Unemployment is hovering at around 8% and because we are in the midst of what I feel is a technological paradigm shift that will literally change the way businesses operate, it may not ever go down. However, according to CollegeStats.org, a bachelor’s degrees in 2008 earned about $26,000 more on average than workers with a high school diploma. Additionally, the unemployment rate for those with the four-year degree is only at 3.7%.

Now unfortunately, 3 out of 5 employees today do not possess a bachelor’s degree, and with the rising cost of education and folks like Paul Ryan fighting against renewal of the current interest rate of loans for low-income college students (which would double the interest rate from 3.4% to 6.8%), attaining a degree is becoming more and more of a pipe dream for many. In fact, for more than 20 years, universities across the country have been raising tuition at rates faster than costs have risen on any other major product or service. Tuition has risen four times faster than the overall inflation rate and even faster even than increases in the price of gas and healthcare.

But you can’t argue disparity in average income and unemployment rate between those with and without a four-year degree.

William M. Mitchell, CPRW
http://www.theresumeclinic.com

“The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win.” – Vince Lombardi

It is perhaps the most common, yet commonly overlooked reason why most of us do not reach our goals: lack of motivational staying power. We all start the year the same way. January 1st is packed full of energy, will power, and motivation that has us joyously hopeful when it comes to our careers, our health, and our family commitments. We then bore head-long into a whirlwind of activity in pursuit of these lofty goals that will make our existence a better one. But by February 15th, we are usually already seeing signs of slowing. That three times per week workout has already turned into once every other week. That business plan you worked on for an hour a day hasn’t been looked at for two weeks. The family time you set aside has already been sucked up by that new work project. And of course, that plan to eat right has been decimated by the attendance of two birthday parties with cake and food.

On January 1st, we are excited and shovel coal into the engine to make it hot and produce energy. But what we don’t regularly do is FIND A WAY TO KEEP THE COAL IN STOCK TO FUEL THE FIRE.

Document Your Goals

That New Years resolution should not just be “said”, it should be “written”. Writing it down makes it real, much more so than just verbalizing it. There is something magical about that “pen to paper” (or in today’s world, fingers to keyboard). Anyone who has achieved a great deal of success in their lives can tell you that it all started here. Documenting your short and long-term objectives serves as the core for structuring your day to achieve each of these. If your long term plan is to start a business, how much of your time per day or week will you spend on the business plan? On research? On networking? Laying out your goals helps you to visualize the endgame, making it tangible.

Big Picture Focus at the Start of the Day

Mike Tyson said it best: “Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth”. So you vowed to get up every morning and work out, or work on your new business plan. Well, when that alarm clock “hits you in the mouth” at 5:45 am, what then? When it is still dark outside, the floor is cold, and that pillow feels oh-so-nice, what is it that will get you out of bed every single day to meet the promise you made on January 1st? The big picture will! Remembering what it is all for will play the key role in lifting you out of bed and into action. Find an excellent book of quotes that contains your favorite motivational thoughts and place it bedside to lay your eyes on daily. Once you are up, start the day off with some reading that supports those goals. If you’re like me, a strong cup of French press coffee will be keeping you company when you do. Just be sure to “feed the beast” at the start of the day to provide fuel for the daily fight and give you the impetus to lead the roadblocks that will no doubt be in your way.

You Gotta Shoot BIG!!!

Whether you know it or not, small plans will never keep you motivated. Shoot for the moon, man! Now, the only small goals should be those that are part of the big picture. This, of course, makes sense. But if your overall encompassing goals are not challenging, then on that cold morning you’ll easily be able to reason that you can work on this tomorrow. “Tomorrow”? it is always going to be “tomorrow”, isn’t it? When your goal is a challenging one, you MUST get up. In essence, you want to be sufficiently scared to keep moving. Nothing wrong with a little fear to motivate you.

Weed Out the Negative Influences

It is bad enough that we have to battle on a daily basis the negative thoughts that creep into our own heads. The last thing we need to deal with are those same thoughts from others and the things we are exposed to. It is just the natural reaction of most people to be pragmatic and point out all the reasons you should not take a risk or make a push to change your circumstances. You can’t cut family, but if they are not supportive of your goals, don’t discuss it with them. Who needs the negative feedback? Your research has already exposed many of the potential pitfalls, so no need to think about them daily. Surround yourself with like-minded people who are going in the same direction and have the same goals.

Build a Physical Environment to Support Productivity and Positive Thought

Now, not everyone is the same, but I personally cannot think in clutter. Whatever environment helps to keep you focused, build that environment for yourself. Have a dedicated area for the work that you do, and surround it with the things that keep you going. Ensure your environment has the proper tools, such as a printer, scanner, shredder, file cabinet, and other things. Also, here is a good place to post up those goals where they are in plain view. I am a firm believer that environment plays a huge, HUGE role in how we view the world and ourselves, and can significantly affect your productivity and motivation.

Now, LIGHT THOSE FURNACES AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!

A common mistake that job seekers make when trying to develop a strategy for constructing their resumes is assuming that they need to communicate the totality of their skills and experiences to every reader. This sounds like a viable plan on its surface and it is an understandable assumption from the perspective of the applicant. But the key to success, CONSISTENT success, is to always put yourself in the seat of your reader. It is always about the other side of the desk during your job search. Does the hiring manager really need to know the “whole” story right up front? The answer is usually no.

Hiring managers don’t really care about everything you’ve ever done in your career. When there are 100+ resumes and cover letters that need to be cut to 20 by the end of the day, this simply is not realistic. The employer has a specific set of problems that need to be solved at the end of this process. Your resume’s job is to quickly explain how you are the ideal solution to their unique problem. Now of course, if your background is consistent with the needs of the current position, you really don’t have that issue. But if you are an applicant submitting a resume that has expertise in three or four areas, you need to beware. 

Stressing a diverse background with no focus may communicate to the reader that you lack focus and dedication to use of the skills they are looking for. It will also confuse a reader during a brief review because they will not search through the entire resume for the skills and experiences they need to see. After all, the resume before and after yours told them everything they need. The only times a the broad brush stroke approach actually works for your resume is when you are seeking consulting positions or perhaps applying to grad school, where knowing a little of everything may be just what the reader wants to know. But that is likely it.

Be sure to make the focus the relevant experience and skills of each position, even if not in the standard job description. For example, if your last job title was a Database Analyst but you are seeking a position as a Project Manager, address all of the project management related duties and projects you worked on first, even if they were secondary in priority. After all, they will be top priority for your reader. Ensure your profile/summary section communicates focus on the target positions. Research the keywords related to your new target to ensure the database has something to hold onto and your reader. 

Your chief concern is creating a “perception” where the reader sees and feels you as the type of professional you’re trying to become. In 15 seconds, so in our example above, the reader should get the sense they are reading the resume of a Project Manager, not a “Database Analyst who has a little project management experience”. See the difference?

Press On My People!!!

Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.
- Publilius Syrus

Okay, so your shiny new resume and cover letter got you the first interview and it went very well. You are now asked in for a second interview and it looks like you will eventually be made an offer. Excellent news!

But alas, your job isn’t done yet.

Applicants are all too often ready to jump on the first offer made by an employer, as they are happy just to be working. But remember, if you have presented your skill set well and impressed in the interview the way you should have (given the practice runs and research you did, right?), then you are just as valuable to them as they are to you. With that, be sure you take the time to know your true worth so that you know if the offer is a good one. Actually, it is recommended that you never accept a job offer on the spot. Let the employer know that it is a great position and you are considering accepting, but would like a day or so to think things over.

Instead of comparing your value based upon a job title alone, be sure you are matching it to a job description. Titles and associated responsibilities are not always consistent across companies or industries. Also, remember that the larger companies usually pay their employees more than smaller companies because they usually have higher revenue per employee. Lastly, if you plan show your findings to the hiring manager, you want to use employer-reported data, which will be considered more credible due to the fact that it accounts for all company factors that influence compensation.

The World Wide Web has numerous tools out there for you to use to get an idea of what your new position should pay. Using criteria such as region, experience level, education, and industry, these calculators can provide you with a solid range and median for your position.

Some of the more popular calculators include:

Salary.com
PayScale.com
The National Association of Colleges and Employers
Careerbuilders
Monster.com

“One arrow does not bring down two birds.” - Turkish proverb

I work with many clients who bring a multitude of skills to the table. In the performance of job duties, this can be a tremendous blessing. However, with regard to the career search process, this can be a curse if not handled correctly on the resume. It is not uncommon for job seekers to attempt to “communicate the breadth of my experience” evenly on one resume. While it sounds quite admirable from the job seeker’s end, it does not work for the person on the other side of the hiring process who needs to know quickly what it is you have to offer that will help them to solve their immediate problem.

Think of the situation this hiring manager is likely to be in. They (like everyone else) are overworked and underpaid, with subordinates who are tugging at their coat tails, while their supervisor is on them about two other projects due. And oh, by the way, they need to get this stack of 110 resumes down to a workable 15 by the end off the day. Now, if your relevant experience is underdeveloped on your resume due to spacing issues and also buried within content covering three or four other vastly different career path concepts, what is the likelihood that he/she will see it? And even if they do, the resume is likely to come across as a little scattered and unfocused.

It is always better to approach one’s resume from the perspective of the employer. What are they looking for? What is the priority? Does my background consist of this and what is the best way for me to convey that in my resume to communicate that to them quickly? What the reader should feel when they read your resume is “I see you need A, B, C, and D … well I bring that to the table in spades, and it is primarily the direction I am pursuing in my career.” What a brad resume communicates is “I can do a little of this, a little of that … I am okay either way and have no particular direction”.

Which applicant are YOU going to hire?

Just think about the database implications. If a position has, say, 15 keywords that would ideally ping the database and show you are qualified, how may are likely to be missing because you decided to cover four other targets with different keywords in your resume?

In a point in our economic history where jobs are scarce because entire industries are in danger of disappearing, this broad strategy will really find a lot of people languishing in the market for months and they won’t even know why.

- First, be sure to “optimize” your resume for each submission and not just send in the same resume for each position type. Review job descriptions to see where you can strengthen your resume’s keywords or highlight those skills that seem to be most important to the hiring authorities.

- Ensure that you are executing as many “job application actions” per day as you can. I actually had a client that once asked why her resume wasn’t working. Ends up she’d only applied for 8 jobs in 3 months. Really???

- Be sure to work your personal network. Make sure that your professional colleagues, friends and family know you are in the market for employment. Giving them a few copies of your resume couldn’t hurt.

- Send resumes to companies that haven’t posted openings Did you know that positions are filled before a position is even made public?

- Work with a recruiter to leverage your efforts. They are paid by the hiring company, so it costs you nothing.

- Contact temp agencies and see what they have to offer. In today’s economy, many companies use temp agencies to “test” employees for positions that eventually become permanent.

- Follow up resume and cover letter submissions when you can with phone calls, emails, etc. Statistics show that the first person to place a follow up call to a job posting has a 95% chance to get the job position and those who call the following day only have a 1% chance. The idea here is to become a “person” instead of just another “application. Sometimes, this can result in a phone interview on the spot.

- Contact your Alma Mater’s alumni services or career center resources to see what they can offer.

- You MUST integrate social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook into your strategy.

I have been receiving a larger percentage of call volume than usual of people looking for a resume to apply to federal positions. But many don’t realize that the product is very different than their private sector counterparts.

First, while your average private sector resume is limited to two pages (many HR professionals and recruiters have openly admitted to tossing those that are three pages or longer), the federal resume is measured by character limits per section and not overall document length. Most federal vacancies allow up to 5000 characters per employment entry. They also usually allow 20,000 characters in the “Additional Information” section. That is a lot of information. To give you an idea of how much, I just checked one of the two-page resumes I did not too long ago and it measured 8000 characters total.

Next, while as resume writers, we usually like to target every resume, it is even more imperative for the federal process. Your keywords will determine if you even get past the initial cert part of the process. If your resume is low on content with poor keyword strength, you’ll lose out. Researching the job vacancies and those that are similar will provide you with excellent keywords and concepts to ensure you are addressing the needs of the position. If you are low on experience, another way to satisfy this is by including some of your coursework and even some course descriptions from your collegiate career.

When it comes to the position headers, federal resumes include several items that their private sector counterparts do not, such as supervisor names and contact information, physical address of employment, and even ending compensation (although some recommend leaving it off of your presentation version, it is requested when completing the online resume builder).

These two resumes are so different that you should never use one interchangeably. Be sure you have separate federal and private sector versions of your resume for optimal effectiveness when going with a two-pronged job search.

And try not to wait until the last minute to put them together, okay?

What do each of these have in common? They were all considered the primary way doing something, and at some point immediately became a relic and a thing of the past. If there is one thing that remains constant, it is change. To assume something will never morph or evolve makes no sense if one simply looks back on history. Just because one cannot conceive of what that change will be doesn’t mean one is not eventually coming. For example, if you were not involved in tech, did you REALLY see the ability to make free Skype phone calls and pay your bills over something called the Internet back in 1985?

As resume writers, we also have to look at our industry and anticipate where the changes will come that will affect our core value to our clients. When most people think of a “traditional” resume writing service, they think of either an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper that is mailed in to an employer, or an electronic version of the same document uploaded to job boards, company websites, or emailed to a recipient. But is this where the evolution stops?

We are already seeing LinkedIn become a major player in the job search game. LinkedIn not only provides job seekers with job postings and a medium for posting information similar to one’s resume, it offers excellent networking opportunities (STILL the #1 way to find a job). But even with LinkedIn, one still needs their content to be well-organized, concise, written in the appropriate voice, and proofed for grammatical correctness and phrasing consistency. Considering these development needs, us resume writers still provide immense value to our client base. But can we conceive a scenario where our unique skill set would be obsolete? It is worth consideration.

In one scenario, I imagined a nationwide and centralized database used by the majority of employers consisting of job seekers’ “vitals” regarding their employment history, education, training, affiliations and other qualifications. But in such a scenario, a change in career would be difficult. With a system used for employment purposes that is strictly data driven by past hard facts, it would be difficult to change your career path, as such a database would not likely be able to account for lesser-used skills and experiences that would translate to the new target. Because of this, even a tool like this would require a vehicle for creative input to ensure that the applicant can show the reader where they match up with the position requirements for the new career goal. Without it, one would be stuck in a particular career path with no way out.

I think my job is still safe. At least for now. No telling what the future holds.

My friend often worked career fairs and he and his colleagues would collect hundreds of resumes at a time, with the ultimate goal of trimming each of their stacks down to around 20 to 25 resumes. According to this professional, there were two major criteria that immediately resulted in the elimination of 75% of the submissions:

1) Resumes Longer than Two Pages – As a busy H.R. professional, my friend felt that the applicants did not respect his time by submitting unfocused three and four-page documents. It showed not only a lack of awareness of (or respect for) the process, but also demonstrated an inability to communicate briefly and succinctly. It is very rare that one’s qualifications cannot be communicated well enough in a two-page resume to convince the resume reviewer that you are worthy of an interview.

2) Resumes Littered with Grammatical and Spelling Errors – When one is trying to convince a potential employer that they are a stronger applicant than the next person, one of the worst things one can do is to submit a resume and cover letter without thoroughly proofreading it. It demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and an inability to communicate in written form, which most positions require at some point. After all, you are looking to get a job where you are likely to be required to represent an employer internally and externally. Sending emails or other written communications that are difficult to read and full of errors looks bad on both you AND your boss.

My H.R. friend said that he and his colleagues would actually have contests to see how many resumes they could eliminate before packing up to leave for the day, often trimming 75% of the resume submissions before the event was even over, meaning the elimination of most of the competition before the resumes had even been read.

Beaten before the start of the race.

Next time you want to know why the phone isn’t ringing, think about this … and not just the state of the economy. I’ll say it again:

SOMEBODY’S ALWAYS BEING HIRED SOMEWHERE. WHY ISN’T IT YOU?

Tailoring your resume to the available position

When your resume has 20 seconds or less to communicate to a reader why they should call you in for an interview, you don’t want to take a chance that hiring managers will see where the value is on your resume just because “it appears on there somewhere”. A well designed resume takes into account the key skills, training and experience that employers are looking for in each target position, and optimize its layout, formatting, and content placement accordingly. In fact, depending upon your background and experience mix, applying to separate targets can mean completely restructuring the order of sections within the resume. When your reader is a tired and weary-eyed middle manager that has been given the mandate by his supervisor of going through 95 resumes to find 15 interview candidates by the end of business, you don’t want to take a chance on their missing anything important.

Submitting your resume to companies that have not (yet) posted job openings

Here is something that most job seekers don’t know: more than half of available jobs are filled BEFORE they are even made known to the public. Yes, when you are combing indeed.com, monster.com and other boards, you are accessing less than half of the available opportunities. Now, what does that mean for you? You need to add a cold resume submission strategy to your job search mix. Research companies that hire professionals with your skill set and send in your resume. Your resume may come in at a time when the HR Department is preparing to begin a search for someone with your exact skill set. I can tell you I personally landed a position in this manner. Also, use LinkedIn to connect with those who may already be employed at those companies and see what kind of inside information you can acquire. Looking to get on with Coca-Cola, create a relationship with someone already employed there and ask about the company’s culture and short/long-range plans.

Feeding your psyche with positive motivation

Never, ever underestimate the power of maintaining a positive mindset during what can be a very stressful situation. Being in the right frame of mind allows you to see opportunity where you otherwise may not. It can be the difference between sending in that one last resume that results in landing your dream job and perhaps quitting right before that happens. Find a few of your favorite motivational quotes and make them easily accessible throughout the day. Create a file on your Smartphone or print them out. You can also read books on those who have overcome adversity. Whatever gets you thinking positive thoughts and carries you through the rough patches of resume submissions and interview preparation, you need to do it.