting in a cost savings from the previous year of $200,000.”
If I am an owner, CEO, or hiring manager struggling with the high cost of turnover, this is motivating and a benefit.
Selling benefits converts your resume into a marketing document. After all, that is what a resume should be.
Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group for a lot more on resumes, interviewing, networking and even how to answer the “Tell Me About Yourself?” question.
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Brad Remillard
We often do one-on-one job search coaching with candidates. This is a three month program where we cover all aspects of a person’s search, and work weekly to ensure that everything is being done to expedite their search. We cover issues that might arise before they arise, discuss areas of conflict, develop a marketing plan, perform interviews, review resumes and tough interview questions, compensation negotiations and check references. It is very comprehensive, and often hidden issues that would keep the candidate from getting an interview or job are discovered and addressed before they become an issue. Too often the candidate never finds out why they didn’t get an interview or offer, when a little up front work would have solved the problem before it became a problem.
As part of this coaching, the candidate develops a complete set of references. The candidate always assures us that the reference has told them “They would give me a good reference.” A CEO I was working with had a board member as one of their references. I called to talk with this reference and make sure that all was well. It didn’t take long to realize that the reference, although not bad, was only average to barely passing. This is not something the candidate would want a company to hear. We went back to candidate and asked to talk to the other board members (at least two). They both had great things to say, and in fact, one was going to recommend the candidate for another position. It turned out the first person had a grudge to bear against the CEO. These two board members then became the references. Had we not done this, the candidate would have never found out why he didn’t get a particular position.
I don’t believe we were deceiving the company in any way. They asked for one board member and instead we offered two. We did not prep the references in any way. All we did was try and get the real picture of the CEO’s abilities without bias or from a person with a grudge.
This is just one of many very easy things to deal with before they become a problem. Do you pre-qualify your references before you give them out? You should.
When talking to a reference it isn’t always what they say, but how they say it that counts.
You can learn a lot more about references and the complete job search process in our job search workbook, “This is NOT The Position I Accepted.” We will send you the book to review for only the $5 cost of shipping. It will reduce the time you spend in search. CLICK HERE to review the books contents.
Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking group. The news articles, connections, networking, and discussions are a great resource for anyone looking for a position. CLICK HERE to join.
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We encourage your comments and feedback.
Brad Remillard
These three simple words have the biggest impact on your job search. They can make the difference between getting a job or not. That is the power they have. If you don’t know what these are then this is a MUST listen to. We not only give you the words but discuss how to ensure you implement them. Make sure you are the one that wins the interview and then the job. We are serious about the power of these on your job search.
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It is hard to be in a job search today and not run across two, overused and misunderstood terms, one is “networking” and the other is “branding,” usually “Personal Brand.” How did these words become the “buzz words” the “must do” the “most important,” words so critical that if you don’t do them, you are sure to fail in your job search?
Who makes this stuff up? They’re the marketing geniuses.
The number of books, blogs and news articles written on “Personal Branding” continues to grow. If it takes that much to explain “Personal Branding” it may just be too complicated to begin with. It’s as if this is some new concept in job searching or as if the “holy grail” of conducting a job search has finally been found.
NONSENSE.
All that has happened is that some marketing person put a clever name to it. It’s as if once you “brand” yourself you will be the NIKE, Apple, Coke, Michael Jordon or Tiger Woods in your field or industry.
Silly me, for 29 years as a recruiter I’ve just referred to this as, “differentiating yourself” or “making yourself unique.” I didn’t know I was telling my candidates to “BRAND THEMSELVES.” I’m not sure that is all there is to a brand, but it pretty much sums up all you have to do in a job search.
It’s not so complicated that it takes a 200+ page book to explain it.
For the sake of appearing up to date and current, it is critical in any job search to communicate “why” you are different from your competition. What unique skills, traits, talents, accomplishments, experiences and passions do you bring to the party? If you can’t define these, you are a commodity. The problem with being a commodity is that the only thing you have to negotiate on is price. In a job search price is compensation.
Call it “branding” or something else, we can’t stress enough that every candidate needs to step back and take some time to determine what makes them unique. Often each position may require a different set of skills, experiences or talents. It is possible that you may have to differentiate (oops brand) yourself differently for different positions. It also means that you may not be the best qualified candidate for every position.
Do a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Obstacles and Talents) analysis of yourself. List them out. Once you have the list, for the S and T, identify accomplishments and examples that demonstrate these strengths and talents. For the W, develop a plan to work on improving your weaknesses and for the O develop a plan of action to overcome any and all obstacles in your way to getting the position you want.
So forget about “Personal Branding,” it is way too complicated and probably just a fad. Just get back to the basics and figure out what differentiates you from all the others like you. Then go market it.
In the future you will see articles I write on “Personal Branding.” I will even title the article using the word “branding” because if I don’t, nobody will read it. So I will reluctantly conform.
Conformity has never been a “brand” for me.
Our job search book provides a template called,”Personal Success Profile.” This will help you identify what makes you different and add guidance for completing the SWOT analysis. You can get this for just the cost of shipping $5. CLICK HERE to review the book.
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Brad Remillard
Why Is Networking Valuable?
Statistics show that 60 to 70% of all executive positions are found through networking with others. The American Association of Senior Executives (AASE), reports that 54% of their members attributed getting their new position to networking at AASE meetings. That is a large percent considering each meeting on average has about 40 executives in attendance.
Why is it so high? Mainly because the AASE preaches the right way to network. Every executive is shown why networking, when done correctly, is not a business card exchange. Networking that pays off is about relationships, and most importantly, networking must be done with a specific purpose and goal. Otherwise, why do it?
You should never ever attend a networking group or meet anyone just for the purpose of networking. It is a complete waste of time. Not every networking group is the right group for everyone. Likewise, not every person is worth spending time with.
Just because a group has a large turn out doesn’t mean it is a good thing or a good place for you to make a connection. In fact, I would argue this could be a bad thing. For example, if 200 people attend a networking meeting and the one person that could really help you in your search is at this meeting, you have a 5% chance of meeting this person. They will be lost somewhere in the crowd. It is random luck if you meet them.
Instead target your networking groups or meetings. Attend only those networking meetings that add value to your search. For example, the functional area (marketing, accounting, sales) gets exposure in your geographical area, the people attending are your peers i.e. VPs with VPs. C level with C level, the number of people attending is manageable so you meet the right people, etc. There are a lot of groups out there that just don’t add value to your search, so don’t attend them. This is networking with a purpose.
Pre-qualify people prior to meeting them. You don’t need to meet everyone. All you will accomplish is building a big stack of business cards. As a recruiter, when someone refers a person to me for a search, I always pre-qualify the person. I will ask the person doing the referral about the person’s background, industries, experiences and if they don’t match what my client is looking for, I thank the person for the name but let them know the referral isn’t right for this position. This has saved me hundreds of hours phone interviewing unqualified people. You can do the same. Put together a few screening questions that will clarify if this person will help you move closer to your goal of either a job lead, meeting a person that you need to meet, has the introduction you need, or not.
Too often the person referring someone to you, although sincere, isn’t referring someone to help you. Why waste your time? Thank them and move on. This is networking with a purpose.
A few other things to remember when networking:
· Networking is NOT drinking coffee and exchanging business cards.
· Networking is connecting with others by getting to know them on a personal basis and helping each other.
· Your personal participation in a networking group will show others the you can organize, lead and manage.
· When others learn more about you, they will forward opportunities, make introductions and may even recommend you for positions.
· GIVE BACK! Don’t forget those that helped you.
Most importantly, let people know where you are. Future career opportunities often come from someone who remembered you in the past.
Our comprehensive job search workbook has extensive chapters on networking, including a networking exercise to help you maximize your time. You can review this book for only the $5 cost of shipping. CLICK HERE to review the contents.
Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. We post new articles and discussions almost daily to this group. CLICK HERE to join the group.
Please give us your comments and feedback.
Brad Remillard
Keith Ferrazi, Author of Who’s Got Your Back, wrote a blog article titled “Seven People You Should Know (Besides Kevin Bacon) to Connect with Almost Anyone”.
Keith describes the power that comes from being connected or linked to “connectors”.
For years, we’ve been advocating candidates in their job search should work hard to find connectors. In our projects where we develop strategic networking plans for executives, we usually discover in assessing their existing networks that there are NO connectors and thus – almost zero leverage in networking.
Connectors are rare individuals who are well connected to others. They have great reputations. Their names constantly surface on every request for people who do similar work. They are on everyone’s short list. They’ve done a great job of personal branding and typically have strong large networks.
Connectors pride themselves on helping others in their network. They love to bring people together. They are constantly providing recommendations, referrals, and introductions. A referral from a “connector” is worth their weight in gold for your job search. A referral from a “connector” is similar to receiving the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval”.
Now the question is how do you find connectors with whom to network?
1. A connector is well-known to clients, customers, vendors, and suppliers. For example, I am a connector in Southern California in the Executive Search Field. If a company is seeking a “C” level executive, either myself or my partner will be on their shortlist of firms/individuals to consider. I have an extensive network of over 5000 CEOs and Senior Executives developed over 2 decades through-out the country that I have personally touched in one way or another and still maintain contact. My network is especially strong in Southern California. One strategy of finding me might be to ask other peers who do they use as a recruiter when they are looking for job? You’ll hear the same 2-3 names constantly pop in conversation.
2. Another strategy is to ask hiring executives and managers who do they use as a recruiter to hire top talent executives for their teams. Again, you’ll hear the same names over and over again on the short list of recruiters.
3. A third strategy is to see who has the strongest reputation within the social media space for the individual you are seeking? Do they write a well-recognized blog, are they one of the top 50/100 recruiters on Twitter? Do they get interviewed by major business publications. Do they share the wealth of their knowledge with their network and community?
I’ve used the example of an Executive Recruiter. My example for connectors could be lawyers, accountants, business development managers, benefit consultants, software sales reps – the list is endless.
The key is to identify “connectors” that can provide job leads and referrals in the career path you want to be moving along.
Are you linked to connectors in your network?
To learn more about effective job search networking and the powerful leverage connectors bring to your job hunt, listen and download some of our radio shows where Brad I focused on discussing networking.
Barry
P.S.: Don’t forget to join our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group to participate in a wide range of networking discussions.
