How to Address Working for a Company in Turmoil

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“My current employer is having financial hardships. Fearful that I might be laid off, I am looking to start applying for other jobs. I lost the file to my old resume so at the moment I am without one. I also have no idea how to speak to my employer’s problems.”

At some point, most people will be associated with an employer experiencing some sort of turmoil – financial problems, a scandal, a public relations ripple, etc. Here are some things to keep in mind when and if you find yourself in a similar situation:

1. Never speak to it. So often candidates feel that they have to bring up a past employer’s turmoil. The truth is that most potential employers don’t know and don’t care. They are considering you for a job, which they believe you are qualified for. They are not asking you to speak to the actions of a previous employer.

2. As always, focus on the impact you made. What potential employers want to hear – despite the turbulent history of a previous employer – is what you did. What you achieved. If the previous employer’s negative history comes up, speak to what you were able to accomplish despite the difficult situation.

3. Always have your job-search documents ready to go. I get lots of e-mails like the one above. Always be prepared for your next move. You never know what opportunity might pop up that you may want to run to, or what problem might occur that you may want to run from.

The Importance of a Covering Letter

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I recently checked with a client who – at the start of our project – was as anti-covering-letter as anti-covering-letter gets. She was one of the many people out there who believe that a covering letter is a "throw away" item – something that needs to be done but not very mindfully. Early on, I explained to her the importance of writing a covering letter.

First off, always submit a covering letter (or, as they are called here in the States, a cover letter) with your resume unless a company/organization specifically asks that you only submit a resume. An ideal covering letter can take many forms to be sure, but its main goal should be to motivate the reader to take a closer look at your resume. Moreover, I typically like to see a covering letter that gives the reader a bit more information – some  context that will help them to make further sense of the resume. Oftentimes, a covering letter becomes more important once the list of job candidates has been whittled down. That's when the "extras" that a covering letter provides can make all of the difference.

Back to that client… She let me know that she believes it was ultimately her covering letter that got her a job. Her new employer told her that it expressed a level of interest and sincerity that set her apart from other applicants.

Covering letters are still a big part of the hiring process. So don’t skip them.

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You Need More Than a Great Resume

You’re viewing an archived post. This post was originally published by The Change Laboratory, which is now part of No Vacation Required — our platform for Everyday Fulfillment. While this content is archived, it’s still full of solid advice and timeless insights.

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I am employed in a horrible job I am desperately trying to leave, I have been applying very actively for the past months. I do get callbacks and sometimes do phone interviews and face to face interviews however I have not succeeded in landing the job just yet. I feel the only interviews I have gotten are due to the sheer amount of applications I put in each day -between 10 - 20 day. It's like a numbers game to me.

Let’s start here… focusing on quantity and quality is fundamental mistake when it comes to job searches. Two well targeted, thoughtfully researched applications are going to be way more effective than 20 applications a day. Stop relying on the ineffective and frustrating “spray and pray” approach. Instead, get a resume you are really proud of and that you can easily target toward each specific position.

Having said that, I am the first to say that powerful job search documents are only a part of a successful career management plan. That is why I place so much emphasis on the entire process; I want clients to walk away with a success orientation and the kind of bolstered confidence that can change their career trajectory. Projects are about a lot more than a new resume, and that’s why I love what I do.

My full-service clients walk away from their projects with the guide, Beyond an Outstanding Resume. The suggestions in Beyond an Outstanding Resume serve as guideposts to point clients in the right direction, steering them away from “looking for a job” when necessary and moving them to comprehensively navigate their path to achieving the ultimate professional goal: career fulfillment.

Perhaps most important… An outstanding resume and what clients take away from Beyond an Outstanding Resume, get them out of the awful cycle of being 100% dependent on job search documents when it’s time to move on. The guide’s 12 tactics have clients reporting back that they feel bolstered in their quest to comprehensively manage their career.

Designed Resumes Do Not Set You Apart

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I read so many resumes at work that I’ve also become immune to the super flashy style of some current resumes and want this to be a very clear, concise document that doesn’t have to rely upon glitzy formatting.

That’s an excerpt from an e-mail from a senior-level client I recently worked with.

About once a month, a client or potential client sends me “Marissa Mayer’s resume” as an example of how they would like their resume to look. If you take a look at the post I wrote about those e-mails (and the resume in question), you’ll see a detailed critique of the approach.

What that post doesn’t address, though, is the critical point that my savvy client references in the above quote. Designed resumes are now so common that they don’t set you apart. Additionally:

• Highly designed resumes do not play well with automated software, and that's where many resumes start in today's hiring environment.

• For every person in the hiring continuum who appreciates a design-forward resume, there will be nine who don't. Simply put... When it comes down to the presentation of solid, achievement-centric information, designed resumes miss the mark.

As I've said here on the blog many times, I do think there is room for varying degrees of a designed resume, depending on the specifics of your situation. For example, I've seen design-forward resumes work very effectively as a "leave behind" after an interview. The reason? The organization is already working with your primary resume – the one that is clearly presenting specific achievements and your actual impact. This "leave behind" version simply presents your information in a unique way.

Work and Your Health

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I worked 6 months as a Software Development Engineer Intern at XXX, and then I got converted to a full time employee and worked as Software Development Engineer for a year.

But during the year I got stressed and my health declined too. Mainly because I wasn't able to live up to the expectation of my manager and team members. I was constantly stressed. I don't know how or what happened. I started being aloof from people and that loneliness further added to my problems and I fell into depression. I took 2 months of leave. When I returned I was being monitored quite strictly because of my performance before, and this I couldn't handle well. I got severely frustrated and quit my job. A really really good job, with a really good pay scale and great opportunities for growth.

I need advice about how to take next steps as I am very down in confidence and all I feel that I may not get that good level of job again.

Last week, I received a lot of e-mails about my post on Workism – elevating the role that work plays in your life to unhealthy levels. Sadly, though, that is not unusual. Thanks to the increasingly competitive employment landscape, e-mails like the (lightly edited) one above regularly flow into my inbox.

Have you had something similar happen in your career? Here are three suggestions:

1) Regularly scout “the best” companies. Always have an idea of places you’d like to work. Believe me, the span is wide when it comes to healthy vs. unhealthy workplaces. As a matter of fact, I’ve started to limit my Business Consulting practice to only organizations that have decent work environments (and are actively working to make them better). There are a lot of toxic work environments out there. Steer clear.

2) Evaluate your relationship with work. Are you searching for too much meaning in work, causing you to fall prey to some of the symptoms of Workism? Check out the list and honestly evaluate your relationship with each factor.

3) Start with you. You can give to others (friends, family, employers) no better than you give to yourself. That’s why I always say that life’s greatest challenge – and greatest reward – is figuring out yourself. Nothing can take away your confidence if you have a strong sense of who you are. With deep self-knowledge, setbacks become road bumps rather than complete life-derailing events.

Currently, I’m putting the finishing touches on my ultimate manifesto for living with purpose and vision (it’s all about figuring out you). Watch for it in the months ahead. For now, feel free to sign up for newsletter updates by clicking on the green box in the lower right corner.

Update: Our podcast on how to avoid the trap of workism is now live. Additionally, our book – Stop Hating Mondays – is also available for individuals looking to build more fulfilling, on purpose lives.

Don't Use That Photo on LinkedIn

You’re viewing an archived post. This post was originally published by The Change Laboratory, which is now part of No Vacation Required — our platform for Everyday Fulfillment. While this content is archived, it’s still full of solid advice and timeless insights.

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With average attention spans diminishing to nearly no time at all, first impressions are more important than ever. Because of that, things like your LinkedIn photo choice matter. It’s likely the very first thing employers will see when looking st your social resume.

With that in mind – and because people often make terrible photo choices – I am resurfacing my go-to guidance for selecting a LinkedIn picture.

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I hate talking about LinkedIn photos – as an HR professional it is upsetting to me that one's picture is increasingly being taken into account during the hiring process. My distaste (and the law) aside, it is a reality that your profile photo will play some role in the hiring process. With that in mind, I think it is time to resurface some tips for selecting an effective LinkedIn profile photo.

Here are some things to consider when selecting your LinkedIn (or other) profile picture:

Don’t crop a group photo – You may think that the photo of you with your arm around your buddies at a football game is the best picture of you. Your team won, you look genuinely happy, and the lighting is really good. That may all be true, but when that picture is cropped to be you and the shoulder of a friend, it’s going to look silly on your LinkedIn profile.

Go as high quality as possible – Pixelated, low-quality photos make terrible profile pictures. You may be striking just the perfect balance of professional and approachable, but if the quality is bad, it doesn’t matter. Always upload the highest quality picture possible.

Avoid the flash shadow – You’ve seen this picture. Someone standing in front of a cubical wall looking like a deer in the headlights with a horrible shadow behind their head. This kind of photo could make a nobel laureate look like an amateur. Good lighting matters – a lot.

Don't use a wedding photo – Ever.

In a perfect world, your LinkedIn profile picture would have zero relevance. But the fact is that readers will make immediate judgments based solely on your photo, so take it seriously. Plus, you've likely got a camera in your pocket that delivers the kind of quality photos once available only to professionals (portrait mode on iPhone is a perfect example), so if you don't have a great picture to choose from, grab a friend, fix your hair, and go find some nice natural light.