As I talk with many candidates, the biggest frustration I hear is that there is no response to resumes they send out. Although many have worked hard to develop a large contact list, targeted specific companies of interest and have a specific system or plan in place to send out resumes, I find most do not follow up on sent resumes.

When I ask the question, “Have you followed up with them?” I usually get the deer in the head light stare, as if the thought is a new concept.

Don’t expect the contacts, networking acquaintances, recruiters, HR department or hiring managers to contact you. It probably won’t happen. I spoke with someone last week that had applied for a particular position and was complaining she had once again, gotten no response,  so I suggested she give them a call. Later that day I received a call from the woman saying she did contact the company and found out that for the two positions available they had receive over 400 resumes. The company also said it would be several weeks before they began interviews.

Knowing what to expect and when decisions will be made helps job seekers with the frustration of the unknown. With only 2-3% of resumes being followed-up on, this job seeker would have missed an opportunity to stand out from the hundreds of candidates that blended in with the crowd and didn’t following up. In our conversation the woman admitted she usually didn’t follow up because she felt uncomfortable contacting the companies and so we discussed how to follow up and make an impact.

The easiest and fastest route is to call to the contact you sent the resume to. Usually a response time of five to six business days is acceptable if there isn’t a specific date deadline already given in the job description. If calling is not an option I would send an email note with your resume attached. Whether on the phone or sending an email try and include a few questions and express your genuine interest in the position such as:

• Conveying your interest in the position and company with a short reason on why you want to work for them, be authentic and real when speaking with them.
• Finding out what the next step is, when interviews will be taking place and when you should contact them again.
• Asking how many applicants have applied so far so you have an idea of the odds.
• Giving your name at least one time in the conversation to help them remember your name or at least make it familiar to them.
• Determining if there is anything additional they are looking for in the candidate. If they are responsive you may have a few minutes to sell yourself to them based on what the company is looking for – make sure to do your homework before calling.
• Thanking them again for their time.

The conversation should last no more than five or ten minutes, so you don’t take up their valuable time. It may feel awkward at first, but like anything it will get easier with practice. With people being so busy and the employment arena being so competitive, following up on sent resumes is a must.

Shine on jobseekers!

A couple of weeks ago I attended an awesome presentation delivered by Bob Burg, the author of Endless Referrals, The Go Giver, and several other mindful books on learning not only successful sales skills but also how to be a business professional that others deem full of character and integrity. What I have discovered and love about Bob’s books and his presentation is that his message also works perfectly for job seekers.

Why? Because job seekers are acting as sales agents but instead of selling a product they are selling their own skills, experience and unique values they can bring to an employer. One of the many valuable points Bob made in his four-hour seminar at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan was that you can not make up other people’s minds for them. The decision ultimately is theirs. What you can do is provide exceptional information, examples and reasons why you are the right choice.

Employers and recruiters will not know you are the right choice unless you tell them. It is your responsibility as the job seeker (whether you want that responsibility or not) to get noticed by the right contacts. Sometimes that can be tricky. You have to be creative and relentless, especially in today’s economy, but if you put a plan into action it will be much easier to stay focused. Targeted contacts will get to know you not through a job board but through networking communities both on and off line and through the contacts you know and use as your trumpeters.

One way to stay motivated is to have a written set of networking and job search goals that you keep close and look at often. Keep the set of goals in your purse, briefcase, on your computer desk top or phone. Do whatever you can to keep moving forward towards accomplishing the goals.

What can you do to influence the decision makers? Give them what they want! To do this you will need to find out what they want. During Bob Burg’s seminar he advised (as he does in his books too) that if you want to develop strong referrals you must listen not talk to get noticed. With job seekers, listening involves reading articles, websites, blogs, and profiles of those that work at the company you’ve targeted. Find the influencers in the company and hang out where they do, find out what they need and are looking for and then figure out how you can be their solution.

Once you know what your target companies are looking for you can once again set goals to network with employees, recruiters and hiring manager affiliated with those companies. By participating in discussions, articles, or tweets that address and generate answers to their problems you can promote your value. Establishing common ground such as discussions within networking groups is a great way to break the ice and build a connection with contacts that can provide potential for opportunity. Even if nothing comes from the communications with the new contact you will have befriended someone in your arena – a relationship worth nurturing and maintaining.

I recently participated in an energetic and informative discussion with several colleagues from the Resume Chicks during an interview on Blogtalk Radio’s Career Success Radio program (@CareerRadio) with Australian career experts Keith Keller and Annemarie Cross. It was a fast hour that centered on two main areas of Career Management.

The first point addressed in roundtable discussion was on recommended strategies to strengthen resumes. Consensus among the group was that the resume should be extremely focused on the career objective at hand. It can not be merely a laundry list of all of your past work history but rather strategically selected keywords, achievements and successes that bring home your value proposition.

Including achievements and accomplishments that are fact-based and as quantifiable as possible will draw attention to a resume and was the second critical-must for successful resume development. For those careers that don’t use revenue or cost metrics, data such as customer satisfaction rates, time management improvements and recognition or awards works well to demonstrate significant contribution.

Using a format that is attention-grabbing, easy to read, and professional rounded out the top three resume improvement strategies. Since most resumes are looked at for only 20-30 seconds, the resume must immediately jump out and be noticed if it is to do its job properly. Developing a format that showcases the candidate’s values, and highlights the keywords and requirements the reader is looking for will generate interest and get the candidate noticed.

We also addressed social media and it’s relevance on a job search. Again the consensus was that networking communities such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and others are growing in effectiveness in an aggressive job search. Profiles or bio’s on sites such as LinkedIn allow for a deeper exposure and is often the first look recruiters take at potential candidates for a position they are looking to fill.

Currently more than 80% of recruiters use LinkedIn for research and as a database. For job seekers to utilize their LinkedIn profile it must include a strong achievement-based look at their work history and a summary that reaches out to readers with keywords to offer unique value. Often overlooked in the creation of a strong profile is the providing of a professional photograph, recommendations for current and past positions held, and taking advantage of the many applications now available on LinkedIn. Effective apps include linking your blog, twitter feed, slideshare or podcasts to your profile for maximum exposure.

Candidates’ online profiles and their resume and other marketing tools should compliment each other and should be congruent but not identical in their content. On the Career Success Radio program it was agreed that using both in conjunction with an aggressive job search is the most effective way for a candidate to land the right job. Tune in for the full interview at Career Success Radio

Shine On Job Seekers!

It is definitely spring time in Michigan! The birds have become very loud as they prepare for their new arrivals, the grass is a brilliant green and growing exceptionally fast and my gardens seem to be calling out to me. Actually I have already gone through my gardens and pulled out all of the debris left from winter and have trimmed some of the plants that need a spring pruning.

Now that I have cleaned the gardens I have a clear view of the shrubs and perennials, and can take stock of additional perennial work I will need to do and determine the best places to add cheery annuals. I began a mental list after the first time in the gardens but now my list is on paper and I hope to take care of it this week!

While working in the gardens and having gone through my annual preparation, I am reminded of my contacts list and the many similarities between networking and growing my gardens. Contacts too need long-term care if they are to support you throughout your career. Just like the individual flowers and the many small gardens I have, each contact is a little different and needs special attention to shine and succeed.

Commonalities for maintaining a healthy contacts list and garden include:

• Both are in need of constant care and upkeep in order for them to thrive and provide a return.
• Both needs the old and unused removed – to make room for more productive individuals!
• Both have perennials that will be around forever with little maintenance or ask in return.
• Both have invasive perennials that can overwhelm and choke if not restricted in growth.
• Both have dwellers that aren’t valuable but are cherished and will remain regardless.
• Both need to be shared with others in order to be truly appreciated.

As I worked in my gardens this weekend and as I am planting my annuals this week, I will make a mental list of ways to improve and grow my contacts list, the relationships I have with my contacts and ways I can help my contacts to grow, thrive and bloom.

Shine on Job Seekers

Math was never my best subject but I did enjoy parts of it. I remember always enjoying the process of factoring whole numbers down to prime factors in order to find common denominators for fraction problems (weird I know, but true). I am often reminded of the factoring process when working with professionals in the throngs of a career change. As we sort through their transition, we work to uncover common denominators that highlight their new career criteria.

Guidelines for developing the common denominators are the new job descriptions and announcements for the type of position the professional is looking to transition into. We look for skills, achievements and experiences to demonstrate these smaller fractions in a way that will peak interest in the hiring manager. Our goal is to combine the fractions to create a whole number or in a job search would equal a dynamite resume and career search strategy.

A resume developed to lead a career-change job search must bring all of the fraction fragments together seamlessly in the form of a targeted, concise resume.

Any professional contemplating a career change can determine whether they have the actual requirements for the position the same way. Using job descriptions for the type of position you are interested in, review each past position in your career history and extract all nuggets that fit your current focus.

So, identify your focus, use job descriptions to determine what to leave in and highlight and what to leave out. Build and polish your resume so that it can brilliantly stand alone as a whole number and get you the interviews you deserve.

Shine on Job Seekers!

A resume that only provides a summary of your career history and is not strategically developed to capture attention and highlight your value, will never get a second glance in today’s highly competitive job market. Effective resumes should read like a marketing document with the words jumping off the page.

Keywords are attention grabbers, easy to locate and read, and help to provide information on the skills, experience and value you offer. Whether in a column, table, separated with commas or sprinkled throughout the resume, keywords are most effective when they are specific to a position, field and industry.

If you are unsure of what words best fit the position you are seeking, look through several job descriptions that fit your targeted position to see which keywords are used most often and which skills and requirements are being asked for. Identify these keywords and incorporate them into your resume.

The use of keywords in your resume and other marketing tools is important because they help the resume fit accurately into a particular job, industry or company. Keywords are also vital when applying for a position online. If you have ever used your resume to apply to an online application form, it was most likely scanned and placed in a database by the company or recruiting firm. Tracking system software varies but in many systems data is collected and used to weed-out ill fitting applicants. The closer your resume matches the keywords, phrases and need of the position, the more likely your application will get noticed.

The key to using keywords correctly is to embed them throughout the resume so that they are picked up by tracking systems but also make you very appealing to hiring manager, recruiters and the decision makers that will also read your resume at some point during your interaction with a potential employer. Used correctly keywords will be key to bringing you attention and interview offers.

Shine on Job Seekers!

OK, so looking back over the last few weeks I realize I have been pretty lazy when it comes to maintaining my blog. I’ve got lots of ideas, and have even hand written partial articles while waiting for soccer games to start, but I haven’t finished any of the articles. Spring is a busy time for me, my kids’ sports are in high gear, school’s wrapping up, yard work is calling me, family gatherings, blah-blah-blah!

It’s easy to get side tracked and lazy with spring fever and not keep up with my blog. Where has my laziness gotten me? Nowhere! It has only removed me from my readers and kept me out of the loop. Choosing to be lazy in my blog maintenance only hurts me.

Being lazy is not the same as taking a break. Everyone deserves a break when working hard! If you need to take a break from your job search that’s fine. But the break needs to be planned and limited and when break-time is over you’ll have to pick up where you left off with your career plan if you want to be successful.

What do you lose by being lazy as a job seeker? You lose opportunity, income, confidence, a sense of accomplishment and the momentum and motivation to keep your search working for you.

Sometimes lazy doesn’t mean you are not doing anything, but that you keep doing unproductive things over and over. If your actions aren’t creating new opportunities then it is time to change what you are doing.

These rules apply to everything in life right? Whether it’s remodeling a room, searching for a new job, getting in shape, maintaining a blog, or any other goal you set. In order to achieve you have to put forth the right type of effort.

Boy, reading this article back I feel like I’ve written this just for me as a swift reminder to get motivated and keep moving towards my goal of sharing what I learn with job seekers to help you find the right jobs faster! Hopefully this article will get you re-motivated to take new action to reach your goals as well!

Shine on Job Seekers!!

Your resume is a marketing tool and is most effective when it is custom designed to attract a specific target audience and make you shine! Looking at what is important to potential employers will help determine what to showcase and what to weed out in your marketing tool; creating an irresistible resume.

It is like a puzzle, you have to know what the picture is before you can begin building the frame and filling in the missing pieces. The picture for you is your focus, your current career target.

A good first step to identifying your unique puzzle picture is to evaluate your personal, professional and financial likes and dislikes and strengths and weaknesses. Discovering what you are best at, what is most important to you and what you most enjoy doing, helps to determine the type of position you will consider a target position. Review job descriptions that interest you to help better understand the skills, experience and achievements required to develop a solid frame for your resume puzzle.

Once you are clear on your current career goals you can begin the process of finding out which companies and positions will offer what you are looking for. Researching the companies you are interested in can provide a better understanding of the added value you can offer to help you stand out, get noticed and get interviewed. Not sure where to look?

Start with the company website, industry blogs and websites, Google the industry and company, check out the competition, and use social networking groups to learn about the company culture, the management style and decision makers.

While filling in your resume make sure to match your experience with the skills and requirements of the positions you are seeking. Make their focus your focus by building a custom resume that will have everything your targeted employers are looking for – making you and your resume irresistible!

Shine On Irresistible Job Seekers!!

Yesterday’s career fair through the local (Detroit) Fox affiliate which teamed up with Employment Guide and AARP, brought in a unique mix of professionals that have been laid off or let go and searching for something new. A common thread throughout the day was the desperate response of “I’ll take anything, I just need a job”, when asked what they were looking for.

After learning of their targeted area of search and asking about their strategies, it became clear that many job seekers are still not taking advantage of the tools and techniques that successfully assist in finding jobs faster. What I heard from many job seekers was that they had dabbled in networking but didn’t really feel comfortable talking with strangers or opening up to friends and family; they didn’t want to be a burden.

The second thing I heard repeatedly was that the candidates had heard of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other online networking platforms, and some had even joined the communities, but most were not utilizing them effectively in their job search.

I wanted to stand on the table I was working from and shout to the job seekers that they needed to indeed step out of their comfort zone and what they have done in past job searches, and embrace new technology and communication mediums if they wanted to find a job. If not, I’d see them back here at the next Career Fair!

But, before I made a spectacle of myself, I reminded myself that all people are created differently and while some thrive in the job search environment others need more of a helping hand. That is where I come in and why I participate in Career Fairs.

If you are one of the career fair attending job seekers that still feel awkward and nervous about trying new search techniques, remember you’re not alone. Many job seekers are uncomfortable just like you.

It is OK to feel unsure, uncomfortable and self-confident, but do something anyway! The more you step out and seek new avenues for employment, the easier it will become. You can not afford to quit plus, trying new techniques will keep you from getting bored, and it will increase your circle of contacts and opportunities tremendously!

Shine On Job Seekers!

While taking in my daughter’s second soccer game of the season, it was easy to see in the first five minutes who were the go-getters and who were just playing the game. Those that were truly motivated and successful in the game played far beyond their skills and speed.

Those that just ran along side the ball and did not attempt to get in front of the ball or out maneuver the opponent ended up on the bench for the most of the game. The girls that looked like they were out for blood were the ones that played almost the entire game. They played as if there were in the championship game even though they knew they were likely to lose because they were playing a team that was the league champions.

Watching those girls reminded me of what it takes to succeed in life and in particular, a job search. Job seekers that are determined to play hard and play their best every day are the candidates that successfully find the jobs of their dreams.

Tips to learn from soccer players in your job search:

• Stay Focused
• Remember to practice, prepare, improve your skills if needed.
• Know your competition and target.
• Play to win – If you fall down or get pushed, get up and keep playing.
• Believe in Yourself – lead with determination and don’t let your lack of skill or speed hold you back mentally or physically – believe in yourself.
• Know matter the outcome of the game; maintain good sportsmanship.
• Have fun!

Realize that your job search is not a game but it is very competitive and if you hope to win an interview you need to treat it with the same drive and aggressiveness as a dedicated soccer player.