Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Archives for February 2008

VisualCV – Is this the resume wave of the future?

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It’s all the buzz this week.  A company called VisualCV claims to be reinventing the resume.  It allows video, pictures and a portfolio, graphics and “other supporting documents.”  The point is to make your resume come alive and potentially eliminate the need for a first interview.  (The idea being that you’ll be providing so much information, the employer won’t need to meet you to decide if you are a good fit.)

No one wants to stop progress, but I am having a hard time visualizing these being the “next big thing.”  The main issue is a topic for any video resume.  Many in the hiring industry hate these resumes because of the potential discrimination issues and the fact that it takes longer than 7-10 seconds (the time allowed to quickly review a paper resume) to review something online.

Do employers REALLY want to see an online copy of your transcript (it’s not very official that way)?  You can post examples of your work.  However, what issues are there in posting work product that you’ve done for a particular employer online for another employer to see?  Is it really necessary or useful to post a bar chart of your income?  The site suggests that an applicant could post a video of themselves addressing a gap in their resume.  Will an employer actually sit through that?

Let’s not even touch on the fact that most people who haven’t had professional training don’t come across very professionally on video.  It can be difficult enough to present well in an in-person interview, let along producing a slick looking piece for an online resume.

This seems like a great opportunity for those in very creative industries who would have a portfolio of work to demonstrate or who could benefit from a way to combine video with their resume without having to start from scratch.  However, for the rest of the working world, this brave new resume (with the ironic moniker of a CV – how retro) seems like a lot of lights and mirrors.

It’s almost as if tech people want to press these creative resume opportunities in hopes that the more they offer them, the more likely employers are going to want to see them.

Of course it makes sense for the resume to move to the next level, but it seems to me that it must be done in a way that meets criteria for the end users, not only in a way that allows the job seeker to demonstrate their life story.

Keppie Careers will help you put your best foot forward!  We offer resume writing, mock interviews and career coaching for every candidate.  www.keppiecareers.com

Your Work E-mail Isn’t Private

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Your cat isn’t the only one reading your e-mail.ÂÂ

As everyone scurries around preparing for a recession and focuses on trying to secure a new job, new networking contacts and a stable paycheck for the future, it is a good time for a reminder about privacy issues with your work computer, e-mail use and online time.  In a word – they aren’t private.

Hopefully, this does not come as a surprise to anyone.  NBC’s Today Show reported today that 50% of businesses routinely scan their employees’ e-mail.  Around 19% of companies hire someone whose job it is to review e-mail coming from the office.

In theory, businesses are hoping to protect trade secrets and learn about potential harassment situations by scanning e-mails.  In reality, anything that you send from your work computer becomes fair game for review and potential disciplinary action, including termination.

So, be sure to review your company’s policy regarding work computer use.  Recognize that anything you send or receive on your work’s network is fair game for “big brother” to review.  If you are engaged in an active job search and have been spending a lot of time on job boards or sending resumes and applications, it could bite you when you least expect it.ÂÂ

It is best to do your job seeking activities on your own personal computer using your personal e-mail address.  You don’t want to invite a pink slip that may not have been earmarked for you as a result of your own actions.

Keppie Careers will write your resume and help you with your job search:

www.keppiecareers.com

Job Change – Is it the other inevitable?

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Here we thought that only death and taxes were inevitable.  Looks like “change” is peering her head around that same corner, and I don’t mean the change that the politicians keep bantering about.  I mean the real, honest-to-goodness, things are going to change around here kind of change that happens at work.

Some are suggesting that some of the very tenants of our work world are likely to change as baby boomers retire and our system adjusts.  That may be years down the road, but talk of recession and lots of pink slips make talk about change a definite here and now topic.

How can you prepare for change?  Some thoughts…

 1.  Keep your head out of the sand.  You don’t want to engage in unsavory gossip, but make it your business to know the skinny in your area and the company at large.  Touch in with professionals in competing companies as well so you’ll have a finger on the pulse of your industry.

2. Make yourself vital.  Volunteer for projects.  Don’t complain.  Become an expert in a niche market.  Specialize in something useful and leverage your services when change comes around the bend.

3. Keep your eye on the prize.  What are your goals?  Plans?  Do you hope to move up the ladder in your company?  Move on to another industry?  If you don’t have plans, change will come and hit you in the face.  I don’t have to tell you that most people who are hit in the face aren’t going to be lucky enough to have much say in the directions they go.  Don’ t let that be you. 

Keppie Careers will help you prepare for your next career step.  We offer resume writing, career coaching, and an array of services to help you make the best change possible…www.keppiecareers.com

Boomers Retire – A Brave New Work World?

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Tammy Erickson of Harvard Business Online recently wrote about the changes that may be coming as a result of baby boomers reaching retirement age.  I’ve written about how the workplace may need to become more flexible to avoid the “brain drain” that would occur as more mature and experienced workers leave their companies.  Erickson’s prediction goes beyond suggesting the employers will offer flexible jobs:

Over the next several decades, as more sectors face the looming talent shortage, there will be a rapid increase in the number of people who work in cyclical or project-based arrangements—many with no fixed affiliation to one corporation. It’s even possible that project-based work will become the norm in several decades—with most workers operating as what some have called “intellectual mercenaries” assembled by project, as needed.

Essentially, these “cyclical” workers are what might today be called contractors…They come in to do a job, get the work done and leave.

Imagine if our workforce really adjusted to this type of scenario.  Many workers would be like cogs in an ever spinning wheel.  Benefits could go by the wayside, as only a select group of essential workers would be considered “full time” employees.  Presumably, some permanent jobs may be lost, but many would benefit from the flexible arrangements. 

Erickson suggests that this workplace may be decades in the future.  It’s difficult enough planning for next month’s workplace, let alone for something that may happen 10 years down the road.  However, the suggestions she makes to prepare seem timely and well suited to anyone in today’s workforce who hopes to influence their own career path.

In summary, Erickson suggests:

  • Building and maintaining your professional network.
  • Understand your skills and talents and where they can be put to use.
  • Keep current on research and thinking in your field.
  • Keep licenses and certifications up to date.
  • Maintain a home office as a launching pad for marketing and selling your skills as well as maintaining records of billable hours.
  • Don’t become so immersed in the “here and now” that you forget to take time to consider planning for the next thing.

This last point strikes me as particularly important.  In any changing or volatile work environment, don’t let yourself get so caught up in getting through the week that you forget that another Monday is just around the weekend.  We could all benefit by more involved planning and efforts on our own behalf to ensure that we are really driving our own career bus.

Keppie Careers will help you drive your own career bus.  www.keppiecareers.com

Don't Rely on Job Sites as the Cure-All for Your Search

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The Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal reports that:

Visits to job sites during the first four weeks of 2008 rose about 22% compared to the same period in 2007, according to a new report from Hitwise, a market-research firm.

Beware of being sucked in to a false sense of security when you apply to jobs on these sites.  You may think that if you apply to 100 positions, you are bound to hear something!

Job boards have a role in your job search, but only if you leverage your time and don’t rely on them too much.  I suggest spending no more than 10-15% of your job search efforts seeking and applying to positions on mega-boards.

Why?

Be aware that not every posting on these job boards actually represents a specific position.  For example, some recruiters post seeking a bank of resumes for a position they may (or may not) recruit in the future. 

Of course, every sought after job will receive a tremendous response.  Between sheer volume and job postings that don’t represent actual jobs, it’s no wonder that many people feel as if they are sending their resume into the great black hole when they use these sites.

Another problem with applying for jobs in great numbers is that resumes and applications are not targeted to the employer.  Why would someone want to hire you if you don’t make a case explaining how you are perfect for their job? 

A better use of your time?  NETWORKING!  I’ve written so much about the value of networking and how to do it…See the Networking category at the right for a full update!

Keppie Careers will write your resume, teach you job search strategies and prepare you for your next big career step!