Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How Important is Your Resume?

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Every once in a while, career experts get ourselves all wrapped up in the raging controversy: How important is your resume? The question – is it key to your search, or, with linkedin and other online tools, is it as outdated as a rotary phone?

In the past, marketing guru Seth Godin’s post suggesting that if you are exceptional, you don’t need a resume, got everyone buzzing, and there is new buzz on the Career Hub site, with my colleague Deb Dib’s post on the subject.

I recently quoted executive recruiter Thad Greer, author of The Executive Rules, as saying that the resume is“probably the most important professional document you’ll have in your entire life.”

So, which is it? How important are resumes for job seekers?

If all job seekers fully engaged in the type of networking that enhances their ability to use the “pull, not push” job search methodology, it is true that the resume would become less important as a first-line contact point.

I advise my clients to participate in Web 2.0 strategies to “pull” interest from potential employers. LinkedIn has become the absolute “must have” online presence and Twitter is a terrific way to share information, network and yes, promote your “brand.” Facebook, when managed well, has a lot to offer as a third-line strategy.

For strong writers, I suggest (1) authoring a blog and/or (2) leaving smart comments on blogs related to your industry. These are terrific ways to showcase your knowledge and expertise.

Then, of course, there are all of the in-person networking strategies professionals should use to enhance their profiles in their fields.

So, if you are good enough at using these strategies (or, as Seth Godin has said – if you are exceptional), you may be invited to apply for or interview for a job before you’ve provided a resume. However, as noted above, most organizations will request a resume at some point in the process. The likelihood is that it will be at the same time they ask for you to apply. (As in – “We are very interested in learning more about how you can contribute to our organization. Please forward your resume to….”) As noted above, recruiters clearly need to see a resume.

Does all of this mean that the resume is less important? Ultimately, I don’t think so. While it may not always serve as the employer’s first impression, it is still key to support the positive view a job seeker needs to promote. The fact is, most people will still rely quite a bit on the resume if they want to get the call for an interview.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Need a great resume? Career search advice? Mock interview? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by zen

The Executive Rules – Tips to Find A Job Today!

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“A position becomes available within an organization when someone finally says, ‘I need help now!’ Whether or not you get the job depends on how well you convince that person that you can come in and make a positive impact.” – Thad Greer, The Executive Rules

Thad Greer is a nationwide executive recruiter and his book, The Executive Rules, offers job seekers real-world, practical advice and strategies to increase the odds of finding the right job.

I was particularly interested in the fact that The Executive Rules focuses quite a bit on what Thad calls the “Evaluation” aspect of the job hunt. The book offers a number of great resources to help the job seeker self-evaluate, including personality assessments and skills assessments. He reminds job seekers that basic needs, such as “environmental preferences” (commute, work schedule, office environment, etc.) are not small factors in a job search.

With so many job seekers anxious for a job – ANY job, Thad reminds readers that the most important thing for job seekers is to know what they offer and how to market themselves.

Long-time readers know that I love when other career experts offer advice that agrees with my own. I was delighted to read that Thad refers to the resume as “probably the most important professional document you’ll have in your entire life.” He goes on to say that you should not write your own resume and advises that “a comprehensive, keyword-rich, professionally written resume is mandatory if you want to compete in today’s job market.”

Much of Thad’s advice echos what you may have read here on my blog.  For example, he suggests starting a blog and leveraging your social network (with care). In addition, he offers plenty of great tips to help job hunters take advantage of job boards (with some fascinating advice regarding how to evaluate if an online posting is worth applying for), how to follow-up with a potential employer and why some interviews are over before they even start.

Thad advises job seekers to “Reach out to a person, not a company.” He describes how easy it is to make a positive impression on the phone, even in a cold call to a potential employer, and offers terrific tips about  following up and avoiding getting trapped in the HR maze.

Thad’s perspective as a recruiter who knows what employers expect, like and dislike is valuable for job seekers who don’t want to look like deer caught in the headlights when asked something along the lines of, “Were you to accept this position, is this a role you feel you would enjoy doing every day for the next five years?” (Hint: an enthusiastic reply in the affirmative is considered a good answer!)

Thad’s practical tips and expert advice are great additions to any job seeker’s arsenal! I highly recommend you give it a read! The Executive Rules is available at Amazon.com. Look for it at your favorite bookseller soon!

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Need a great resume? Career search advice? Mock interview? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

Stressed At Work? Look for These Intangibles for a Better Work Life

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Work presses your stress button? You are not alone. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or an MD) to figure out that work stress can cause health problems and a generally miserable life.

It turns out that employees need some very basic things to help them feel valued and committed to an organization, thus reducing stress and work angst. You may be surprised to find out that none of these basic core needs have anything to do with salaries or free massages at work! Click to read the rest at my blog on GreatPlaceJobs.com to learn more about basic stressers and the environments that may help you avoid them!

When Should You Tell Your Employer You are Looking for a Job?

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You have one foot out the door. When is a good time to tell your current boss that you’d rather not work for him or her anymore (for whatever reason), and that you are looking for a new job?

The short answer – when you give your notice!

While there are certainly specific circumstances when discussing your plans to leave might be prudent (for example, if you work for a family member and want to be sure they don’t disown you), typically, it isn’t a good idea to let everyone know that you have one foot (literally or figuratively) out the door.

Why, you ask?  If everyone knows that you’d rather be somewhere else, you are less likely to be assigned interesting work. You probably won’t take on additional leadership roles and may very well be stuck right where you are (career wise) until you manage to find another job. The fact is, that could very well take a long time.

Being candid about wanting another position may seem like the right thing, but the fact is, unless you are at the point of needing your current boss to provide a reference for another opportunity (which usually means that you almost have the new job), talking about your plans to leave goes under the category of TMI – too much information.

Now, giving appropriate notice to your employer is a different story. Most workers can appropriately offer two weeks notice. Some, in more responsible positions, may be required by their contract to provide a longer period of time, and in some industries, workers don’t give any notice because they are not  welcome at work once they announce their intention to leave. (This is typical on Wall Street, for example, where employees are led out of the building by security once they announce their plans to leave.)

So, do the right thing. When you’re at work, give it your all. Do your job, and do what you can to continue to build your resume and list of accomplishments while you are still working at your current job. You’ll thank me later!

Ready to leave your job? Subscribe for free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt! Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Need help to jump start your search? We can help you with a successful job hunt. Need a great resume? Career search advice? Mock interivew? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by aripeskoe2

Social Networking Bridges the Generational Gap and Propels Your Career Forward

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So, I’ve written that participating in social networking can help you look younger without the aid of botox or hair dye! Since I’ve been writing about Twitter this week, and how you can use it to help you network and find a job, I thought I would end the week with some stories of people just like you who believe that using social networking tools are useful to propel them along the right career path.

Veronica Gliatti, a 40-something, experienced public relations and marketing expert, believes that her blog, which she created to help her look for not just a job, but the right career position for her, has helped drive interest in her for job opportunities.  She notes that the blog also “Helped instill more confidence in [her] own abilities” and that she knows several recent leads were directly related to writing a good effective blog with a powerful message.

Melissa Balmer, of Creative Conscious Connecting, 44, emphatically believes that being on line with her website, blog, Facebook profile, yelp profile, etc., helps keep her seeming younger, hipper and more connected in the eyes of her current and future clients.

Melissa notes, “Now that I have quite a dynamic web presence, including an updated photo, blogs in more than one place, presence on myspace, Facebook, linkedin and more, I’m finding that the ageism I grew to fear doesn’t exist for me. People are looking for great, responsible, tuned in people who can connect cross- generationally, and the internet is truly the way to go for this – it’s not someone’s age that matters so much as how ready they are to understand what makes things happen now.”

John Williams, Partner in B2B CFO® believes that having a presence on linkedin and other networking sites gave him more visibility than just being on The Ladders, Exec-U-Net and similar job sites. He also suggested that having a Blackberry “created an impression of being connected” and gave him an edge during his search. He notes, “Utilizing the web was very useful [during his search] and much more efficient than networking at the C level.” He suggests that “Job seekers will miss a major outlet if they are not on the web in this fashion.”

Perhaps one of the more persuasive arguments for using social networking to make yourself seem younger in the job hunt (especially for older workers) comes from Gary Stewart, an executive recruiter in the pharmaceutical industry. He says, “The problem that I have experienced as a recruiter is that there is a definite gap between those who are familiar with [social] networking” and the people he seeks – those who have a minimum of 10-20 years of experience.  He notes, “Most people with this much experience are not aware, or do not know how to take advantage of this sort of medium.” Gary acknowledges that anyone with that experience who participates in online networking would have an advantage in his book.”

If you’re convinced that learning about social networking can help with your job hunt, I can help you! It’s not rocket science, but if you’d like a helping hand to guide your entree to the online market, Keppie Careers is here for you. Email me at [email protected].

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

picture by skampy