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Have you ever poured milk over cereal and took a bite only to realize the milk has spoiled? Fortunately, milk has an expiration date printed on it. Resumes don’t even though resumes age and get past their prime, just like milk. How old is your resume?

Jimmy is a sales rep who was laid off in March after thirteen years with his employer. Jimmy still had his old resume from thirteen years before and since it had worked well in the late nineties (got him the job), he figured it would work well now. He brushed off the dust, updated a couple things on dates, added some keywords and sent it out. The result? Nothing.

Jimmy’s resume was from a different era. Employment markets change and so do resumes. What employers need or want to see changes. Formats and organizational schemes of resumes change as they conform to the needs of the market. Jimmy was trying to market himself with a resume that was green with mold and did not meet the needs of today’s market.

What made Jimmy’s resume out-of-date? There were several things. First, the organization was the old, large-left-margin style. That style was originally used when resumes were written on typewriters. There were few design options on typewriters so creating a large left margin with tabs was one of the few ways to attain visual interest. With all the design options for computers now, the large left margin is simply a waste of space.

Second, Jimmy had detailed his entire work history all the way back to the 80’s. His experience as a clerk in retail in 1987 is totally irrelevant to his more recent work as one of the top producers as a National Sales Manager. So why has he included it? He thought you had to include all your work history. That’s just not true. Employers are most interested in what the last ten years have held for you. Ancient history is just that to them – ancient history. It has no relevance.

Is your resume updated AND up-to-date? Do you know what employers are seeking in this market? Would you recognize mold on your resume?
 

It’s that time of year again – commencement, convocation, matriculation, graduation – call it what you will. It is still a new beginning or step forward for thousands who have dedicated a lot of their time and money (or someone else’s money) to earning that college degree. Some have jobs lined up but not all. The class of 2010 is exiting into a job market still stagnate at near double-digit unemployment. 

Since 2008, many universities have seen enrollment in graduate programs increase as experienced professionals took the opportunity of a lay-off to go back to school to attain advanced degrees. With brand new master’s degrees in hand, those people are now graduating out into a market that is worse than when they began their graduate work. So how does that new degree translate into the job search?

Employers are looking for “purple squirrels” – candidates that match long lists of qualifications exactly. In this current market, they are finding those candidates because there are so many people available or searching. If you’ve earned your advance degree, you now have one more of the qualifications employers may be seeking which is to your benefit. Good for you!

Keep in mind employers have a long list of needed qualifications – not a short one with “graduate degree” at the top. The degree is usually further down the list in importance. Employers tend to seek experience first, then an advanced degree. Having a master’s degree or higher is a good advantage in the job hunt for those who already have experience. It supports the experience with formal training at a higher level. Make sure you mention it in the summary of your resume in addition to capturing the value of your experience.

Where an advanced degree may actually hurt is when it has been achieved directly after the first four-year degree. Essentially, the job seeker is then highly schooled but inexperienced. There is also a perception of higher salary requirements for candidates with advanced degrees and in some fields, the salary level is set by whether a candidate has an advanced degree or not.

A prime example of this conundrum is the education field. A new teacher can start teaching after a four-year degree. If instead, he continues his education immediately to attain a master’s degree, his starting salary will automatically go up. Sounds good for the new teacher, but think about it from the employers’ perspectives. Hire a brand new teacher with no experience and get a teacher with a bachelor’s degree for one salary or hire another brand new teacher with no experience with a master’s degree for several thousand higher. Which is the logical choice in this crunch time of budget shortfalls? The teacher without the advanced degree will be more attractive.

Consider the same candidate – a teacher with a master’s degree – but add in a new element, experience. If you are the employer and you have two candidates: one with an advanced degree and three years experience, and one with just three years experience and a four-year degree. Which will you hire? You will probably hire the candidate with the advanced degree. The master’s degree becomes most valuable when combined with experience.

If you have added an advanced degree to your resume in addition to experience, keep in mind it is still secondary. Most new grads with a first degree only have the education to offer employers but you have more – you have experience and a second degree. Make sure you highlight the education well, but keep it in the proper location toward the end of the resume.  It now supports your experience and will be an added value you can bring to the employer.
 

Every time there is a natural disaster or public emergency, people pick up their phones to check on relatives and neighbors or to share news. The result is jammed phone lines and “service unavailable” messages from cell providers. The system is overwhelmed by the many users trying to use it at once. The same phenomenon is occurring with the job market. There are so many “callers” (job seekers) yet a limited number of “lines” (jobs). As a result, there is a great deal of static in the job market at the moment hindering the process for both the job seeker and for the employer.

It can be very tempting when looking for a job to send your resume to any and every advertised position. The thought “I’m pretty sure I can do that” is often prevalent. The results of applying to anything and everything are dismal! Employers are very specific in the qualifications they seek in potential candidates. They seek near-100% matches and because there are so many candidates available, employers are finding candidates that fit the bill. That leaves candidates who might have 80% of the requirements left out of consideration.

Conduct a smart job search. Do not apply to just any job that catches your eye. Look realistically at your qualifications in comparison to requirements of the position.  Make sure you are applying to positions that fit your qualifications well. To do otherwise is to spin your wheels and waste a lot of time – both your time and the employer’s. If you send your resume in for a job for which you are only marginally qualified, you are contributing to the static in the job market and not really accomplishing anything.

Check your resume against the positions advertised. Have you stated your qualifications clearly? Is there a required qualification you have but may not have mentioned on your resume? A close study of the market and what employers are seeking can help guide you in your job search and career development. Use your time wisely in conducting your job search and go after select jobs – not just anything. You will use your time more wisely and achieve better results.

Networking has traditionally been the most effective method of job hunting, coming in ahead of mailing/emailing resumes in response to job advertisements or postings. Most people think of networking from the job seeker’s point of view – talking to people you know to find open positions. Something you may not realize — networking works better for the employer, too, essentially for the same reason. Locating candidates by word of mouth is proving more effective.

With unemployment in double digits, employers are swamped with applicants the instant they post a single job on the Internet. Whether it is an advertisement on a job board or a position posted on their own company website, resumes start pouring in to the resume database or email boxes.

Recently, a senior facilities maintenance position was posted for a large research organization in the Southeast. Within 1 hour, the HR department had over 300 applicants for this position, some suitable but many not even remotely qualified. Anyone and everyone seemed to be applying in hopes of getting an interview and possibly a job with this prestigious and well-paying organization. The applicant pool grew and grew until it was simply too large to handle by the hiring manager. The tsunami of job seekers flooded the HR department!

At that point, the HR manager decided to fill the position solely by word-of-mouth, because publicly advertising the position nearly crashed the servers. The position was withdrawn from the website and posted on the company’s internal website. Postings were put up in break rooms around the facility. Instead of thousands of applicants who might or might not be qualified, the HR manager received 46 applicants who were referred by current employees. Those 46 applicants were all fairly well qualified, and she was able to narrow the field quickly to ten prime candidates to interview. The original attempt at filling the position through advertisement was much less efficient, more costly, and too time consuming so she filled the position more by “asking around” instead.

Technology was originally applied to job search during the 1990’s to make hiring easier. In some situations, however, it’s made it more difficult. HR managers spend a great deal of time learning to use technology more efficiently rather than spending time on the hiring itself. Technology opens positions to applicants globally rather than just locally or regionally; therefore, the potential applicant pool is automatically larger in scope. Add in a tough economy and that pool grows even larger and more aggressive. Some hiring managers are dropping back to word-of-mouth sourcing for really good open positions.

The moral of this story for the job seeker is to pay attention to who you know. Your network is your most precious asset. Make sure you nurture it at all times, even when you are happily employed. Use social media and technology to connect on a regular basis, but don’t neglect face time with people to keep your network in prime condition. People hire people. Networking works both ways when hiring managers and candidates are looking to maximize the effectiveness of the hiring process.

One of the most common problems we see in resumes is concentration on job duties rather than performance. Phrases such as “responsible for”, “duties included”, “assisted with” or “served as” are not powerful, descriptive or persuasive in a resume. They always make me think of an observation I made while on a trip to Eastern Europe several years ago…

While traveling in the former Soviet Union states, I had occasion to visit several public restrooms in restaurants, train stations, museums, etc. Older ladies – “babushkas” – always sat at tables near restroom doors collecting money from ladies on their way out. The door babushka wasn’t doing anything except sitting there; she wasn’t handing out towels or toiletries as we see with powder room attendants in swanky hotels or restaurants here in the US. At the time, I guessed you had to pay to use the restroom so I watched to see how much the lady in front of me gave her and then paid the same amount.

Finally, I asked one of my travel companions, a native Ukrainian, about the “bathroom babushka” and he explained her role to me. Supposedly, the bathroom babushka’s job originally was to maintain the restroom and as a reward, the venue would allow her to collect money from patrons for her efforts. At some point through the years, the “work” part of the equation disappeared and it became simply a matter of sitting at the door collecting money for, well, sitting at the door. Bathroom babushkas figured out they didn’t actually have to do anything yet they still got paid.

“Responsible for maintenance, upkeep, and cleanliness of ladies’ restroom in busy, metropolitan restaurant. Assure adequate supply of tissue, soap and towels. Provide customer service to enhance patrons’ experience. Respond to questions regarding local points of interest.”

Yes, they were responsible for maintenance, etc. but they didn’t PERFORM it. An “adequate” supply of necessities meant a sliver of bar soap and that was it. You were out of luck on paper needs. Customer service consisted of growling at you as you came in and not even saying “thank you” when you dropped coins in the bucket on the way out. And responding to questions? That was generally a sharp, sarcastic retort. Technically, the job description is accurate in the section above but the picture of performance quality is totally missing.

Contrast those bathroom babushkas with the restroom attendant I recently encountered in the Atlanta airport. She saw me coming and with a sweet voice cried out “Oh honey, I have a room all ready for you! Right this way!” She then proceeded to open a stall door, activate the auto-flush thing, wipe down the seat with an antibacterial wipe and place a fresh seat cover on the toilet – all while I stood there with eyebrows raised and my jaw dropped. She stood back with a smile, held the door for me and then made sure I could latch it before moving to the next incoming “customer”. After I finished, I went to wash my hands and she had a fresh paper towel all ready for me so I didn’t have to touch the dispenser; she turned off the tap for me; and even gave me a little squirt of hand sanitizer to top it off.  I was completely astounded. What customer service!

Keep in mind, she was NOT a bathroom attendant. She was the custodian lady who pushed the mop cart around! She was the one emptying trash cans. She had just decided to take what most would think of as a mundane, minimum-wage job to another level entirely. And her initiative was paying off! I gave her a $5 tip and I saw several other ladies handing her money! If I were to write HER job description, it might sound like this:

“Exceeded all customer expectations in maintenance of public restroom facility in one of nation’s busiest airports. Maintained exceptional cleanliness of over 20 individual stalls and corresponding hand basins. Assured plentiful availability of supplies and necessities, achieving 100% stall readiness throughout entire shift. Delivered outstanding customer service and one-on-one attention, assisting with whatever needs presented ranging from airsickness to assistance with Diaper Deck manipulation. Greeted passengers with a smile and helpful attitude, always ready to answer questions or provide information.”

Do you see the difference? The “job description” of both these women – the bathroom babushka and the Atlanta attendant – was the same. The difference was PERFORMANCE. It is performance that makes a resume stand out. Performance makes one candidate better than another in the hiring process. Unfortunately, most job seekers forget about performance while trying to capture duties! Are you a bathroom babushka on paper? Your resume should reflect your outstanding performance, not just what you were “responsible for”.
 

Is your job search iced over? When there is two feet of snow outside, finding the motivation to get out to networking opportunities can be difficult. It is much more tempting to stay at home by the fireplace. The Northern Hemisphere is in the middle of one of the coldest winters in years. Snow blankets from New York to Beijing with flakes appearing in central Florida for the first time in decades. Many job seekers are dealing with power issues and travel problems during this period. Mother Nature is making front page news along with unemployment figures.

Does the weather affect hiring? It’s possible to some degree. If a hiring manager is stuck at home, it will be hard to interview candidates in person. However, remote computing allows many snow-bound workers to connect to the office from home and continue to conduct business. Productivity is maintained and often gained from remote work. Since most first interviews are conducted via telephone, lack of mobility is not a hurdle. While many bemoan the passage of the “face to face” first interview, technology may actually help overcome obstacles that might delay hiring such as weather, illness, or travel.

Savvy use of technology as a tool can be very helpful to job search. Know how to use social media properly and implement the basics of mobile computing and communications. Leverage the power of communication at warp-speed to maximize the effectiveness of your networking and communication. The more connections you can achieve, the better your chances of finding new opportunities. The Internet, LinkedIn, Facebook, and email in general make keeping your network warm easy – no matter what the weather outside!

Snowed in by the unseasonably cold weather? Find yourself invited to about a million functions for the holidays? Both can be advantageous to your holiday job search efforts. Being snowed in can allow you to devote more attention to your online job search efforts, while parties and dinners provide opportunity for networking. Make sure you do both, doubling your job search efforts during this month and you will move into January with a head start over other job seekers.

Think the end of the year is a bad time to job search? Think again. Let me give you an analogy: ask any mom what is the worst day to shop for groceries and she will say “Saturday”. The store is packed with people, the clerks are busy, the shelves are a mess, and the checkout lines run back to the meat counter. Saturday for grocery shopping is like January for job searching – it’s a zoo. In January, everyone jumps into the market and job seekers are elbowing each other for position. Waiting until January to put your efforts into your job search is like parachuting into the middle of a buffalo stampede!

On the flip side, what is the best day for grocery shopping? Usually Tuesdays are best; the trucks with fresh items have arrived, the clerks have time to assist you, and you can get in and out much faster. In job search, December is a “Tuesday”. Hiring managers and gatekeepers are in good moods and more likely to spend some time reviewing your resume or speaking with you on the phone. Getting in the door via events or network connections can be easier. And the other job seekers are at home thinking negative thoughts! December is a great time to work your job search!

Many charitable organizations are extremely active in both fundraising and events in December. Volunteer your help with some local organizations and you achieve several things. First, you accomplish something worthwhile, but you also bring yourself into contact with lots of other people, many of whom are working on behalf of their employers as part of a corporate sponsorship. Instant contacts! And what a great way to make a good first impression!

Make December count. Don’t stop now but rather redouble your efforts at meeting people, talking about companies, getting leads, and getting your resume and cover letter out. It’s job hunting season!
 

One of the most common questions we receive from job seekers is “How much time do I show on my resume?” While like everything else in job search, there is no hard and fast rule, there is a rule of thumb. When determining how much time to show on your resume, consider your audience. What is going to be relevant to the employer? Will your time in the Boy Scouts in high school matter to a prospective employer now that you are a senior manager? Probably not.

The “rule of thumb” for time span on a resume is go back to college graduation or back 12-15 years – whichever comes first. Employers are primarily interested in your most recent work experience because it relates to their current needs and the needs of the market today. You may have a 25 year career but it is the most recent decade or so that will matter most, especially considering how rapidly the world changes in terms of skills, technology, and processes.

It’s interesting – we had a contact on LinkedIn comment that Word files are now obsolete in today’s job search. We were stunned! No one told us of this amazing revolution! We even poll over a thousand recruiters twice a year and no one mentioned Word files were gone. Gosh! Did we miss a memo?

Myths such as these abound (and this IS a myth), and like other urban myths are often readily believed because they have a kernel of truth buried in them. No, Word files are not obsolete in the job search – far from it! In fact, Word is by far the most used format for resumes. The “kernel of truth” comes in with the e-resume format that is now used in conjunction with a Word format for tackling the job search. Job seekers truly need both types of files to conduct a thorough and effective job search.

Something that has changed significantly is the methods of job search. Resumes are rarely printed and mailed via postal mail to employers. Most of the time, they are uploaded to job boards or corporate websites and stored in large databases. In fact, many companies flatly refuse to accept a paper copy of a resume simply because they will not be charged with the time to scan it into the system. With the changes in technology and the methodologies of job search, resumes have changed.

E-resumes are a safe format for all databases regardless of platform or software. They are the “lowest common denominator” in terms of file formats and do not experience the problems that other file formats often have in upload and transfer. They are also the format to use when the job seeker copies/pastes information from the resume into resume builder fields that some job boards use. An e-resume is not going to create data integrity issues.

A problem, however, is the e-resume is not an attractive format to the human eye. We have become so accustomed to designed documents produced by word-processing programs that a document produced using only keyboard keys (like an old typewriter) looks plain and unattractive. There are no fancy fonts, bullets, horizontal lines, etc. All of the “pretty stuff” that comes with word-processing design is lost in an e-resume. What is gained is compatibility. When a Word document is uploaded, many of those pretty elements can disagree with the technology and corrupt the content.

The first entity to see the resume is usually the resume database, so starting with an e-resume makes the most of that first search. If the resume is retrieved in a search, the fully formatted Word document can then be provided upon request. When emailing a resume to a contact, go ahead and include both file formats and allow the recipient choose which one he/she would like.

Word files are not obsolete. Rather, resumes are in a “hybrid” state where two formats in job search. Smart job seekers use both!

We’ve all heard that old saying along with others such as “You are only as old as you feel.” I must say that some days I feel younger than others! Age is a huge factor in job search even though our laws state that it should not be.  Sure, age discrimination occurs covertly in the workplace despite all the legislation and court decisions that punishes it. As long as hiring is done by people, preconceptions, biases, and preferences will play a role in the candidate decision. People are fallible, imperfect. Laws and judges can rein in age discrimination from being overt and punish those that cross the line, but it is going to remain a factor until someone figures out how to take the human element out of the hiring process.

Age probably plays just as big a factor in employment when it is in the mind of the job seeker. When a job seeker comes to the job search with a mindset of “I’m too old. No one is going to hire me,” it tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy! I’ve seen many job seekers struggle with confidence, attitude, and drive simply because they have already labeled themselves as “un-hire-able”.  Attitude plays a huge role in success in any endeavor and job search is no different.

Think of it this way – if you were a sales person selling ice to Saharan nomads, you can talk yourself out of success simply by continually telling yourself “They aren’t going to buy this! How are they going to carry it? How are they going to store it? No one is going to want this!”  You are entering the process with a failure mindset. As you think, so shall it be. If you go into the job search thinking you are going to fail, you will.

We recently worked with a wonderful gentleman who was a doctor. He started his career as a medic in the war – World War II! He was over 70 and still wanting to work in the health care industry! That was fantastic! He had a depth of experience that was literally unmatched by any of his competitors. He had been through it, seen it, learned it, wrote papers on it, and taught it. He had pretty much done “it” all - just fill in the blank for "it"!

Wow! What a great candidate! And he had a fantastic attitude in addition to all that experience. He was cheerful, funny, and sharp as a tack. He knew he still had a lot to offer health care and he wasn’t interested in sitting around playing shuffleboard. That wasn’t his mission in life. His mission was to deliver his knowledge, skills, and expertise to those who need it and he was determined to do just that for as long as he was physically and mentally able. I wanted to take his picture and put it on our wall as the poster boy for “You are only as old as you feel!”

Do you feel like you are facing age bias in the hiring process? It’s possible, but first ask yourself – “How old do I feel?” If you think of yourself as “too old” to compete against the other candidates, you are focusing on the negative. Focus on the positive! What can you offer that the younger generation can’t? What do they have that you may be lacking? Can you offer that too? How?

Gone is the “secure” job of 30 years, a pension, and a gold watch at retirement. The demise of General Motors is the headstone on that grave. Instead of careers being a train track – straight and one directional, careers are like ATVs – they are all over the place. People use their talents; leverage their interests; take steps backward or up or sideways; and develop new talents. Those who make progress use the wisdom they’ve gained to deal with the present and what the future deals them. Those who struggle are focused on the past or what “might have been”. So, how old do YOU feel today?