Friday, December 30, 2011

Use Cleverness with Caution in the Interview By Tom Musbach, Yahoo! HotJobs

Well-meaning job seekers sometimes get too creative when making their cases to potential employers, such as the candidate who said he was "allergic to unemployment."

The contrived allergy and other wacky pitches were revealed by hiring executives in a survey by Accountemps, a large staffing service for financial professionals.

Creativity Can Backfire

The group of 150 senior executives offered several other examples of candidates going too far in their attempts to stand out:

"One candidate said that we should hire him because he would be a great addition to our softball team."

"A candidate sang all her responses to interview questions."

"One individual said we had nice benefits, which was good because he was going to need to take a lot of leave in the next year."

"An applicant once told me she wanted the position because she wanted to get away from dealing with people."
The statements above reflect poor approaches to a common interview question: "Why should I hire you?" Career experts offer several alternatives that can help job candidates respond more successfully.

Break It Down

Richard Phillips, founder of Advantage Career Solutions in Palo Alto, California, suggests a three-step approach that flows from the job description:

Begin your answer by listing the top three to five requirements of the job as you understand them, based on your research and what you've learned in the interview.

Summarize how your skills and experience will enable you to make a significant impact in those areas.

Finish by stating your interest in the organization. Keep it short and sweet.
Tailor Your Story

Joe Turner, author of Job Secrets Unlocked, suggests you prepare your best "story" to answer the question by showing how you will go the extra mile.

"Here is where you tell that story of exactly how you worked 60-hour weeks, acquired new skills, or whatever it took to distinguish yourself and meet the challenge head-on to successfully make the sale, save the project, rescue a client or whatever it was," he says. "If you can monetize the end result, your story will only be that much more dramatic. Since no other candidate can duplicate your own personal story here, you'll make a memorable impression."

Run With Your Ideas

During the process of researching the employer and preparing for the interview, think of what you might do if you had the position, advises Carla-Krystin Andrade, author of Kick Start Your Job Search.

"Perhaps you have an idea for a new feature for their product or a new process that is relevant to the position," she says. "This is the perfect time to tell them about this idea and show them how you would bring value to the position if they hired you."

Friday, December 23, 2011

Refresh Your Retro Resume in Six Steps By Karen Hofferber, Monster Contributing Writer

Many people are facing the prospect of finding a new job. And some are even contemplating a complete career change. If it has been years since you've updated your resume, you may be wondering where to start. Follow these six steps to turn your dusty retro resume into a high-powered personal marketing tool for winning interviews in today's competitive job market.

Find Your Resume's Focus

Before you start refreshing your old resume, you need to clarify your job target. Without a clear vision of your career direction, your resume won't do a good job selling you to potential employers. If you have more than one career interest, you'll be much better off developing different versions of your resume rather than trying to construct a one-size-fits-all document.

Having trouble finding your focus? You might want to start with some self-assessment tests or by speaking to a career counselor.

Research Your Target Job

Thoroughly research your job target before writing the first draft of your resume, especially if it's been a while since you've been in the job market. Talk to people in your target industry, and scour job postings on Monster to get a good idea of the qualifications employers are looking for. If you are changing careers, your research may prompt you to enroll in continuing-education classes to gain new skills.

Look for keywords that continually crop up in different ads. If you see terms used frequently, they should probably be in your resume whenever applicable. Pay attention to skills that aren't mentioned in these ads as well, and remove items from your old resume that will make you seem outdated.

Develop Your Career Profile/Objective

Now you're ready to begin writing. If you're a career changer, you'll need a clearly stated objective to open your resume. Don't expect busy hiring managers to figure out what you want to do. Use this section to explain key skills you can leverage from your prior career into your new job target. Emphasize how you can help the organization, rather than what you want in a job.

Here's a before-and-after example:

Before: Seeking a challenging position with a future-oriented company offering opportunities for growth and advancement.


After: Dynamic public speaker/presenter with advanced technical knowledge, seeking to leverage these strengths as an award-winning computer instructor into an entry-level software sales position.
If you're looking for a new position within your current field, use the Objective section on Monster's Resume Builder to write a compelling career summary. This is the perfect place to write a few hard-hitting sentences emphasizing the breadth of your experience and the value you bring to the table.

Zero in on Your Achievements

Your resume must have an accomplishments-driven focus to compete in today's job market and maximize calls for interviews. Avoid simply rehashing boring job descriptions. Instead, detail the results and outcomes of your efforts.

If you were a hiring manager, which would you find more compelling?

Before: Responsible for troubleshooting and maintaining workstations and systems.

After: Improved systems uptime from 91% to 99.9% for 350 corporate and remote users through expert, cross-platform (Windows NT/UNIX) troubleshooting/maintenance.
For each of the positions you've held, use action verbs and phrases to describe how you contributed to your employers, such as cut costs, generated revenue, improved service, enhanced processes, solved problems and saved time. Use numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, comparisons or other key details to back up your claims. Be sure not to reveal facts that disclose proprietary or confidential company information.

Design Your Resume

Does your retro resume resemble a typing job circa 1970? To stand out from the crowd, use your word-processing program's advanced formatting features, such as bold, italics, line draw, industry icons, attractive fonts, etc. -- without going overboard -- to give your resume a distinctive look. If you are not confident in your design capabilities, seek assistance from a resume writer or talented friend.

Proofread and Test-Drive

Your resume must be perfect. Carefully proofread your resume to ensure proper grammar, punctuation and usage. If you are changing careers, ask for feedback from hiring managers in your targeted field for valuable input on how your resume stands up to the competition. After it's complete, post your resume online where thousands of employers will see it, and you can apply for jobs easily.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Resume Help for the Unemployed By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert

Mounting a job search when you’re unemployed may leave you feeling like you can’t compete with your gainfully employed peers. This just isn’t true. Transform your resume from holding you back to propelling your success.

Assess the Gap

“The best way to address an employment gap depends on how long you’ve been out of work,” says Teena Rose, director of resume-writing firm ExpertResumes.com. Unemployed for a year or less? Then your best strategy may be to say nothing. “Shorter time frames of up to a year or so aren’t absolute necessities to explain on a resume,” says Rose, noting that she advises her clients with less than 12 months of unemployment to resist the temptation to overexpound. “Hiring managers understand job candidates will have date gaps from time to time, especially when factoring in the jobs lost during this recent recession,” she says.

Longer employment gaps can be trickier, and this is where your resume could use some well-crafted words to show how you’ve filled that gap. Here’s how to write a resume to show you’ve been productive while between jobs.

Emphasize How, Not Why

“Hiring managers are more interested in knowing how you used your time away from the workforce as opposed to why you were unemployed,” says Anne-Marie Ditta, president of First Impression Career Services, a Mount Vernon, New York-based career-planning firm. Instead of focusing on the layoff, company closure, job termination, caregiver responsibilities or other circumstances that led to unemployment, Ditta recommends you spotlight how this time off allowed you to acquire new skills, deepen existing industry knowledge or cultivate your contacts.

Get Busy During Your Unemployment

If you can’t think of a single resume-worthy activity or pursuit to show how you’ve used your time off, then you need to get busy. “I coach my clients that unemployment is not vacation time,” says Kathy Sweeney, president of resume-writing firm The Write Resume. “If they haven’t been involved in some sort of activity, I implore them to investigate options to gain further experience.”

Many activities can provide compelling resume content. For example, volunteering; tutoring; coaching sports; learning a new computer program; studying a foreign language; or pursuing temporary, freelance or contract work can show current experience on the resume.

For example, a stay-at-home parent can highlight her accomplishments as a volunteer like this: “Won board approval to establish a community parent/child playgroup at the town hall. Led grassroots group to raise $47,500 annually and opened new revenue stream for county.”

Sweeney tells her clients “that experience is experience, regardless of whether it is paid or volunteer. If a client is enrolled in school, for example, I will make that a full-time job on the resume. I’ll include information on the certificate or degree program as well as any quantifiable results, such as grades or instructor praise.”

Ditta emphasizes the importance of showcasing what you accomplished during your unemployment, just as you would for paid employment. “‘Devoted four years to managing a large estate and complex/difficult medical decisions while caring for terminally ill parent’ will be better-received by an employer than ‘took time off to care for a sick relative,’” she says.

Avoid These Resume Mistakes

Never Exaggerate Dates on Your Resume to Extend the Duration of Your Last Job: “Stretching dates to cover a gap is lying on a resume, and that is never a good option,” Ditta warns.

Don’t Feel Forced to Use a Traditional Resume Format: A purely chronological resume may not be the best option for those who have been unemployed for a number of years. Instead, explore the advantages of a combination resume, Rose suggests. This type of resume allows you to emphasize key skills while downplaying employment gaps.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short: “The most common mistake I see unemployed professionals make on their resumes is minimizing their contributions,” Ditta says. “I’ve worked with clients who have raised significant amounts of money for nonprofit organizations, for example, but when asked about this, they reply that they were only a volunteer. The fact is that they achieved it, and therefore, they should take credit for it.”
Remain Proactive

“When it comes to covering resume gaps created by unemployment, it’s best to be proactive rather than reactive,” Rose says. By focusing on what you’ve achieved during this challenging period, you will demonstrate to employers your can-do attitude, resourcefulness and ability to drive successful results.

Friday, December 2, 2011

10 Cover Letter Don'ts By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert

Your cover letter is the first thing employers see when they open your materials. Avoid these 10 mistakes, and make your first impression a good and lasting one.

Mistake No. 1: Overusing 'I'

Your cover letter is not your autobiography. The focus should be on how you meet an employer's needs, not on your life story. Avoid the perception of being self-centered by minimizing your use of the word "I," especially at the beginning of your sentences.

Mistake No. 2: Using a Weak Opening

When writing a cover letter, job seekers frequently struggle with how to begin. This often results in a feeble introduction lacking punch and failing to grab the reader's interest. Consider this example:

Weak: Please consider me for your sales representative opening.
Better: Your need for a top-performing sales representative is an excellent match to my three-year history as a #1-ranked, multimillion-dollar producer.
Mistake No. 3: Omitting Your Top Selling Points

A cover letter is a sales letter that sells you as a candidate. Just like the resume, it should be compelling and give the main reasons you should be called for an interview. Winning cover letter tips include emphasizing your top accomplishments or creating subheadings culled from the job posting. For example:

Your Ad Specifies: Communication skills
I Offer: Five years of public speaking experience and an extensive background in executive-level report.

Your Ad Specifies: The need for a strong computer background.
I Offer: Proficiency in all MS Office applications with additional expertise in Web site development and design.

Mistake No. 4: Making It Too Long

If your cover letter exceeds one page, you may be putting readers to sleep. A great cover letter is concise but compelling, and respects the reader's time.

Mistake No. 5: Repeating Your Resume Word for Word

Your cover letter shouldn't regurgitate what's on your resume. Reword your cover letter statements to avoid dulling your resume's impact. Consider using the letter to tell a brief story, such as "My Toughest Sale" or "My Biggest Technical Challenge."

Mistake No. 6: Being Vague

If you're replying to an advertised opening, reference the specific job title in your cover letter. The person reading your letter may be reviewing hundreds of letters for dozens of different jobs. Make sure all the content in your letter supports how you will meet the employer's specific needs.

Mistake No. 7: Forgetting to Customize

If you're applying to a number of similar positions, chances are you're tweaking one letter and using it for multiple openings. That's fine, as long as you customize each letter. Don't forget to update the company, job and contact information -- if Mr. Jones is addressed as Mrs. Smith, he won't be impressed.

Mistake No. 8: Ending on a Passive Note

When possible, put your future in your own hands with a promise to follow up. Instead of asking readers to call you, try a statement like this: I will follow up with you in a few days to answer any preliminary questions you may have. In the meantime, you may reach me at (555) 555-5555.

Mistake No. 9: Being Rude

Your cover letter should thank the reader for his time and consideration.

Mistake No. 10: Forgetting to Sign the Letter

It is proper business etiquette (and shows attention to detail) to sign your letter. However, if you are sending your cover letter and resume via email or the Web, a signature isn't necessary.