The Perfect Fit

Are You Ready For Your Next Career Opportunity?

I had a candidate apply for an Account Supervisor position yesterday.  My client is in Dallas and I know this candidate is overqualified for an Account Supervisor level position.  It's not unusual for those who have been without a job for several months to start aiming a bit "lower", just so they can get employed again.  I responded to the candidate and pointed out that the position was in Dallas, and that perhaps he'd missed that.

I thought his reply to me was pretty interesting, and shows some of the frustration not only of those who are currently out of work, but also for workers who are employed.  They're looking too (see my posting "The Next Six Months . . . Emerging Employment Trends") . . . The market is just starting to turn from being one of Employer driven, to the candidate having a bit more leverage.  It's not as easy to find that leadership candidate as many think.  As I've written and Tweeted before, it's never easy finding top performing leaders who fit into a particular company culture, and have the same sort of vision of and goals for the future.

Here's how the candidate replied to me:

Thanks for the information on Dallas position. I assumed that there was not relocation available. That seems to be the case with most jobs nowadays. I've been looking for a couple of months now. There are some opportunities, but even more people looking for them. It's tough enough to be competing against some of the quality of communications professionals out of work, but you still have to compete against those looking to change jobs. I sometimes wish that those with a job would take a break from looking, then that way those of us without one could compete for the open positions. I've run into that a couple times already.
 
Thanks also for keeping in mind for any positions that come up.

I'll just say once again that it's important for every employee to "manage their career".  You need to be ready for a change, should you identify the right opportunity.  You should have your resume and portfolio current, and ready to present.  You should have your online profile(s) in order and up to date.  You should make sure that every tool you have to sell yourself to a prospective new employer is ready to go at a moment's notice.

It would be very unfortunate to miss your next great promotion and/or career opportunity, because you're not ready for it.  Are you ready for a phone call from a recruiter tomorrow? 

Get to Know A Recruiter In Your Specialty

Unemployment is at 9.8% and climbing.  We're starting to consistently (but slowly) see that economic indicators are suggesting that the worst of the downturn is behind us.  Nobody knows the pace of recovery.  Employers are starting to think about hiring and employees are starting to think about new opportunities.  The unemployment rate of 9.8% is misleading, outstanding employees remain special and sought after.

According to Ted Konnerth of Egret Consulting,

"Monster and the Human Capital Institute recently found that 84% of employers felt their employees were content, while 58% of their employees expressed that same feeling. In more detail, 79% of employees are more likely to be seeking jobs elsewhere. 50% are concerned about top performers leaving their company and 57% believe employers exploited the recession to drive longer hours and lower pay from their employees."

There are successful companies who are working to identify those employees who they want to hire.  Those employees who the employer feels are going to be able to lead their company into the next phase of growth.  These companies are not waiting for a recovery, they're moving to make themselves a more powerful player now.  There are any number of surveys indicating that there is going to be renewed hiring in the next six months.  Are you ready for that next career move?

Do you know a recruiter who specializes in your area of expertise?  If not, do some research and find someone you can trust.  Get referrals from friends and colleagues.  There are going to be premier opportunities that are not advertised.  They're going to be filled by hand-picked candidates who are already successful, happy and motivated by what they're doing right now.  That candidate will be enticed to leave for an even better next career opportunity.

Hiring has already started.  We saw an upturn in mid-Summer.  Are you ready?  Are you happy?  Are you being professionally challenged . . . and rewarded?  Are you growing professionally?  Are you being professionally (and as a result personally) fulfilled?

Take a look at that resume.  Make sure it's updated with your latest "accomplishments", as opposed to "responsibilities".  I have a terrific article on my website that talks about how to create an impactful resume.  You can see it here.

If a recruiter calls with that next superb opportunity, be ready to respond!  Get to know a headhunter who specializes in what you do . . . introduce yourself and let them know you're always interested in moving your career forward.

If you're successful and respected in the marketing, corporate communications or advertising specialty, feel free (and encouraged) to visit our website at www.Bishop-Partners.com, and upload your resume, confidentially of course.  We'll respond to you!

How Recruiters Read Resumes

I ran across a very interesting article on how recruiters (and employers) read resumes.  The writer Matthew Charney, apparently used to be an "in-house" recruiter for a corporation.  In that position, he was forced to do what every recruiter has to do, wade through dozens/scores/hundreds of resumes on a daily basis, trying to evaluate and separate the talent with potential, from the masses.  Matthew has a sense of humor about the process and manages to tell the truth about how resumes are reviewed.

I'm sure you've head the saying that you get "30 seconds to make an impression" with your resume?  It's true.  I know that I can generally tell in less than 30 seconds which candidates are top performers, and which are not.  Admittedly, there's a large percentage of perception or intuition at work here.  There's also a way of scanning a resume, that Matthew has done a wonderful job of verbalizing.  I thought there would be value in sharing his article "Bullet Point to the Head".  You can read Matthews' entire article here.

I also suggest you check out the comments from other recruiters for this article.  They're testaments to the truths of what Matthew writes!

Clever Resumes That Don't Work!

I continue to be amazed at the approach some professionals take to creating a resume.  I know that in the business of creative, people try to be just that . . . creative, or clever.  They try to stand out by doing something "different".  There are also those that just don't understand (or don't care to, in favor of a portfolio) how very important a resume continues to be.  I received three examples of these in the last week, and was compelled to write about it once again.

The first example was a Group Account Director out of New York.  He had a resume that contained some of the biggest agencies in the industry.  He seems to have succeeded at many of those companies, although it was difficult to know for sure because he didn't include any accomplishments on his resume.

He decided to choose the "clever" route by scanning each of the business cards in his career and creating a document with each of these cards, and the clients at that particular agency (that we're guessing he worked with).  There are several problems with this approach.  I've already mentioned the lack of accomplishments, additionally there was no way to parse any of the information into a database, because of the (scanned) files used to create the document.

Like it or not, the reality is that every recruiter and Employer now has some sort of database, we call it an "Applicant Tracking System", that is used to file resumes for easy retrieval later by keywords or titles.  It is incumbent on an applicant to provide their information in a format that is easy to include in those databases.  All can deal with Word.docs effectively, and most can handle pdfs.  If you create a resume that cannot be "parsed" into a database, you won't get into that database.  It's just too time consuming to import all the information manually.  This Group Account Director never made it into our database.

Another "clever" approach was delivered to us by a Creative Director, Writer who is also living on the East Coast.  His approach was to use (what I can only call) "funky" spacing throughout his resume.  My first reaction was that this guy must be in the typo hall of fame!  I was so amazed that a writer could make so many "mistakes" that I finally realized that he was trying to be clever . . . it didn't work.  Not only did it seem silly, there was no point or value gained.  The worst part was that this resume could also not be parsed into the database.  He had inappropriate spacing in his name, so the database couldn't handle it.  Same issue with some of his employers and titles of previous positions.  He didn't make it in either.

One other example is from another Creative Director, Writer from Chicago.  This resume wasn't so much clever as ineffective.  He had his name and title.  Then he proceeded to list all the agencies he'd worked for (again, impressive names in the industry), but there were no dates of employment included.  There were no achievements, whatever.  Incredibly, there was no contact information!  No phone, email, website . . . nada!  The only way I was able to respond to him was because he had emailed this document to me!  There's more . . .

I've said what wasn't included in this resume.  After the information he did provide, his name, title and companies he'd worked for (about 1/4 page worth of info.) he proceeded to provide two and one half pages of clients he'd worked for, and what he did for them (e.g. print ads, collateral, TV and Radio, etc.).  There was no discussion about client results, no link to a portfolio, or even mention that one was available! This is not an effective approach.

I realize that few are experts in resume writing.  It's one of those documents we all hope we never have to actually create.  My advice is to have one written, and update it periodically as needed.  It is essential to quantify achievements, not list responsibilities.  Basics like your contact information, employers, time of employment and title are obvious (one would think) essential elements.  I have an article on my website called "Prove Value", that has proved helpful to many.  If you'd like sample resume formats, just send me an email, and I'd be happy to supply them.

I also offer a resume and/or portfolio consulting service, the information for which is also available on my website.   Just click here and then let me know if I can be of any service.

Replace Resumes With Social Media?

A friend sent me an email a couple of days ago and asked "are resumes dead?".  After giving it some thought I decided no, but their role is changing.

Resumes are still essential documents in providing a concise overview of your employment history.  I am constantly working with my own candidates (and others), trying to explain that the resume must "Prove Value".  The resume document must "sell you" to your prospective employer, to the point where you get that interview.  The resume is no longer the only tool you can use in that effort to impress future employers.

I've said it before, I'll say it again . . . LinkedIn is becoming a standard addition to any/every resume.  A recruiter and/or employer will check out your LinkedIn profile as additional valuable information.  If you don't have a LinkedIn profile, it's a bit unusual.  If it's not thoughtfully and thoroughly completed, including recommendations, it may not be an asset to you.  On the other hand a complete and well written profile that is accompanied by recommendations can be of additional benefit to you.  Why not take advantage of this additional tool?

I'll also repeat once again that candiates need to make it as easy and convenient as possible for an employer (or recruiter) to add their information to a database.  Everyone is used to doing that with a resume (don't send us to a website to find your resume, just because it's already there . . .).  Once a candidate is in our databases, it's easy to add a huge amount of additional informaton, documents, links, etc...  Getting you into the database is a time consuming operation.  If an employer or recruiter has the ability to have you upload your own resume and supporting information, do it.  Follow up with an email to the recipient.

I responded to an inquiry of  a Creative Director-Writer candidate in New York City and asked him to upload his information to our website.  Instead, he responded, telling me all his information was on his LinkedIn profile.  He missed the point . . .

If you're more creative, then you need a website or blog of your own to show your work and/or what you care about (blogs can be free!).  We're looking for people who live their life and approach their career with enthusiasm, motivation and passion.  If you're a photographer, you should be shooting pictures all the time.  If you're a writer, you should be writing and if you're a painter, you should be painting.  You do these things because you can't stop yourself from doing them, not because someone is paying you to do them . . . that's passion.  If you've got it, share it!

My friend was wondering why, with all the social media sites out there packed with so much information, why is a resume still needed?  It's needed because it's a document you craft to highlight your strengths, and selected achievements throughout your career.  It should make it easy for the reader to understand who you are, how you do what you do and how you've added value to your previous employers.  It should hammer those points home to the point where the employer feels compelled to call you . . . immediately.

Fellow blogger Zoli of Cloud Ave addressed this same issue in a post a while back "Resumes Are Dead!  Social Media Is Your New Resume."

The point here is that the more thought or art, or content that you can contribute, the better.  We're all impressed with those who are ambitious, motivated and who contribute.  We're also interested in what you have to say and how you say it!  Use every tool available to let us know why you're the most outstanding candidate for a position.

Quick Resume Fundamentals

I've been compiling a list of components of resumes that are ineffective or annoying.  I'm amazed on a daily basis at what apparent lack of effort candidates make in introducing themselves to prospective employers, responses to job postings or soliciting the assistance of a headhunter.

It seems common sense to approach this in a careful way, attempting to make a positive first impression on the resume's recipient.  I bet that over 70% of the time, the candidate for one reason or another does not make a positive, powerful and professional first impression.  Here are some of the things I like to see in resumes. 

A personalized cover letter to me, letting me know that you've taken the time to find out about my company and what I do.

Fonts large enough to read and some white space surrounding them.  Don't minimize your font size and maximize your margins to get as much copy as possible on that "one" page that everyone strives for.

URLs for the companies you've worked at.  It's such a simple way of adding significant additional information to the document, I'm surprised more candidates don't do it.

Clients you've worked with.  Whether you're creative, an account person or client side marketer, tell us the accounts you've worked on.

Quantified achievements . . . not your daily responsibilities.  You must "Prove Value" by quantifying achievements.

Things I don't like seeing:

Sending a resume for a job that you're blatantly not qualified for  . . . "just to see".  Spare us all the time.  If you don't really think you're qualified, hiring authorities and recruiters won't either!

Creatives, don't send a resume with just your employer's names on it, no matter how badly you hate resumes and want to rely on your book.

Embedding resumes into PDFs (because databases cannot parse those resumes) with samples of your portfolio.  Send the PDF with a resume if you like, but send a separate resume file for database purposes.

Resumes available by following a link to a website.  Hey, make it easy for the viewer.  Chances are, your desired viewer won't waste the time going to the site, trying to find the resume link, then downloading the resume . . . Help your reader by making it as easy for them as possible!

Using "personal" email addresses that aren't professional.  Create an email address that's as close to your name as possible, and use that for personal professional email correspondence.

Home phone numbers.  If you have a cell phone number, use that as your principle contact number.  If someone calls you about a job, enhance your chances of answering that call!

The goal of your resume is to introduce yourself to someone who doesn't know you, and be intriguing enough to demand a response from that person.

HR’s Dilemma, Matching Resumes to Job Descriptions

I’m not trying to slap myself on the back when I say I really try to take some time to read a resume and understand transferable skills, career progression and the candidate’s growth of responsibilities and achievement.  Headhunters deal with humans.  We need to understand as much about them as possible, what they’ve accomplished, what makes them tick . . . and what they ideally want.

I continually run into hiring managers who don’t really read the resume for career growth, achievement and consistent increasing responsibility.  Rather, it seems they try to most closely match previous experience (read, keywords) with the existing job description.  There’s sometimes no overall consideration of achievement, performance and previous opportunities for advancement.  Great candidates get lost in this shuffle.

The whole situation is compounded for those poor Human Resource people caught in the middle.  They have to deal with hiring managers from multiple departments.  There is no way they can possibly understand the nuance of some increasingly technical or multi-faceted positions as well as that hiring manager.  Rarely is enough time spent between the hiring manager (department head or person the new hire will report to) and HR, explaining the need and the kind of candidate who will excel.  Rarely does the hiring manager provide a well thought out job description for HR to work with.  Everything just happens too fast . . . everyone’s too busy.

It’s not like hiring is the only thing most HR professionals have to deal with.  Most are the go-to person for questions about vacations, benefits, insurance, the lack of coffee in the break room or the annoying employee in the next office.  The larger the office, the more work is on HR’s plate.  Talk about a juggling act . . . there just aren’t enough hours in the day.  It’s the most obvious explanation of why HR gets a bad rap for not being more responsive to inquiring candidates.  These are not the harried folks I talked about in my “Screw You” posting a week or so ago.

As a result of all these competing interests, HR and hiring managers default to matching up resumes and job descriptions.  The more keywords, titles, target companies or clients the candidate has on their resume, the more attention they get (or not).  There just isn’t the possibility of spending 10 minutes reading a resume from back to front and understanding just what a candidate may have to offer.  You’ve heard that people have an impression of your resume in 30 seconds?  It’s true.  I am not advocating that the “right” way to write a resume is to incorporate all of those elements, for the benefit of the harried reader.

The other unfortunate component is that most people aren’t great at writing resumes.  They never think about having one updated and on hand.   Most never see resumes in their daily routines and frankly have no idea what makes a good one, or how to write a powerful one.  It’s one reason I was compelled to start a resume and portfolio consulting service.  I kept running into great candidates who had resumes that were not representative of their abilities.  I couldn’t present their existing resume to my client and expect that my client would have any real idea of my candidate’s potential for them.  If I wanted that candidate to be taken seriously, I had to help them with their resume.

The whole job description and resume protocol hasn’t changed in 100 years.  There has to be a better way!  If you add the online (and sometimes anonymous client) component to it, it’s an incredibly impersonal process.  You’d think we could do better, for a hiring process that is dependent on personality, and personal impressions to succeed.

The Anonymous Resume

I’m continually amazed at the lack of detail utilized by people who are trying to find a job.  They just don’t think about a common sense approach to how it should be done.  The thing that prompted this reaction is a resume I received today that had a file name . . . “Resume”!

I get scores and scores of unsolicited resumes every week.  Maybe hundreds some months.  Anyone who’s in the business of hiring, like recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers in corporations all receive many, many resumes every week.  It’s difficult to keep them all straight, under the best of circumstances and even with the finest databases and support technology available.  My plea to candidates is to help us . . . please!  Save a resume document with your name as a part of the file name.  Don’t use your initials and don’t use my name!  Amazingly, I’ve had resumes sent to me named “Bishop Resume”!

All of us out there in the “people” business need your help!  Pick a file name that’s as close to your name as possible, and tell us what the file is!  In my case, it would be Bob_Bishop_Resume 9.08 . . . simple and effective.  We have some chance of remembering a name (especially if you impress us somehow), and if we can accomplish that we can probably use technology to find your resume and other information.  At least we have a fighting chance!

This same thing is true with email addresses.  I’ve been just astounded at some of the unprofessional names people pick for their email addresses.  Don’t do it.  Don’t think of it as a “personal” email address, think of it as a professional email address that you’re using personally.  Many candidates have a specific email address dedicated to the effort of searching for a new job, or professional correspondence not coming from their office.  They use a separate one for personal use.

While on the topic of email addresses.  You should not use the address you used in school, after you’ve graduated and you’re trying to get that first job out of school.  Most of those addresses have a (limited) life, and at some point (two years in many cases) are terminated after you graduate.  Establish an email address that you intend to keep for a very long time, and use it for your professional correspondence, outside of the workplace.