Avoid the Scattershot Job Search

I've seen a number of resumes lately for technical positions my colleages and I are recruiting for; unfortunately, the vast majority of candidates were completely unqualified. One thing about technology - if people DON'T have what's needed, such can eliminate the candidate very quickly. The "I can learn" theory of doing things is not something that's applicable. Thus, such candidates were "set off" to the side.

Employers don't spend time endlessly reading unqualified resumes; it's a very short elimination process.Specifics matter, and their absence just takes up time to get through.

What's it mean to you? That you WON'T hear back from employers in such cases, and that such could be very frustrating. (After all, we've all applied for jobs we thought we were "right on target" for, and never heard a thing.)

Thus, it pays to be selective, smart and do yourself a favor. READ the job descriptions carefully and only apply if you have a majority of the key skills/abilities/experience that are being asked for.

At least that way, you guaranteee a better chance that your resume will be taken more seriously - and potentially lead to call backs or emails of interest. Plus, such can lower your frustration. If you send your resume "everywhere," you'll hear from mostly no one and feel like your efforts are fruitless. Truth is, they are just too scattered.

You aren't scattered; you have talent and experience to offer. Go after those jobs that match what YOU can do.

Tales from the Resume Reef: Doublecheck that Content!

True stories abound from recruiters and employers alike. When they've reviewed resumes, they haven't seen the key "needed" skills, experience and education. So, they don't call the candidate.

Invariably, some candidates follow up (and good for them!) and speak to the hiring authority. What they are told is something like "well, we didn't see any Oracle experience" on your resume. What people have sometimes responded with is "Oh, I have that" or something similar. However, the problem is that the information wasn't on the resume.

You gotta have the content.

If you do your own resume, take an extra step. Have someone you know and respect review your resume and "interview you" to find out if you've included EVERY important piece of information. That person can ask you questions like "Is there anything else you've done?" for each job you've had, and can go through your skills section and ask the same. And can also proofread your document.

Here's the reason why. When we write, we tend to "see" things. No, not UFOs, but words or letters we EXPECT to be there because we wrote them. That's why spellcheck picks up a missing "the" or "and" - the words AREN'T really there - we just thought we put them in!

Having an "extra" set of eyes to proofread your resume and to quiz you on content can only help. Such can make certain that you have the "right content" and key information in your resume to market yourself.

After all, why not?

Tales from the Resume Reef: Contractual Obligations

Lately, I've seen some resumes where a candidate has worked for less than a year at several employers.

As a recruiter, I try to read further, and can usually discern that the person was working on contracts or consulting. If I speak to the candidate, he/she usually confirms my suspicion.

However, not all recruiters nor employers "dig" that deeply when they see a lot of short employment stints.
It tends to make them wonder about work histories when they may not have to.

If you have worked temporarily or contractually or as a consultant, showcase that:
3/07 to 9/07 CONTRACT Network Administrator, The Zorch Group, Bristol CT
3/07 to 9/07 Network Administrator (Consultant,) The Zorch Group, Bristol CT
3/07 to 9/07 Network Administrator (Temporary Position,) The Zorch Group, Bristol CT

In that way, you've made clear what short-term employment really was, and makes employers quickly understand why you had such.

Truth is, most of us have done contract, temporary or consulting work at some time; it's common and normally not of any concern to employers looking for full time employees. And, if they ARE looking for something more "temporary," they will see that you have already done such.

Just "clarify" your work history!

It's just a matter of making things EASY for the employer, which is always a good thing for you!

Email Lesson Learned the Hard Way

A few years back, I aggressively put my email address on any site of ANY kind that was of interest, whether for job search or my digital photography hobby or social networking.

The result? Well, within a couple of years I was getting over 50 SPAM emails per day. No matter how much filtering I did through Outlook or Thunderbird, such junk still got through. With such a large amount of spam each day, I was "under siege." Not to mention that I had to filter through all the garbage to find the occasionally relevant email or note from a friend.

Thus, I had to change my main email address - and did so. Next, I realized that I should not post my email address at every opportunity. Then, I made certain that ANY posting of my email address would be with my YAHOO email address. As it turns out, Yahoo has great SPAM filters; I'd imagine such other free email as Hotmail or Gmail do as well. So, the Spam levels to my HOME email address went to next to nothing.

Here's the lesson, then: If you are going to post your resume on the job boards, you are going to get spam.
Lots of it.

Keep your personal email "safe." Create a special email account from one of the free providers, such as Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail and use THAT for your job search. And post that email address on your resume as well.

That way, you'll have control over SPAM, and it won't get so "close to home."

And you can still make certain legit employers have an electronic way to reach out to you!

Getting Back on the Bike

Earlier this week, I purchased a used bike for exercise purposes. When I “test rode” it, that was the first time I’d ridden a bike in about 7 years. And I was a little nervous.

Fortunately, everything came back to me pretty quickly, and I enjoyed the experience. I was able to shift gears and handle the brakes as if I’d been still doing the same thing over and over. Kind of like I’d never been “away” from it.

Looking for a job in a challenging economy can be a lot like getting on the bike each day. It seems like a new task, it’s challenging, and there are no real guarantees. Sometimes progress is slow and we wonder how much of that is us. And when things will change. What about losing balance?

However, just getting “on the bike” each day is a major thing. By putting effort into your search, you may not be guaranteeing success; however, you are making much stronger strides toward achieving it. By being willing to get on that bicycle and ride through interviews, phone calls and internet searches, you are pushing up hills that may be steep at times but are likely to flatten out. By steering past bad jobs and bad experiences and pedaling forward, you can keep yourself actively engaged.

If you are ready to move in your career search, no matter the reason, keep in mind that no one “stands still fast.”

Your willingness to make the effort each day is what can make the difference.

Just get back on the bike. It’s worth the ride.

And it’s all under your “pedal” power that you can grow forward.