10 Tactics for Managing Your Career
By Sandra J. Bishop, President, Executive Solutions
The current soft economy is fraught with a number of changes, including the emergence of a free agency market. For workers to survive, they must become successful free agents. Best-selling author and motivational speaker Tom Peters strongly suggests that this economy has created a renewed need for individual responsibility. This is news to American workers who are overwhelmed daily by feelings of insecurity, fear and anger, and go to work everyday without a sense of trust regarding the stability of their jobs.
And with good reason:
- Depending upon what region of the country you live in, the unemployment forecast for 2004 is projected to be between 5.5 percent and 6 percent.
- In 1998 the length of the average job was six years; in 2002 it was two years.
- Since 9/11, 3 million people have lost jobs and over 40 percent of the population is without healthcare benefits.
- People feel no sense of advocacy from their managers in the workplace because managers are busy looking out for themselves. Employees feel guarded because they fear this may be the week they lose their jobs.
- And to add insult to injury, a recent Harvard study has predicted that between 2000 and 2010, 10 million jobs will be outsourced to other countries.
As a business coach and career strategist, I counsel these displaced workers every day - it has become obvious that each worker must be an advocate for herself/himself. How? Instead of worrying, understand and embrace this new business environment that has changed the workplace so drastically and take action. Learn to continually assess and effectively manage your own career because no one else will. Develop and live a strong "personal brand." In order to survive, thrive and become promotable, be prepared to change jobs or get promoted quickly and efficiently.
Here is my 10 point plan to help you stay ahead of the game:
- Take Your Career Temperature
- Have you developed any new skills this year, especially computer skills?
- Are you willing to step outside of your comfort zone, take a lateral move in your company and learn a new part of the business?
- Have you become a real problem solver?
- Have you saved your company any money lately?
- Do you read the current literature from your industry and share it with your team?
- Can you or have you discovered an unmet need in your company and volunteered to fill it?
- Do you know what your colleagues and customers think of you?
- Are you aware of who your major competitors are and how they're doing?
- Are you developing your project management skills?
- Create a Two-Year Vision for Your Career - Make it fluid enough to adapt to today's economic reality. Write down your goals and objectives to clarify it. The thinking and writing processes will help you feel secure about your future.
- Devise a Plan B - Have a backup plan in anticipation of a possible job loss. Start saving more money. Three to six months of expenses should be your savings goal.
- Build Your "Personal Brand" - The personal branding process identifies your strengths, skills, expertise, management style and unique characteristics, and packages them into powerful identity, distinguishing you from your competition. The core of your personal brand is based on authenticity. Your personal brand influences how people perceive you, engenders trust, and encourages your company to promote you or your competitors to hire you. It also serves as a foundation for becoming a successful and effective free agent.
- Build and Nurture a Strong Effective Network of Friends and Professional Business Colleagues - Make a list of names and keep contact information current. Include former colleagues, friends, classmates, neighbors and acquaintances from church, the gym, etc. Contact each person monthly - one contact a day. Keep it simple. A two sentence email or a quick phone message. As you network, give freely of yourself, especially to those who are in a tough spot. It will come back to you in spades when you're in a similar position.
- Figure Out the Informal Power Base in Your Company - Make every effort to know and build solid relationships with the people who use their informal power - executive assistants, human resource personnel, finance staff - and those who have been in the company many years.
- Identify Experts in Your Industry and Try to Get to Know Them - Create ways to meet them. Volunteer to participate in one of their more challenging projects, or write a note commenting on an article or book that this national expert has written. Find out which professional organizations these experts belong to and join if possible.
- Determine Which Professional Organization Is the Most Prestigious in Your Industry and Join if Possible - Review the admission requirements. If you can't afford to join, go to your boss and make a case for your membership. Explain how it can help the entire team if you participate in the organization and offer to share what you've learned with your teammates.
- Compose a Two-Minute Commercial About Yourself - Briefly define who you are, what you do, your work history, successes, professional strengths, skills, unique characteristics and what your objective is. Compose it and rehearse it until you are blue in the face, especially if you are looking for a new position or new client. Be prepared to share it with anyone at anytime. It's a great way to market yourself!
- Construct a Cutting-Edge Resume and Keep It Current - Whenever possible, a) quantify your accomplishments using a number, dollar amount or percentage, b) cite examples of how you saved the company money, and c) stress your problem-solving abilities. Update the resume with your accomplishments every few months.
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How to Decide on Resume Length
by Kim Isaacs
Monster Resume Expert
How long should my resume be?" is one of the most commonly asked questions about resumes. Not too long ago, job seekers were told that a resume should never exceed one page. Those who broke this golden rule were destined for the circular file. Times have changed, and so has the criteria for resume length.
The new guideline is: A resume should be long enough to entice hiring managers to call you for job interviews. That may sound vague, but there is no hard-and-fast length rule that works for everyone. Factors to consider include career objective, occupation, industry, years of experience, number of employers, scope of accomplishments and education/training.
Keep these facts in mind when deciding on your resume's length:
- Your resume is a career marketing tool, not an autobiography. Strive to keep your resume concise and focused on your key selling points. Be willing to let go of past experiences that don't market you for your current goal. Every word in the resume should sell your credentials and value to a potential employer. You should also leave something to talk about in the interview.
- It's common for employers or recruiters to sort through hundreds, or even thousands, of resumes to fill one position. Hiring managers often just give resumes a cursory glance before deciding if the applicant deserves to be added to the "maybe" pile. While your resume will probably get a more thorough read if you are called for a job interview, ensure that your strongest selling points are immediately visible to make the first cut.
Consider a One-Page Resume If:
- You have less then 10 years of experience.
- You're pursuing a radical career change and your experience isn't relevant to your new goal.
- You've held one or two positions with one employer.
Consider a Two-Page Resume If:
- You have 10 or more years of experience related to your goal.
- Your field requires technical or engineering skills, and you need space to list and prove your technical knowledge.
Put the most important information at the top of the first page. Lead your resume with a career summary so your key credentials appear at the forefront of the resume. On the second page, include a page number and include your name and contact information.
Consider a Three-Page Resume or Longer If:
- You're a senior-level manager or executive with a long track record of leadership accomplishments.
- You are in an academic or scientific field with an extensive list of publications, speaking engagements, professional courses, licenses or patents.
Multiple-page resumes can use addendum pages after page two. Job seekers can decide whether or not to send the full document or just the first two pages to a potential employer, based on the job opportunity requirements.
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Should You Use a Chronological or Functional Resume?
by Roberta Chinsky Matuson
Monster Contributing Writer
Too many people make the mistake of thinking that a resume's purpose is to get them a job. Actually, resumes open and close doors. Their main purpose is to make an employer interested enough to invite you in for an interview.
But how do you create that interest when you don't exactly fit the mold? Just as people come in different sizes and shapes, so do resumes.
Chronological Resumes
The chronological resume seems to be the most popular format used. This type of resume usually contains an objective and/or summary statement and a chronological listing (from most recent to past) of all your employers along with related accomplishments. Educational information is included along with certifications and special skills.
This type of resume may be fine for someone who is experienced, but if you are switching careers or are just entering the workforce, this type of resume will most likely help you wind up in the "no" pile. So how do you showcase your talents if you can't lay them out like everyone else?
Functional Resumes
Take the time to develop a strong functional resume. Functional resumes highlight your abilities, such as hiring, managing or coaching, rather than your chronological work history. You'll still need to summarize your work history, but this is usually done at the bottom of your resume. Don't panic. By the time the reader has gotten to that point, he is usually sold on bringing you in for an interview.
Most books on resume writing contain sections on how to write functional or skills-based resumes. Go to your local bookstore or library and thumb through some books. Then make your selection.
One of my favorite books on this topic is an oldie but goodie. It's old enough to be out of print, but you can still find copies online or at libraries. The book is titled Go Hire Yourself an Employer by Richard Irish. It just goes to show that solid advice is just that -- solid.
Who Should Use a Functional Resume?
A functional resume is particularly useful for people who:
- Have gaps in their work history.
- Are reentering the workforce.
- Have frequently changed jobs.
- Are looking to transition into new careers.
- Don't exactly fit the mold of what recruiters are looking for in the positions they want.
The reason functional resumes work well in these situations is that many of us have acquired skills while working that are very transferable. For example, if you have worked as a retail manager, chances are you were responsible for hiring, training, coaching, evaluating and handling employee relations issues.
If you were to submit this information in a chronological resume, there's a good chance a hiring manager (or computer) might skip right by you, because you did not hold the title of human resources manager, even if 50 percent of your day was spent dealing with HR-related issues.
It all comes down to how you package yourself. You can give employers the same information, only in a new and improved package. This is bound to get you more interviews, which will increase your chances of landing the job you want.
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Isn't an Interview Just an Interview?
by Barbara Reinhold
Monster Contributing Writer
Getting ready for an interview isn't what it used to be. Now you must contend with many different kinds of questions and formats. Here are three types of interviews you may face and how to prepare for them.
1. Phone Interviews
Employers want to do things cheaply these days, so many conduct their first screening rounds with Ma Bell's help.
Upside: You can prepare notes and keep them in front of you while you talk. Also, the absence of ties and pantyhose during the process is a big plus!
Downside: It's often hard on people who count on talking to a live person to get energized.
Strategy: There is hope for people who take a while to warm up or who like to read an interviewer's face as they talk. About 10 minutes before the interview, go to a quiet place, close your eyes, and visualize a time when you were really successful at something. It could be last week at a sales presentation or even when you won a fourth-grade spelling bee. Hold that memory for several minutes and absorb all the positive energy from it. Remember where you were, who was there, what people said to you about it and feelings, colors, smells and sounds you recall. When the phone finally rings, your voice will have the zip it needs to seem alive over the wires.
2. Case Interviews
The case interview is a widely used screening torture for consulting, finance and executive positions.
Problem: Case interviews test your ability to problem solve and think around corners without having real data in front of you. Questions like, "Why are manholes round?" or "How many square yards of pizza are eaten in the US each year?" are just warm-ups. Sometimes business problems are presented, such as the following: "Toyota is considering the release of a new model. What issues does the company need to think about?"
Strategy: It's almost impossible to become a logical thinker who possesses business savvy overnight if you're not one already. But you could subscribe to The Wall Street Journal, take a logic course, read some books, or contact the Bain and Company consulting firm in San Francisco for a copy of its monograph "How to Ace the Case Interview."
3. Behavioral Interviews
In an age of inflated egos and "creative" resume production, behavioral interviews involve lots of no-nonsense "show me" questions.
Problem: Employers want to have evidence to back up possibly exaggerated claims.
Strategy: Don't even think about saying, "I have excellent organizational skills," without having two or three examples of when you used those skills. For every positive statement you plan to make about yourself, prepare a STAR analysis:
- S = name a SITUATION facing you or
- T = a TASK you had to complete
- A = describe what ACTION you took
- R = tell the RESULTS of your actions
Interviewing for Success
The most important elements of interviewing success are preparation and practice. If you try to scrimp on either one, it will show and you'll get a disappointing "thanks, but no thanks" letter. The bottom line: Not since high school has homework been so critical.
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Top 10 Tips for an Internet Friendly Resume
The Internet has single-handedly changed the way we look for and apply to jobs. Your resume must be "Internet Friendly." This means that it will post well to the job boards and upload into a recruiter's HRIS system without scrambling the document while keeping it easy to read on the computer screen.
- MAKE SURE YOUR CONTACT INFO IS COMPLETE. It is crucial you have provided your potential employer with complete contact information. Be sure to include your email address on your resume. Employers do not have time to try to track you down.
- STAY AWAY FROM FANCY FORMATIING. Just because your resume looks great printed out, this does not mean it will translate well when either uploaded or be easily read on your reader's computer screen. Stay away from fancy fonts, tables, templates, graphical text boxes, graphical text lines, headers, footers, centering, inconsistent tab layout, etc.
- CUSTOMIZE YOUR RESUME each time you send your resume out to match the requirements of the employer. Know what skills and experience that particular job is looking for, and make those specific areas stand out. Be prepared to go beyond the job description, you might have to do additional research to find out more about the company you are applying to. Do not take up space illustrating skills that are not relevant to the job you are seeking.
- CREATE A STRONG HEADLINE AND SUMMARY. The top 1/4 of your resume is the most crucial. Your reader should know who you are and what you do within five to10 seconds of looking at your resume. Create a powerful headline that says who you are and what you do. Think of this as a headline to a news story. What will grab your reader and make them want to read on? Immediately after your headline, draft a "skills summary" section that illustrates your hard-core skills and industry expertise and how is specifically matches the requirements of the position. What makes you stand out? Customize your headline and summary every time you send out your resume.
- USE BULLET POINTS throughout your entire resume. Stay away from long, dense paragraphs; they will not be read. Paraphrase your accomplishments and be concise. Your resume should be very easy to scan through. Use circles rather than squares, diamonds or dashes.
- CONCENTRATE ON YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS; stay away from listing your duties. Hiring managers are not interested in what your duties or responsibilities were. What did you achieve with your responsibilities? What makes you stand out from another candidate with the same experience?
- INCLUDE ONLY RELEVANT INFORMATION. Leave out your hobbies unless they are related to the job you are seeking. Do not include your marital status, age, irrelevant affiliations, etc. Also, there is no need to go into grave detail about past employment that is not related to your desired position. Simply create an "other" or "previous employment" section and briefly document this experience.
- KEEP IT TO TWO PAGES MAX. Do not overwhelm your reader by making your resume too long. Recruiters are only interested in details of the last five to eight years, 10 tops. For older positions, like the above, create a "previous employment" section and briefly list this experience. Important details tend to get buried in a long resume.
- NAMING YOUR RESUME. Imagine being a recruiter and getting several hundred resumes per week all named "resume.doc." Keep it simple, make it easy for your reader to find you and name your resume document "Smith, John Resume.doc."
- PROOFREAD YOUR RESUME. One of the quickest ways for your resume to end up in the trash is one that contains misspelled words, typos and wrong grammar usage. Also, be sure to use the correct verb tense. Mistakes on your resume can reflect carelessness as an employee.
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