While playing around with a website this week I had an idea that isn’t creative enough for me to be the first person to think of it but it is a good way to have clients see the effect of their resume and what keywords and ideas are being expressed. It’s a little bit of creative fun so it may appeal to the more creative people not just the analytical. If used correctly it should also engage the job seeker in their job search and therefore, when reviewed with you, teach them what to look for so they build their own ability to manage their job searching in the future.

1. Send them to www.wordle.net
2. Click the big create your own button. It’s hard to miss.
3. Underneath, “Paste a bunch of text”, have them copy and paste in the text from their resume.
4. Click Go!
5. Adjust the design.

It’s pretty self explanatory and the tech savvy won’t need instructions. The results however are fun and easy to review. The program takes out the common words such as “the” and “of” and with the settings you can limit the number of words it uses so you can focus on the most prominent if you wish.

As an example (I was going for clarity so there a are lot more fun and visually interesting formats than this) here is the results from my own “general use” resume:

I’d say for a Learning and Development Manager in the Employment field I have some of the biggest keywords covered, although I probably want to emphasise ‘learning’ a bit more. Also, I don’t see a lot of result oriented words. Perhaps this is because I vary the words used to describe and quantify my achievements, perhaps it’s because I haven’t quantified them enough. I’ll have to go back and review it with this in mind.

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Picture by Wordle (Top 20 words in this post)

Employers use resumes to screen people out, and those with wacky work history usually go first! People have talent that’s worth paying for, even if they’ve never taken the class or done the job, but employers can’t see past the red flags. So, part of our adventure is to “mine for gold” in the life of the client. Without the formal experience and education that makes resume writing easy, it can look a little dim, but we ask our most hopeful and reliable questions, then look for the glimmer of qualifications and proof. Sometimes we get distracted by fool’s gold, bright shiny stories and examples that turn out to causes more problems than they solve. Other times, with a simple question about their daily routine, a family event or a current life struggle, we strike gold… a mother load of quantifiable, verifiable proof that they can do the job.

Here are some lessons from our experience writing honest, effective resumes that help people with wacky work history (none, little or no legal, too many jobs or short blocks, lots of relocations, gaps, negative reasons for leaving, decrease in responsibility or pay, quitting or being fired, etc.), and other barriers (convictions, little or no qualifications/proof from formal sources, worker’s comp. claim, new to area or field, etc.).

The purpose of the resume is to get the interview. So, effective resumes reduce concerns that could get the client screened-out, highlight strengths to prove they can do the job, and make the employer want to meet them! We recommend a skills-based resume that focuses on the job they’re going for, pulls qualifications from their whole life, and minimizes issues that could get them screened-out (sample, www.worknetsolutions.com).

Prove It! Once the client has clarified the job they want and identified the employer’s top needs for it, they must prove they’ve got what it takes. We recommend pulling qualifications and proof from their whole life, because the employer gets it all! This includes non-employment and non-paid experience such as hobbies, natural talent, family and life experience, volunteerism, responsibilities from prison, government or other programs, etc. (examples below). Ask about their daily life, involvement in PTA, a 12-step group, worship community, family projects, and more. If it proves they can do it, use it… unless it causes more problems than it solves (which is rare!), or they don’t want to use it. Then, develop quantified selling points to prove they can meet the employer’s most important needs for the job. This is the focus of the top 2/3 of the 1-page resume.

~ “Caregiver for the Elderly, 2003-2005, Private Home, Milwaukee, WI” (she was caring for her grandmother until she passed away, not paid, not full-time, 15 months, 11/03 – 3/05).

~ “Computer Lab Ass’t, CDC, Corcoran, CA, 2004-2006” (work assignment, prison, CA Dept. of Corrections).

Listing “Experience” Near the bottom of the resume, give a chronology of experience (paid & non-paid, employment & non-employment) to account for time and show where they gained some of their qualifications. For each experience, list a title, company (or self-employed, private home, etc.), location and dates. List these details in the order that markets the client best for the job. List them in the same order for each experience.

Which markets best for a hotel or motel “Front Desk Attendant”? “Housekeeper, Marriott…” and “Breakfast Attendant, Hampton Inn…” –OR– “Marriott, Housekeeper…” and “Hampton Inn, Breakfast Attendant… ” Clearly the second because it shows field knowledge and experience, without the distraction of making the candidate look like a cleaner rather than a customer service agent.

To minimize gaps, state the dates using years only, and place them in the middle or tack them at the end of the line (not off to the far left or right). Or, add up several short stints of experience. Allow for non-work and non-paid experience by using the heading “Experience” (rather than “Paid, Employment or Work” “History or Experience”).

~ “Driver, Cintas, 2005, Flint, MI”

~ “Customer Service, various retailers, Las Vegas, NV, 2.5 years”

Listing Education Near the bottom, list any education (formal, on-the-job, seminars, self-study) that qualifies them for the job, will impress the employer, or fills a gap. For each, list the topic, institution, accomplishment (degree, coursework, certificate), and dates in the order that markets them best. If their knowledge is current but the dates are old, simply state “current.” Don’t list a HS Diploma or GED unless it’s required in the listing.

Resumes can’t get someone a job, but they can get an employer to call or invite them for an interview. This is the goal, and these tips will help. Try them, and let me know what’s working for you!

Photo by Jakub Friedl

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This week I want to add two more that may be useful.

3. Talk to the Person Who Has the Power to Hire
Only the person who has the power to hire can request that you skip the Screen-out Process and be given an interview. The decision-maker is usually the business owner or department manager. For lower-level positions HR may make the final decision, but usually their job is to screen-out.

Research the decision-makers name by calling the company, looking on the company website, asking someone who works for the company, asking business associates in the industry or reviewing membership lists for business associations. Always address all letters, emails or phone calls to them personally.

If you can’t get access to the decision-maker, then impress someone they trust and can act as a credible referee.

4.  Be Politely Persistent
If 100 people ask you for a job, and most have the skills to do the job – how do you decide who you will hire? Often it’s the one that shows the most interest in working for you … not just for a pay check.  Polite Persistent is nicely reminding the employer you really want to work for them. It might look like:

• Calling or stopping by every fortnight or months to see if anything has become available
• In your letter to the employer telling them you will call or by stopping by … then doing it
• Demonstrating the skill or quality they need several times before asking if they can use your skills.

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]]> http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/4-keys-that-unlock-side-doors-part-2-of-2/feed/ 0 http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/4-keys-that-unlock-side-doors-part-1-of-2/ http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/4-keys-that-unlock-side-doors-part-1-of-2/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:41:56 +0000 Debra Angel http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/?p=582 Most job seekers send their resume/CV through the front door and then wait to be contacted. Unfortunately, only about 3-6 will ever be seen by the person who has the power to hire. The rest will only be seen by people who only have the power to screen out. So we suggest your skip the front door and go through “side doors” to get interviews, while your competition is still waiting in the lobby.

1.  Be Willing to Standout From the Crowd
Side Doors are a deliberate effort to get noticed by the decision-maker — so you must be willing to do things differently from everyone else. For this reason I can’t give you a list of things to do – as soon as everyone is doing them they would be ineffective. However. I can tell you what they look like, and encourage you to think creatively and try something new.

2. Show them a Skill/ Quality that is Hard-to-Find
What can you offer the employer which most of the other 200 or 300 applicants either can’t offer or wouldn’t think to offer? It must be something the employer wants — the rarer it is the better. It may be a specific vocational skills (Ability), but the other five areas of PADMAN (see here for more information) are just as important and often more difficult for the employer to find or teach.

• Customer Service person who displays genuine pleasure in serving others
• Waiter with an excellent memory for names & faces so returning customers feel like VIPs
• Young person who is the first ones on the worksite and the last to leave
• Labourer who automatically clean-up after themselves and others
• Manager who inspire their staff to give their best and creates a positive atmosphere even during difficult times.

Caution: The unique attitude, skills and abilities you demonstrate must be something the employer needs. What impresses one employer won’t necessarily impress another. A creative CV would work for a Marketing Executive – but not an Accountant. Most companies don’t want their Accountants to get too creative.

Next Wednesday I’ll share 2 more keys to unlock those side doors and stand out from the crowd.

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Dear Deb:
The women I am working with have no legal work history, but I was told I must write resumes for them. As a former businesswoman, I know the resumes are ineffective – I wouldn’t hire them! Any ideas?

Good job! At least you are thinking like an employer and can see that the resumes don’t sell – this  should always be our litmus test for any marketing strategy. Remember, the purpose of a resume (or any written marketing piece in the job search) is to get an interview. Additionally, a great resume will build your client’s self-esteem. So far it sounds as if your resumes are doing neither — you must break out of the traditional mind-set, because you are working with non-traditional clients. Here are some ideas for finding marketable skills which prove their abilities and for accounting for some of their time in the past..

Look for skills and experience gained as a volunteer, such as caring for a sick parent, helping at their child’s school, required community service assignments, work they have done around your offices, even prison work experience or other non-traditional volunteer experiences which can prove their skills. Then list them as you would paid jobs under the simple title ‘Experience’ so you are not dishonest.

Help them secure a traditional volunteer position in their Field of Fascination. A great volunteer is often offered full-time work — so teach them to be great! We have information on how to teach business culture to candidates who have never succeeded in it.

Cultivate relationships with employers who offer many entry-level positions. Let them know that most of your women have been stay-at-home moms, housewives, students or ’self-employed’ but now want to work in the workforce. Tell them that you provide training in how to be a great employee and will continue working with them even after they are employed. This will allow you to design resumes using the client’s appropriate life experience, without the employer screening them out. Then begin carefully matching and sending clients to them.

Photo by Lars Plougmann

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FedEx Office have announced that on March 10, 2009 FedEx Office locations will print up to 25 copies of an individual’s resume for free.

Is it just a promotional tool as most people either have access to employment center resources or can already afford this themselves? Perhaps, but it does offer a free service that you might as well take advantage of and even if it’s motivation is simply promotional, it reinforces that a theme in marketing and service provision at the moment is job searching in a recession.

Full Details at: http://news.van.fedex.com/freeresumeprinting

Photo by Gudmundur D. Haraldsson