You Passed The 10 Second Screen. You May Still NOT Get A Call. WHY?

After the storm of controversy I created with the article, “How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less” (Click here if you haven’t read it), I thought it would be appropriate to follow up with what candidates, that pass the 10 second screen, can do to get a call from a recruiter.

Whether you like recruiters or  hate them, they are a necessary part of the equation in a job search. Some will fight the system, while others will embrace it. My only goal is to help educate candidates that want to understand how recruiters work. I do this to help candidates, not hinder them. I believe the more information you have about how we work the better it is for you.  Together we can then help each other.

Recently I calculated approximately how many resumes I have reviewed in 30 years as an executive recruiter. It is close to, and probably exceeds, 1 million. That is a whole lot of resumes. That number scared me. After 30 years of doing anything, one should get a feel for what works and what doesn’t.

So before you send me a nasty comment, I’m going to take the position that I’m as good at what I do after 30 years, as you are at what you do after 20 years.

By doing the following and including these few things on your resume, I believe you can dramatically increase your response rate.

1) NEVER use a functional resume. PERIOD. Before you come up with reasons to justify it, the key word in the sentence is NEVER.  I have never, ever met a recruiter that reads them. In addition, I very rarely have talked to a hiring manager, CEO or HR person that reads them. Why fight this battle? Even if 10% read them, that means 90% don’t. Which side of that equation do you want to be on? Considering that 100% read chronological resumes, you don’t want to fight this one. Join the 100% club and use a chronological resume.

2) The format is not as important as the content in the resume. My experience with speaking with candidates is that they spend a lot of time on the format; what should go on top, where should I put the education, do I need an objective, how long should the summary be, etc.  Spend more time making sure the content communicates to the reader what they think is important. I have yet to meet anyone, who told me, “I sure like all of their experience. They are really qualified, but they put their education in the wrong spot on their resume, so they are out.” The article, “Resumes Are About Substance Over Form” gives a lot of good information on this topic. CLICK HERE to read it.

3) Help us help you. All recruiters need to know certain things to make a decision to call you. The very basics include:

a) Some information on the companies you have worked for such as, size, number of locations, industry and products. This can be done in one sentence or less. Just the name of an unknown company is worthless when screening. You want to stand out from the rest.

b) If you are in management, a little about your organization such as, number of people you manage, are any of them managers, titles, and are they all in the same location.

c) If you are in sales, who are your customers? If not by name, at least what industries you call on, are you selling B2B or B2C, product description, territory size, and average size of the sale. I am constantly amazed that most sales people exclude this information. As a salesperson what you are selling is pretty darn important for the reader to know.

d) For technical people, what technologies are you working with? What language are you programming? If in engineering, is it a highly custom engineered part, are you working on a system or a component, are you designing nuts and bolts or toys? Seems important to me.

d) Include quantifiable results in the accomplishments. If you don’t, these are meaningless and most other resumes will read the same as yours.

The first comment I get from candidates when I suggest these things is, “My resume will be too long.” No, it won’t. I have prepared thousands of resumes and I can get all of this on two pages. In fact, in our book, “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” (CLICK HERE to review)  there is an example of a two page resume that contains all of this information. The person has over 20 years experience, so it is very doable.

Getting in the “A” pile is your responsibility, not the reader’s.

I wish more candidates would help us help them. All you have to do is give us the information we need to call you.

Contrary to what you may think, recruiters want to fill the position just as badly as you want the position.

For a FREE example of a cover letter CLICK HERE.

For a FREE example of a Thank You letter CLICK HERE.

For many more FREE resources and articles, join our Job Search Networking Group on LinkedIn. 4,300 people have done this. CLICK HERE to join.

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Brad

11 New Year Resolutions For Your Job Search

It is time to look forward to 2010. Regardless of 2009 happenings and all its trials and tribulations, 2010 is upon us and now is the time to think about how best to approach the year with regards to your career or job search.

Here are some ideas that you might want to consider:

1. If you are actively searching for a job, make a serious evaluation of your 2009 search. What worked, what didn’t, what successes did you have, what are the strong points to your search and what areas need to be improved in 2010? To help you do this, you can download for free our 8 Point Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will highlight some of these areas.

2. Dust off the old resume and update it. All professionals should maintain an updated resume. Even if you are not searching this is just prudent. It is useful to ensure when you do need one that it is ready, as it reduces the stress of trying to remember what happened in the past, and helps to identify whether or not you are growing or doing the same thing you did last and the year before that.

3. From the resume, step back and take a look at your career and either update or create your career plan. Remember the 6 Ps – Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. This is true in business and in your career. You should be able to answer some basic questions:

A. What are your career goals for 2010? This doesn’t have to be advancement to the next level. It could be what additional experience, training or skills you would need to reach your goal.

B. If advancement is your goal, are you able to get the right experience in your current company? When you write your resume and find you have been doing the same things for the last 2 years you may need to reconsider. Did you add  to your marketability in 2009? This doesn’t mean in terms of dollars. In today’s market, getting a job without going backwards is a good thing. So are you more employable today than a year ago?

C. What experience, skills, or training, does your boss have that will help you be qualified for their position?

4. Write out a job description that meets your goals for 2010. Include the additional experience you need to move your career forward. For example, manage people, participate in system implementation, additional experience in running a trade show, experience in assisting with union negotiations, international sales experience, these are all examples of some experience to include in a job description.

5. Schedule a  1-2-1 with your boss. This should be a separate meeting from your annual review. Make it clear that this meeting is about you and  your career. Sit down and do some career planning with your supervisor. Discuss the issues in #3 above. Is your manager willing to help you get this experience? If so good, if not, then you have a decision to make. It is possible that your manager may be able to provide some additional experience you never thought about obtaining.

6. Identify at least two organizations you will actively participate in. If you already belong to a professional association then become an active member. Active means attending at least 80% of the meetings, serving on a committee, becoming a board member, etc. Do whatever it takes so that people in these groups get to know you and know you well. These associations are prime hunting grounds for recruiters looking for top talent.

7. Consider serving on a nonprofit board. This serves the community, makes you feel good, helps others, and it helps with getting more people to know you and your abilities. Great referral sources.

8. Consider working with a certified career coach. Highly skilled career coaches can really help. They help you clarify the issues above and assist you in making a plan that makes sense to you.

9. If you are in a job search get an accountability partner. We have two articles available to help you identify the characteristics of a good accountability partner and the duties, tasks and responsibilities of a good partner. (See these two articles).

10. Identify the resources you need in 2010 to advance your career. What books, classes, white papers, etc., do you need to make sure you stay on your career path? There are a wealth of resources and tools, many of which are free on the Internet, to help you with your career plan. (This is NOT The Position I Accepted was written specifically for this purpose).

11. Implement. Planning is great, but absolutely worthless without execution. Set up some 30, 60 and 90 day goals. Once they are achieved, then schedule out the next 30, 60 and 90 day goals. Trying to schedule a year out leads to, “I will do that next month as I still have plenty of time.” Before you know it, the year is over. Short term goals are easier to manage and achieve.

2010 is a great year to take control of your job search or career. There are so many resources to help you, that all you need to do is take control and do it.

For some free resources to help you consider:

• Joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. There are numerous discussions and articles to get you started in 2010.
• Download the Skills Assessment in the What’s New section at the bottom of our home page. It starts with identifying your skills and finding out which ones are transferable.
• Download the sample cover letter from the What’s New section at the bottom of our home page. This is a great tool that will align your resume with the company’s needs.

If this has been helpful to you, then please consider helping others by passing it along to them. Consider forwarding the link to your network, tweeting it on Twitter, adding the link to your Facebook, or updating your LinkedIn status. Let’s all try to help others in 2010.

I welcome your thoughts, comments and questions.

Brad Remillard

One Simple Trick To Finding A Job

So many candidates struggle with finding a position. I’m not going to insult you by telling you it is easy. It isn’t. In fact, for most it is hard work. Mainly because this may be new to you and with the exception of a few, this is not your area of expertise. It is always difficult to do something when  you are not an expert. In fact, it is frustrating because most professionals make it look so easy. Have you ever watched one of those home improvement shows do a complete kitchen remodel in just 22 minutes? They never have any problems, everything fits the first time, they never cut a board wrong, and it looks great in the end. Have you ever done a kitchen remodel and have it done that easily?

Their remodel happens so easily because they are an expert in it and we are not. So how does this relate to finding a job?

Companies in today’s market want the expert. They don’t want the jack of all trades, they want the king or queen.

Candidates have a very hard time accepting this. It is better to be great at one thing than good at many. Experts do 1 or 2 things 10,000 times, not 10,000 things once or twice.

What is your expertise? What unique passion, unique experiences, unique skill set, unique talent, unique accomplishments do you have that will, if not separate you from the 100’s of resumes received, at least get your resume to the pile of 5 to 10 to interview?

We live in a 140 character world. Millions tweet thoughts in 140 characters or less. Status updates on Linkedin are 140 characters or less. Can you describe your expertise in such a way that you stand out in 140 characters of less?

If not, then this is a great thing to work on over the holidays.

For example:

• A CFO with extensive experience in international finance within X industry and X sized companies
• Sales professional that enjoys the challenge of cold calls, increased first time customers by X% in first year directly by cold calling.
• HR executive that excels at union neg, reducing benefit costs by X% and 70% of hires from employee referrals up from 20% when I started.

These are just some examples that at least help you stand out, identify your unique strengths and accomplishments.

I have worked with hundreds of people helping them identify what makes them unique. It always starts out the same, “I’m probably not all that unique. I do my job and so do others.” That may be true, but every person doesn’t do the same thing, even in the same functional area.

Think about becoming great at 1 0r 2 things instead of good at many. Do this, and watch how your job search results change.

If this was helpful to you, then help others in your network by passing it along so they also benefit. Helping others will always help you in your job search. You can add this to your status on Linkedin, tweet it, add it to your Facebook page, or email it to your network. Let’s help everyone that is seeking a new job.

For more help on this, join our Linkedin Job Search Networking group. It is free and loaded with helpful discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join.

Get our FREE 8 Point Job Search Self Assessment Scorecard to evaluate your job search. You can’t fix it if you don’t know what is broken. This will help you. CLICK HERE to get yours.

You can also get a FREE sample cover letter proven to get you noticed. Thousands have downloaded this, and it is FREE. CLICK HERE to get one.

I welcome  your comments, thoughts and questions.

Brad Remillard

Job Search 2010 Get Started On The Right Foot Part 2

In Part 1 I discussed the need for getting an accountability partner and what an accountability partner is. This article will be about what an accountability partner should do to help you.

A good accountability partner can make a major difference in one’s job search. I have seen people spend months looking, but once they engage an accountability partner their search takes off. You can call this coincidence if you want, I did for a while until I saw it happening over and over, and the people using the accountability partner were giving them the credit for their success.

So what should an accountability partner do? Here are some of my thoughts, and please add your thoughts and experiences in the comment section so others will benefit.

1) Accountability. Sounds obvious doesn’t it, but this is the main goal. A good accountability partner will hold your feet to the fire.  First and foremost, they will hold you accountable to do what you say you are going to do.

2) No Excuses. They will listen intently to your excuses and then hold you accountable to what you say. A good accountability partner knows the difference between excuses and real road blocks.

3) Empathy Not Sympathy. Accountability partners  understand the emotional  ups and downs. They understand  your feelings but don’t become emotionally involved or attached.  They can separate their feelings from yours, which allows them to stay objective.

4) Listen Well. They know when to let you blow off frustration and vent. They recognize this is part of the process. However, they don’t let that get you off your plan or off track. They will still bring you back and hold you accountable to what you say you need to do.

5) Help and Guidance. Most job searches get stalled at some point. An accountability partner has the experience and knowledge to help you redirect your search. They have the experience to recognize opportunities you, the candidate, may never have thought of or when you are just not doing something effectively.

6) Tough Love. A good accountability partner is not there to be your friend. Get a dog if that is what you want. They are there to give you tough love when needed. Sometimes even make you angry or embarrassed if you aren’t delivering what you said you promised to do. They call it as they see it. Would you really want anything less?

7) Willing to Meet Regularly. They will meet you at least weekly to discuss progress and lay out a plan for the following week and month. If your plan is weak, they will push you to improve it. They keep you on schedule and on track. They will take your calls and reply to your emails. Yes,  it is a lot of work and time.

These are some of the key functions of an accountability partner. It is not by any means a complete list. If you get these in an accountability partner  you will be off to a great start in 2010.

Please add other key functions that you think are important or have benefited from in the comment section. We welcome and encourage your thoughts, comments and input.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. 3400 other people are benefiting from the discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join, it is free.

Turbo charge your search in 2010 by evaluating its strengths and weaknesses with our FREE Job Search Plan Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help you and your accountability partner get your search started out right. CLICK HERE to download your scorecard.

Need a great cover letter? A free sample cover letter that has proven to get you noticed is on our Web site for you to use with your resume. CLICK HERE to download yours.

If this was helpful, then please help others by forwarding it on to your network, posting on your Facebook page, Tweet with the link, post to your Linkedin groups or status update.  Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.

Brad Remillard

Job Hunting Three “P’s” Will Change Your Results

In my recent article, Job Stalled? Do What the Pro’s Do, I discussed how when things aren’t going well or when results have changed, it may be time to get back to the basics. Take a look at what has changed from the past, reevaluate what was working and what wasn’t. Most processes have certain basics that must be followed. If we get away from these basics things go sideways.

One of those basics is following the three “P’s.” You can’t get much more basic than these. Take an objective look at  your search and see if you are effectively implementing these in your search.

1) Presentation. I harp on this all the time. Candidates so often down play this or take it for granted. For some reason candidates just don’t focus enough energy here.  This is the most basic of basics. Remember the most qualified person doesn’t always get the job, but the person with the best presentation and some minimum level of qualification will often get the job. PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION is the place to start.

Start with  your resume. How does it present you and your accomplishments, experiences and skills? One big presentation error we regularly find, and also one of the biggest complaints by other recruiters, HR and hiring managers is  that resumes leave off very important and vital information for the reader. Is yours doing this?

Video your interviewing presentation. If your body language, hand motion, voice inflection and eye contact is weak work on getting help to fix these. Again, very basic but one of the most overlooked problems by most candidates.

2) Preparation. If the presentation is working, now it is time to start preparing. This is a big job and again so often taken for granted by candidates.

Prepare your marketing plan. Are you in the right networking groups? Maybe it is time to change the groups you are attending. Are you meeting the right people? Look back over the people you met with in the last 3 months and evaluate who and what types of people have been helpful and those that didn’t provide any assistance. Identify companies and people you want to meet. Set up a plan to meet them. If you contacted a company 6 – 8 months ago things may have changed, so consider reconnecting or finding another way into the company.

If you haven’t video recorded yourself in a mock interview,  I promise you it is time to do this. Before you do, prepare yourself for what you are about to see. Most don’t like what they see. Have someone else with you when you view the recording. This person needs to be someone who will be objective and honest. Listen to the constructive criticism.

3) Practice. This is probably the most important of the three “P’s.” Everyone has heard, “Practice makes perfect.” Well that also applies in a job search. Practice your body language. DON’T JUST THINK, “I now know that so I won’t do it in an interview.” Of course you will, it is your nature, and with all of the other distractions in the interview you don’t need one more.

Practice exactly how you are going to answer the standard questions asked in just about every interview. If you don’t know them, our book, This Is NOT The Position I Accepted, has a list of the most commonly asked questions in an interview. You can get the book now to review for just the cost of shipping $5. Might be worth it. (CLICK HERE for details).

These should be so well rehearsed that they come off as if it is the first time you answered the question.

Underestimating these three “P’s” is a fatal job search mistake most candidates make. They either take them for granted or will read this and say, “I already know this,” then go back and do the same things they have always been doing. For this group I highly recommend looking up the definition of insanity.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. Over 3300 members and lots of articles, discussion and resources for you. CLICK HERE to join.

For help with your job search take a look at our University. All the support you need is available to jump start your job search. CLICK HERE for details.

Get a free chapter from our job search workbook, This Is NOT The Position I Accepted on the phone interview. CLICK HERE to download.

Job Hunters Searching For Help In Too Many Places

There are so many places to go today for help with your job search it is hard to know what is right, who is the best, what advice you should follow, and if you are doing things effectively. Everybody has a different opinion. Should you use Twitter, how much time to spend networking, do you need to change your resume, is your cover letter the best, what do to in an interview, etc.

What’s a candidate to do?

It really isn’t all that difficult to figure out. The answer is simple. It isn’t any different than other decisions you make, whether buying a home, buying a car, selecting a plumber or contractor, or what finance company to use.  You first decided what you needed (that was what YOU need), you then do your homework, seek out an expert in what you need, ask for referrals, if none are available you want to test drive the product or review their work, then  you decide.

Do the same in your job search. Filter out all the distractions. There are a lot of very good experts out there to help you. You just need to get the one that will work best with you and what you need in your search.

Some filtering ideas:

1) Identify exactly what you want or need help with. Don’t let some one else try to sell you on what they have to offer you. If your resume isn’t working, get an expert to help you with it, if you are getting interviews but not offers focus on that, if you are not familiar with using the Internet in your job search get help there, and if this is your first time looking in a long time you might need help with all aspects of your search.

2) Do your homework. Look around at what others are doing. Pick a book that has a reputable author. By reputable I don’t mean just because they wrote a book they are experts.  Review that authors background. Are they an expert in what you need? What makes them an expert? What accomplishments do they have similar to what you need? Ask for referrals. Read their book. Does it align with what you are seeing in the market and from other candidates?

3) Ask others for referrals. Who do they use to help them? If you don’t have a person to ask go on-line. In today’s world you can check out people and their credibility very easily. For example, if my partner Barry Deutsch or myself were referred to you or you simply wanted to check us out, all you have to do is Google our names. Look us up on Linkedin. There is adequate information out there on us and our firm for you to decide if we are credible and provide the services you need. It is the same for any expert in the job search business today. If that information isn’t available – run.

4) Can you test drive their services? Once you identify one or two people, due your due diligence. Can you test drive their products, can they provide examples of their services, can they produce a prototype for you, ask them for suggestions and decide if these make sense. Is the person responsive, have references, will they work with you as opposed to you working with them?

5) Then select the one or two experts you feel will best benefit you and work with them. Use them and abuse them. Forget about all the distractions out there. This is the best person for you and that is what works. If for some reason it doesn’t, then start the process again, just like you would with any other product or service. If you don’t like your banker, doctor, financial advisor, CPA, or the person doing your taxes, you move on and find someone else. Why should it be any different in a job search?

You should join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. It is free, has over 3300 members and an extensive amount of resources for you. CLICK HERE to join.

You can also get a FREE sample cover letter to help you. Over 2000 people have downloaded this. CLICK HERE to download yours.

Finally you can test drive our job search workbook to see if it is right for you. We will ship it to you for only $5. It is FREE for you to read and check out to see if it is right for you. We practice what we preach CLICK HERE to get yours. Readers have rated this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

I’m Getting Interviews But No Offers. WHY?

This was a question a potential job search coaching candidate asked me. Although frustrating, at the same time it is a very good problem to have. At least she was getting interviews.

In today’s world just getting up to bat can be difficult, but striking out is frustrating. So what do you do if this is happening to you? Over 30 years of working with candidates and over 10,000 interviews, it is my experience that when this happens the candidate is generally making some fatal mistakes in the interviewing process. They don’t need a major overhaul. They are either doing something small, that is easy to fix, or in most cases NOT doing something that eliminates them.

After all, the hiring manager has seen their resume, often interviewed them and asked them back, and they may have even come in second place a couple of times.  So rarely, if this happens a lot, is it always experiences, skills or abilities. Those have already been taken into account. Also, as everyone knows that has done extensive  hiring, the most qualified person doesn’t always get the job. Often, and unfortunately, it is the best interviewer that gets the job. A fact candidates have a very hard time accepting.

Many candidates have this  happening to them and never really understand, “why?” The sad part is the candidate ends up spending a lot more time in job search mode than necessary. Often months and that is expensive. To help, our job search workbook, “This is NOT the Position I Accepted” deals extensively with this exact issue.

The first step in dealing with this issue is knowing the answer to this critical (yes critical) question, because if you don’t know the answer chances are very good you will never know what’s wrong, so you can’t fix it. What are the most important three words in a job search and interview? Hint, they are the same words for both a job search and interview.

If you guessed preparation, good guess, but wrong. Preparation is the outcome of these three words.

Presentation is key, and the answer. Candidates are judged so much on the their presentation that it is often a bigger factor in getting a job than qualifications. For example, I heard on a news channel that Whole Foods will not hire anyone that shows up to an interview wearing a suit. I don’t know if this is true or not, (just because it was on the news doesn’t make it true) but that is presentation. Show up in a suit, and before you even leave the lobby, before you introduce yourself, in less than 1 second the hiring manager has already decided you won’t fit in their company’s culture. They assume you didn’t research the company or you would know this.

If this is happening to you, I have found from coaching candidates that it is time to take a hard look at their presentation. This is very hard to do. It means I have to be tough, possibly risk hurting feelings, get critical, tell people they come across too casual and therefore possibly signaling a lack of energy, and for older candidates this is often interpreted as burned out or just waiting to retire.

None of these may be true. It doesn’t matter if it is true or not. It is reality. A dose of reality is often exactly what many candidates encountering this issue need.

Another issue is confidence. Too often when candidates become desperate and really need a job they are too afraid to engage the interviewer. This lack of confidence comes across as weakness. This is the kiss of death especially if you are interviewing for a manager.

You should always interview the same way you would if you had a great job and didn’t need this job. That confidence will come out. Most companies want to hire people that are leaders, and confidence is an essential element of leadership.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group along with the other 3300+ members. The discussions and articles will do nothing but make your time looking for a job shorter. CLICK HERE to join.

If you are getting interviews but no offers, you should consider reading our job search workbook, This Is NOT The Position I Accepted. It was written to get you through the interview with confidence. We will send it to you to review for just$5. CLICK HERE to get  your copy.

I welcome and encourage your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Job Search Stalled? Do What the Pros Do.

I was reading a golf magazine recently and a particular article caught my attention. It was about what one of the top pros on the PGA tour does when he gets stalled or in a slump. He simply goes back to basics. He goes back to when he first started playing golf to review if one of the 4 basics of golf have changed. He indicated most of the time this fixes the problem.

Your job search may need the exact same thing. If your search is stalled, not attaining the traction you want, or the level of traction you were getting isn’t happening now, going back to the basics may be the ticket.

Like golf, there are basics in a job search that get out of alignment. What once worked, isn’t any longer. We often blame something or someone else. Anyone who plays golf knows this and always blames the equipment for the problem. It is never operator error. If only just getting a new putter or driver would fix the problem. It rarely does, but at least it’s fun to try new equipment.

Rather than blame others it probably makes sense to first look at, “have you changed” or “have you picked up a bad habit along the way without even know it.” Chances are these have a higher probability of being the problem.

So let’s take the search back to basics.

1) Start with you.  After 3 or 4 months in a job search most candidates have gotten so much input and help they no longer know what is right and what is wrong or what they were doing well and what wasn’t working. It all starts to blur together. It may be time to stop getting input from all of these sources.

I recommend limiting your input to a few select people/experts. Preferably to those that have knowledge in the specific area of your search. By now you should have identified the experts you trust, those that have given you honest and often tough advice, those that excel in job search knowledge and/or someone that brings a unique talent to your party. For example, if you need help in selling yourself, find a sales trainer or expert in sales and ask them to help you. Try to develop  a  “Personal Advisory Board.” Some may want to be paid, but most will not.

2) Focus on what isn’t working and what is working. For example, if you are getting interviews but not the offer, chances are your resume and networking is working and your interviewing skills are what needs to be fixed. On the other hand, if you are no longer getting interviews and once were, chances are your marketing plan or networking plan needs to be looked at or redone.

Don’t waste time trying to fix what isn’t broken.

3) Evaluate the fundamentals of your search.

A) Take a look at your preparation. Consider videoing yourself, review what questions to ask in an interview, how do you prepare for an interview, have you identified the right companies and people, are you relying too heavily on the Internet, etc. This list could go on and on.  You need to be objective.

B) Has your resume changed? Has it gone through so many version changes it no longer really reflects your abilities and accomplishments? It could also be the opposite problem, it is too generic and doesn’t really sell you. It is not properly marketing you. Maybe you should talk to a marketing or sales expert for help.

C) Is your marketing and networking plan still effective or has it gotten outdated? Go back and identify more company targets, especially if your geographic requirements have changed. Make a serious evaluation about how you are networking and who you are networking with. Consider some new networking groups to get involved with, reestablish some old connections, and identify new connections that are focused in the area you need.

Stop meeting people for the sake of meeting people and comparing whose business card stack is highest.

D) Conduct and video a mock interview. Take a serious look at yourself on video. How do you come across, what is your body language saying, how do answer the question, do you actually answer the question asked or what you think they asked, do you have eye contact, etc. This can be key to those getting interviews and not offers.

Consider getting back to basics. Take a fresh start on your search to re-energize it.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. The topics, discussions and articles will be a good place to start. Over 3300 people have joined. It is free and should be a major resource during your search. CLICK HERE to join.

Download our FREE Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard as a place to start. It will help you identify your search strengths and weaknesses. CLICK HERE to download your scorecard.

I welcome your thoughts and encourage your feedback and comments if this was helpful.

Brad Remillard

I Can Do Your Job Better Than You and I’m Just A Recruiter

It really doesn’t matter if you have 20+ years of experience in your profession, or that it has taken you 20+ years of learning from your mistakes, or that over that 20+ years you have taken on-going educational classes to perfect your talents.

I can still do your job, if not better, at least as well as you do.

For example, maybe you are a:

• VP Manufacturing. I have built and made a lot of things in my life. I’ve assembled many items from toys to bookshelves. I’ve walked through so many manufacturing plants that they all look the same, so I am qualified to be a VP Manufacturing. How tough can this stuff be?
• CFO. For me this is an easy one. I use QuickBooks for my company and even do a home budget, so I know budgeting. Fear not, should you be an international company foreign exchange is my niche. I’ve exchanged currency in many different countries.  How tough can this stuff be?
• VP Operations. This is so vague anyone can do it. Just go to the office, send out a weekly policy and procedure change or update and never be in your office so everyone thinks you are busy. If something goes wrong, send out another policy and procedure update and of course hit the quota of 100 emails a day and copy everyone in the company so you really appear to be important. How tough is this?
• VP Sales. This really doesn’t count because sales really isn’t a profession. It really doesn’t take any special training. Just meet people, know the product, have the gift of gab, and complain. Anybody who has kids is a professional sales person. I bet if you search Amazon for books that teach how to be a professional sales person nothing will come up. It is too simple and doesn’t require training.

Sound ridiculous? I sure hope so.

So then, what makes you think that you are an expert in the job search arena?  Why do you think that because maybe during your career you hired a few people and interviewed a lot of candidates,  you are an expert in this profession?  Sound ridiculous? I sure hope so.

There is a learning curve like any other profession to effectively conducting a job search.  In 30 years as a recruiter, the number of problems, issues, challenges and mistakes one has to endure to become the best are just the same as anyone endures in their chosen career.

This is not about us or recruiters, it is about helping you find a job as quickly as possible.  I have never understood why candidates think they can enter a search and think they know all the ins-and-outs of an effective job search. The fact is, candidates are no more an expert in conducting an effective job search, than recruiters are at doing your job.

If  I have convinced  you of that, then the next step is what to do. As my partner Barry recently wrote in, “What Are You Doing To Sharpen  Your Job Search Saw?” The fact is there is an enormous wealth of information available to candidates, much of which is free. We offer an extraordinary amount of free resources on our Web site. All candidates have to do is reach out and take it. Why so many don’t mind boggles us.

I know you are thinking, “There is too much to choose from. As candidates, we are inundated with stuff. How do we know what is good and what isn’t?” Valid point, but weak at best. It is no different than when you buy a car, choose a doctor, hire a mechanic, or when working, selecting the right software, hiring a consultant, choosing a recruiter to fill an opening, deciding to select a particular vendor and so on. You do your research, look for qualifications, get referrals, ask questions, and look at the person’s or company’s qualifications.

It is called doing your, “DUE DILIGENCE.”

Candidates can do the same thing in a job search. I recommend:

1. Reading blogs and articles. This will  help  you determine credibility.
2. Select three or four experts and follow them diligently, just like you would in business. There may be many consultants that do the exact same work, but once you select the one you like the most you follow them.
3. Review the background of the person or company you decide to follow. Does this background meet the test of time?  Have they been doing what you need, in the area you need, and at the level you need?
4. Once you start following specific experts, don’t be afraid to invest. Often an investment of under $100 can pay back huge dividends. You invest in experts when you are working to improve your performance or your department’s performance.  If investing a little up front gets you working one month sooner what is that ROI? Just like in business it is all about ROI.
5. Identify where you are weak and get help. Some help will be free and some may cost a little (rarely more than $100). Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself. For example, most candidates don’t know how to properly use their voice and body language to communicate effectively. INVEST in yourself and get some professional help. Our Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard will help you identify where you need help. It is FREE. CLICK HERE.

You are not a professional at conducting a job search. Years ago a person said to me,”Amateur golf instructors make amateur golfers.” Well I say to you, “Amateurs at conducting a job search, spend a lot more months looking than necessary.”

Don’t be afraid to reach out and get  help. Do your due diligence so you choose wisely. There is a lot of free information to help you. Don’t be one that ignores it.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group to start. It is free and the articles and discussions are very helpful. CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Check out all of our FREE RESOURCES as a start.

Download from our home page the FREE Sample Cover Letter and Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. Scroll to the bottom in the “What’s New” Section at www.impacthiringsolutions.com

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Brad Remillard

Resume Tweaking May Be Better Than An Overhaul

I was meeting with a candidate today, we will call him Andy, who recently landed. He had been on the market for about 5 months. He did all the right things, went to the networking meetings, drank more coffee than he should have, reworked his resume over and over, all for nothing. He would get interviews but never make the cut. He had sent out lots of resumes with moderate success.

About 2 month ago I met with Andy and a group of financial professionals, mainly CFOs,  to do a resume review exercise. You might try this exercise.  Everyone brings their current resume and passes them face down to the person next to them. Then at the same time everyone turns the resume over and for 10 seconds reviews them. After 10 seconds all resumes go  face down again. The next step gets to the real purpose for the exercise. The person that read the resume for 10 seconds gives feedback on exactly what they learned about the person’s background, companies, position, location and any other information they took away in that short period of time. Why you ask? That is about how long most people first look at a resume, so the purpose is to find out if the person reading the resume for 10 seconds captures from the resume what the owner of the resume wanted them to. If not, then they need to change the resume.

After the meeting I started working with Andy as part of our Job Search Coaching program. The first thing I noticed was Andy’s resume had him as a CFO. The reality was that compared to other CFOs in the group Andy could not compete. He was really a controller. Andy was trying to play at a level that he wasn’t competitive.  He lost out every time, either when the resume was submitted, or during the interview.

We made a small tweak to his resume by taking off  all references to CFO and changed them to controller. Everything else remained the same. Within two weeks Andy started getting interviews and within 6 weeks he was working. He credits all of the activity and the job to this one tweak of his resume.

Sometimes one small change can make all the difference. Make sure you are playing in the right league. Andy wasn’t, and his resume clearly communicated that. Like most candidates I coach, candidates think only about themselves and not the competition. Andy had clearly done this. He would have been working months earlier had he thought about this.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. It has over 3200 members with lots of articles and discussions. CLICK HERE to join.

Download a free sample cover letter that has proven over and over to get candidates noticed and align their experience with what the company is looking for. Join the hundreds that have download this by  CLICKING  HERE.

Check to see if your job search needs tweaking. Download our free Job Search Self Assessment Scorecard. It will highlight what you are doing well and what you need to tweak. CLICK HERE to get your scorecard.