Career Management Alliance Blog

Occasionally, I am asked to speak to college graduates about the “reality” of a job search. The rules I present to grads are useful to any job seeker.

• Don’t speak to strangers, and that includes HR
• No one thinks you are as interesting (or as smart) as you do
• No one cares about your career but your mom

Don’t speak to strangers…
As a former HR wench, I can say HR is the gatekeeper (and we are good!), and you must try to avoid them to get in the door of your dream company. Contact the department manager or anyone in a decision making position outside of HR.

No one thinks you’re interesting…
A rule to remember when you are networking and interviewing. Keep your responses simple, direct, and short. Listen as well as speak. Be interested in others and ask questions to open a dialogue.

No one cares about your career…
The days of expecting a manager or company to keep your best interests in mind are long gone. The days of mailing out resumes and sitting back to wait for the calls to pile up never were productive. You must be willing to make contacts, follow up, and document your achievements when you do land a job.

OK, these rules might not be as practical as the clean underwear thing, but moms can’t be experts in everything!

Posted by Faith Sheaffer-Thornberry

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I am struck by the number of people who have worked for decades within a corporate structure and then, at some point in their 50s or 60s, decide they want more control over time spent working, place of residence, and type of work. They decide to work as independent consultants.

The new emphasis on personal branding is particularly exciting for the growing number of over-50s who decide to go the consulting route. They have had long enough careers to develop a strong brand and now need to articulate it in their marketing communications. At the beginning of their work to build a “consulting resume” or a “business resume,” consultants have an opportunity to take an intimate look at:

• What has driven my career to date?
• What am I motivated to offer the world in the last third of my working life?
• What are the signature achievements that most fully expressed my brand and benefited my organization?

The consulting resume is unique in that it can more fully express a personal brand than a job seeker’s resume can. It is both grounded in a long career’s experience and fully aligned with the person’s business (his/her own consulting practice.) Branding has the potential to open new doors for “Third Age” consultants by communicating a strong value proposition and unique selling points. Branding also enables consultants to raise their rates and avoid becoming a commodity.

Posted by Jean Cummings

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About every other client who comes to APerfectResume.com has an existing resume that they’ve either just created or have been using for some time. And it’s astounding the number of senior executive candidates who show me something straight off a Microsoft Word template.

This is what normal people do. Nope, scratch that. This is what below-average job candidates do. This is by no means a bash against MS Word, but executives, I really have to command you to just not use it. It doesn’t apply in your case.

There are a couple of problems with a very experienced candidate using a template:

• Think about what the word template means. It’s a formula. It’s meant for everybody to use. If everybody uses it, how are you going to stand out?

• The template is instantly recognizable as a template. All professionals in the employment industry can see it’s a template. This says that you have no ability to go above and beyond.

• The reason for using a template is you can’t come up with your own format. So you fill in the blanks in the format that’s provided. Just this week I had an executive with essentially zero education, but 30 years of fabulous experience and accomplishments, begin his resume with education, because that was the section that came first. It was wrong, just wrong.

These resume samples were all born of a blank piece of paper. THAT was the template. I like for the client to breathe life into the resume. It’s a very individualized process, and the result is genuinely, uniquely reflective of you, and you alone.

Posted by Jewel Bracy DeMaio

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In our home, we have a Thanksgiving tradition that was started many years ago when the children were little. Now, the children aren’t children, but we still do the tradition. I always look forward to it. Our only “rule” is that each family member puts some serious thought into this question, What Are You Thankful For? beforehand.

After our Thanksgiving meal, we gather together to hear what each person has to say. It’s a very special time we all anticipate and treasure. You don’t get to “pass” and you don’t get a “bye” and a response of “everything” doesn’t count. This is serious family business!

As I was thinking about what I will be sharing this year, my thoughts turned to my professional life and what I’m thankful for…life-work that I love; clients who make what I do so worthwhile; colleagues who have become good friends; professional organizations that offer tremendous value to their membership (whose leadership works tirelessly to make it possible); and the hundreds of career bloggers who so readily share their wisdom, thoughts and ideas for the benefit of all. These are a few of the many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving, and always. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

posted by: billie sucher

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At the Kennedy Recruiting
Conference in Orlando, FL earlier this week, I sat in on a Q&A
session with four recruiters representing both contingency and retained
search firms. All agreed that the most desirable candidates:

1. have a polished elevator pitch and an enthusiastic delivery.
2. discuss what they have done, (accomplishments) not what they do (tasks).
3. use a reverse-chronological format for their resume.

They went on to say that the best interviewees:

1. are completely honest.
2. ask questions throughout the interview to create a dialogue.
3. limit their responses to one or two minutes.
4. never bring up salary in an interview with a hiring manager.
5. let the hiring manager know they are interested in the position.

Barbara Safani

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This week, I volunteered to meet with job seekers and career changers at the CareerBuilder Job Fair held in Valley Forge, just outside of Philadelphia. It was sometimes fun and consistently challenging to meet so many people. Within a six-hour period, I must have spoken with 40-50 curious candidates; each one presented a unique story and a somewhat fragile sense of themselves. I ended the day wondering if these brief encounters would have a lasting impact on the job search campaigns of the candidates. Let me share my driving-home thoughts with you:

• If I could have collected $10 from every candidate whose resume
  included an amorphous “Objective,” I would have more than $500! Then
  add another $10 for repeated use of each of the following:

• small fonts;
• densely packed paragraphs of text;
• descriptions of job duties rather than accomplishments; and,
• repeated use of the dreaded phrase, “responsible for…”

Oh, the places I could go with the funds I could have collected!

A carefully branded and well-written resume serves as a powerful marketing tool that reflects on previous success stories; properly designed, it navigates a path to where
you want to be - in the future. The people I spoke with wanted to be doing something else, but their resumes kept them neatly tied-into their past. Some of Bob Dylan’s lyrics played in my head, “no direction home…like a rolling stone…”

Please click here to review an article that appeared in more than 10 Sunday newspapers that subscribe to CareerBuilder (Download 0405-TRIBUNE_EDITED_E-MAIL.pdf); I posted it here to share some of the tips I offered to “avoid the round file.” My impression is that most of the job fair candidates do not wish to invest in the services of a professional; they want to write their own resumes. To do so, these candidates are advised to consult articles and books written on this topic. Among many others, they may consider Quintessential Careers and the Riley Guide online; Enelow and Kursmark
in-print. It is important to create and update an effective resume, but remember that resumes are not the only tool you’ll need to launch an effective job search campaign and maintain your career health. To accelerate your career, consider the benefits of hiring an expert; click here to find a member of the Career Management Alliance.

Posted by Karen P. Katz

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Let’s see if we can generate a little controversy on the heels of the 60 Minutes segment about Millennials…

It’s the same story: over-protected middle class children of Boomers have grown up to become under-worked adults? You’ve heard it: they are can’t accept constructive criticism, expect to move to the corner office within months of their arrival, and need to bring their dogs to work so they can leave early to take Rover to obedience school.

So do you buy it? If you are a Millennial, does this sound like you? If you are a Boomer, is this an accurate description of your children?

If you missed the program on Nov. 11th, let’s see if this technologically-challenged Boomer can provide you with a link to view the 12.55 minute excerpt:

The Millenials Are Coming!

So ya’ll come back now and raise a ruckus about this - do it on the boss’s time and post it from your Blackberry…

Karen P. Katz

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Getting an interview is a big deal and for sure, it’s hard work to land one in today’s competitive market. Having said that, when you do get such an opportunity, make sure that what you’ve been told by “insiders” is factual, and not a “rumor.”

My friend submitted a resume for his “dream job.” Prior to doing so, he scouted around for somebody who knew somebody within the organization. Good move, smart move. Internal contact…potential information generator. He was told by his “internal source” that even if he was granted an interview, rumor had it they’d already made their pick…an internal candidate named “Jane Doe.”

A couple of days went by and my friend got a call; he’d been selected for an interview. Courtesy interview or not, my friend went because of the stellar reputation of the employer. When he arrived, he was greeted by none other than Jane Doe, the very person slated to get the job, according to “inside sources.” As it turned out, Jane Doe announced to him that in fact she was relocating to another state and would be “sitting in on the interview.”

Bottom line, the “insider information” was inaccurate. While well-intentioned, the source simply didn’t have all the facts and communicated erroneous information to my friend. Moral of story: get the facts – straight from the horse’s mouth.

Posted by: billie sucher

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At a meeting last week I surprised people with the advice that this is a good time of year to step up your job search. Typically people think of the winter holidays as a time to ease up on job search activities, thinking “not much will be happening” at this time of year. However, an article by Sinara O’Donnell in the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal says otherwise. From the perspective of a recruiter, she debunks 5 job search myths, and she points out the extent to which holiday hiring actually does take place.

The myths, according to O’Donnell:

• nobody hires in December
• you won’t find the job you really want in December
• nothing ever happens after December 15, so you might as well leave town
• even if an employer has an opening, the hiring manager won’t have time to meet with you
• you’ll have a better chance if you wait until the first of the year

The reality:

• this is an excellent time for networking
• there’s less competition (thanks to the myth)
• companies sometimes have to spend money in their budgets before the end of the year
• recruiters are motivated to place people so they can maximize their commission by year-end
• many companies want to start the year off strong, with their best team on board

What you can do to jump start your job search around the holidays:

• use holiday gatherings as an opportunity to network
• use holidays (especially Thanksgiving!) as a time to thank those who have been helpful in your search so far
• develop a list of target companies and share that with family and friends, and contact target companies - whether or not they have job openings - many companies are in the planning stages and your letter will arrive just as the need has been identified
• continue to look for job leads and submit your resume in the traditional ways

With a strong job search plan in place, you increase the chances that your season will be jolly.

posted by Wendy Gelberg

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I recently spoke with a friend who is traveling to Africa and volunteering her photography skills for a fundraising campaign. She recently retired. I am hearing more and more people who, as they approach their retirement years, are thinking about what to do and what’s important to them in the second half of life.

Similar to my friend, many find themselves more interested in giving back to the community and figuring out what talents they have and want to use next — particularly in the fields of education and social services. Others never lost their thirst for adventure.

As a result, a growing number of Americans are joining the Peace Corps later in life. The agency offers a 50 Plus program which puts the skills and life experiences of Americans past 50 to work in countries seeking Peace Corps volunteers.

According the the agency’s website, one of every 20 volunteers these days is over 50. Many are retiring, and others sign up to rejuvenate their lives with a mid-career change. If you are fascinated with the idea of learning about other cultures or traveling, this is one way you can experience new adventures while helping the world.

Posted by Louise Garver

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