What Color Is Your Parachute? Part 2
First of all, think of how you would like to come across, when you are being considered for a job. Make a list of adjectives you'd like the employer to think of, when they consider hiring you. For example, how about: professional? experienced? inventive? hard working? disciplined? honest? trustworthy? kind? What else? Make a list.
Then Google yourself and read over everything the search engine pulls up about you. Go over any pages you have put up on social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Mys.p.a.ce, Pinterest, or YouTube, and remove anything you posted there, or allowed others to post, that contradicts the impression you would like to make, anything that might cause a would-be employer to think, "Uh, let's not call them in, after all." You have the list, above, of what to look for.
If you don't know how to remove an item from a particular site, type or speak the following into a search engine like Google: "How to remove an item from Facebook" or whatever.
The site itself may not tell you, but using your favorite search engine, you should have no trouble finding somebody's detailed, step-by-step instructions for scrubbing any site.
I guarantee you're hardly the first one with this need, so someone clever has already figured out how to do it, and posted the answer. But you want current instructions, so look at the date on the list of items the search engine pops up. Pick the most recent, and do what they say.
If you want to be thorough, you should do this editing on any and all sites that you find you're on.
Now to the second of the four things you can do about your new Google resume (so to speak):
2. Fill In.
On any of these sites, but on LinkedIn or Plaxo in particular, if they allow you to fill out a profile, fill it out completely. I mean completely; cross every t, and dot every i, have someone check your spelling. Leave no part of the profile blank unless you have a very good reason. If you're on Twitter, fill out your profile completely there, too. For help, see such sites as http://blazingminds.co.uk/write-twitter-bio-gains-followers or https://support.twitter.com/articles/20005336-promoting-your-profile#.
More importantly, be sure to keep each profile up-to-date. Really up-to-date. There is nothing that makes you look less professional than having an obviously outdated profile.
Last thought here: I mentioned LinkedIn; be sure to get on it, if you're not already. More than 200 million other people have, and it became the first social media site to go public. It's the site of first resort when some employer is curious about you. It allows corporate and agency headhunters to avoid advertising an open position, but nonetheless to go "trolling" on LinkedIn for what employers call "pa.s.sive job-seekers." You ain't lookin' for them, but they are lookin' for you. Of course you have no control over whether they find you, except for being sure you have a completely filled-out profile. (They search by keywords.) Now to the third thing you can do about your new Google resume:
3. Expand.
Expand your presence on the Internet. How to do this? Several ways: Forums. Professional sites like LinkedIn have forums, or groups, organized by subject matter. Other social networking sites, like Facebook, have pages devoted to particular subjects. Look through the directory of those groups or forums, choose one or two that are related to your industry or interests, and after signing up, speak up regularly whenever you have something to say that will quietly demonstrate you are an expert in your chosen subject area. Otherwise, keep quiet. Don't speak up about just anything. You want to be seen as a specialist-knowledgeable and focused. You want to get noticed by employers when they're searching for expert talent in your field or specialty.
Blogs. Start a blog (that's short for "web log," which most people now don't remember), if you don't already have one. It doesn't matter what your expertise is; if it's related to the job you are looking for, do a blog, and update it regularly. And if you don't know how to blog, there are helpful sites such as Blogger.com, at http://tinyurl.com/294vgzr, which give you detailed instructions. Incidentally, there are over 181 million blogs on the Internet. Figure out how to make yours stand out.
If you already have a blog, but it roams all over the countryside in terms of subject matter, then start a new blog that is more narrowly preoccupied with your particular area of expertise. Post helpful articles there, focused on action steps, not just thoughts. Let's say you are an expert plumber; you can post entries on your blog that deal with such problems as "how to fix a leaky toilet," etc. Generally speaking, employers are looking for blogs that deal with concrete action, rather than lofty philosophical thought. Unless, of course, they represent a think tank.
Twitter. Some experts claim that blogs are so yesterday. Communication, they say, is moving toward brief, and briefer. Texting has become hugely, hugely, popular. So has Twitter. Twitter now has over 500 million users, who post over 400 million "tweets" a day.2 Twitter's advantage is that it has hashtags,3 and Google is indexing all those tags and "tweets." Savvy employers know how to do Twitter searches on Google (or on Twitter itself, for that matter). All you have to figure out is which hashtags employers are likely to look for, when they want to find someone with your expertise and experience.
Videos. Presentation is moving strongly these days toward the visual. People like to see you, not just read you. Expensive equipment not required. The Flip video camcorder used to be the most popular and inexpensive way to record yourself; but that is ancient history, now. It was displaced, as you might guess, by smartphones, which usually can do video, and sometimes rather surprisingly good video.
As for where to post your video, once you've shot and edited it, the champion of course is YouTube-1 billion users, 4 billion views per day. But there are other choices: see PCGDigitalMarketing's list, found at http://tinyurl.com/8owtlbo.
Now to the fourth and final thing you can do about your new Google resume:
4. Add.
The kind of resume everyone thinks of when they hear the word (the pre-Google resume) still has its uses. It will take any employer or HR department some time to sift through all the stuff about you that may appear when they do a Google search. You would help them by summarizing and organizing the pertinent information about yourself. You do this by-surprise!-composing an old type resume. And you can post it on the Internet (where Google will find it), as well as taking or sending it to an interested employer.
You wanna do this? Of course you do. Here's an outline you may find useful for gathering that information about yourself.
Since a resume is about your past, this gives you a framework for recalling that past.
A Starter Kit for Writing Your Resume4.
Think of your working and personal skills that you believe you possess innately, or have picked up along the way. Which ones are you proud of? What things have you done in your life or work experience that no one else has done, in quite the same way? Take some blank sheets of paper and fill in any answers that occur to you.
It is important to be quant.i.tative when you do this (e.g., mention dates, percentages, dollars, money or time saved, brand names, etc.).
Volunteer, Community, and Unpaid Work 1. Have you completed any voluntary or unpaid work for any organization or company? (e.g., church, synagogue, mosque, school, community service, or special needs organization) Educational 2. Did you work while you were studying? If so, did you receive any promotions or achievements in that role?
3. Did you gain any scholarships?
4. Were you involved in any committees, etc.?
5. Did you win any awards for study?
6. Did you have any high (e.g., A or A+) grades? If so, what were the subjects-and grades?
Sales or Account Management Have you ever been in sales? If so, what were some of your achievements? For example: 7. Have you ever consistently exceeded your set budget in that role? If so, by what percent or dollar value?
8. Have you exceeded your set budget in a particular month(s)/quarter(s) in a role? If so, by what percent or dollar value?
9. What level were you, compared to other sales professionals in your company? (e.g., "Number three out of twenty on the sales team.") 10. Have you ever increased market share for your company? If so, by what percent or dollar value?
11. Have you ever brought in any major clients to your company?
12. What major clients are/were you responsible for managing and selling to?
13. Did you ever manage to generate repeat business or increase current business? If so, by what percent or dollar value?
14. Have you won any internal or external sales awards?
15. Did you develop any new successful promotional or marketing ideas that increased sales?
Administration, Customer Service, and Accounts Have you ever been in customer service or helped run a business unit? If so: 16. Did you a.s.sist in reducing customer complaints, etc.?
17. Did you set up or improve any systems and/or processes?
18. Was there a quantifiable difference in the company or business unit when you first joined the business or project and when you completed the project or left the business?
19. Did you take any old administration or paperwork-based systems and convert them into an IT-based system?
Responsibility 20. Have you ever been responsible for the purchase of any goods or services in some job? (e.g., air travel or PC acquisition) 21. Have you ever had any budget responsibility? If so, to what level? (e.g., "Responsible for division budget of $200,000 per annum.") 22. Have you ever been responsible for any staff oversight? If so, in what capacity and/or how many staff members were you responsible for?
23. Were you responsible for any official or unofficial training? If so, what type, for whom, and how many people have you trained? (e.g., "Responsible for training twelve new staff in customer service as well as in using the in-house computer system.") 24. Were you responsible for any official or unofficial coaching or mentoring of other staff?
Events or Conference Planning or Logistical Management 25. Have you organized any events or conferences? If so, how large were they (both people attending and total budget if possible) and where and when was the event(s) held?
26. Have you been involved in any major relocation projects?
27. Have you had responsibility with regard to any major suppliers? If so, who?
Computers 28. What systems, software, and hardware experience do you have? Desktop, notebook, mobile, smartphones? Mac OS, Android, or Windows? And how deep is your expertise with any of these?
29. What software have you utilized? Or what software have you developed? Mobile apps? Systems software?
30. Have you developed any websites? If so, what were they, and did they positively affect any business you were doing? Are you on LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., and if so how deep an expertise do you have with any of these sites?
31. Were you involved in any special projects that were outside of your job description?
Mechanical 32. Other than computers, have you had experience on any kinds of machines or equipment? Please list them together with the number of years.
33. If you ever worked on transportation devices, what were the airplane, farm equipment, truck, car, machine, or bike brands that you serviced, maintained, or repaired?
Building, Construction, Electrical, and Plumbing 34. If you ever worked in those fields, were there any major projects you worked on? How much did the project(s) cost? (e.g., "Reception refurbishment-ABC Bank [Auckland Central Head Office] $1.2m.") General 35. How long have you spent within any industry? (e.g., "Twelve years' experience within the fashion industry.") 36. Were you promoted in any of your roles? If so, in what years and to which roles?
37. Was extra authority awarded to you after a period of time within a role? (e.g., "Commenced as receptionist; then, after three months, awarded by being given further clerical responsibilities including data entry and accounts payable.") It is not necessary that these responsibilities awarded to you should have changed your job t.i.tle and/or salary.
38. Have you been asked to take part in, or lead, any trainee management courses or management development programs?
39. Were you asked to get involved in any special projects outside your job description? Or, did you ever volunteer for such? What was the result?
Positive Feedback 40. Have you ever received any written or verbal client, customer, or managerial commendations or letters of praise?
41. Can you think of any occasions where you gave excellent customer service? If so, how did you know the customer was satisfied? (Also: What was the outcome? How did it benefit the company?) 42. Did you receive any awards within your company or industry? (e.g., "Acknowledged for support or service of clients or staff, etc.") Memberships 43. Have you been a representative on any committees (e.g., health and safety committee)? Any special responsibilities there?
44. Do you belong or have you belonged to any professional clubs such as Toastmasters, Lions, or Rotary?
Published or Presented Work 45. Have you had any articles, papers, or features published in any magazines, journals, or books? If so, what publications and when? Have you written any books?
46. Have you presented any topics at any conferences or completed any public speaking? If so, what subjects have you talked about and how large was the audience? List in detail.
Looking Ahead 47. What value do you think you would add to a potential employer's business? How would you be "a resource" or even "a resource-broker" for them, rather than just "a job beggar"? What kind of problems are you good at solving?
48. How do you think you would stand out compared to other applicants who have about the same qualifications as you have?
That should give you a good start. Modify the list any way you want to-add items and questions to it, change the wording, whatever.
If you need additional guidance, search Google for the topic "keywords on an electronic resume" or "examples of resumes." Or "how to write a resume," or "tips on writing a resume." This will not only turn up free resources and advice on the Internet and for-fee resources, such as professional resume writers, but also the names of books, if you want to get very thorough.5 As for what is the proper form for a resume, there are no rules. The only question is: is there a particular place or kind of place where you'd like to work, and if so, will the person there who has the power to hire you for the kind of job you want, be persuaded by your resume to invite you in? If the answer is, Yes, then it matters not what form your resume takes.
To ill.u.s.trate my point, I used to have a hobby of collecting "winning" resumes-that is, resumes that had actually gotten someone an interview and, ultimately, a job. Being playful by nature, I would show these without comment, to employer friends of mine, over lunch. Many of them didn't like these winning resumes at all. "That resume will never get anyone a job," they would say. Then I would reply, "Sorry, you're wrong. It already has. I think what you mean is that it wouldn't get them a job with you."
The resume reproduced below is a good example of what I mean; it's dated, but it's still my favorite.
To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14002 Like the employer who hired him, I loved this resume. Yet some of the employers I showed it to (over lunch, as I said) criticized it for using a picture or for being too long, or for being too short, etc. In other words, had Jim sent that resume to them, they wouldn't have invited him in for an interview.
The brutal truth is, no matter how skillfully you write and post your resume, some employers will like it, some won't. Trouble is, if you're interested in some employer, you don't know which category they fit into. That's why many job-hunters, if they use resumes, pray as they post their resume: Please, dear G.o.d, let them be employers who like resumes in general, and may the form of my resume appeal to those employers I care about, in particular.
Whatever form you decide on, write the resume and then post it everywhere you can, online: on the omnibus job boards, famous job boards, community bulletin boards, and niche sites. For lists of such sites, go to Quintessential Careers' great website, which you can find at http://tinyurl.com/3nnqhse.
Incidentally, if this all seems like just too much trouble, there are resume distribution services that will do this blanket posting for you, if you wish, sometimes without a fee, but most often for fees ranging from fifty to one hundred bucks (see www.forwardyourresume.com for very useful evaluations of the top ten such services). Whether it will pay you or not to use one of these services is, in my opinion, largely a matter of luck. Blind, dumb, luck. Personally, I'd always try to do this myself before giving money to anyone else.
If you decide to do this for yourself, my advice is: post it right on the actual website of companies that interest you, if they have a site, and if their site permits that. This, of course, a.s.sumes you have figured out where you would most like to work, if they'll have you (more on this later in the book). In this post-2008 period, I recommend you pay particular attention to small employers (25 or fewer employees, 50 or fewer, 100 or fewer), and newer organizations (7 years old or less).
If you post your resume on the sites of particular employers, large or small, don't count on any acknowledgment or reply. Just post the thing, cross your fingers, and pray it arrives at the right time, at the right place, into the hands of the right person: the one who actually has the power to hire you.
Alternatives to the Cla.s.sic Resume.
A cover letter was, for decades, something you sent along with your resume. Now, many employers prefer a cover letter instead of your resume. That brief cover letter can summarize all that a longer resume might have covered. I get this kind of report all the time, from successful job-hunters: "Cover letter. Make it personal and specific to THAT job. I was directly told in two interviews that my unique cover letter got me in the door. I researched the companies.... "
If you don't know what a cover letter is, or how to write it, the Internet can rescue you handily. Just type "cover letters" into your favorite search engine. You'll be surprised at how many tips, examples, etc., you find. Look especially for Susan Ireland's Cover Letter Guide at http://susanireland.com/letter/how-to. It's good, and it's free.
Incidentally, recent surveys have revealed that many employers prefer a cover letter to a resume.
Another alternative to a cla.s.sic resume is a Job or Career Portfolio. A portfolio may be electronic (posted on the Internet) or on paper/in a notebook/in a large display case (as with artists), demonstrating your accomplishments, experience, training, commendations, or awards, from the past. Artists have a portfolio, with samples of their work. You probably knew that. But portfolios are equally apt in other fields.
Instead of "portfolio" we might just call them, "Evidence of What I Can Do and Have Done," or "Proof of Performance." For guidance on how to prepare a job portfolio, and what to include, simply type "job or career portfolio" into Google; you'll get a wealth of tips and information.