LASD Resource Development

Timely Tips on Job-Hunting

I found the following article, published recently in Time Magazine, covers several important points about looking for a job in today's market.  While its focus is on the executive market, the suggestions are relevant, regardless of where you are in your career.

The Six-Figure Job Hunt

Recently, I've receive a number of requests to speak on job-hunting topics for different trade organizations and networking groups. 

Here is a sampling of recently delivered and upcoming events:

• March 10: Financial Women's Association - Bridging Employment with Consulting

• March 11: Security Traders Association of New York -  Panel Discussion: Is there Life after Trading?  Managing Career Transitions in a Difficult Market

• June 19: New York Society of Security Analysts - Friday Career Coffees: Bridging Employment with Consulting. Registration is open until June 16th.

If your organization is interested in having me speak on these or other search-related topics, please email me at info@lasdresourcedevelopment.com.  Past programs have also included:

How to Effectively Expand Your Network

Networking in a Difficult Environment

Finding a Career that's Right for You

Managing Informational Interviews

Staying Motivated During Your Search

Writing an Effective Resume

   

Spring Cleaning Your Resume

by Laura Smith Dunaief

 

Ah, Spring!  We just recently performed our annual ritual of moving the clocks forward an hour – a rite I enjoy, despite the lost hour of sleep.  Fire departments suggest we use this as a reminder to replace our smoke alarm batteries.  It’s also a great time to Spring clean your resume. 

Even if you have no thought of changing jobs, this once-a-year habit will keep your resume looking sharp and make the process that much easier if a recruiter or potential new boss does “drop in” unexpectedly.

So, what does Spring cleaning consist of?  With your home, it means clearing away the accumulated clutter, airing out the rooms, and buffing the remaining items until they shine.  It’s no different with your resume. 

Here’s a quick guide to what to look for in your Spring cleaning.

Headers 

Start with the obvious, your address.  Is it correct?  Do you include a cell phone number and email address?  If your resume is more than one page, do you include these critical details on the second page, just in case they become separated? 

Profile or Summary Section

Take the opportunity to read it with fresh eyes.  Is it strong, clear and to the point?  When you read it, does it accurately represent you?  If this were all someone read, would they have a good feel for your capabilities and what makes you distinct?  If not, it may be time for a rewrite.

Professional Experience Section

Start by updating the title and dates of your current role.  Or, if it’s been a while since you dusted your resume off, you may need to add your current role.

Within your current role, have you had new successes or have you worked on new projects that you need to include?  If so, add them now.  You’ll also want to update any results you pointed to in your last version.  If you read that you exceeded your annual quota by over 20% in each of the past five years, is that still accurate?

Remember that each item in this section should be results-focused, not just a rehash of your job description.  The focus should be on achievement and successes.  If an item starts with the dreaded, “Responsible for,” it needs a rewrite.

Each bulleted item (and yes, unless you’re in academics, this is the preferred format) needs to begin with a strong verb or adjective.  With verbs, make sure current roles are in the present tense, and past roles are in the past tense.  This is particularly important if you’re adding a new role at the top and moving all your roles down one slot.

For older roles, especially those you held more than ten years ago, you may want to dust them off or throw out some of the detail.  You’ve gone on to bigger and better things, so don’t dwell on ancient history.  If you’re now a manager, will anyone care that you set up a new filing system in your first job as an administrative assistant fifteen years ago? 

Before you move on to the next section, take a last read through your Professional Experiences section.  Make sure it reads smoothly and that you are showing career progression.  Check the visual balance of the section; newer roles should generally have more heft than older roles.

Education and Memberships/Awards Sections

Review each to ensure they’re current.  If you’ve been in the workforce for a while, delete your college graduation date.  Add new degrees, professional certificates, and awards you’ve received.  Then look over your professional memberships – are you now a committee chair or did you organize the annual fundraiser?  If so, add the information.  On the other hand, delete anything that seems stale, like collegiate volunteer activities.

Final Review

Lastly, take your resume shopping for a new look.  Experiment with different professional-looking fonts and layouts for your resume, and find one that projects the appropriate image for your level and industry.  Make sure the font size and white space look appealing and are easy to read.

Congratulations!  Just as when you finish Spring cleaning your home, you should have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.  I can almost smell the airy freshness.

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.

In Search of the Perfect Recommendation

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers, Employment Section, November 8, 2007.

by Laura Smith Dunaief

How about this for a frustrating scenario? Your prospective employer is asking you for the names and contact information for your last three supervisors, so that they can check your references. The problem is that you don’t know how to reach these people anymore, because they’ve moved on, themselves. 

This happened to my husband recently. He spent the better part of a Saturday calling former colleagues to find out where their supervisor had gone when the firm was sold. He was lucky; he not only found a number, but he spoke with the fellow briefly to make sure he was willing to provide a reference (and to remind him of what a great job he’d done while he was there).

If my personal experience is any indication, there is a distinct trend in the current job market: more prospective employers are asking for – and contacting - references. I receive an average of three calls a year asking for references on former employees. Some of these people haven’t worked for me in nearly twenty years.

It’s not surprising, considering how competitive the market has become for certain industries. Even those employers who have always asked for references, but have rarely followed through, are picking up the phone to hear what people have to say about you. 

As a job candidate, what can you do to make this process work in your favor, turning those references into recommendations?

First, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to keep in touch with former bosses or supervisors that you know think highly of you.  Folks move from company to company at lightning speed, these days, and just coming up with contact information can be a challenge.  If you make a point to keep in touch, this becomes much less of a logistical problem.

In addition, it makes it a lot easier for the former employer to speak in specifics about your qualities when they have a clear recollection of who you are.

Don’t laugh. I once drew a complete blank when I received a blind reference request call for someone who hadn’t worked for me in fifteen years. After the “I’m sorry.  Who is this about again?” it probably didn’t matter what I said about the person. Clearly, she hadn’t made a lasting impression on me.

Go the extra step, even if you speak weekly, to make a courtesy phone call and ask if you may give his or her name as a reference.  It’s not only nice manners, but it helps grease the wheels. I’m much more likely to return a call I’m expecting.

This courtesy call is also a great opportunity to prep your former boss. Even under the best of circumstances, don’t assume that he knows what you want him to say.

Start by explaining what you know about the position you’re considering. Then, if there are specific things you’d like to be sure he mentions, don’t be shy about bringing them up. 

For example, if you want to be sure your prospective new employer hears that you’re highly-motivated, ask your former boss to mention that big project you volunteered to take the lead on - and how successful you were.   

What if someone is looking for a written recommendation? This is fairly common for applications to grad school. Like verbal recommendations, there are often specific questions they must answer. Still, there’s a lot of room for you to influence what your recommender writes. 

In the cases of both verbal and written recommendations, even if the former boss doesn’t ask what you’d like her to focus on, you should not be shy about suggesting something. “Sue, I know they’ll probably ask you about my leadership skills. I think a great example of that would be….” 

Frankly, I can’t think of anyone who would resent a suggestion that would make the job that much easier.

If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s an extension of the networking we should all be doing regularly.  Maintaining a basic level of contact with former colleagues and bosses – even if it’s just an email twice a year to find out how they’re doing and share what you’re up to – will make a reference request much more comfortable for both of you, and may lead to a recommendation that gets the job.

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.

Volunteering as a Career Development Strategy

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers, Employment Section, August 30, 2007

by Laura Smith Dunaief

Recently, a former colleague notified me that he is taking a new job as an event planner for a major lobbying organization in DC.  I cheered for him, not just because it is a great opportunity, but because I know he worked very hard to get it.

Event planning is not part of a traditional career path for a human resources representative, a role in which he has spent most of his life.  Rather, it’s the career he decided several years ago to pursue.

After doing research into what it takes to get a well-paying job as an event planner – lots of experience doing it – he decided that he needed to find a way to get that, without giving up his good income for a starvation-wage job in an entry-level position.  He came upon a masterful solution: volunteer as an event planner for non-profit organizations in his spare time.

He, and many like him, are discovering that non-profits and other volunteer organizations provide a tremendous training ground for traditional paying jobs. Volunteer organizations are starved for dedicated and motivated workers to take on roles as far-flung as project management, logistics coordination, event planning, and plain old supervision of other volunteers. Thus, they are often willing to allow those with little experience to roll up their sleeves and test their mettle.

This provides an opportunity for people, like my former colleague, who want to try out a new career and earn their stripes, and for those who cannot convince their employers to allow them to take on management responsibility in their current jobs.

And for those of you who already volunteer, I challenge you to look at your volunteer experiences in a new light. What skills are you developing that will help with your career? Is this something you can highlight on your resume? Suddenly, coaching the little league team, organizing the walk-a-thon, or cleaning up the beach can take on new dimensions.

A word of caution for those of you who are considering this approach: make sure you follow through.  The fabulous referrals and networking contacts you muster from volunteer organizations are the same as those from a paying company, if you treat it as a paying job. 

Don’t overcommit, and don’t offer to take on responsibility that you can’t execute. If you’d like to try your hand at something that’s completely new to you, ask if you can assist someone with more experience for a while. And if you find yourself in trouble, time-wise or skill-wise, ask for help. Leaving them high and dry when they’re counting on you will cause your efforts to backfire.

So, now you’re plugging along, developing new skills and wowing your fellow volunteers with your dedication and skill. How do you get this onto your resume?

First, consider it a “real” job. Lift your volunteer work out of the obscurity of the “personal” section of your resume and integrate it with your paying jobs. Then, just like any other job, consider your accomplishments and build them into your resume.

For example, if you coordinated the planning of an annual fundraising event, ask yourself some key questions.

• How many volunteers did you supervise?

• How did you market the event?

• Did you solicit corporate sponsors?

• What about venue or vendor contracts?

• Ultimately, what was the result?

• How much money did you raise?

• How many people attended?

• How did this compare to previous years’ results?

Be honest, just as you would with any job. It’s fairly transparent to prospective employers when people overstate their efforts.

Remember that every volunteer organization and experience is different. Look for those that feed both your passion and your career development needs, and you’ll find a win-win situation. And you will do some good along the way.

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.

Keeping a Work Journal

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers,  Employment Section, June 21, 2007.

Laura Smith Dunaief

If you’re looking for a new job, or even new challenges in your current job, you may be in for some stiff competition. 

According to a CNNMoney.com poll issued in conjunction with Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” coverage, only 42% of the 11,000 respondents are happy where they are.  The rest expect to get a new job in the next year, at either a new company, or due to a promotion. 

The Society for Human Resources Management puts the number of job hunters even higher, reporting in December that 75% of employees are looking.

So, if you’re on the hunt, yourself, what can you do to stand out amid this Times Square on New Year’s Eve crowd? 

I will let you in on a secret: the single best way to shine is to have a strong grasp on what you’ve achieved and what that has meant for your company – the more specific you can be, the better.  It’s always surprising to me how few people can succinctly describe their current positions and accomplishments, articulating them in a compelling way that shows their value.  It’s a skill so rare that, in twenty years of hiring, I only found a handful that could do it – and I did somersaults to make sure they came to work for me.

Think of this as the decoder ring for the career management puzzle.  If you can master this, all of the pieces, including writing a resume, interviewing, networking, and negotiating salary, become that much easier to nudge into place.  And it’s equally worthwhile if you’re one of the few with no plans to move; you can use it to show how valuable you are when raises and bonuses are doled out.

So, how do you sift through the daily tasks you juggle each work day and really get your head around the value in what you do?  Keep a “work journal.”  It doesn’t matter if it’s electronic or longhand.  It only matters that you update it consistently – before details fade and while key business impacts, like sales results or client feedback, are at your fingertips.  A work journal is the raw material from which you will build your resume, your interview stories, or your case for a big raise or promotion.

What should you write in there?  It’s not a minute-by-minute record of how you spent your day.  Think of it as a series of stories that show what you’re worth. 

To get started, I suggest that you write down your three biggest achievements for a week.  Then reread each and ask the question, “So what?”  Your journal’s value will come from being able to answer this.

Let’s look at an example:  This week, I facilitated a meeting between a potential client and a technology vendor that I found and introduced to the client.  So what? By itself, this doesn’t tell how successful I was at facilitating, or about its value to the organization. 

What if I wrote that, as a result of that meeting, the vendor agreed to partner with me on the client’s project and that it was worth $250,000 in revenue to my company?  Or that the vendor later approached me about partnering with clients of theirs?  Does this sound more compelling?  For an extra “bang,” I should also indicate what I did to make it so successful.

Make the journal work harder for you by categorizing your entries.  If you want to prove your sales prowess, client relationship capabilities, and communication skills, you should label each of your entries accordingly.  This makes it easier when someone asks you to talk about your sales abilities.  It also allows you to see where you need to expand your experiences to get to the next big thing.

Ideally, you should update your work journal at least once a week.  Of course, some weeks you’ll have more to say than others.  Still, the habit is critical. 

And unlike a teenager’s diary, you don’t need to stuff this between the mattress and box spring.  In fact, it’s most valuable if you air it out and review it regularly.  Who cares if the boss stumbles across it?  It will remind her how lucky she is to have you.

 

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs.