Career Boosting Tip #4: Do more than "dust off" the resume

Update your resume. Yes, I know, so obvious. But, I am suggesting more…

First, your resume should be relatively up-to-date. What does that mean? I recommend that anyone who has been in a job for more than 6 months should update their resume to include their current role. You never know who is going to call. Or what internal or external opportunities might come around. (Or, what negative surprise might you one Monday AM.)

More importantly, the process of capturing what you have done and what you are currently working on is an important, ongoing career management imperative.

To do more than dust off your resume, consider…

• Focusing on outcomes, the difference you have made rather than solely on duties and responsibilities
• Capturing your true professional strengths and putting them on the resume. Don’t be shy.
• Developing a summary pitch about what you offer and where you fit. You can’t and shouldn’t be all things to all employers, so don’t try. Figure out what you do and do very well, and capture that.

 Of course, we would be delighted to assist you with BoldCareer’s resume writing services. However, you can do it yourself as well. It takes an investment of your time, but one that will pay off. Make it part of your to-do list to boost your career this year.

Truth Inspired Resume Writing

Let’s explore the important theme of truth and how truth is related to an effective resume and cover letter. It sounds simple, but actually there are some not-so-obvious layers of meaning that you need to master.

What does the truth-theme have to do with your resumes and cover letters?

Your resume is an extension and representation of your professional self. Of course, you put your best foot forward when you craft your resume. But, in essence, your resume represents what you have done and what you can do. Truthfully.

If your resume is a representation of your professional self, then truth should be your guiding light in terms of telling the story of what you have done and what you are ready to do next.

There is simply no point in portraying yourself as something you are not. Even if you were to get past the interview stage, which is unlikely, a) you would be miserable as you struggled to live up to the expectations you set, and b) you would be found out very quickly once on the job.

At a basic, but important level is factual truth. You must not misrepresent the facts about your qualifications or work history on your resume. Period. End-of-story. This subject gets a lot of press and justifiably so. I encourage you to simply avoid the temptation, if there is any, to either directly lie or even stretch the truth when it comes to developing your resume. The reasons why are obvious.

You also want to steer clear of misrepresenting the truth when it comes to less “factual” and concrete resume areas like your responsibilities, the projects you worked on, and what you have achieved.

So, I have covered what not to do. But, there is another side to the truth-based career management theme, a side that can be a powerful lever. You see, one of your jobs as you manage your career, and the sooner the better, is to figure out what you are really, really good at. What drives you and gives you energy. Where you fit. And, how you work.

If you look carefully, you will likely find that the times in your life when you really did a great job, and had fun doing it, were the times when you were in your zone on the above topics. Strengths. Interests. Fit. Drive.

This is the truth about your professional self.

And, this is what needs to find itself onto your resume.

And cover letters.

And interviews.

Hopefully, culminating in a hand-in-glove fit with your next job.

This is an opportunity, therefore, to tell the truth about who you are and what you can do for your prospective employer. But, it requires some work on your part. When you write your resume or update it, you will likely start with what I call level 1, which is describing the job responsibilities you have held and your qualifications. That part is easy.

Then, you need to get to level 2, which is what did you actually achieve. What difference did you make? Remember that magic formula of Challenge - Action - Result. This is where the formula comes in. Go back to that level one data and figure out what you actually achieved.

Level 3 is where you add information about the context, or environment of the experiences you have had. You see, context is a hidden gem in your professional history.

Let me illustrate: Are all accounting manager jobs equal? No, of course not. Industries are different. Public vs. private companies are different. Profit vs. not-for-profit is relevant. The size of the company makes a big difference. Even beyond this, there can be other differences. A team of 1, or many? Is the company growing, shrinking, or steady-state? Is the department going through significant change? And, what is the situation with the accounting manager’s boss? I could go on.

You see, every role exists in a context, and when you performed that job, you operated in that context. That is part of the truth that you need to squeeze out of your resume development.

You still need to dig down one level to level 4 and think about what all of this means. When you look at your professional background, what are your strengths? What capabilities do you possess? Where and how do you want to apply these next in your career? What evidence do you have to back up these assertions? This is where you engage in messaging. Selectively rewording, adding and culling so that your resume elegantly portrays you as a unique individual in the job market.

There you have how to develop a truth-inspired resume.

Technorati Tags: career coach, job search, resume writing, resumes

How to Handle Contract Work on Your Resume

This is a common challenge. Contracting is extremely common in some industries, and not so much in others, so certainly part of the positive and negative reaction will be industry-based. However, there is a lot you can do to influence how the contracting experience is received.

The first thing is to make sure that it is crystal clear to the scanning eye that these were contracts. You don’t want the reader to think that you have been jumping around in your jobs. I will cover how below.

Second, you would be smart to speak to the intended length of the contract. It is best to frame your departure, where accurate, as a result of having completed the contracted time frame, the mandate, or ideally both. Even better, if you were asked to stay on, beyond the initial agreement, you should mention that as well.

The third objective is to ensure that in describing the contract, you do so in an outcome-based way. For best results, your role or activities should be described using the following formula:

Challenge or objective

Actions

Result or outcome

In fact, contracts have the potential to be nice resume builders in that often you were brought on to do something specific. If you can succinctly describe, using the above formula, how you successfully tackled that objective, it will likely be received in a positive light.

How and where you present your contract work on the resume document depends on a few factors. You can treat the contracts as you would your other professional experiences and have them appear individually in reverse chronological order. If you go this route, you would normally devote less space and words to contracts that lasted less than 12 months than you would a job. You want to ensure that the reader knows that this was a contract. You can do that by making it part of the job title. “Contract Public Relations Assignment” or “Pubic Relations Manager – Contract.”

Another method is to create a separate section titled Other Professional Experience, or Contracts. This would typically follow the main professional experience section. Again, you would be more succinct in your description of the work you did during each contract than you would for a job.

Or, you can create one amalgamated “job experience” that is comprised of all your contract experiences. You would provide the organization’s name, your role, and date for each of the contracts, followed by a few key bullet points highlighting what you did for each contract. The difference with the second method is that this appears as one experience section, and would typically be located in its chronological place in the professional experience section.

Which way to go depends on the circumstances. For example, if you have had 3 or more contracts, small contracts, contracts where what you deliver is exactly the same, or concurrent contracts since your last full-time job, then the later option might work best. If the contracts are fewer and unique, then the first or second method makes more sense. You would use the second method when you want to draw the reader’s attention to your most relevant full-time work experience and where the contracts are a distraction or not directly related to the target job.

Contract work need not damage your resume. It just takes a little effort to ensure that you have framed that work in the best light.

Technorati Tags: resume writing, resumes, self-employment

Resumes: Handling In Progress Education

You should absolutely include any relevant in-progress education or specialized training. The only time when you might not want to do it is when you have literally just started, or when the training itself is only a few days or weeks long and you have just started. You should wait in these instances.

Otherwise, truly “in-progress” education and training is a positive thing.

It is important to convey how much you have completed and/or how close you are to completing the requirements. Here are some formulas:

Bachelor of Science, University of _______ In Progress. Completed X/Y required credits. Expected Completion Spring 2007.

Training Certification, X/Y courses/credits successfully completed. On target to complete certification by month/year.

Of course, it is better to have your degree completed, but the next best thing is clearly demonstrating that you are focused, motivated, and on target.

Technorati Tags: job search, resume writing, resumes

Resume Length: How Long Should My Resume Be?

The first and most important rule in resume length is that your resume should be as long as it needs to be to best showcase and market your skills for your target positions, but no longer.

Of course, different countries and industries have different standards. For the Canadian and US market, 1, 2, or 3 pages is standard, although there are some industry exceptions.

I am sure that some readers may still be confused. Okay, 1-3 pages, I get that. But, which?

Go back to my opening rule. What length is best suited to the amount, breadth and type of experience you possess? If you are just entering the workforce, you will be at 1-2 pages. No longer. If you have several years of experience under your belt, but have held one job during that time, your resume could be shorter than someone with several jobs.

Second, the nature of your job will help determine how many words to use. There are some professions where not a lot of words are needed or expected. In the world of finance, for example, wordiness is not a virtue and 1-page resumes, maximum 2, are the norm. In the academic world, your resume better be around 5 pages to showcase your papers and research. In the business world, at the mid-career level, which you appear to be, 2-3 pages will normally be what you will be aiming for.

When writing resumes for my clients, I find that the question of length is usually solved when you target your messaging. The third rule is to let your focus and strategy dictate your message. Most people write their resume first, and then try and figure out what kind of job they are looking for. Instead, figure out what you want. Then, figure out why you are a good, if not great candidate for this kind of job. Then, turn your resume into a document that sells this. This will mean omitting some information and emphasizing other information.

The fourth rule is to format for readability and professionalisms first, length second. You can tweak formatting a bit, but avoid overt tricks to shrink or expand your resume. For example, you could make the margins 1” vs. 1.25”. On font, you will hear different things, but my opinion is that font size of 11 is the most professional. I find that 9 and 10 are too small and will increase the impression that your resume is too difficult to read to bother (some font types might be better than others at the size of 10). On the other hand, size 12 and over, in my opinion, is too big. Big fonts in resumes (other than for headings), again in my opinion, don’t give a serious impression. Of course, these issues are less relevant when cutting and pasting or building your resume on online job boards.

No one was ever hired because they had the right resume length. The degree of professionalism will add to or subtract from your candidacy. A too lengthy resume could easily send a message that you are unfocussed. A professional, polished and on-target resume will increase your chances of getting read and considered. Most important, of course, is how effectively your resume markets you as either someone who can do the job being hired for, or someone worth meeting because of your background.

Technorati Tags: resume writing, resumes