Your Longevity Could Work Against You

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"What sets me apart is that I've been in the same position for 12 years and with the same company for 23 years."

Yes, that kind of longevity is certainly a big differentiator and, as I wrote a while back, potentially attractive to some employers. However, in the rapidly shifting employment landscape, what was once looked at as the hallmark of a great employee is now – by many – side-eyed with some skepticism. If that sounds crazy to you, let me provide some insight into the negative perceptions that are associated with longevity and tips for how to overcome those potential perceptions:

The candidate is unambitious – The easiest way to combat this especially negative perception is to highlight a track record of taking on new challenges. Make sure to clearly outline ways in which you’ve expanded or stepped outside of your role. Speak to specific projects you’ve taken on or responsibilities you’ve assumed. Most critically, highlight clear, quantified achievements.

The candidate lacks agility – Unlike candidates with several positions within multiple organizations, agility isn’t implied by your professional timeline. In this case, make sure to speak to overcoming obstacles in your role. Use your achievements to speak to managing transitions and, perhaps, adopting to new technologies. Speak to instances of adapting to a changing organization or industry.

The candidate's skills are stagnant – This is a perception that is fairly easy to combat, but no less critical to be mindful of. In addition to highlighting achievements that show clear growth in the role, make sure your resume is clearly outlining recent and relevant training. Show professional affiliations and, even higher impact, thought leadership through professional social media profiles.

The good news is that longevity still translates to “loyalty” in the minds of many readers, which will certainly set you apart. But times and perceptions are changing. Knowing the potentially negative way readers can view longevity means you can manage perceptions while highlighting a quality that is increasingly rare.

Linking to a Personal Website on a Resume

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Many of the creative professionals and software / web developers that I work with have on-line portfolios or personal websites. Generally speaking, it is a great idea to link to these sites from your resume so that potential employers can evaluate your work. But there is a caveat…

Hiring managers are going to evaluate the content AND the code / design of the site when considering you, so make sure you feel like your personal website or portfolio represents the best of your skills. Not just in the work you are choosing to highlight or the content of the site, the site itself. So if you are developer and your personal website is clunky, slow, or backed by inelegant code, that could be a big problem. If you are a designer, make sure your website is as visually compelling as the creative works you've curated.

The Name On Your Resume

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It's okay to use the name you are commonly known by on your resume.

So, gone are the days when you have to say "Elizabeth Jones" – "Liz Jones" is just fine. If your potential employer is going to look into your background, they'll have you fill out paperwork that asks for your legal name. That's when, naturally, you'll provide  the name that appears on your birth certificate.

Go ahead. Be YOU on your resume.

Professional Social Media, Religion, and Politics

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I am a big advocate of including links to your social media profiles on your resume. No, not your Facebook page where your Mom comments on your vacation photos; professionally focused social media accounts where you show that you are engaged in your professional community and perhaps even a thought leader in your arena. However, there are times when it is best to not even highlight professional social media.

If you use social platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest to share your political or religious views–which is a perfectly fine activity for social media–then I don't suggest including those profiles on your resume, even if they also are professional in nature. You want potential employers to evaluate you based on professional qualifications, not politics or religious views. Just like listing religious or political affiliations on your resume, by listing you’re a social media feed that plainly shares those views, you are welcoming employers to consider the content of the profile when making a hiring a decision.

On a related note, it is increasingly important to have a well-curated "social resume." While I generally encourage people to live fully-integrated lives, you have to be very careful with what you include on a professionally focused social media profile. Otherwise, you might find that all the work you've done to build a professional profile is moot because you can't feel confident sharing it with potential employers.

Tandem Empowers 2016

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It's been way too long since I've talked about Tandem Empowers here on the blog.

Many people here in the United States - and, more so, around the world - have to endure a lot of hardship. About 2 of 3 people lack access to clean drinking water and about 1 of 3 people live on less than $1 a day. In a world with so much wealth, it really is unimaginable.

On top of these already disquieting statistics, many of these same people have to endure colossal tragedies. 

Oftentimes, when I get into these topics, I have to resist the urge to feel as though I am getting “off topic” from the core purpose of Tandem. During those moments, though, I’m quickly reminded that this, too, is what Tandem is all about.

Tandem is, of course, about consulting, resume writing, and career development. Essentially, inspiring people to get more aligned with their authentic selves and, therefore, closer and closer to career (and life!) satisfaction. If you’ve used Tandem’s services or have spent some time here on the website, you likely know that it goes deeper than that.

My desire to empower people and communities transcends career development activities. In fact, Tandem got off the ground emboldened by the belief that we are all connected as world citizens. Meaning, what’s good for you is good for me.

I routinely support disadvantaged people with help in the professional development arena. I also like to have a Charity of Choice to which I donate a portion of my sales. I am currently deciding on a Charity of Choice for 2016 (maybe two!). Stay tuned.

Okay, back to resumes and consulting.

Say "Yes" to Cover Letters

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There are a few questions that are routinely in the race for my "most asked question" award.

One of those contenders is: "Do I really need to send cover letters?"

Some advice I've given before here on the blog:

First, always submit a cover letter with your resume unless a company/organization specifically asks for only a resume. An ideal cover letter can take many forms to be sure, but its main goal should be to motivate the reader to take a close look at your resume.

Moreover, I typically like to see a cover letter that gives the reader a bit more information – some “context” that will help them to make further sense of the resume. Oftentimes, a cover letter becomes more important once the list of job candidates has been whittled down. That’s when the “extras” that a cover letter provides can make all of the difference.

Now, go get to work on your best cover letter yet!

Summary of Qualifications

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A Summary of Qualifications isn't an awful thing. But a Summary of Qualifications, front and center, right at the top of your resume better be on point. Unfortunately, that's not what I often see.

Recently, I saw an overview of qualifications for a Senior Professional that read like that of a candidate right out of college. Reading through this too-junior-for-the-person section, it hit me. People often start with something like this on their first resume and simply repurpose it as the resume gets band-aid-like updates throughout a career.

In clear terms, if you are a Director with 20 years of experience, you should not be mentioning Microsoft Office at the top of your resume.

Is it time for your resume to match the current version of you?

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.