Category: Careers

3 Ways to Think Like a Recruiter

People often ask me why job seekers hire professional help with writing his or her resume. The great part about resume writing is that I often work with educated professionals who have years of great experience. Unfortunately, they just don’t know how to get their resumes in front of people with the power to give them a job. Generally, they’re too busy being a great nurse, project manager, executive, or whatever else to understand one important thing: how recruiters think. So here are three keys to understanding how recruiters think and some great strategies to get their attention.

Recruiters have very little time and lots to do.

While recruiters and hiring managers have many different philosophies and approaches, one thing is certain: they all review scores of resumes. Rejection letters can often inform candidates that hundreds of people have applied for the same position. Faced with competition of that magnitude, it’s easy to see why your resume has to be outstanding in order for you to get any attention from an employer. Most people reviewing your resume simply don’t have more than a minute or two to look it over.


Know your target audiences – yes there is more than one.

Given the volume of resumes employers receive for each position, lower-level hiring staff are frequently used to “shortlist” candidates for each opening. This means that a less experienced HR professional is reviewing dozens of resumes in order to weed out 6-10 strong candidates. With this in mind, it’s important to write your resume in simple terms that someone who doesn’t have your background can grasp. As you develop the highlights from each of your previous positions, ask yourself if a stranger at a cocktail party would understand what you’ve just written. Make sure you include appropriate keywords so lower level staff can easily identify your skills but use accomplishment-based statements and numbers to catch the higher level decisions makers.

Relevant experience is what brings home the bacon.

Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re looking for a pet sitter while your family is away for a week’s vacation. In looking for a pet sitter, you would generally want to know about the person’s experience with pets, whether her availability met your needs, and whether your pet liked her during an in-person introduction. The pet sitter candidate would be wasting your time if she told you all about her experience roofing houses or preparing people’s income taxes. It’s fabulous that she has those abilities, but all you need to know is whether she can walk and feed your dog.

The same principle is true for resumes. Because the average worker holds more than 10 jobs during his or her career, chances are good that some of your accomplishments may not be relevant to the job you’re currently trying to get. Use your resume space for the experiences that matter, and don’t overwhelm reviewers with information that they don’t need.

For a free resume analysis submit your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com. Or view professionally-written resume samples at http://www.greatresumesfast.com.


Author:

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that win interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com/ or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.

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5 Strategies to Combat an Employment Gap

Historically, having a significant gap in your professional employment has been viewed as a draw back or potential red flag on your professional resume.

However, given that a May Gallup poll showed that 19% of the American population is underemployed (either not working or working part-time instead of full-time), there are many, many job seekers out there wondering how to handle this resume issue. The good news is that there are ways to present gaps in employment that minimize their impact on your resume.

Fill the gap.

Hiring managers receive dozens of applications for every job they post these days. They know as well as anyone how tough the current job market is. Because of this, employers are far less likely to stigmatize a job seeker who shows a recent gap in their employment history—the key is to fill that gap with something that shows that you care about your career.


Take educational or professional enrichment courses.

One simple way to keep yourself sharp as a professional is to take a class while you’re looking for work. Depending on your financial situation and available time, there are many options for professional development. Many universities offer continuing education classes in subjects like writing grants or preparing taxes. There are also online training programs for licensed professions such as real estate sales. If finances are a concern, you can take affordable classes through your local parks and recreation department or library system.

Become a consultant for those in your network.

Working less than full time doesn’t mean you automatically forget all the expertise you’ve gained from working in your field. Using your network to obtain consulting gigs not only allows you to earn some income, but it gives you recent experience to discuss on your resume and in interviews.

Pick up freelance work.

I know a copy editor who has been unemployed for 15 months now. He’s been working as a freelancer over the Internet while he’s been searching for a full-time position. Given the current economic conditions, he knows that it’s a logical alternative to doing nothing at all. And should this year-long gap even come up at an interview, he knows that his freelancing experience will not only provide a reasonable explanation but also show the potential employer his initiative and ability to persevere under adverse conditions.

Dedicate your time as a volunteer.

Volunteering is particularly helpful to those who are hoping their next job will be in a field different from their last one. If you don’t have professional experience in something like marketing, volunteer to promote a fund-raiser for a local nonprofit—they’d love the help, and you instantly possess some marketing experience.

If you’re currently paying your bills by working a job for which you’re overqualified, it’s OK to mention it when applying for a new position. Employers appreciate the honesty. “I’m waiting tables right now while I look for full-time work,” is a statement that shows you’re flexible, humble, and willing to get your hands dirty when it’s needed! It also shows your commitment to doing what it takes which is a great asset as an employee and employers will take notice.

For a free resume analysis submit your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com. View professionally-written resume samples at
http://www.greatresumesfast.com.


Author:

Jessica Holbrook is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that win interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com/ or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.

View the original article here

An Animation for Fun….

Now this is rather unique – I just found this video. Apparently French producer Breakbot (aka Thibault Berland) teamed up with Irina Dakeva to create this video made out of 2,000 hand-painted watercolor images. I am a huge fan of animation (almost took that up as a career once), so this was a delight to find!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did….

What can you do today that is out of the ordinary and showcases your unique talents?

Body Language: Be Careful What You Don’t Say

What your body language says is often more important than what you say verbally, especially when the two conflict. When they’re in sync, your movements are a reflection of what you’re thinking and what you’re feeling: your conscious and your unconscious. But when they aren’t, the unconscious prevails.
Why? Because while people will make themselves conscious of their words, few are conscious of their feelings and how that translates into body language, much less what that body language is saying. And in an interview, that can result in sending a message opposite what you intend.

A person who was recently fired or laid off is a good example of this dichotomy, especially when the termination takes place for reasons that have little to do with any situation the individual instigated. You did nothing to cause the severance, but you feel responsible anyway.

Since few job seekers know how to put a termination in perspective and handle it appropriately, it comes out how they move and how they conduct themselves. Almost every action is an apology. You knock gently on the door when the administrative assistant says, “Mr. Jackson can see you now.” You not only ask permission to sit, but you ask which chair. You either over explain or under answer.

Instead of speaking smoothly in a relaxed manner, your voice is too loud or can’t be heard. You say “um” or “ah” at the beginning and in the middle of your sentences. Everything about you screams insecure, even though you’re managing to articulate your accomplishments.

The result is that the hiring authority is puzzled as to how you managed to achieve so much, when your manner isn’t conducive to making things happen. It leaves him with a question about you. Hiring authorities don’t like to be left with questions; they want to be 100% confident of who they hire. So you’re out of the picture.

But this conflict doesn’t only occur with those have been dismissed by their employer. It can also happen when someone doesn’t have a degree, but has excelled in their career and frequently ends up competing with those who do. Or when you’ve been unemployed a long time, and you really need a job. Or if you’ve had your eye on being part of this company and finally you’ve snagged an interview. Or if you’re just plain insecure.
There’s a plethora of articles that list hundreds of body language cues you should pay attention to. But that’s like trying to learn the different interview styles and how to respond to each one. It’s a waste of time. You’ll spend so much time trying to remember what to do, how to do it, when to do it, if what you’re doing is correct or not, that it becomes difficult to focus on selling yourself and learning if the company is compatible with who you are and what you want.

It starts with your head. If you don’t feel confident, then stop thinking you aren’t. Find the reasons why you’re an asset to a company. List your skills and contributions. Put together a sales pitch on yourself, and then take it to heart. Actions mirror thoughts and thoughts mirror actions. When you’re thinking confidently, you behave confidently and vice versa.

At the same time, you can program one to follow the other. Pay attention to yourself, what you’re feeling and what’s going on around you. If you notice yourself shuffling in through the company door, pick your head up, put a smile on your face, and walk into the office as if you belong there, because you do. You have an interview, and they’re expecting you.

An interview is a sales presentation. You’re the product, and the hiring authority is the buyer. If you’re communicating that you’re not good enough to be hired, why would a company think differently?

Guest Expert:

Judi Perkins, the How-To Career Coach, was a recruiter for 22 years, consulting with hundreds of hiring authorities throughout the hiring process. She’s seen over 500,000 resumes, knows how hiring authorities think and how they hire. As a result she understands and teaches what other coaches don’t: why the typical strategies in finding a job so often fail, what to do instead, and why. She’s been on PBS’s Frontline, will be in the May issue of Smart Money magazine, and has been quoted frequently in numerous articles for CareerBuilder, MSN Careers, Yahoo Hot Jobs, and the New York Times, among others. She’s also been featured as an expert in numerous career books. Sign up for her free newsletter at http://www.findtheperfectjob.com/!

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