Good details

The types of information resumes should include—but often do not—are things like the following:

-How many people report to you?

-How much money did you make for your last company?

-How have you saved your employers money in the past?

-Were you recruited or promoted by previous employers?

-What special projects or tasks have you been chosen to complete?

-What have you accomplished that was above and beyond your job description?

Bad details

When people include too much information on their resumes, it typically falls into these categories:

-The verbatim name of the department and supervisor you reported to. Unless you report directly to Mark Zuckerberg or someone equally famous, you can use a general title like VP-Marketing or Director of Branding to convey your status in the company.

-Outdated details about your college experience. If you’ve been out of school for ten years, your college GPA is old news. Ditto the name of the specific school of your university that you attended, unless it’s a highly ranked, nationally recognizable program, e.g., the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.

-Personal details about your life. If gaps on your resume are due to something like taking personal time off to care for an ill family member, it doesn’t matter what his or her diagnosis was. Keep your explanation as brief as possible.

An effective resume strikes the right balance between providing specifics that clarify how valuable you are as an employee, while at the same time generalizing your accomplishments in a way that makes sense to a wide audience. To be sure your resume doesn’t include bad details, make it a point to let another set of eyes proofread it.

Jessica Hernandez is the President of Great Resumes Fast. She has a true passion for the job seeker, evidenced by her desire to share everything she can with everyone she can about resume writing and interviewing. Jessica holds the strong belief that life is too short to hate your job and believes wholeheartedly in pursuing that which makes you happy. She loves creating colorful, dynamic, eye-catching resumes, and her articles have been published multiple times in popular job search books and on tens of thousands of career and job search Web sites including Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and more.

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What adds insult to injury is that which passes for feedback...the “advice” you are given as you discover you didn’t get the job. And this, my friend, is what I want to tackle today. Because, I see how much effort, energy and emotion is often put towards the words and ideas passed off as “helpful information” once your ride on the interview train has ended. And, frankly, it’s often wasted energy that is detracting you from moving down the path to your goal: finding the right job.

Don’t Assume You Are Being Told the Truth – You know I use the dating analogy a lot when talking about the hiring process. Remember what it was like to split up with someone? “It’s not you, it’s me.” The reality is that many times saying the truth can be as uncomfortable as hearing it…and many will avoid that at all costs. As well, in our uber-legal, highly litigious society, there is a reluctance to share the truth for fear of liability.

They May Not Know – You know those gut feelings you get about people – good or bad? Do you really need to know why you feel that way? No – you’ve learned over the years to trust your instincts. The hiring process is no different. You may be a perfect fit for a role but another candidate moves forward in the process (even gets the job) because the hiring manager just felt more comfortable with them. In the search business, when asking clients to describe the common thread shared by everyone on their team, most would respond with something along the lines of, “I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it.” What do you do with that?

A Choice for Someone Else isn’t Always a Choice Against You – Following on the heels on them not knowing, this is really important to remember. When someone else is selected, it doesn’t mean a conscious choice was made against you. The natural place for any of us to go after being rejected is to what we could have done differently. This is all you can control, but it could have nothing to do with why you didn’t get hired.

Is all this unscientific, arbitrary and largely beyond your control – absolutely. The hiring process is a sum of its parts: people. And we are a quirky bunch. Put us all together and try to get consensus amongst a diverse group of people…it’s a wonder any decisions get made at all. Trying to apply rationale and logic to something as speculative and nuance driven as the hiring process can, simply put, drive you insane. On top of that, you are emotionally in the thick of things. Being objective isn’t only an unreasonable expectation for you to have for yourself, but it’s largely impossible.

Instead of reflecting on and dissecting what you are told (if anything) after an interview, I want you to do two things. First, capitalize on the opportunity presented (read this past blog I wrote on the topic). Second, reflect on whether you were the truest representation of you in the interview. If you were, and didn’t get the job, then it wasn’t the right fit for you. As much as you have your eyes on the prize (AKA: the job) during an interview, sometimes not winning is a blessing in disguise. The downside to getting hired for something you aren’t can be even more devastating in the long run than it is frustrating to be in the job search.

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2008 – 2011 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved

Imagine that Joe is a salesperson at the local Toyota dealer. The Toyota Tundra has just been named Truck of the Year. The truck has been advertised constantly on TV and in the newspaper. It's the dealership's best-selling vehicle. There's a special promotion going on that ends today, and if Joe sells one more vehicle before closing time, he'll meet his sales goal and receive a nice bonus. But the dealership closes in 20 minutes, so he has little hope of doing that. Then Joe sees a guy drive in, park his 10-year-old pickup truck, get out and walk over to look at a new Tundra. "Looks like I'm going to get that bonus after all!" Joe thinks as he rushes over to greet him.

Joe: "Hi. Welcome to City Toyota. I'm Joe."

Customer: "Hello."

Joe: "That's a beautiful truck, isn't it?"

Customer: "Yep, sure is."

Joe: "Did you know it was just named Truck of the Year?"

Customer: "Yep."

Then Joe proceeds to tell the customer all about the Tundra's outstanding qualities, it's features and benefits, and it's amazing value. He talks about it for several minutes, being sure to leave no detail out, and finally concludes with, "This is absolutely the best truck you can buy. Don't you agree?"

Customer: "Yep. It's the best truck I've ever seen."

Joe: "Great!"

Joe notices the lights are being turned off and the manager is at the door ready to lock up, so he says, "It's closing time, but I can ask the manager to stay so we can get you in that truck tonight. Shall we go write it up?"

To Joe's dismay, the customer says "Nope," turns away and starts walking back toward his truck.

Joe follows him and says, "Wait! There's still time. You can drive a new Tundra home tonight!"

The customer keeps walking and gets in his truck.

Joe: "I'll knock two thousand dollars off the price right now. No one else has gotten a deal like that on a new Tundra. What do you say?"

The customer starts the engine and just before driving away, says to Joe, "I came in to buy a Prius."

Here's the key that most job candidates miss: you need to know what the customer wants before you can sell it to him.

The problem is that job candidates THINK they know what the customer wants. After all, they're responding to an advertisement (job announcement) that spells it all out, right?

Yes... and no.

Imagine a manager tells his HR department to hire him a new administrative assistant. Everyone-the HR person who creates the job announcement, the job applicants who respond, and even the manager himself as he conducts the interviews-thinks the manager wants someone who can screen his calls, prepare his correspondence, schedule his appointments, record minutes of his meetings, make his travel arrangements, file his paperwork, etc., all in a competent, friendly, and professional manner.

Each question during the job interview is designed to determine how closely the candidates match those qualifications and expectations. The candidates respond to those questions by talking about their skills and experience as they try to sell themselves.

The more prepared candidates talk in terms of "benefits" in addition to "features." For example: "I have 10 years of experience recording meeting minutes." (Feature) "I'm familiar with what's required, won't need to be trained, and can have accurate minutes posted within 30 minutes of the meeting's end." (Benefits). They'll also talk about accomplishments, not just responsibilities. For example: "In my last job I was responsible for handling the administrative needs of six people." (Responsibility) "I created a prioritization system to ensure all six individual's needs were met in a timely manner, and I never missed a deadline." (Accomplishments)

Only one candidate, Mary, does something different. She wraps up her answer to the interviewer's opening question ("Tell me about yourself") with a question of her own:

"How can I help you by solving your problems and making your job easier?"

This question takes the manager by surprise. He responds half-jokingly by replying, "Make our customers stop complaining, and give me three more hours in every day so I have time to do everything I need to get done!"

Mary then asks more questions, such as "What do most customers complain about?" and "What do you feel are your biggest time wasters?" She listens carefully to the answers, asks follow-up questions to draw out more details... and achieves two very important goals:

(1) She shows the hiring manager that she's genuinely interested.

(2) She gets the manager to reveal the real "product" he needs and wants, and is thus able to position herself as that perfect product.

The manager didn't want an "administrative assistant." He wanted a problem-solver who could make his life easier. Knowing this, Mary answered every question during the interview in a way that showed she understood, would be able to solve his problems, and could make his life easier. In other words, she was exactly what this customer wanted to "buy."

Remember Joe? If his first question when greeting the customer had been, "How can I help you today?" he would've earned that bonus. His mistake was focusing on what HE wanted instead of what the customer wanted.

That's the biggest and most common mistake job candidates make.

By being genuinely interested in solving the hiring manager's problems, you will more effectively sell yourself as the product he really wants-and get the job!

For more information on Bonnie Lowe and her winning interview strategies, check out her Job Interview Success System.

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2008 - 2011 Career Attraction - All Rights Reserved

If you aren't a regular listener to The Career Catalyst, I highly recommend you put it on your "to do" list.  Kenrick and Scott always have some great information and they make sure their guests get into the "how" and go deep with actionable information.

After you've listened in to this episode, please leave your thoughts below as comments on the blog.

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2008 – 2011 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved

1. Begin with the End in Mind – Borrowed from Steven Covey, the end isn’t defined as simply a job. It isn’t just being employed. It’s much deeper than that. It’s about the problems you solve, the type of environment in which you thrive and are happiest (these two are inextricably linked). The more you start defining where you want to be by these terms, versus just a generic job title, the easier it will be to uncover where someone “needs” you most. When you start speaking to what a company “needs” and “wants” you can often define a role for yourself inside the organization. It doesn’t get more “hidden” than that.

2. Network without Asking for a Job – There is no value in introducing yourself to someone as a job seeker. That’s all about your needs, not theirs. First seek to understand, then seek to be understood (more Covey!). You have to establish “what’s in it for them?” The quicker you do this, the better you will be able to figure out who you can both help one another best. Again, when you identify their pain and establish how you can address it, you start making the case for how you will add value to their organization.

It’s all about Give to Get and Paying it Forward. You’ll also find this to be an excellent litmus test in determining the best networkers. The great ones will always try to reciprocate. The not-so-good ones won’t. Hang on to the former and cut slack with the latter. But remember, just because someone doesn’t have a need to hire you doesn’t mean you can’t be great resources for one another. Think about degrees of separation.

Don't have a plan on how to do this?  Check out this interview with a professional who found himself in a new city, with no network and unemployed...and listen to how he found a job without ever asking for one.

3. Be Online, but Get Offline – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are powerhouse resources for your job search. But you shouldn’t be spending the lion’s share of your time online and behind a computer. Just like no one is going to hire a resume, no one is going to hire an online profile.

4. Be a Hub – Position yourself as “the” resource for information in a niche that ties in with the end state you have in mind. Provide information for others and be a resource. Instead of trying to stand out in a crowd, get out of the crowd. By being a conduit for information that your audience (those who are in your field – peers or hiring manager) you make yourself relevant and needed – key components to getting hired.

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2008 – 2011 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved

Winning Hearts and Minds - The closer you work with fellow volunteers, the better they will get to know you. And, let’s face it, people help and hire those they like. Give people the opportunity to get to know you – not your tails of unemployment. Like we discussed last week, remember not to dwell on the fact you are looking for a job. You want everyone to think of you in terms of the great addition you would be versus the person who is always talking about being unemployed.

Words and Deeds – The interview process is a two-way street. You size up a future employer just as they do the same to you. Both sides are trying to figure out if the other “walks the talk.” By working side-by-side with someone in a volunteer capacity, you get to see if someone’s work ethic is in line with yours. Moreover, make sure you are gravitating towards those that give 110%. Good people always know good people.

Do What You Know – When volunteering, most people think in terms of what the Not for Profit does as a function: soup kitchens need help in the kitchen, Big Brothers/Big Sisters need adults to sponsor kids, etc. But shift your mindset to what you do best. If you are in accounting, volunteer your time to help with the books. A sales professional would be a great fundraiser or trainer of other fundraisers. You will not only be showcasing what you do, but your value-add to the organization will be even greater. Not to mention, you increase the likelihood of interacting with Board Members – who might have a connection or two. Talk about the "hidden" job market.

It Doesn't Always Have to Be a NFP - The key here is to get you out using and contributing your skill set. When you list yourself as a "consultant" or "freelance" on your resume, no one is going to ask what you were paid. The closest you will get is "what's your bill rate?" The bottom line is that you can contribute your expertise wherever you like and you are only limited by those who won't take you up on your offer. This is also a great way to develop some new skills and subject matter expertise that you might be lacking - volunteer to work on a project to get some OJT.

If you have been thinking of retreating from your volunteer commitments in order to focus more time on your search – Don’t. Get more involved, make more connections and leverage your skills set in doing so. It is a win-win for everyone involved. Not only might you find a job in the process but you will do some great work to feel good about in the interim.

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This week’s question isn’t so much a particular one as it is a collection of questions I’ve been getting around one central theme: recruiters. How do I work with them? When should I work with them? Why aren’t they calling me back? Are they a waste of time?

In today’s Q&A column I’m not only going to tackle many of these topics, but I’ve created a video for you that will help you figure out when its most beneficial for you to work with a recruiter and how to get the most out of the relationship.

Between this article and the video, we are going to cover a lot of ground when it comes to recruiters and arming you with the information to get the most out of your relationships with them. This isn’t a bashing session. I am a huge advocate of developing strong relationships with a handful of top-notch recruiters. But, all recruiters are not created equally. I spent almost a decade in the recruiting business having managed at a Fortune 1000 search firm, owned two boutique search firms (one of them actually specialized in placing recruiters – crazy, I know) and consulting on talent acquisition and internal recruiting for Fortune 100 companies. I share this so you know where this information is coming from. Frankly, there are very few parts of the recruiting process that I haven’t touched.

So, here are a few tips…

All Recruiters Aren’t the Same – There are corporate, contract, contingent, retained, permanent and temp/consulting recruiters. Know who they are and their relationship to the position in question are extremely important in determining if you are going to move forward with them. Do you know the difference and how it can impact your chances for an interview?

Unemployed? Proceed with Extreme Caution – It’s not news that a hiring bias against the unemployed exists in some circles (see 2009 WSJ and 2010 Yahoo Finance). With search firm fees running between 20-30% of your base salary, you have to ask, “If a company wouldn’t look at me because I am unemployed, how does an additional price tag help my cause?” Simply put – it doesn’t. In the accompanying video, I explain why this happens and how to find out if the recruiter call is representing a job that is the exception or the rule.

Litmus Tests – Do you have any? Let’s face it – there are no barriers to entry in becoming a recruiter. As my first boss used to say, “All you need is a phone.” As a result, the field is a mixed bag (as are most professions). Finding a great recruiter is tough. You not only need a plan to figure out who the good ones are, but how to build great rapport once you identify them. I explain a few techniques you can start using today to do just that in the free video.

Can't Get Them to Call You Back? - Remember, they don't work for you.  So, just like with any networking, you need to start with "What's in it for Them?"  Instead of sending endless emails and voicemails asking if they have anything, give them a reason to call you.  Position yourself as a hub for information.  Let them know you have been actively networking and you are happy to be a resource.  The good ones will take you up on this.  What do you get out of it?  Every time they get a search that's close to your space - they will call you to talk about it.  Win-win.

Is it a Real Job or Not? – This is one of the biggest rubs is that many times the jobs represented by recruiters aren’t real. “Real” can be defined a number of different ways: It’s not open, they don’t have a chance of getting you an interview, you aren’t really qualified, etc.. You might think, “What’s the harm in giving it a shot?” Well, there is a huge downside that can keep you from being considered for future opportunities. The good recruiters will let you know this up front, but remember – all recruiters aren’t created equally. I explain in the video how to protect yourself here.

What did you think about the video? Want more advice? Please share your thoughts below.

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2008 – 2011 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved

Have you heard this lately in your job search? “We have decided to move forward with another candidate…Our search has been put on hold…We think you are a great fit for our company, but just not the right one for this position….Let’s keep in touch.”  I know how frustrating the job search can be and these statements usually take the wind right out of you.  Today we are going to talk about a few techniques to turn this into something positive – sometimes immediately!

Every time you make a connection in your interviews,  think about it in terms of building your network.  All too often, we look at the process from a static, linear perspective: submit information, get the interview(s) and either get the job or not.  I will grant you that not getting the job is frustrating.  But, how you handle losing the battle can result in you winning the war.

A huge part of the interview process is establishing rapport – winning hearts and minds.  Instead of seeing another door closing when you do not get the job, look at it as another door opening.  You have worked hard to make a new connection - professionally, sometimes even personally, bonding with the people in the company where you interviewed.  Shouldn’t you capitalize on it?  Here are some pointers on how to do so:

• They know you are looking – ask for help networking.  If you have just impressed them enough to have multiple interviews, they should give you high marks and gladly refer you.
• Keep in touch.  Create a system to reach out to each and every person you talk to throughout your job search.  This is no different than a sales campaign.  And the person who isn’t buying today may be ready to purchase (hire) tomorrow.



• Get to know the people with whom you interview.  This personal connection will get your calls, emails and requests answered quicker.
• Pay it forward.  Find out what you can do for them.  Helping someone first is the quickest way to endear you to them.  They will seek you out to return the favor!

Not getting the offer – particularly after several rounds of interviews – is frustrating, no doubt.  But you have worked hard to make it that far.  In this economy, getting to the first round of interviews is tough enough.  So, when you do make a connection treat it like gold.  Managed well, this network can drive your job search for you.

* * * * * * * * *

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When you first join Twitter, one of the challenges you may experience  is trying to determine who you should follow to maximize the success of your job search. This blog post will discuss the goals, the seven categories and the “how to” of who to follow on Twitter for your job search.

What are your job search Twitter follow strategy goals? By following the right mix of Twitter users, you will reap many job search benefits; It will help you stay current with industry knowledge and trends. You will get access to up to the minute information about and connect directly with leaders at the companies you may want to work for. You will get expert job search advice and links to helpful tips and articles. You will get access to real time job postings and recruiters that specialize in the jobs you are interested in. And, it opens up another audience for networking.

Ultimately, you have the ability to fast track your job search by increasing your knowledge, skills and targeted connections via Twitter.

There are seven specific categories of Twitter users that I recommend you follow on Twitter to maximize your job search success:

1. Experts, Top Bloggers & Thought Leaders:  For example: David Meerman Scott @dmscott is a well known expert in Social Media Marketing, Jill Konrath @jillkonrath is a well known expert in Sales and Guy Kawaski @guykawaski is well known for his technology and entrepeneurial advice.
2. Industry News Alerts & Industry Magazines: For example, technologists may want to follow CIO Magazine and fitness professionals may want to follow Fitness Magazine.  (Check out this Magazine list on Twellow.)
3. Recruiters: There are thousands of recruiters on Twitter, some working for specific companies and many working for independent staffing firms. For example, Harry Joiner, aka @ecommercejobs is an (you guessed it) ecommerce jobs recruiter.
4. Job Boards: Every major job board, ex. Monster, Careerbuilder and many niche boards, ex. GreenJobs, Tweet on Twitter. Their content includes a mix of job search advice, info about events and specific job postings.



5. Career Coaches: It’s amazing how much job search advice you can find on Twitter on topics that include interviewing, resumes, social media, career fairs, personal branding and much more. Some of the most popular career experts include: Alison Doyle from About.com, Susan Joyce of job-hunt.org and JT O’Donnel, founder of CareerRealism.com and, of course, Kevin Kermes, founder of Career Attraction.
6. Alumni Associations: Most alumni associations have a presence on Twitter and provide a conduit to learn about networking and career related events, and may give you direct access to other Alumni in your area. Your Alma mater wants to help in your job search success.
7. Companies: Hand picked by you- these may include companies you want to work for, Senior Leaders within a company you want to learn more about, ex. CEO or CMO, or even competitors of companies you’re targeting.

How do you find all these Twitter users? There are several different options: Leverage the Twitter “Find People” search function. Use Twitter search and enter job search related hashtags including #career, #jobs, #interview. (Click here to learn more about Hashtags.) Use directories like TweepSearch and Twellow. Use Twitter “who to follow” lists posted on TweepML and Twibes. And, you can Google “Top Twitter users to follow for XX” and insert the topic of your choice. Many bloggers have posted their recommendations for who to follow.

To make this process even easier for job seekers, J2B Marketing did extensive research on items 1 through 5 above and has created a series of Twitter Follower lists on TweepML.  To learn more, simply click on the link next to the list description.

Marketing Job Search Follow List

Jump start your marketing job search on Twitter by following this powerful mix of Marketing Recruiters, Marketing Industry Thought Leaders, Job Search & Branding Experts & Online Job Boards.

Sales Job Search Follow List

Jump start your sales job search on Twitter by following this powerful mix of Sales Recruiters, Sales Industry Gurus, Sales Trainers, Job Search & Branding Experts & Online Job Boards.

Green Job Search | Clean Tech Job Search Follow List

Jump start your Green job search on Twitter by following this powerful mix of Green Recruiters, Green News Tweets, Green Experts, Green Job Tweets, Career Experts & Online Job Boards. (Sustainable Energy, Clean Tech )

IT Job Search- Technology Job Search Follow List

Jump start your Technology job search on Twitter by following this powerful mix of Tech Recruiters, Technology Thought Leaders, Tech Magazines, Job Search & Branding Experts & Online Job Boards.

Marci Reynolds is the CEO of J2B Marketing, a “Job Seeker 2 Business”™ Internet Marketing & Online Copywriting Services Firm based in Boston, MA. She is also the author of the new ebook, “How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search” and the “social media for job search” expert blogger on the award winning website Job-Hunt.org. Previously, Marci was the VP, North America Sales Operations at Monster.com, the leading online careers website. Learn more at www.j2bmarketing.com, on Twitter @j2bmarketing.

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2008 – 2011 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved

Watch the video, leave a comment and feel free to share with anyone who might benefit!

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2008 – 2011 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved