Author: gcapone

Professional Development on Your Resume

Developmental Roles

One of the resumes I looked at today was from a very successful sales rep. This individual had a good track record over the last 10 years. They listed a number of examples of growing sales and exceeding expectations. Their background is impressive.

When I got to the bottom of their resume, it just stopped. The end of their resume (with names masked for confidentiality):

<Retail Sales Company> City, ST Mo/Year to Mo/Year
Management Trainee

Performed and managed operational functions with a high degree of autonomy and initiative.
Developed and executed innovative strategies to enhance service levels.

Education:

<School Name> University, City, ST Mo/Year
Bachelor of Arts

This resume misses two opportunities. First, during this individual’s career, they list no continuing education or professional development. According to their resume, their education stopped when they graduated.

Second, the two bullets for the Management Trainee position highlight autonomy and innovation, instead of successfully mastering the skills and techniques of the training program. I’m sure this firm taught a good regime of management, leadership and sales skills. Based on the career progression after this position, I’m confident that the job seeker got some benefit out of the position. And yet, the most noteworthy thing that they have to talk about is that they were “autonomous” in a training program.

A much better approach would be to detail the skills learned and the experience mastered during the training. This could go in the work experience section or in the education section. It really depends on which area needs to be strengthened.

Cover Letter Example

Here’s the first paragraph of a cover letter I got today.

Hi,

I am <Full Name> and I am looking for gainful employment with a company that is seeking professionalism, transitional skills, and someone to become an asset to their company.

My first impression is that this is a little too informal – I don’t see many cover letters that start with “Hi”. After this, the introduction of “I am <Name>…” is a waste of space.

The rest is very bland. It essentially says that the job seeker is looking for a job and that the company they want to work for will hire people that professional, skilled and a benefit to the company – as opposed to all the companies out there that try to hire unprofessional, unskilled people that are a detriment to their company.

Another problem with this is that the job seeker doesn’t say they meet these very low requirements.

Now, this job seeker is actually a senior manager in the IT field, and they have some good skills and experience.

Here’s a reworded version that I would prefer:

To whom it may concern:

I am an extremely experienced IT manager with a successful track record of selling large IT systems to commercial and government customers. I am seeking a sales management or account management role, where I can utilize my experience at opening new accounts and winning government contracts.

The reason I like this working is twofold. First, it is specific. It states clearly what the job seeker is seeking. Instead of “gainful employment,” the role and industry are clearly mentioned. Second, the statement goes on to show what the job seeker will do for the company – open new accounts and win government contracts.

Remember, the cover letter is just a teaser to get the reader interested. It should focus on how the job seeker is going to provide a benefit to the company – and not just say “and be an asset to the company.”

Military Resumes: Assets Managed

One piece of information that I see on a lot of transitioning military officer resumes is the value of the assets that were managed. The numbers are usually very large but not necessarily impressive. Here’s an example from a JMO’s resume:

Coordinated unit readiness efforts including the maintenance of 22 vehicles and equipment valued in excess of $150 million.

While $150 million is a lot of money, the fact that the military spends a ton of money on high tech vehicles doesn’t mean a whole lot. If you were hiring this person, would it make a difference if they what equipment they were commanding? A vehicle replacing the Humvee, the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle), costs $528,000. An M1A1 Tank have a replacement cost of $4.3 million. Back in 1996, we were spending $18 million on each Apache Helicopter.

The dollars do reflect the complexity of the equipment, but what’s important is the scope of responsibility.  That is dictated more by the number of vehicles and the number of people commanded. If you were assessing experience, who would be more impressive, someone that had command over one Apache, four M1A1 tanks or 34 MRAPs? The dollars are the same, but the responsibility isn’t.

Another reason that equipment value shouldn’t be on a resume is that it is very rare on civilian resumes. Having it on your resume if you are transitioning from the military just sets you apart – but not in a good way.

Bottom Line: The dollar value of military equipment is a minor detail. There are a lot of other details of your experience and accomplishments that are more important and should be on your resume instead of the dollars.

A Good Cover Letter

Here’s a cover letter that I got with a resume:

I am currently looking for a position with a biotech or medical device company in the <Metro Area> area. I have over 5 yrs experience in the pharmaceutical industry and over 10 yrs total in sales. I am extremely driven and I have many accomplishments to my name.

Thank you in advance for reviewing my resume. I look forward to the opportunity to speak with you.

I like this cover letter a lot. It’s very concise, so I’m likely to read it. That’s the key – I usually don’t read more than a few sentences of a long cover letter. If you write several paragraphs, I’ll probably just read the first sentence of the first two or three paragraphs, and then skip on to the resume.

The letter is specific, giving the industry and geography the candidate is seeking. It also provides some interest with some information on the job seeker’s experience.

A cover letter doesn’t need to be several pages long. In fact, a short cover letter is much more likely to get read.

Your Questions

Every interview will conclude with the interviewer asking you if you have any questions. It’s expected that you will have a couple. Remember that you’re still being interviewed at this point, even though you’re asking the questions.

Five things you want to accomplish with the questions you ask:

  1. Get a better understanding of the position and the opportunity

  2. Learn more about the company

  3. Learn more about the culture and working environment

  4. Build a closer relationship with the interviewer

  5. Demonstrate that you have done your homework and prepared for the interview

Four common question types:

  1. Review the company’s website and read recent press releases. Ask a question about a new initiative the company is pursuing and how it will affect the company.

  2. Ask a question about an aspect of the job description not covered by the interviewer.

  3. Ask the interviewer to discuss why they joined the company and why they’re still there.

  4. Ask the interviewer to explain the key challenges that the position you are interviewing for needs to overcome.

One thing that many job seekers don’t consider is asking the same question to each interviewer. There’s no reason why you can’t get different perspectives. If you have a couple questions prepared, you may be able to use them through a full day of interviewing. Just remember, the questions need to be related to the interviewer – for example, an engineer shouldn’t ask technical questions about the position to interviewers from non-engineering fields. On the other hand, you could ask each interviewer how they feel about a newly announced plan for a corporate merger.

Company Address

One of the resumes I read today listed the full address of each employer. This isn’t common, but I have seen it a number of times. Job seekers going overboard in the level of detail they are providing. Here’s the format the job seeker used:

Company Name: 123 Main Street, City, ST 12345-6789 Telephone: (123) 456-7890
Start Date to End Date Job Title

Not only did the job seeker provide the address and phone, they listed the full nine digit zip code. I couldn’t tell you my four digit zip code extension and am not interested in knowing yours from every job you have held.

It is important to include the location of each position you have held. This helps tell the story of your career. The detail, though, can be limited to the city and state (or just the country for some overseas positions).

There are two main problems from providing too much detail. First, it takes up space that you could use for more important information. Second, it obscures what’s important. The job title is the last thing listed. This made it more difficult to find. Now, it wasn’t a terrible chore to find – it may have taken an extra second or two on each position. Unfortunately, your resume might only get a 15-30 second look from a hiring manager before they decide to keep it or toss it. With five positions, do you want to waste 5-10 seconds of that time having the reader look for you job titles? That could be as much as a third of the time your resume gets.

Bottom line: Make sure you provide the important information and leave out unimportant details, and make sure the important stuff is easy to find.

The Laundry List

At the top of a resume I received recently was a laundry list of “Areas of Expertise”:

Areas of Expertise

  • Operations / Manufacturing
  • P&L Responsibility
  • Business Plans / Operating Budgets
  • Business Development
  • Bid Estimates / Contract Negotiation
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Six Sigma Methodologies
  • Consolidation / Organization Development
  • Supply Chain / Purchasing
  • Market Research
  • Product Development
  • Outsourcing / Reverse Sourcing

This is something I see a lot. Job seekers listing keywords that they think will get attention. The problem is that it doesn’t set you apart. There is nothing here that says that the job seeker is good at at any of these.

Now, I’m a proponent of having a skills section that is a laundry list of keywords – so why is this bad?

The target audience for the skills section is a computer – specifically the database system your resume may have to get through with a lot of large companies. These databases look for keywords, so you better have them.

The problem with this resume is that they keyword list was at the top. The top of the first page of your resume is the most valuable real estate – far too important to waste on a keyword list.

Chronological or Functional

The structure of your resume can play a big role in determining how effective it is. In our 2008 Benchmarking Survey, we found that approximately one third of all job seekers make the wrong choice.

There are four main questions you need to answer to select the right structure:

  1. Are you new to the workforce?

  2. Are you changing careers or staying in the same career field?

  3. How many different jobs have you had?

  4. Are you in a highly technical field?

If you are just entering the workforce, a chronological resume isn’t an option. You don’t have a history to detail chronologically. What you can do is provide information on you education and experience. This could include school activities, volunteer work and internships. Organizing this experience around key skills (or functions) will highlight your potential.

If you are staying in the same career field, a chronological resume is usually the best bet. Your background should show a natural progression towards the position you are seeking. You want to highlight this progression.

If you are changing career fields, your progression will not as strong a selling point. Instead, your skills and potential will make you stand out. This is where a functional resume can really help.

The number of jobs you have held can play a role in your choice. Individuals with long careers, independent consultants, and individuals that move from project to project may find that there are too many positions to do each justice. In this case, a functional resume can highlight your career achievements.

Finally, individuals, in highly technical fields where technical proficiency is more important than anything else, may find a functional resume highlights their experience best.

Industries in Demand

National Unemployment and State Unemployment is only one facet of our employment picture.  Each industry faces a slightly different situation and the unemployment characteristics reflect this.

Manufacturing:  5.3% unemployment.  Looking at the data a little closer, unemployment in Petroleum and Coal Products is 0.2%.  Given the price of oil, it’s not surprise that anyone in that industry can find a job as oil companies try to expand production.  Furniture and Fixtures is a different story with 8.5% unemployment.

Unemployment is the health care field is also low, with 1.4% unemployment in hospital professionals.

Beverage and Tobacco production has a 9.7% unemployment rate, and Food Services professions are at 8.6%. 

Finally, the financial industry has an unemployment level of 3.7%.  That sounds great, and it is for many, but a loan officer or mortgage broker will probably find it tough to get a job right now.

Each industry has a different situation, and the situation varies by geography.  Smaller communities are more dependent on a small group of employers.  If one of these runs into trouble, it can hurt the entire community. 

* Statistics from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics