Purposeful Job Hopping

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I've had a few client's reach out in the last couple of weeks concerned about how many jobs they've held in a short period of time, which reminded me of some advice I provided a reader several years ago. That reader had shared that he was 29 years old and had held 5 jobs in a variety of industries from Retail to Accounting to Hospitality. Understandably, he was concerned that potential employers would think that he was unfocused and, in is words, "a mess." Here is the advice I gave him:

"I work with a lot of individuals who are still in the early stages of their careers. Many subscribe to the notion that you have to have "it all figured out" on the day that you graduate from college. People are reluctant to embrace the idea that it's actually a good thing to explore a variety of pursuits in order to find the right career fit – one where what you do is infused with passion. I encourage clients to get comfortable with the idea of exploring a variety of interests. No, this doesn't mean that I encourage mindless job-hopping. It simply means that it's very unlikely that you'll quickly fall into the "right" job and/or career. In fact, I work with many late-in-their-career clients who are trying to recover from the downside of staying with a career that wasn't the right fit because "that's what you're supposed to do."

Allow yourself to grow into whatever is right for you. Eliminate counterproductive thinking that keeps you doing something that makes you miserable. Trust me – it will never get better. Don't let what a potential employer might think keep you from doing what makes sense for you. The payoff will be worth it."

Including Recommendations and Quotes On A Resume

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I've recently received questions from a few clients about whether or not they should include recommendations from colleagues on their resume. I understand the thinking behind the idea; it seems like it would be really effective to include positive quotes and brief recommendations on your resume. In practice, including quotes and recommendations on your resume is not a very effective approach.

The main reason this doesn't work as well as it seems it should is that these quotes and recommendations are unverifiable. There is no way to quickly verify that the quotes and recommendations you include on your resume are real. In contrast, a letter of recommendation is generally written on an organization's letterhead. Recommendations on LinkedIn are put in by the person who is recommending you and directly linked to their profile.

The best way to share this kind of information with a potential employer is through your letter of recommendation and your LinkedIn profile.

Not Knowing is the Worst

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Sometimes you have a sneaking suspicion that your resume is working against you. Maybe you feel like you could use some help with creating something more effective, but you also can't begin to imagine what would change. I mean, if you knew what needed to change, you would just change it. Right?

That frustrating situation and the nagging thought that something isn't quite right is why I began offering my professional resume review option. Most clients who reach out ultimately move forward with my Tandem's Essentials or Tandem's Toolkit options because they know their job search documents aren't working and they need a professional to do the heavy lifting. But every once in a while someone just needs my insights to help them understand what is working on their resume and, more critically, where there are major areas of opportunity. The good news is that, if those clients ultimately decide that they need more help, a majority of the cost associated with a professional resume review can be applied to one of those aforementioned packages.

If you are dealing with that uneasy feeling that something about your resume is just not right, get in touch. Maybe all you need is a professional to point you in the right direction. Maybe you'll decide you need more help than that. Regardless, a professional resume review could be just what you need.

A Competitive Broad Use Resume

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A client recently reached out and requested my help developing a  "competitive broad-use resume," the kind that can be "posted on a job site and have lots of different employers" reach out for interviews. If you read that request and think "YES! I want the same kind of broad-use resume," I have some sobering news.

No such resume exists.

While I work closely with clients to create very agile resumes that can be targeted toward multiple opportunities (if that is the client's objective), there is no such thing as truly competitive “broad-use” resume. The most effective resumes are specifically targeted toward each opportunity. Additionally, it is perfectly fine to have a passive component to your job search strategy (i.e. uploading your resume to a job search site and waiting to be contacted), but that should just be a small part of a largely active and focused approach to securing a new position.

Should You Add Dates For Education On A Resume?

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Q. It took me 6 years to complete my Bachelor's degree. I am afraid that showing dates for my degree is going to make people wonder why it took me so long and hurt my chances of getting an interview. Any tips?

A. I have good news. There are several ways to keep the dates for your education from raising any potential red flags in the minds of readers.

The simplest answer is to not include dates for your education. Many resumes exclude dates for education since they can easily serve as a basis for age discrimination.

If your education is a key qualification and / or you need to show dates in order to address an apparent "gap," then simply include the year that you earned your degree (not the date range).

Don’t Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn

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LinkedIn has a great upload feature and you should absolutely use for rich media (presentations, thought pieces, etc.). Just don't use it to upload your resume.

There are two key reasons why I don’t recommend including your resume on your LinkedIn account:

• The most effective resume is one that is targeted toward a specific position. Of course, if a potential employer is grabbing your resume off of LinkedIn, you do not have the ability to target the resume.

• If an interested party can grab your resume from your LinkedIn account, there is one less reason to get in touch with you, which eliminates a crucial opportunity for you to develop a relationship early on. It is much more effective to be able to deliver your (targeted) resume as a second step in the process.

Space Equals Importance

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There are some fundamental truths when it comes to resume writing. One of the most basic is that space equals importance. Not whitespace, but the amount of digital ink you dedicate to each position

I see a lot of resumes where the candidate provides a great deal of detail for an older position and significantly less for a more recent (and relevant to the position to which they are applying) position. The problem is that this sends a message – if unintentional – to readers that you don't believe your most recent position is as valuable or significant as the older role.

When considering how much space to dedicate to each position, consider the following "guidelines."

• Your most recent and relevant positions should occupy the most space in your professional timeline.

• Older or less relevant positions should occupy the least amount of space in your professional timeline.

• Foundational positions (that are still current enough to even be included on your resume) might be reduced to just a title, organization name, location, and dates.

Have a look at your resume. Are you sending the subtle message that your current role is of less importance than an older position?

Get To Know YOU in 2016

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In 2015, in honor of hitting 2000+ clients in 2014, I introduced a new and improved Tandem's Toolkit.

One of the hallmarks of my service – what I believe is a huge differentiator – is a commitment to creating a “best in class” experience. That means, in addition to staying on top of what’s going on in the world of Human Resources and Career Development, I want to ensure that I am always providing the highest quality, most relevant services and tools.

Over the years that has meant regularly refining my approach to HR consulting – striving to offer the tools and advice that can help to make organizations the best employers that they can be. On the Career Development / Resume Writing side, it has meant continually tweaking my process so that it provides the most value for individuals on a quest to find and maintain fulfilling careers. It’s about a lot more than a new resume, and clients love it.

Any top-notch HR professional will tell you that a resume is a critical piece of the job search puzzle, but only one piece. As surprising as it may be to many, I am regularly saying that an outstanding resume is only a prerequisite, a starting point, a foundation. It’s the beginning of what should a be a multi-pronged approach that moves you from “looking for a job” to “managing a career.”

1) The foundation of the package is my most popular suite of job search documents – Tandem's Essentials.

In addition to a powerful resume and a compelling, individualized cover letter template, Tandem’s Essentials includes:

• A personalized resume follow-up letter template, allowing you to send a targeted letter after each resume submission.

• A sharp, LinkedIn-ready companion to your resume – ready for posting on LinkedIn or other boards of interest.

2) The package also includes the extremely popular, new guides that I introduced a couple of years ago: 

• Beyond an Outstanding Resume – 12 specific tools for taking on a multi-faceted career management approach that goes beyond submitting resumes and crossing fingers

• Maximizing LinkedIn – a thorough resource for attaining and maintaining a top-notch presence on LinkedIn

• Acing Interviews – tips for thriving in interviews

3) Finally, Tandem's Toolkit / Career Booster includes the newest addition to Tandem Powered: YouFinder.

Introduced in 2015 after careful preparation and planning, YouFinder is raising the bar in terms of clients' preparedness to take their careers to the next level.

If there's anything I've learned in the last decade+ of doing this work, it's that 1) knowing your strengths and natural talents is key for a successful career (and life!) and that 2) most clients are not in touch with their strengths and natural talents.

The contradiction between #1 and #2 keeps many careers from flourishing.

YouFinder – an easy to complete, 20-minute assessment – opens the door to an entirely new way of looking at yourself and your career. After analyzing your assessment, I'll provide details on your strengths, etc. and provide individualized tips / areas for exploration. You can also add on coaching sessions if you'd like to delve deeper into what YouFinder uncovers.

YouFinder has been a hit, and – in 2016 – I am going to go even deeper into the "whys" behind why clients should consider it when pondering which combination of services to go with.

Let me start with this.... Getting to know YOU on a deeper level is valuable even if you are already armed with a good idea of your strengths, talents, etc. The best development activity you can embark upon is going even deeper into that knowledge and using it to inform next steps.

Make this the year to energize your career! Get in touch for further details and pricing information.

Happy New Year!

Favorite 5 Career Tips in 2015

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Each year, I try to share my favorite blog posts from the year. This year, I am sharing my "Top 5" that align with the topics I was most asked about in the year.

How do I get my resume noticed?

What's the difference between achievements and responsibilities?

Is this job-search tip valid?

How do I make my LinkedIn profile more effective?

How do I best apply for a job (that I really want) when I don't meet all of the qualifications?

Need help with your job search and/or career. Get in touch!

Happy Holidays!

Leaving Education Off Of A Resume

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Every once in a while a client will share with me that she/he has chosen to leave their education off of the resume because their degree is not related to the kind of positions they are pursuing. This is a mistake.

While there are times when it is smart to not include partial education or an incomplete degree, it is almost never a good idea to leave an actual degree off of the resume, even when that degree is not aligned with your desired career path.

If you feel like readers are going to be distracted by the focus of your degree (and thus are inclined to leave it off), you need to find other ways to shape perceptions about your qualifications for a specific position or field; I recommend compelling branding elements and specific achievements.