What Killed Your Job Search Canary

What Klled Your Job Search CanaryIn the early days of mining workers would carry a canary into a mine shaft to check out the air quality. If dangerous  gases such as methane or carbon monoxide were present, the canary would die signaling the miners that they would be next if they didn’t leave the tunnel.

In today’s job market, if you’re sending out a resume that doesn’t fly, in other words a resume that’s not getting you calls or interviews,  you should take a lesson from the miners, come up for air and figure out how to improve your resume. More often than not, a bad resume will kill your job search.

The following are some tips to preen  your resume to perfection as you mine for your next opportunity. First the obvious, no spelling mistakes, no lies and no liabilities. The first two don’t require additional explanation, but as far a liabilities, job hunters from seasoned executives to first-timers, often err on the side of over-inclusion.

Remember, a resume is your marketing tool, there’s no need to include negative information. You want the document to be the best representation of your background, not your life story. If there’s a liability that you have to overcome, save that for the interview and be prepared to address it then (it’s a good idea to get some coaching on the best way to field awkward situations that might have happened in your past).

That covers what not to do. What you should include in your resume is a powerful marketing statement at the top, something that really sells what you can deliver. The resume also must highlight your success stories, especially if you’re an experienced executive. Quantifiable anecdotes about your achievements grab a reader’s attention and in the right hands (an expert resume writer), they tell a compelling story about who you are as a strategist, innovator and leader. They make decision-makers want to pick up the phone and call you and they’re what make a resume fly.

Obviously, you’ll want to have your professional history included in the resume with your company, title, date and responsibilities in reverse chronological order, with the most recent position first. And of course, your education if applicable.

Just follow those tips and your resume will sing and even soar, then when you go mining for your next opportunity you’re sure to strike gold.

~Linda

 

An App To Help You Ace Your Job Interview?

Application For InterviewWe’re humans who are always looking for ways to make our lives easier and more productive. These days that means apps (unless your spending your time on Angry Birds, then your productivity definitely comes into question).

There are apps for everything and job searching is no exception. The latest app I’ve run across that’s designed to help you in landing your next position is InterviewPrep. It’s free and that’s always a bonus. It’s designed to work like a flip card (remember index cards?), with an interview question on one side and guidance on the proper approach to answering the question on the other.

Overall, the questions are good ones that are often asked in interviews and the suggested response strategies are also insightful. However, to appeal to the masses, the app deals in vague generalities. While helpful in preparing for an interview, the app doesn’t and can’t give you feedback on several things.

For instance, it can’t give you feedback on the way you specifically are answering questions and whether your answers are raising red flags for the interviewer. The app also can’t help you deal with unique problems or liabilities you might have in your background and how to address them.

While I think the app is a great primer, especially for those of you just starting out your careers, nothing replaces the insight and advice of an experienced career coach who can listen to your answers and then instruct you on how to make them better and more polished.

I’ve worked with hundreds of executives and professionals, many of whom think they are great at interviewing because they’ve conducted so many interviews themselves. But, there’s a big difference being on the other side of the table. After leading some role-playing with even the most seasoned executives and professionals, there’s always been room for improvement (in some cases, a lot of room).

So don’t worry if you haven’t downloaded the latest app, sometimes nothing beats some good old fashioned coaching. In other words, on your next job interview you won’t be hapless if you’re app-less, that is if you engage the services of a professional, because there will always be some things that require the human touch.

~Linda

3 Reasons Why You Didn’t Get That Job

BusinessmanJob interviewing is one of life’s necessary evils. While I work with a lot of confident professionals and executives who welcome an opportunity to interview and believe strongly that if they just get the interview, they’ll land the job, that isn’t always the case. Obviously, only one candidate can come out on top, so just making it to the interview is not enough, no matter how confident you are.

That raises the question, especially for folks who interview well, why didn’t I get that job? There isn’t one pat answer to that question. When you’re interviewing you’re dealing with human beings who come to the table with their own opinions, biases and preferences. Sometimes you may never know why you didn’t make it through to the next round of interviews. But the following are three reasons that frequently hold a candidate back:

1. You didn’t make a good first impression. It takes just seconds for an interviewer to form a first impression about you. Make sure you’re dressed professionally, have a firm handshake and a good smile when you initially meet your interviewer.

2. You didn’t do your research. There’s no excuse for not having researched the company and even the person with whom you’re interviewing. In our Internet age with information at our finger tips there are several things that you must do: read the company’s website, look for the person and company you’re interviewing with on LinkedIn and Google, and you may even want to check out some financial websites for additional information. Remember, knowledge is power. Not only do you want to impress the interviewer that you care enough to learn more about the position, this is your time to determine whether it’s really a company that suits you as well.

3. You didn’t have any questions about the company or the position. Really, you’re looking at making a career move and taking a job where you’ll be spending at least 40 hours of your life every week and  you have no questions about the company or your duties? Interviewers want to see that you’re intellectually curious, that you’re interested in their company and that you have intelligent questions about your role within the organization.

Interviewing well is more important now than ever before. So remember, it’s important to primp, prepare, and practice.

~Linda