Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Does your resume need to grow up?

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I see a lot of resumes. Some, quite honestly, need to grow up! If you are writing your resume in the style you learned in college, but college was…5, 10, maybe even 15 (!) years ago – it’s time for an update!

Certainly, styles have changed. Content has changed. (The previously required “Objective” is no longer even suggested, for example.) Suffice to say that a lot has changed! Do you really want to be sending the equivalent of “your father’s resume” when you apply for a job at that hip start-up? Or, even to the newly redesigned and rebranded business down the street? Probably not!

So many people forget that the resume style they used right out of school isn’t going to be the right choice now that they have actual “work experience.”

I hear from many job seekers who have many years of experience, but are still spending a lot of time listing awards won in college that have no significance for today’s reader. Many job seekers fail to move their “Education” section to the bottom of their resume once they have a position and enough experience under their belt (and no specific reason to keep Education on top).  A few still list their high school diploma, even when they have a bachelor’s degree.

There is no fail safe ”one size fits all” advice for resume writers, but most job seekers will want to make these changes and more to their job seeking documents before applying for their targeted jobs.  Otherwise, they will appear less experienced than they may be and jeopardize their chances for an interview.

Take a look at the “before” and “transformed” resumes on my site. Which one does your resume most resemble?

Need help with your job search? Contact me!

Do you know what your “invisible resume” says?

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foggy3072712788_0f57d48dbaI bet you’ve thought a lot about your resume (hopefully), and you may have even spent some brain power evaluating your “digital footprint,” but have you ever considered your “invisible resume?” I recently read a terrific piece by Dr. Vicky Gordon, CEO of the Gordon Group, a Chicago-based leadership and organizational development consulting firm, for the Harvard Business Review that explains the concept and offers job seekers a lot to think about! (Hat tip to my friend @jonathanduarte for tweeting about the article!)

Your invisible resume, in essence, is your reputation! Just as your digital footprint impacts how people will think about you, your reputation, as the old saying goes, absolutely precedes you. When is the last time you stopped to think about what your supervisors and employees think (and say) about you? You don’t want your “invisible resume” to be, as Gordon notes in her post, “visible to everyone but you.” If you are a little foggy on the subject, Some examples from the Harvard Business Review piece:

The vice president of sales for a major technology company delivered the numbers quarter after quarter. Relentlessly pushing for higher sales, he thought of himself as passionate about the business. During a 360º feedback exercise, he discovered that his colleagues saw him as “unreasonably demanding” and “a slave driver.”

Another example:

The co-founder of a highly successful online company had difficulty delegating responsibility. He would assure people that he would get to the work that went into his office, but somehow he never did. As a result, his colleagues regarded him as untrustworthy, and people began to question his integrity.

Gordon makes several suggestions to help you increase your awareness of your “invisible resume” (bold points are her’s, commentary is my own):

Find out what’s on your invisible resume. The only way to do this is to actively make a point to consider what other people are thinking about you. Ask them!

Ask your manager for substantive feedback beyond perfunctory annual performance reviews. Do you know how you stand in the pecking order of your organization? Would you be surprised to be passed over for a promotion? Not all managers are skilled at offering useful feedback. It’s your responsibility to manage your own career. In this case, ignorance is no excuse. Make it your business to find out what you need to know. Gordon suggests “going directly to HR or…asking your manager.”

Begin to rewrite the story. If you find out that your invisible resume doesn’t read the way you would like, it’s in your hands to make a change. Changing how people perceive you is not easy, but with direct communication and some honest reflection and work, it is not impossible. You may even want to consider enlisting the help of a coach to address your needs and create a plan for change. The fact is, you will need to change how you act in order to adjust how people perceive you. It is not easy, but you can’t do anything unless your recognize the problem and move for change.

Establish channels for ongoing feedback. Gordon recommends “regular 360 degree feedback…augmented with more frequent feedback from a trusted peer.” She reminds readers that it is a good idea to identify a trusted mentor who can offer honest and useful feedback.

Periodic self-assessment. It’s easy to be “too busy” to purposefully manage your own career. I advise my clients to “drive their own career bus” with regard to the job search, and the same advice applies to anyone who hopes to go places professionally. Stop and identify areas for improvement before it’s too late!

Need some help with a job hunt? I can help!

photo by aidanmorgan

 

Structure your time to land a job sooner

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clocks.60496147_3330a11d13_mHave you been thinking about how you are using your time? My friend Jessica recently wrote about the topic of how she spends her job seeking time. She breaks it down pretty well – and notes that it keeps her pretty busy, eight hours a day!

When is the last time you really sat down to review how you were spending your hours? I think about this all the time as a business owner. What is the best use of my time? How can I help the most people? What are the best ways to approach new clients? What are efficient uses of my hours? How can I automate or outsource administrative tasks? What can I do to achieve my personal and business goals more quickly? Are there things that I need to say “no” to in order to stay on track and/or maintain my sanity?

I think many people struggle with these issues, but they are magnified for job seekers, who often allow themselves to be adrift in a sea of “job hunting” that doesn’t have much structure.

I have a client who lets me know that she is doing “a lot of networking” and applying for jobs, but is really frustrated because she has not landed something yet. She believes that she is doing everything she can. However, when I ask about what she is doing (specifically) or re-suggest a particular site or something to consider, she typically has NOT followed up on that suggestion.

So, some advice!

I’d suggest you make a list of all the things you are doing – people you are informational interviewing, companies you have researched, jobs you have applied for and other job seeking activities you have been doing so you can best evaluate the course of your job search. I know you feel that you have been doing a lot, but if you outline things, it may help identify deficiencies if there are any.

Take a good, long look at your list. What can you do MORE of? What can you do better? Maybe it “feels” like you are really busy and you have a sense you are doing a lot, but in reality, you can’t break it down in writing. Make yourself accountable. It makes a difference.

Need some help moving ahead with your search? Learn how I can help!

photo by Leo Reynolds

The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use

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workinggirlfor-about-the-book-copy1It’s not often I review a book whose author self-proclaims NOT to be an expert! (In this case, not an expert “in the field of work. Or in any other field.”) If you are a believer in the value of experience, however, I think you will agree that Karen Burns, author of  The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl has a lot of great insights and useful information to share with readers seeking a job, a career or just a nice way to spend an afternoon reading an empowering story about work! (Don’t miss her blog – an equally good read!)

Karen’s claim to fame is that she held 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities and 4 countries. (Mind you, she started when she was 9.)  All that job hopping and experiences led to a lot of terrific life lessons. One of my favorites was the chapter on “Advanced Job Hunting.” Here, Working Girl notes:

The best way to get a job you will LOVE is to figure out:

  • What you want to do,
  • Where you want to do it,
  • and WHO you want to do it for,
  • and then go apply at places that supply all that, whether or not they “have an opening (p. 96).”

Another reason I liked this book? It gives advice that mirrors what I tell my clients! For example, job seekers should:

  • Be prepared. (To talk about what you have to offer.)
  • Be cool. Job hunt from a position of strength.
  • Be irresistible.  Build a website. Write a blog. Comment on other blogs.
  • Be in the loop. Ask for help.
  • Be thorough. Find as much as you can about potential employers.
  • Be persistent.
  • Be real. (Not arrogant.)
  • Be patient.

(Read more on pages 97-99.)

This book encourages readers to take their own paths (even suggesting reading the book itself in random order) and reminds job seekers and careerists that, while there are certain factors that may be out of their control, the journey along the way can be exciting and even fun! I’d recommend this terrific guide to anyone who needs some practical, down-to-earth advice about job seeking, job hopping and finding your career bliss!

Here is Karen’s video about her book:


You know what you want to do, but need help getting there? Learn how I can help you find a job!

New Media Atlanta – lessons for job seekers mimic those for business owners

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chriseditedDSC00965-800x572It’s always fun to get together with all of my social media friends! Atlanta has a great community of tweeters, bloggers and social media enthusiasts.

Yesterday, I attended the New Media Atlanta, a conference organized by Matt Fagioli and Brad Nix. (In the picture, I pose (from far left) with my friends Stephanie A. Lloyd and Stephanie Frost with key note speaker and social media guru, Chris Brogan.)

Listening to the speakers and panelists, one message came across very clearly to me:

Advice to entrepreneurs and business owners for using social media to improve their prospects parallels the advice I offer job seeking clients.

Below is a recap of my tweets from the conference. (In reverse chronological order.) See if you don’t agree that job seekers can learn a lot from information aimed at business owners!

For non Twitter users, #nmatl is a “hashtag” used for the conference to make it easier for people to follow the conversation on Twitter. If you search that tag on Twitter, you will find the entire stream of tweets about the conference.

MY TWITTER RECAP

. @chrisbrogan talking about “share vs. hoard.” Good for #jobseekers to think about-SHARE. You may be surprised at results

Don’t collect business cards like Pokemon via @chrisbrogan at #nmatl. DO: LISTEN-ASK-RECIPROCATE-COMMENT-COMMENT BACK

Business opportunities come to people who connect ppl to other ppl – via @chrisbrogan #nmatl

.@chrisbrogan reminds us that #jobseekers shouldn’t start looking for a job after they’ve been fired. Manage UR relationships along the way

“Your competitor is doing it.” @chrisbrogan on social media for businesses. SAME for #jobseekers. Find your niche & what you offer. #nmatl

. @chrisbrogan says “Reciprocity is a powerful thing” – YES. #Jobseekers – listen up! #nmatl

Integrate social media with all of your marketing efforts-advice for businesses from #nmatl. Also ++ for #jobseekers. Don’t rely on 1 thing.

Branding advice works for #jobseekers-Simple story, be articulate and intelligent! Take the time to KNOW YOUR STORY! #nmatl

#nmatl – Branding – Find a simple story in product and present it in articulate & intelligent, persuassive way – Bill Bernbach via @tobydiva

Brent Leary says “Listening to customers yields more than asking.” Same idea for #jobseekers-use your ears and mind to connect. #nmatl

Jeff Turner shares useful tool to monitor # convos: http://tweetgrid.com/irc #nmatl

Jeff Turner: “important to take risks.” Lesson for job seekers: Take a chance! Connect w/someone new. What’s worst that’ll happen? #nmatl

Relationships matter in web of interconnections. Key for jobseekers-networking = relationships. No matter what you call it. #nmatl

I posted a blog on the day of the conference that I’ve been holding for a while, but seemed perfect: Job seekers (and business owners) pitch what you offer, not what you WANT. I think this is a good reminder of many of the lessons that speakers shared. A lot of it boils down to a very basic message:

USE YOUR EARS FIRST! Listen, respond, connect.

It’s not rocket science, but clearly not everyone is doing this or doing it well. If you do it well, you can fuel your job hunt and/or entrepreneurial plans. Don’t get left behind!

Since this is all about connecting, here are some people I had a chance to either meet for the first time and/or spend time with again at the event and links to their Twitter accounts:

Stephanie A. Lloyd, Stephanie Frost, Marna Friedman, Taryn Pisaneschi, Robyn Cobb, Marisa Sharpe, Stone Payton, Todd Schnick, Jenny Devaughn, Chad Rothschild, Jeff Turner, Bert Dumars, Victoria Dunmire, Chris Jordan,  Kevin Metzger, Willie Jackson,  Andrea Walker and Sandra Spiller.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get to know some of my new friends and to possible business opportunities in the offing!

If you need help using social networking (Twitter, blogging, LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc.) for your business or job search – I can help! Please learn more about what I can do to help you!