Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How to avoid mistakes on your resume

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Today’s post is one of many from members of the Career Collective community I co-coordinate with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter. I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, which will be linked at the end of my post tomorrow. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

This month’s question (in a nod to Halloween this weekend): How to avoid scary career/resume mistakes? How should job seekers ensure their resume/career “costume” fits / attracts the right target audience?

Both questions are so important! I’ve been working on several webinars, and have been thinking a lot about targeted search and how to be sure your materials are perfectly suited to your goals. (This is more important than you might realize for a successful search.) But, since that is the topic of my presentation for the Career Summit, I’m going to hold off on those tips. You can still register for the Summit (and listen to anything you missed via the archives). I present on November 17th.  Learn more in THIS post about how the Career Summit is for you if you are looking for a job).

How to avoid scary resume mistakes?

Have you ever written an important document and sent it off, only to find that you included a silly error? Like, “I’m looking forward too meeting you” or “Its nice the the market is recovering.” (Can you find the errors in those sentences?) Your resume is as important a document as any, and the list of potential errors long.

I recently spoke with several hiring managers when I attended the Society for Human Resource Management-Atlanta’s conference, and each said that an error on a resume indicates a careless prospective employee. It may seem harsh, but when there are so many applicants for each job, weeding out candidates whose resumes don’t seem detail oriented is one way to screen them.

Are you relying on your spell check to catch your errors? You may want to think twice!

How often are words misspelled only to inadvertently form other words? You don’t want to advertise that you were distinguished as the “best manger of the year.”

I headed up the career center at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. You can only imagine how many of my students were touting their credentials as something slightly indecent! (Think public without the all important L!)

A tip to consider: create an exclusion dictionary in yourMicrosoft Office program. This personalized dictionary will flag a word as misspelled (such as manger), even though the main dictionary knows it as a proper word.

Thanks to Lindsay Olson, who blogs about recruiting and PR, for sharing this fun video that she saw on Rowan Manahan’s blog, Fortify Your Oasis. The video offers an exaggerated example of why you can’t assume that your spell check is a good editor!

Be sure to read through your resume, and have a trusted friend review it as well. (Or a professional!) You never know when “public” may become indecent.  The list goes on and on: their/there, and/an, faculty/facility, board/bored.

In the meantime, take a look at this video for a good laugh!

Be sure to visit my colleagues’ posts on the subject:

Where Are the Wild Things, Anyway?, @WorkWithIllness

Is Your Job Search Making You Feel Like a Smashed Pumpkin?, @DebraWheatman

Hiding in Plain Sight, @WalterAkana,

Don’t make these frightful resume mistakes, @LaurieBerenson

How Not to Be a Spooky Job Seeker, @heathermundell

A Tombstone Resume:Eulogizing Your Experience, @GayleHoward

The Top Ten Scary Things Job Seekers Do, @barbarasafani

Oh, Job Search Isn’t Like Trick or Treating?, @careersherpa

A Most Unfortunate Resume Mistake No One Will Tell You, @chandlee

Oh no. Not the phone!, @DawnBugni

Halloween Caution: Job Seeker Horror, @resumeservice

Boo! Are you scaring away opportunities or the competition? @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes

Your Career Brand: A Scary Trick or an Appealing Treat?, @KCCareerCoach

How to avoid mistakes on your resume, @Keppie_Careers

Sc-sc-scary Resume Mistakes, @erinkennedycprw

A Flawed Resume is a Scary Prospect, @KatCareerGal

Job Search Angst: Like Clouds Mounting Before a Storm, @ValueIntoWords

Does Your Career Costume Fit You?, @expatcoachmegan

Photo by PumpkinWayne

Tips to help transform your resume

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Since transforming resumes is a big part of my business, maybe it is a bit ironic that I don’t write many posts about resume writing. However, I had an opportunity at the Career Management Alliance conference last week in NOLA to hear a highly respected professional – Don Orlando, speak about “Powerful New Ways to Showcase Clients’ Value.” He focused a lot on how to improve resumes and what types of things to include. I was nodding the whole time! Much of what he shared is exactly the type of advice I give my clients and the strategies he suggested are very similar to the ones I use when I write resumes, so it seemed a perfect opportunity to actually blog about the resume itself!

First, Don reminded listeners that the resume is about the future, not the past! How often have I told my clients that very thing? It is very important to remember that demonstrating how you can be useful in the future – how you can solve the employer’s problems – will make the difference in helping you land a job. Don’t write a resume full of jargon from your past positions if that is not the same jargon your targeted employer understands or speaks. That is akin to ordering in French at a Chinese restaurant; you are unlikely to get the food you crave.

Don reminded us how important it is to illustrate how you solved problems and achieved results on the resume. He also noted that focusing on relative results – in context – is key. That is, if you improved sales by 15% in a downturn, when averages were in the negative numbers – say so! If you overcame obstacles to achieve a desired result – the reader wants to know! Focus on transferable skills without stifling yourself as a result of misdirected modesty. Don notes, the story is about the job seeker, not about the company.

Remember, having a great resume is one way to help you prepare to successfully network, interview and negotiate an offer, as Don remarked while I nodded…Yes! Having a great resume helps you bridge to your next job. I always say, “Show, don’t tell.” An action-packed, fully optimized resume is key.

I’ve written about how to evaluate your resume – how to look at your resume and decide if it is answering the key questions. Are you doing more than listing a bunch of “stuff” on your resume? In a competitive market, you must ensure that your materials are optimized to help get you to the next step. Take a good, long look at your materials. Are they a bridge or a roadblock to your targeted opportunity?

photo by Sandy Austin

How to evaluate your resume

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Recently, I have been working on a corporate job. One of the things I have been doing is writing annotations of resumes. I review the documents and then write up some notes explaining how each one addresses the key issues that are necessary to connect with a hiring manager. I assess the points the author is making and indicate how the body of the document supports those main points.

It occurred to me that it is a GREAT idea for job seekers to use this analytical process to evaluate their own resumes. Think about it…

Identify your main points. (The goal is for these to resonate with the hiring manager.) For example, a manager may have the following points to include in the Highlights of Qualifications section:

  • Mentoring/supervisory skills,
  • Diplomacy/communication
  • Leadership and
  • Specific subject matter expertise.

Once you identify the important skills – review the resume and identify which of the bullets PROVE each of your main points. When someone else reads the resume, will that person see proof of the intended skills? Does the resume include accomplishments related to each of the points? It is not unusual to see a resume that states something but fails to prove it in the body of the resume. Any point that you are not supporting with evidence in your resume is a lost opportunity to drive home your point to the hiring manager.

So, take a stab at your own resume…How are you supporting your points? (Or not?) Fill in the details – include skills and accomplishments to really give a full picture. I always say to my clients: You don’t send a prospective employer a “dot-to-dot” and expect him or her to fill in the blanks. Send a fully fleshed out portrait that leaves no doubt that you have what it takes to solve the employer’s problems.

photo from Beth Hampton

What Duct Tape Marketing has to do with your job hunt

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Last night, I had a chance to hear John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing and (soon to be released) The Referral Engine. I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet John, as his highly acclaimed book has long been on my “to read” list. (It also seems to be on the “recommended” list of many of my colleagues’ blogs.) John has a great blog as well, dedicated to helping small businesses find “simple, effective and affordable” marketing solutions.

I also have to give a shout out here to the Atlanta Business Marketing Association and Kris Elliot (@regusatlanta) from Regus AtlantaOffice Solutions for hosting a terrific event in their beautiful office space! (Win one year of fully furnished office space at one of their 23 Atlanta locations enter HERE!)

I had a feeling that I’d get some great ideas to share with you from John, and I was not disappointed! The fact is (can’t say this enough): Job search is nothing more than marketing YOURSELF. And John’s definition of marketing absolutely hits the spot:

“Getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you.” What a great way to define the point of the job search!

All too often, job seekers fail to connect and land because they don’t focus on what the organization or employer wants. Big mistake. Find this information by studying the job description, thoroughly reviewing the organization’s website and social networking sites and making good use of information from people you have met via informational interviews.

What are their problems? (Their “pain points.”) You need to understand those problems before you can try to solve them. (Follow THIS LINK for a story that helps explain why!)

Job search is not about you. Your resume is not even all about you – it is an opportunity to make connections between what you offer and what the organization desires. If you ignore those all important NEEDS, it is unlikely that you will connect with an employer in this very competitive market.

Take a good look at your resume. Are you taking into consideration who will be reading it and what appeals to him or her? Do you make an effort to connect your skills and accomplishments in a context that resonates with your audience? What can you do to incorporate information with the “hooks” to appeal to the jobs you are hoping to “catch?”

Stay tuned for more that John shared that really resonated for me and related to job search!

How to apply for jobs that are a reach

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Key advice for job seekers – apply for jobs you are clearly qualified to do! However, it’s also clear that there will be times when you need to apply for jobs that may be a bit of a reach. I don’t think that this is contradictory advice. The important thing is to demonstrate that you are qualified to do what it is you want to do. Don’t assume that anyone reading your resume is going to give you “credit” for anything that you don’t clearly show that you can do.

Here are some things to think about…

Job ads are “best case scenarios,” sometimes considered “pie in the sky” descriptions.

In the old days, employers who advertised paid by the word or square inch for a newspaper or magazine ad. Today, with online ads, the sky is the limit. Linking and unlimited space offer employers the opportunity to list EVERY possible skill desired. Do they really expect to find someone who meets every qualification? Probably not.

Focus on accelerating your career.

Most employers hope to fill jobs with people who have already done exactly what they need someone to do! No learning curve means less training and less trouble for the new employer. However, if you only apply for jobs that list skills you’ve already accomplished ad naseum, how will you advance your career?

Think about the touch points between what you have to offer and what the employer wants. Highlight those points and connect the dots.

Make a point to understand your skills and qualifications. Know your limitations and where you have potential to successfully stretch.

A little self-assessment can go a long way. You must know yourself to sell your skills. If you apply for a position that is a stretch, be prepared to sell yourself and defend your ability to get the job done. Know what transferable skills you possess that will make you successful. You can apply for “reach” jobs until you are blue in the face, but if you don’t know how to convince the employer that you CAN do the job, even if you haven’t ALREADY done it, you’re going to be looking for a long time. I cannot overemphasize the importance of your transferable skills.

Here are some additional thoughts from Kathy Hansen at Quint Careers:

1. Consider playing up school and other unpaid experience.

2. Don’t apply for jobs for which you’re grossly underqualified, but do remember that job postings and employment ads are often employer wish lists.

3. Indicate your flexibility and willingness to learn or gain additional training.

4. Find out more about the employer’s needs.

5. Consider a career portfolio with work samples.

6. Consider volunteering to work on a unpaid trial basis.

photo by Joe Thorn