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October 30, 2005

You HAVE to Focus!

This weekend, I received two emails from potential clients who don't understand how to market themselves. One has experience as a teacher, but has also worked as a graphic designer. She asked me to create a resume that would work for both teaching and design jobs.

Her email was followed by one from a senior executive who wants a resume that works for senior-level roles as well as clerical positions because he's considering dropping out of the 'rat race'.

I declined both projects. I am good with words, but I'm not a miracle-worker. Both these people need at least two resumes. Who knows, they may need more.

Your resume is an advertisement aimed at your target audience. It must show how you can meet the needs of potential employers. That means you need a clear idea of who those employers are and what they're looking for. Schools can't possibly be looking for the same qualities as design agencies. Companies look for one set of skills in senior executives and a completely different skillset for junior roles.

Do you have a clear focus? And if you have several different goals, do you have several focused resumes? If not, you have some writing to do.

Posted by Louise at 05:43 PM | Permalink

October 21, 2005

What's the Problem?

Do you know what potential employers are worried about? Do you understand their needs? When you submit your resume, do you know what business problems they are trying to resolve by filling that particular position?

If the answer is no, don't apply. Nobody hires a new employee just to fill an empty office - they hire a new employee to meet a need, solve a problem, or capitalize on an opportunity. How can you convince someone that you are the answer to their problems if you don't understand what those problems are? (And how can you know that you really are the answer, if you don't understand the problem?)

Delving into a company's situation before you submit your resume isn't the easiest or quickest approach, but it's the one that gives you the greatest chance of success.

If you're struggling with your resume, download our free guide to resume writing for more pointers.

Posted by Louise at 07:03 PM | Permalink

October 19, 2005

It's Not About You!

I just received a resume from a potential client who is looking to move from administrative work into management of some sort. Her resume begins:

OBJECTIVE: To obtain a middle/upper-level management position with responsibilities including problem solving, planning, organizing, and managing budgets.

She then goes on to detail her administrative responsibilities.

I can predict with 100% certainty that this resume will bring her no success whatsoever. The problem? It's all about her.

She wants to move from administration into management, but the stranger reading her resume has absolutely no interest in her career goals or her desires. None! Even if he/she is an otherwise caring person. All the reader cares about is: how will you solve the problems I'm currently facing?

This candidate needs to refocus her resume. First, she needs to identify exactly what type of management position she's seeking. Then she needs to understand exactly what's required of people who hold that position. She also needs to understand why employers hire for that position (what problemns are they solving). Finally, she needs to rewrite her resume so that every single word shows why her previous background makes her a perfect fit.

If you're sending out resumes without much success, ask yourself whether you have clearly addressed needs of potential employers. If every word of your resume isn't aimed at solving problems, you need to rewrite.

Posted by Louise at 08:58 AM | Permalink

October 16, 2005

Refining your Message

Imagine you have been charged with marketing a new product or service. How effective would it be to spend a couple of hours pulling together a sales brochure by yourself, mailing it out to hundreds of miscellaneous companies and then sitting back waiting for the phone to ring? How about if you also posted the brochure online?

Chances are that you wouldn't generate much revenue with this strategy, which is why marketers spend time defining a sales message for their products and then crafting a strategy to reach a carefully targeted audience.

Amost everyone looking for a job is following the first approach. They’re creating ineffective advertisements (resumes), posting them online and waiting for interviewers to call. Which means that anyone who defines a target audience, develops a clear message about how he/she can solve problems, and finds creative ways to get attention, will have a huge advantage.

Is your job search strategy as effective as it could be?

Posted by Louise at 04:24 PM | Permalink

October 13, 2005

Standing on Stilts

I was at a U2 concert a few days ago. The crowd was LOUD! And everyone was yelling at Bono, trying to get his attention. Of course, he couldn't hear them because too many people were shouting, all at the same time.

That's sometimes how it feels when you're looking for a new job. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of people all shouting at the same employers. And they're all using the same techniques to get attention. They're emailing resumes to the HR department or applying to those dreaded online systems and then waiting for the phone to ring.

During the U2 concert, some people did get Bono's attention, and he reached down to touch their hand, or smile at them, but his choices were arbitrary because no one stood out. It's the same with your job applications. Sometimes, one of the HR people actually reads your resume and calls you. And yet others ignore you when you were perfect for the position.

If a U2 fan went to the show on stilts, he'd probably get noticed. I imagine Bono hasn't seen too many 8 foot-tall people in his life. So the question for job seekers is: How can you make yourself 8 feet-tall?

Posted by Louise at 03:30 PM | Permalink

October 12, 2005

Spamming for a Job

I just received an email asking me for a job with my PR department. I don't have a PR department. Why does this person think that I do?

Answer: Because she has done NO research at all. Instead she either bought or harvested email addresses and then sent out a mass email advertising her availability to an audience that truly doesn't care.

Spam doesn't work with knock-off Rolex watches, so it's certainly not going to help anyone find their next job.

Posted by Louise at 09:11 AM | Permalink

October 09, 2005

Are You Showing or Telling?

There's an old fiction writer's adage - "show don't tell." This means that the author should allow the reader to draw conclusions from carefully planted 'clues', rather than explaining everything. Instead of saying a character "felt sad", for example, the writer should describe actions and facial expressions that demonstrate sadness.

I've been thinking a lot about 'show don't tell' this week. I've been doing some market research and it's very apparent that there's a lot of "telling" going on in my industry. Everyone spends a lot of time explaining why a professional resume is important and why you should choose their particular service over another. After traveling to many, many websites, I began to feel how potential clients must feel -overwhelmed, confused and still not sure what makes one service any better than another. Why? Because everyone is telling and no one is showing.

Which got me thinking about how all this applies to resumes and the job search process. One of the most common words you'll find in resume introductions is the word 'innovative.' And yet the people who describe themselves this way often do nothing innovative in their job search. They don't have a personal website. They don't market themselves in an exciting or unique way. They create a resume (sometimes using a template) and then they post it on Monster and apply for some jobs. Not all that innovative, is it?

So, how can you stop telling and start showing.

Posted by Louise at 06:03 PM | Permalink

October 08, 2005

What do You do for a Living?

I'm currently attending an excellent series of workshops in small business marketing led by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.

One of the exercises is just as applicable for career marketing as it is for my business. John asked us to think about what we do for a living - and not to frame our answer in terms of job title or function (for example "I am a resume writer") but rather to explain the end result of what we do ("I help job seekers transition to a better position by marketing them effectively").

I've written before about the importance of differentiating yourself in the job market and I think this is a very valuable exercise to help you do that. Try to develop an answer to the question "what do you do for a living?" that does not include your job title. Instead, begin with " I help companies to (do what?) by (doing what?)." For example, an IT executive might say: "I help companies to cut their costs and increase productivity by using the very latest technologies to streamline cumbersome business processes."

You'll be amazed at how much this simple trick of focusing on your core differentiator can help in resume writing, interviewing and even salary negotiations.

Posted by Louise at 01:23 PM | Permalink