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Your #Career : Avoid 99% of #ResumeMistakes with This Simple Checklist…They Say only Three Things are Certain in Life: Death, Taxes, and Making a Mistake on your #Resume .

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They say only three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and making a mistake on your resume. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit with that last point, but you get what I mean. The point is, resume mistakes are hard to avoid — like super-duper hard. And when it comes to your resume, even the tiniest of mistakes can make you seem careless or even outright incompetent in the eyes of unforgiving recruiters.

So how do you make sure this doesn’t happen to you? How do you prevent yourself from making blunders on your resume that can potentially cost you a job interview? Well fear not, for this checklist can help you do just that. Follow it closely and you’ll be able to avoid 99% of the resume mistakes people most often make.

1. Does this belong?

Doublecheck that everything on your resume should be on a resume to begin with. Age, nationality, criminal record, marital status, gender, professional headshot, and unrelated hobbies – none of these things need to be included.

Of course, it’s not always going to be clear whether or not you should be mentioning something on your resume. When such a situation arises, put yourself in the employer’s shoes and ask yourself if it is something you would actually care to know. If the answer is a resounding no, then rest assured you can leave it off your resume without much consequence.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2. Did someone else look over my resume?

It’s darn near impossible sometimes to catch our own mistakes. Even published writers and book authors are not above having their work proofread by their editors, so whether it’s friends or family, get someone to read over your resume and share their thoughts. Even if they don’t catch any actual mistakes, it’s great to have someone offer a different opinion on how to structure a particular bullet point or reword a given sentence in order to take your resume to the next level.

If you’re having trouble finding someone, there are online communities that are willing to offer free resume help like /r/resume on Reddit. Simply post your completed resume and wait for resume enthusiasts to critique it and give feedback.

10 Expert Resume Tips You Need to Land the Interview

3. Am I using the proper verb tense?

Resumes should be written using the past tense. The one exception is when you’re describing your current job. In that case, using either the past or present tense is fine and ultimately comes down to personal preference. However, the most common mistake I see is that the wrong tense is used for the action verbs at the start of each bullet point. Not only is this blunder very straightforward to fix, it’s also extremely easy for recruiters to spot, so be sure to doublecheck this particular part of your resume.

4. Did I eradicate the use of pronouns?

Using personal pronouns like “I” and “me” is generally considered taboo in resume writing. While there are some experts who are fine with meddling with the dark arts of using pronouns on resumes, my general rule of thumb is to always play things safe. After all, even though it’s true that using pronouns is acceptable by some recruiters, not using them is certainly acceptable by everyone.

11 Cool Jobs Paying Over $100k & Hiring Now

5. Is my formatting perfect?

There’s nothing more discouraging to recruiters than glancing over a resume and immediately noticing a formatting mistake. Whether it’s an oversized heading or a bullet point just a tad bit larger than the rest, formatting mistakes lead recruiters to believe that you’re not as detail-oriented and meticulous as they’d prefer.

While you might think that there’s no way you would ever be silly enough to make this sort of mistake, it’s actually far more common than you would think. Part of the reason why is because the formatting of your resume can potentially be distorted when saved as certain file types or opened from another computer program. This is why it’s usually advised to keep the formatting of your resume as simple as possible. Another way to avoid this is to save your resume as a PDF, which ensures that all recruiters will see your resume formatted the same way.

6. Am I making unnecessary assumptions?

Mistakes are often the results of false assumptions. This is true in life, in writing, and perhaps most of all, in resume writing. When you edit your resume, ask yourself if you’ve made any assumptions during the initial writing process where you might have haphazardly committed to certain decisions you weren’t entirely confident in. Are you unsure about the usage of a particular word but decided to use it anyways? Did you add a bullet point you weren’t too sure about including? Now is the time to scrutinize all the questionable assumptions you’ve made earlier on to prevent yourself from making foreseeable mistakes.

Remember, making mistakes is inevitable, but we always have the ability to spot and then fix them. Don’t just haphazardly glance over your resume in search for errors. Instead, narrow your focus. Use this checklist to hone in on specific types of mistakes that might have been made and then methodically fix each one. Do that and you’ll be able to craft a killer resume that will impress all the recruiters out there who are tired of seeing mistake after mistake on other people’s job applications.

The Dos & Don’ts of Resume Editing

 

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Your #Career : These Are The Answers To Your Most Burning #JobSearch Questions…From How to Follow Up with #Recruiters to Getting through Applicant Tracking Systems, Here are some Common Questions that Arise During #JobHunts .

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Looking for a job is complex. At each step you take–writing a resume, drafting a cover letter, networking, interviewing, negotiating your salary, and more–there are a million different questions you could ask.

While we can’t answer all of the questions in a single blog post (believe me, that wouldn’t be fun for you or me) we can attempt to address some of the more frequent questions that come up. After poring over Reddit, Quora, Google, and other sites, we drafted a list of some of the most commonly asked job search questions and reached out to career experts to find the answers. Here are the results.

1. I’VE SUBMITTED TONS OF APPLICATIONS, BUT I HAVEN’T HEARD BACK FROM ANYONE. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

When it comes to submitting job applications, it’s about quality, not quantity. If you’re not hearing back at all, you may want to think about whether you’re applying to the right jobs. There’s nothing wrong with aiming high, but if you don’t have the direct experience needed for the job you want, you may want to start thinking about applying to stepping-stone positions.

Another common culprit for getting the silent treatment? “The applicant probably hasn’t tailored their resume to the position and the key requirements posted for the position,” says John Singer, CEO of Professional Development Strategies.

“For each application, you should carefully read the job description and include and/or highlight specific skills and experiences you have that match what the company is looking for. Use the same language [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][as] the job description,” adds Aurora Meneghello, career coach and founder of Repurpose Your Purpose.

Other strategies to get your resume past the screening phase include finding somebody at the company to refer you, and making sure your resume is Applicant Tracking System, or ATS, compliant.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2. WILL APPLYING TO A JOB IN A DIFFERENT STATE HURT MY CHANCES OF GETTING HIRED?

It’s probably not what you want to hear, but the answer is, “It depends.” If a company doesn’t have the budget to accommodate relocation costs, or there are already plenty of qualified locals, they probably won’t be as open to interviewing out-of-state candidates. However, if you have a unique or hard-to-find set of skills and the company has a track record of hiring out-of-state applicants, your location may be no deterrent at all. Just make it clear that you’re willing to move.

“The best places to do this are in the cover letter and the summary/overview statement at the top of your resume,” says Adam Goulston, certified professional resume writer. And in all of your application materials, make it clear that you’re the best person for the job, regardless of location.

Related: Job Searching? Skip The Job Board And Take These Five Steps Instead 

3. I NEED EXPERIENCE TO GET A JOB, BUT I NEED A JOB TO GET EXPERIENCE. WHAT CAN I DO?

It may be a bit of extra work, but you can definitely gain experience without being employed full-time in a particular field.

“Consider volunteering with nonprofits . . . sometimes volunteer gigs turn into paid jobs, and they are a good way to start your resume,” says Robyn L. Coburn, author and resume coach. You can also bulk up your resume through freelance work.

“People are often willing to take a chance on a less experienced freelancer for a one-time project, especially if it costs them less than hiring a bigger firm to complete the work,” says Jessie West of West Coaching and Consulting. Then, “you can use work completed for freelance clients to show your experience on your resume.”

Finally, there’s nothing wrong with a little good old-fashioned networking.

“Ask your family and friends, or community connections . . . if they can help you find an entry-level job in their companies,” Goulston adds. “Always express willingness to start at the bottom, work hard, and learn.”

4. HOW DO I GO FROM HAVING A GOOD RESUME TO HAVING A GREAT RESUME?

One difference between the two: A good resume shows what you did at your previous jobs, while a great resume shows the impact you had.

“Make sure the resume is filled with specific accomplishments and results you’ve delivered, quantified with numbers whenever possible,” says Kelly Donovan, principal of Kelly Donovan & Associates. One tried-and-true tactic is the STAR method, in which each bullet point lists the Situation you found yourself in, Task you were assigned, Action you took and Results of your initiatives. “However, be sure that the accomplishments and results are relevant to the job you’re going for–otherwise, your reader might be unimpressed by your examples,” Donovan cautions.

This speaks to a larger theme present in great resumes: customization.

“For each application, you should carefully read the job description and include and/or highlight specific skills and experiences you have that match what the company is looking for,” Meneghello says. This is especially important if the company uses an ATS. Speaking of which, you might be wondering . . .

Related: These Are The Mistakes That Even Experienced Job Seekers Keep Making 

5. HOW CAN I MAKE SURE MY RESUME GETS PAST AN ATS?

“Every resume should be customized to the job by carefully examining the keywords in the listing, and adjusting your resume to reflect those,” Coburn says. “Always use the exact phrase they use,” because many ATSs filter out resumes that don’t contain enough relevant keywords.

It also helps to follow a few formatting guidelines so that the ATS can easily scan your resume. Try “keeping the font at 11 points or more; using one of the standard, highly readable fonts; and making sure the employment dates are justified to the right-hand margin on the page,” Coburn adds. “Bells and whistles like columns, shading, boxes, underlining, and multiple fonts only confuse the ATS.”

6. WHAT SKILLS ARE IMPRESSIVE TO HAVE ON A RESUME?

The skills recruiters are impressed by will largely vary based on the job you’re applying to. To identify the most in-demand skills in your field, look at a wide cross-section of job postings that you’re interested in and take notes on which ones appear most frequently. Recruiters may also like to see certain role-specific certifications.

There are a handful of skills, though, that are applicable to many different careers, and are worth including no matter what. A few examples: fluency in a foreign language, data analysis (especially in common platforms like Excel or Google Sheets), and project management and leadership (with concrete examples to back it up).

Related: Four Reasons Resumes No Longer Work 

7. WHEN READING A RESUME, WHAT RED FLAGS DO RECRUITERS LOOK OUT FOR?

One of the easiest ways to get your application out of the running? Typos.

“There are so many people applying for the same job, a recruiter needs to be diligent,” says business writer Mary Walton. Often, “That means they’ll throw away any resume that’s not correctly proofread without even looking at the content.” So check, double check, and even triple check your resume to make sure it’s free of errors.

You’ll also want to be careful about including long gaps on your resume with no explanation.

“Some companies have stringent hiring practices that would clearly frown on gaps,” says Susan Ruhl, a managing partner at OI Partners-Innovative Career Consulting in Denver. “If there is a gap, recruiters/hiring managers tend to become a little suspicious and so they must be explained.”

Finally, many inconsistencies, exaggerations, or straight-up lies on your resume can easily be found by cross-checking with former employers, so don’t even think about it. If a recruiter can’t trust your resume, how are they supposed to trust you as an employee?

Another big no-no is coming across as too vague. If someone asks you an anecdotal question, such as, “How have you dealt with difficult colleagues?” you should give a specific example. Again, practicing your responses (yes, that means out loud) should help prepare you for this.

 

FastCompany.com | February 5, 2018 | BY EMILY MOORE—GLASSDOOR 6 MINUTE READ

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Your #Career : Here’s Exactly What To Put On Your #Resume To Land An #Interview (And What to Leave Off)… Maybe Getting another #CollegeDegree or Adding an #Internship isn’t the Best Way to #LandaJob .  Perhaps you just Need to Update your Resume with a Few #Stats & #KeyWords.

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While resumes are often written to appeal to a hiring manager, few are ever actually viewed by a human.  “Companies, more and more, are using automated screening systems to make it cheaper and faster for them, which grossly dehumanizes the process,” said Kushal Chakrabarti, CEO and cofounder of TalentWorks, an AI-driven resume optimization and job search platform.

“That means that the first filter for a lot of people isn’t actually a person looking at their resume, it’s a robot seeing whether or not you included a keyword, scoring your resume to decide if a human should even look at it.”

As a result, Chakrabarti has found numerous ways candidates can better stand out to hiring managers and automated tools.

Over the past few months TalentWorks has tracked 4,068 job seekers across 541 distinct locations and industries to determine the resume factors that had the greatest impact in landing an interview.

Related: How To Trick The Robots And Get Your Resume In Front Of Recruiters

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL DOESN’T HELP YOU THAT MUCH

The study found that those who had a second college degree saw their chances of getting an interview increase by an average of 21.9%; a modest improvement compared to other, far less costly, and time-consuming resume touch-ups.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Image: TalentWorks]

“There is fundamentally different hireability improvements associated with different majors, but within any one industry, there’s often a lot you can do that’s more effective than going back to school,” said Chakrabarti, explaining that if you want to switch careers, getting a degree in a new field can help, but getting an advanced degree within your field likely isn’t worth it.

REMOVE BUZZWORDS LIKE “TEAM PLAYER”

Counterintuitive as it may sound, those who frequently mention buzzwords associated with collaboration–such as “team player,” “supporting member,” or “participated”–are often penalized by hiring managers. In fact, candidates with more than one or two mentions of these buzzwords on their resumes are 50.8% less likely to be called in for an interview, according to TalentWorks research.

“As a hiring manager, I’m looking for reasons to disqualify you,” explains Chakrabarti. “If I see a resume that talks a lot about collaboration, I will think this person probably didn’t have much of an impact.”

Related: This Is The Part Of Your Resume That Recruiters Look At First

INSTEAD, USE NUMBERS AND CONCRETE FACTS

While being a “team player” can signal a minimal or insignificant contribution, concrete numbers have the exact opposite effect. In fact, demonstrating results using numbers increases a candidate’s likelihood of being interviewed by 40.2%, according to the TalentWorks research.

[Image: Talentworks]

“Saying you’re a ‘leader’ doesn’t prove anything; explaining how you led your team to achieve 120% of their quota demonstrates your aptitude in leadership,” explained Amanda Augustine, a career advice expert at professional resume writing service TopResume. “Recruiters care about measurable success. If you were successful in a similar role in the past and able to deliver results, they assume you’ll perform successfully for their client or team, too.”

ADD A KEY SKILLS SECTION

While collaboration-focused buzzwords like “team player” can cause hiring managers to question the extent of your contribution, industry-specific buzzwords can serve to demonstrate a deeper understanding of a given field. In fact, adding 15 to 20 buzzwords, acronyms, and relevant key skills will increase the likelihood of being interviewed by 58.8%, according to TalnetWorks’ research.

Furthermore, since today’s gatekeepers take the form of keyword-seeking robots and potentially fatigued hiring managers, Augustine says adding a key skills section to the top of their resume can help applicants stand out to both.

“This skills section is one of the major factors in determining whether or not your application passes the initial gatekeeper and reaches a human being,” she says. “If specific skills are routinely being mentioned as requirements for the position, be sure to include them in your key skills section and incorporate them throughout your resume.”

START EVERY SENTENCE WITH DIFFERENT ACTION VERBS

Overall, the single most effective way of improving the likelihood of being interviewed for a position, according to TalentWorks’s study, is by starting every sentence with distinct action verbs. Doing so has been found to increase the likelihood of landing an interview by 139.6%–nearly seven times more than going back to school.

[Image: TalentWorks]

Chakrabarti adds that this finding demonstrates the overall theme of the research, which is that softer, flimsier claims are often punished, while strong, specific descriptions are rewarded.“If you give me soft language and weasel words, I don’t really know what do with that [as a hiring manager],” he explained. “If you can really make it concrete and make it real for me, that goes a really long way in giving me the information I need to hire you.”

FastCompany.com | January 18, 2018 | BY JARED LINDZON 4 MINUTE READ

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Your #Career : How To Talk About The Gap In Your #WorkHistory ..Sometimes, Addressing it Directly Can Be your Best Option.

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Whether you’re gearing up for a triumphant return to the workforce or grappling with the best way to explain a recent gap in your employment history, addressing time away from the professional world can be a daunting task. Given that a glaring hole on your resume will likely be a red flag to prospective employers, you’ll want to take steps to proactively answer questions they may have.

Balancing your need to provide a reasonable explanation with your right to privacy might be a bit tricky, but it’s far from impossible. Employment gaps can easily be addressed directly on a resume, mentioned in a cover letter, or discussed during an interview. Read through the approaches below to determine the strategy (or strategies!) that’ll work best for you.

ADDRESSING GAPS DIRECTLY ON YOUR RESUME

When it comes to a gap in employment on your resume, it’s best not to leave recruiters guessing. Including a brief blurb about your time away from the workforce will serve to proactively address any questions or concerns prospective employers may have. It’ll also make answering questions about that gap on your resume much easier when it comes time to interview, as you’ll have already laid the foundation for a direct, concise response. Let’s take a look at five common scenarios and how to address them.

1)  YOU WERE RAISING A FAMILY

Taking time away from the workforce to raise a child is often a deeply personal decision–-one that you may not want to discuss with a prospective employer. This is perfectly understandable, and frankly, no one’s business! That said, being upfront about your time away could increase your chances of landing an interview by as much as 40%, so it’s worth including a brief, professional explanation. Try creating a “recent experience” section below your previous, more relevant work history, or use a single line in your chronological experience section to explain your time away. Something as simple as, “Family Care Provider, 2013–Present” will do the trick.

Highlighting charity work or continuing education courses will help to smooth over a gap, too. Volunteering in a classroom, helping out with a friend’s business, or taking professional courses can all be included as relevant recent experience.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2)  YOU WERE CARING FOR YOURSELF OR A LOVED ONE

Your medical history or the health of a loved one aren’t really anyone else’s business (and interviewers aren’t legally allowed to ask), but most hiring managers can appreciate your need to take time away from the workforce to manage a health issue. Your explanation can be something as simple as “took a leave of absence to care for a loved one” or “took a healthcare sabbatical to address a now fully resolved medical matter.” List this at the top of your experience section, include the dates of your leave, and keep the explanation to 1 to 2 lines. Then dive right in to highlighting your most recent experience.

Related:This Is What Recruiters Look For In Your LinkedIn Profile 

3)  YOU WENT BACK TO SCHOOL

Going back to school to finish a degree, gain additional expertise, or earn a certification are all perfectly acceptable reasons to step away from a job. Be sure to include your education at the top of your resume (this strategy is typically reserved for current or recent students, only) so that recruiters can easily see the progression of your career timeline. If you’d like to include additional details about your program or coursework, you can also list your education as experience.

4) YOU WERE PURSUING A PASSION (LIKE TRAVELING OR WRITING A BOOK)

Unless your passion project is somewhat related to the jobs you’re now pursuing, you’ll want to keep this explanation nice and simple. That said, it doesn’t hurt to highlight a few interesting tidbits or compelling accomplishments here, either. Include a brief one- or two-line description of how you spent your career pause, and use a couple of bullet points (if relevant) to highlight your newly gained skills or achievements. When in doubt, a concise line like “Backpacked 2,190 miles across the Appalachian Trail, March 2016–October 2016” is all you need.

Related: Here’s How To Write The Best Resume In Your Industry

5) YOU WERE UNEXPECTEDLY UNEMPLOYED

If you were unexpectedly let go from a job, chances are you didn’t have something new lined up right away. Depending on how recently you became unemployed, you may not have to address a gap at all. If it’s just been a couple of months, updating your resume and highlighting your most relevant achievements will probably be your most potent strategy. That said, if you were laid off, it wouldn’t hurt to include a brief explanation next to your end date. Something like, “(laid off due to loss of funding)” would be perfectly acceptable.

Unfortunately, if you were fired and it’s been more than a few months since you were last employed, addressing your employment gap could get a bit tricky. If you can supplement your time off with volunteer experience, temp jobs or part-time work, you’ll be in pretty good shape. But if you don’t have any interim experience to highlight, try including a concise explanation like, (“departed due to shift in company priorities”). This won’t scream “fired!” but will also allow space for you to explain the circumstances of your termination in an interview.

LEVERAGING YOUR COVER LETTER

Cover letters provide a great opportunity for you to supplement the information on your resume. If you choose to include a cover letter with your application, consider addressing your employment gap in the body of your letter. Saying something as simple as, “After taking a personal leave to care for an immediate family member, I’m eager to dive into a new professional challenge” should do the trick.

Bonus: If you spent your time off learning a new skill, or if you have a relevant, compelling anecdote to share about your career pause, your cover letter is the place to elaborate!

DISCUSSING EMPLOYMENT GAPS IN AN INTERVIEW

The beauty of proactively addressing gaps in employment on your resume or cover letter is that you’ll be less likely to be asked about your time away during an interview. If the hiring manager knows that you were caring for your family for the past two years, she probably won’t have any follow-up questions for you. That means you’ll be able to spend more time talking about all the great skills and experiences you bring to the table!

If your employment gap does come up during an interview, keep your explanation short and sweet. Say something like, “I’ve been lucky enough to spend the past three years focused on raising my family, but now that my children are a bit older, I’m eager to step back into a professional role. I’m particularly excited about this opportunity because . . . ” or “I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in advertising, and decided that it was time to complete my marketing degree. Now that I’ve graduated, I’m excited to leverage everything I learned in the classroom as I continue to grow my expertise in a role like this.” Notice how the first sentence addresses the reason for taking time off, while the second line pivots the conversation to your applicable experience or enthusiasm for the role. The key is to answer the question succinctly, then move the conversation forward.

Gaps in employment can be challenging to address, but if you’re honest, concise, and straightforward, you can proactively explain your time away, ease your prospective employer’s concerns, and efficiently redirect the conversation to your relevant skills and achievements.

 

FastCompany.com | January 16, 2018 | BY JACLYN WESTLAKE—FAIRYGODBOSS 6 MINUTE READ

Three Ways To Highlight Your Career Successes On Your Resume.

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It’s amazing how often someone I’m working with will begin lamenting their lack of career success. And almost every time, during the course of our chatting and doing a “deep dive” into this person’s work history, I’ll come away dumbfounded at how wrong they are.

It’s not that you don’t have enough successes; it’s that you’re taking most of them for granted! Correcting this is essential if your resume is going to stand out. Here are three ways to get there:

1. FROM THE OUTSIDE IN

Let’s say you have a shortlist going of roles you’d be perfect for. Take a close look at the major things they’re asking for and ask yourself: What projects have I worked on that touch on this? Let’s take the following job posting excerpt for a Director of Change Management position:

Liaised with Organizational Effectiveness Leader on global HR change strategies and initiatives.

You can use this for fodder for a great accomplishment such as:

Played integral role in the development and launch of “ONECompany” initiative transforming a regional, U.S.-based HR function into a global one. Defined HR change strategies in close partnership with Organizational Effectiveness Leader, and worked heavily with counterparts in Asia and UK to achieve critical roll-out milestones.

Related: Here’s How To Write The Best Resume For Your Industry

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2. FROM THE INSIDE OUT

What drives you? Is it the challenge and exhilaration of turning a cutting-edge technology into a launched product? Is it solving internal conflicts and getting teams playing on the same page? Is it leveraging analytics to improve the user experience? Jot down three to five of your key driving motivators. Now use them as fodder for resume accomplishments.

Here’s an example of a resume accomplishment inspired by a driving motivator:

Revitalized vendor and partner relationships through deploying a value-driven sales and marketing strategy emphasizing long-term relationships versus “quick wins.”

Related:Try These Resume Template For Every Stage Of Your Career

3. PROGRESSIVE GRANULARITY

Be on the lookout for opportunities to either elaborate upon, or else split up, major successes into a series of accomplishments. I call this “progressive granularity” because you’re finding new material through getting more detailed about the work.

Here are three “before” examples:

  • I turned the underperforming New Mexico region into one of the biggest U.S. sales growth drivers for the company.
  • I generated over $26 million in annual, recurring revenue through closing deals with major healthcare and security companies.
  • I cut the formerly eight-day month-end closing process for product allocations down to two.

And now here are three “after” examples that demonstrate progressive granularity in action:

Transformed New Mexico region into a top-three U.S. sales growth driver through:

  • Building three high-performance sales teams from the ground up and introducing customized strategies across Home Health, Hospice and TeleHealth product lines.
  • Reinventing the product demonstration process for greater impact and a shorter sales cycle.
  • Identifying and differentiating high-value (or Tier 1) business opportunities from lower-value (Tier 2 and lower) opportunities, and efficiently allocating company resources accordingly.
  • Secured over $26 million in annual, recurring revenue through closing deals with Company X, Company Y, and Company Z, with the latter a multi-year exclusive.
  • Leveraged deep understanding of the Healthcare and Security sectors to achieve buy-in at the highest levels.
  • Cut eight-day month-end close process for product allocations down to two through building a comprehensive suite of standardized processes and tools, garnering buy-in from department heads, and training staff in adoption.

FastCompany.com | January 12, 2018 | BY ANISH MAJUMDAR—GLASSDOOR 2 MINUTE READ

#BestofFSCBlog : These Methods Will Finally Help You Organize Your Job Search Better.

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When you’re actively looking for a new job, you can’t afford to wing it on the organizational front. Whether you apply for five jobs or 100, you’ll soon find yourself buried in an extraordinary number of resumes, cover letters, job descriptions, and interview invitations. If you don’t keep them carefully organized, you may not identify the right opportunity–or worse, you’ll flounder when the right opportunity comes along.

If you want to stay on top of all of the applications, LinkedIn requests, and other digital paraphernalia that go along with your job search, it’s time to break up with your bad organization habits. Here are seven techniques that will help you overcome the most common job hunt organization issues so that you know the where, what, who, and how for your next interview:

1. IF YOU AREN’T GOOD AT ORGANIZING . . . FIGURE OUT WHY

Organizational skills aren’t one-size-fits-all. There are just as many ways to be disorganized as there are to be organized. Instead of haphazardly applying “organization tactics” to your job search, try to identify specific ways that you tend to be disorganized and troubleshoot those issues directly.

For example, do you tend to lose hard copies? Digital apps will be where it’s at for you. But if you forget anything that isn’t written with pen and paper, a paper calendar or sticky note wall will be a better solution. And if you aren’t sure how you like to stay organized, try something new. If you’re usually an Apple Calendar kind of person, start using a paper planner, or vice versa.

2. IF YOU HAVE A HARD TIME FOLLOWING UP . . . USE A SPREADSHEET

When your job search is in full swing, it’s way too easy to send an email and forget it. Not only can this cost you when you aren’t following up at appropriate intervals, but it can also make you feel like you’re constantly treading water without getting anywhere. Your job hunt becomes an overwhelming, never-ending headache instead of a systematic, purposeful journey.

Combat this by starting a detailed spreadsheet that tracks all the pertinent details of your job search, such as the company, job listing, and contact details. As you move through the job hunt process (and the interview process), highlight the steps you’ve “completed” so you can show yourself just how much work you’ve done along the way.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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3. IF YOU NEED REMINDERS . . . GO HIGH TECH

There’s nothing wrong with manual spreadsheets that lists all of the job search details you need to know if it’s working for you. But if it’s not working for you– if you frequently forget to update the spreadsheet, and you’re never quite sure about what your next step should be–you need to take your job search into the 21st century with a free online project management tool like Trello or Wrike.

Using a project management tool as a job seeker allows you to organize all of the job search details and automate when and to whom you should send a follow-up note. You can also adjust your settings to automatically receive reminders when it’s time to update the individual jobs or check in on the progress of the hiring manager.

4. IF YOU’RE A VISUAL PERSON . . . TRY STICKY NOTES

The sticky note wall is a tried-and-true organizational method that works for writing a book, setting goals, and yes, getting a new job. First, pick a large wall you can divide into three or four columns. At the top of each column, mark out a different stage of the job process or your job search to-do list (e.g., “Draft Resume,” “Apply,” “Interview”). Then, write each job on a sticky note and set it in its appropriate column. As you work through your job hunt and make progress, move the sticky note to the next step.

Not only can it be very motivating to see your progress in such a visual way, but it is easy to get a quick snapshot of where you are in the process by simply glancing at your sticky note wall. Pro tip: You can also use the “Sticky Notes App” on your phone or computer if a digital version of the sticky notes would save you the wall space.

Related: Job Searching? Skip The Job Boards And Take These Five Steps Instead

5. IF YOU FORGET THE DETAILS . . . KEEP THOROUGH NOTES

If you’re speaking to one or two prospective employers each week, it can be tough to remember who’s who and what you talked about. If you don’t take careful notes, you may unwittingly repeat yourself or send a thank-you note to the wrong person and reference the wrong conversation. Talk about awkward!

If that sounds like something that could happen to you, use a free tool like Microsoft OneNote or Evernote to keep track of the meetings you have. For extra memory help, pull the LinkedIn photo of the person you’re speaking with into the note sheet and capture notes like the person’s company, job title, and location. Not only can you look at a picture of a real person when you’re in the midst of a phone screen interview, but you can also easily go back and remember who you spoke with when you’re considering job offers or writing thank-you notes.

6. IF YOU’RE LOSING MOTIVATION . . . MAKE A LIST OF REASONS YOU’RE SEARCHING

If you find yourself putting off your job search or simply not looking forward to any part of the process, you’re letting the discomfort of a job hunt distract you from the reason you’re looking for a new job. Get back in the right headspace by bringing the focus back to what motivates you.

Make a list of the reasons you’re looking for a new job–toxic workplace, skipped over for a promotion, low salary, etc.–and keep it in a prominent place. Not only will this motivate you to stick to your plan and find a new job, but it will also prepare you for the interviews ahead by keeping your deeper purpose of your job search front and center.

7. IF YOU’RE FEELING BURNED OUT . . . SCHEDULE SOME DOWNTIME

Little tasks can pile up, especially if you’re managing a full-time job during your job search. Instead of spending a whole day on your job hunt once a month and getting frustrated with your lack of progress, set short but regular periods of time to check in and make consistent progress. A half-hour two or three times a week will ensure that you’re responding to hiring managers at appropriate intervals and staying on top of new opportunities as they come out.

Related:This Is What It’s Like To Search For A Job As A Black Woman

A job search is a job of its own: You’re practicing time management, patience, and even customer service as you balance your search with your current job. But you don’t have to let the complexity of all the resumes, cover letters, applications, and interviews throw you off. Just find an organizational method that works for you so that the energy you put into the job search pays off with a new job–not a new headache!

 

FastCompany.com | January 10, 2018 | BY SARAH GREESONBACH—GLASSDOOR 6 MINUTE READ

 

Your #Career : Four Reasons Resumes No Longer Work…Today, 87% of #Recruiters use #LinkedIn to Vet #Candidates during the #HiringProcess , & Traditional #Resumes are Becoming Obsolete. According to Experts, “Titles and Years of Experience are No Longer a Person’s Number-One Currency.”

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When you’re job-hunting, a resume used to be the quickest way to get your foot in the door, but that’s not necessarily true anymore. Today, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates during the hiring process, and traditional resumes are becoming obsolete.

Technology has changed the marketplace, and HR is the only vertical that hasn’t seen a rapid transition, says Carisa Miklusak, CEO of the algorithmic hiring platform tilr. “Right now tech isn’t giving people a fair opportunity to compete,” she says. “Before you blame the resume, you need to understand that they’re a byproduct of old employer values. Titles and years of experience are no longer a person’s number-one currency.”

Traditional resumes have four issues that can make it difficult to win a new job:

1. THEY FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE OVER SKILLS

Past generations valued years of experience, and traditional resumes convey this information by offering a chronological snapshot of your employment history. Today, however, candidates are being judged and employed based on their ability to perform–something that doesn’t easily come across on a resume, says Miklusak.

“Employers are interested in skills and the results someone can generate, rather than titles or previous employment,” she says. “Focusing on skills provides a fuller understanding of the candidate’s experience and capabilities, and opens up more opportunities.”

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2. THEY’RE ORGANIZED BY JOB TITLES

Traditional resumes use job titles as headings, but these aren’t always as clear as employers would like. Creative names, like “success ambassador” and “office ninja,” make it difficult to understand what a candidate does, and there is no uniform use of titles.

“When resumes are uploaded into employer databases, crawlers can have a hard time with titles and keywords,” says Miklusak. “New titles are used every day that didn’t exist prior, and they don’t always give a clear picture of someone’s skillset.”

3. THEY’RE STATIC

Candidates have to acquire new skills to stay current, and employers are often purchasing new technology that employees need to master, but resumes are static, requiring frequent revisions.

“Unless you update it each week, a resume becomes outdated by the time you need to submit or forward it,” says Miklusak. While updating your LinkedIn profile provides real-time ease, it’s flawed, too. “You’re still subject to your last job title leading off your experience,” she says.

4. THEY’RE CUMBERSOME IN THE GIG ECONOMY

Using a resume to find workers for on-demand positions is inefficient and costly for companies. “There is a skill gap in the economy, and we don’t have enough workers to fill current jobs,” says Miklusak. “Resumes slow the process down, and we have unemployed people who still can’t find jobs.”

In addition, a lot of qualified workers don’t want to be bothered. “A gig worker isn’t going to create a resume for a $15/hour holiday work,’” she says.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

For now, resumes are still the standard way of conducting a job search, so make the most of yours until new technology catches up to hiring. If a company requires that you submit your resume online, it’s a good idea to use traditional methods of putting yourself out there, suggests Miklusak. “Submit your resume online and mail it in, including a short paragraph that describes how you can add an immediate benefit to company,” she says. “Summarize your skillset that is relevant to the role and rate your proficiency.”

You can also cold call the hiring manager or HR department to bring attention to your application. “They might receive thousands of resumes, so do something to help cull yours out of that pile,” says Miklusak. “If you’re interested, you’re forced to do something to set yourself apart.”

For gig work, companies are moving to platforms like Upwork, Shiftgig, and tilr. “They’re a better tool to find new candidates instead of wading through resumes,” says Miklusak.

Finally, get out from behind your resume by expanding your network. “When you meet someone who works for a company that interests you, ask if they’re hiring any more people,” says Miklusak. “You still have to have a resume, but presenting it live or over a phone call can help you cut through the noise.”

Employers are starting to reassess their talent strategy moving forward, says Miklusak. “Based on the type of business and type of workers they need, they are finding new ways to recruit and deciding where resumes are relevant and where they aren’t,” she says.

 

FastCompany.com  | January 5, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 3 MINUTE READ

 

 

Your #Career : Exactly How To Decide Which Skills To Put On Your #Resume …Don’t just List every Software Program you’ve Ever worked With. Take these Four Steps instead.

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You know what your goal is when you’re writing your resume: You’ve got to capture recruiters’ and hiring managers’ interest in a way that separates you from everyone else in the stack.

But while you’re hopefully savvy enough to avoid listing “Microsoft Office” in your skills section, you may be missing your chance to show off what you’re really skilled at–by bragging about skills that aren’t as valuable as you might think. Here’s why, and how to fix it.

Related: How To Trick The Robots And Get Your Resume In Front Of Recruiters

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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Our national obsession with STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and math) skews job seekers’ thinking about what counts as a resume-worthy skill. Even for semi-technical and non-technical roles, many proudly tout the programming languages they know, their experience with design programs, and their work with particular databases. They hope the accretion of these skills makes them seem like modern “digital natives” (a term often burdened with ageist assumptions) worthy of landing an interview.

It’s no doubt that technical skills are crucial for jobs across many industries. Indeed, some reckon that even tech candidates tend to lack the hard skills employers require; if your coding job requires a lot of Java-based programming, you’d better know your Java. But a lot of what separates the good employees from the great is not their technical expertise–it’s their ability to work together with their colleagues. People skills, also known as “soft skills,” matter a lot. So one of your main goals in writing your resume should be to show off how great your people skills are.

Consider the familiar rap against liberal arts majors. How many college students majoring in history, philosophy, or literature get harangued at family gatherings by well-meaning relatives who think they’re pursuing a worthless degree? Because who needs a historian, philosopher, or literary critic at a business meeting? Actually, lots of companies do.

I run a program at the University of Texas called the Human Dimensions of Organizations. At the undergraduate level, we work with students to understand the soft skills underlying courses in the liberal arts. A class about the history of the Camp David Accords also teaches strategies for mediating disputes. A course exploring the philosophy of belief also teaches about the ways people’s knowledge can be affected by arguments. A semester exploring 19th-century English literature creates opportunities for empathy and for recognizing the roots of modern industrial practice.

The point here isn’t to argue for the value of a humanities education. It’s that every job seeker needs human-based skills to land a job offer. People’s collected workplace (and classroom) experience leads them to develop skills beyond the technical abilities mentioned in a job listing’s “requirements” section. Which means your resume needs to demonstrate that you’ve done exactly that.

Related: These Are The Skills You Should Exclude From Your Resume

SO WHAT ARE MY SKILLS, EXACTLY?

Figuring out which of those skills you should highlight comes down to these four steps:

  1. Identify one or two of the biggest projects you’ve worked on since taking your current job.
  2. Reflect on the biggest challenges to success in those projects.
  3. Ask yourself what you had to do (get specific–which specific steps did you have to take?) to overcome those obstacles. Those skills are the ones that you need to highlight on your resume. Some of them may be interpersonal, and others might be more technical, but chances are, none of them are “Excel.”
  4. Find the clearest, most concise way to describe those skills in terms that show off your abilities with regard to what the job listing calls for.

For instance: Did the team disagree about how to pursue a project? Did you play a role in helping your coworkers arrive at a common vision? If so, you’ve developed skills in mediating disputes and building a collaborative environment. Or did you have to take a poorly defined problem and turn it into a series of discrete challenges that you could tackle with individual projects? If so, you’ve honed your skills in project design and implementation, not to mention your team communication skills.

One benefit to going through this process is that it helps you understand your skills in practice. They won’t be these diffuse, abstract things you’ll struggle to talk about on job interviews. Instead, you’ll be able to discuss exactly what role you took in the project that inspired that line on your resume–and why, thanks to your amazing skill set, you’ll be able to meet similar challenges on your new team.

A final word of warning, though: Don’t oversell your abilities. If you’re generally not that good at resolving disputes, don’t put yourself in a position where you  may be forced to do that on a regular basis. Yes, highlighting your soft skills is key to actually getting noticed. But you (and the people you work with) won’t be happy in a position that doesn’t match what you’re actually best at.

FastCompany.com | January 4, 2018 | BY ART MARKMAN  4 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : 5 Components of an Attention-Grabbing Resume…You Only Get a Few Seconds for your Resume to Make the Cut, but That’s All you Need When you Know What Hiring Managers are Looking For.

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A resume is one of the most important documents you attach your name to. The content on these few pages can drastically change your life, presenting you with new opportunities or taking you down a new career path altogether.

ResumeInHole

With 2017 right around the corner, many “career change” New Year’s resolutions will be made. If you are seeking new opportunities or testing the job market, make sure your resume isn’t missing any of these components.

1. Flowing story.

Your resume tells your story, so make sure it is easily understood and has a great flow to it. Hiring managers have hundreds and sometimes several thousand resumes to scan, so if they are confused at any point while reading yours, it will quickly end up in the trash.

Your story should be very clear. The person reading your resume should be able to quickly understand who you are, what you currently do, what you have done in the past, when and where you have done it and how good you were at doing it.

If you need guidance, consider using a free resume builder to help tell your story using a pre-made template.

Related: Here’s How to Determine If College Is Worth the Cost

 

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2. Strong top-third.

The top third of your resume needs to quickly grab the attention of its reader enough that you get placed in the “review for consideration” pile. It’s important that you sell yourself strongly in the beginning, as nobody is going to read every word of your resume on the first round.

The average resume receives only six seconds of review time, so take that into consideration when you are putting it together. Determine how much of your resume can be read in six seconds, and make sure you are building a strong argument for yourself in that small window of time.

3. Formatted for easy reading and skimming.

Your resume will receive more attention if it’s broken down into bite size bullets and sections, rather than long drawn-out paragraphs of information. If you have a lot to say, that’s fine, just break it up into an easy to digest format.

Nobody wants to sit there and read massive blocks of text. Highlight your key points through creative formatting that allows a reader to skim through it and still retain the important parts. Nobody has time to read a resume top to bottom — use formatting to your advantage — selling yourself without writing a novel.

Related: What New York City’s New Freelancer Law Means for All Small Businesses

4. Use descriptive keywords especially in the beginning.

Regardless if an actual human or software is reading your resume, the right keywords will make yours stand out. Many human resource departments use an applicant tracking system, or ATS, which allows them to filter applications based on keywords, skills, former employers, length of experience and education. Using descriptive keywords in the beginning of your resume will help you get the attention of this software, or catch the eye of a human, if the company has someone manually scanning applicants.

Related: Making Tons of Money Means Nothing If You Don’t Have a Passion for Your Startup

5. Be specific when describing your success.

Saying you were “good” at something isn’t enough — you need to be specific. Why were you good at something? What did you specifically accomplish? Include measurable success to back up your claim of being good.

What is going to draw more attention?

  • Increased sales and production while managing a large sales team.
  • Increased sales by 218 percent while managing a team of 32 in-house sales representatives.

“Providing specific examples to what you have accomplished makes your resume much stronger and adds the supporting evidence that employers want to see,” advises Hannon Legal Group founder, James Hannon. Don’t be afraid to include impressive accomplishments — these are your selling points, so don’t think of this as boasting and bragging.

Entrepreneur.com | December 15, 2016 | Jonathan Long 

Your #Career : Should You Apply For Your Dream Job If You’re Not Qualified?…Recruiters Weigh in with some Surprising Advice on the Importance of Being Qualified to Get the Job you Want.

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 There it is: your dream job. There’s just one problem. You don’t meet all the qualifications.

If your résumé is hard to read, no one will.

It’s a conundrum. Should you channel your inner life coach and go for it? Or should you follow the rules and wait until you have the right experience or credentials? If you sit it out, you may miss a great opportunity. On the other hand, you don’t want to waste your time or, worse, alienate hiring managers by wasting theirs.

It’s a tough question, but you should almost always err on the side of “go for it,” says career expert Cynthia Shapiro author of What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here? 44 Insider Secrets That Will Get You Hired. After all, everyone has to take a job that stretches skills if they want to move ahead. Before you do, these career coaches and recruiters recommend asking yourself these six questions.

AM I 51% QUALIFIED?

Shapiro’s rule of thumb is that you should meet 51% of the listed qualifications. That’s an arbitrary estimate, but her point is that a job listing is like a house-hunter’s wish list: You ask for everything you want and understand that you’ll likely have to compromise.

“What they’re really looking for is an intangible that they can’t put in a job posting. If you’ve got 51% of what they’re looking for, you should proudly send your resume in,” she says.

 

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AM I MISSING REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO DO THE JOB?

Obviously, if you lack a specific degree, license, or specialized training necessary or legally required to do the job, you need to earn that before you apply. But what if you’re lacking the years of experience or some other less objective credential? Still go for it, says Maddie Stough, HR recruiting practice team leader at LaSalle Network.

For example, if the job description requires five to seven years of experience, she says, “You should be looking at it if you have three to 10 years of experience.” Use your resume and cover letter to highlight the responsibilities held and achievements within your job that align with what your stretch job will require.

CAN I EXPLAIN MY JOB PROGRESSION?

A spotty background with a year here and two years there is usually only problematic if it’s not strategic, says James Philip, managing director of executive search firm JMJ Phillip. You should be able to show that you didn’t just change jobs for the next title bump or pay bump, but that you were strategically increasing your experience and developing your skills, Phillip says.

“If they’ve just jumped jobs, there’s going to come a time when they haven’t really honed in on a craft,” he says. Be sure to highlight the career-focused reasons for making the moves you did.

IS MY RESUME A STRETCH?

First, make sure that you’re not stretching the truth on your resume to get your stretch job, Shapiro says. It’s very easy to find out if you actually held a title or hold the degree you have, and employers are increasingly likely to check references or even conduct a background check. So don’t include anything that isn’t true. But you can also show your best side without being deceitful.

When you’re writing your resume and cover letter, think of them as marketing tools, Shapiro says. Companies can usually teach job skills. Many are looking for intangible qualities like emotional intelligence, which is considered to be one of the fastest growing job skills. They also look for enthusiasm, corporate fit, attitude, and approach, which often can’t be taught, she says. Use your documents to convey how you approach challenges, look for ways to improve situations, and achieve success, she says.

HOW BIG IS THE COMPANY?

Phillips says it’s usually easier to stretch into a smaller company than a larger one. Big companies may have preliminary screening that matches resumes with job qualifications. If you’re in the applicant “slush pile,” you could be taken out of the running before you have a chance to shine in person. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to land that big-company job, he says. However, smaller firms may be more willing to take a chance on someone who is a little inexperienced.

DO I HAVE A CHAMPION?

A champion can change the equation, Stough says. If you have a contact, friend, or colleague who is giving you a warm introduction or recommendation for a stretch job, you’ve got a real advantage, she says. So before you apply, scour your network and LinkedIn contacts to see if you know someone (or know someone who knows someone, an otherwise “weak” connection) who can put your resume in play with a “thumbs up,” she says. That can go a long way toward getting you in front of hiring managers so you can sell yourself.

 

FastCompany.com | GWEN MORAN |  11.23.16 5:00 AM