Early Career Advice

I thought I would keep my message simple this week by talking about a kids picture book that I picked up this weekend for my nephew. "How to Get a Job By Me, The Boss" is advice from a pig-tailed, grade-schooler who favors pleated skirts and striped leggings. http://amzn.to/oncEo2.

A few of my favorite quotes from the book:

• Comments on career path, "Your future career must be something you do well or nobody will want you to do it for them. Also, be realistic some people want to grow up to be a Penguin, but that is just silly. Careers to consider would be someone who drives a big red car, cowboy, explorer and a super-ballerina-soccer-mermaid-fairy-princess." She has chosen the later.

• She also offers some advice on resume reviews and interview techniques. Don't bring your gerbil with you to an interview. Unless you are applying for a position as a horrible monster you should not write, "Give me the job or I'll eat you", on the top of your resume.

• "Some jobs are very BIG. Like President of the World. Some jobs are very small, like a Balloon holder. Sometimes your balloon can pop, and then you are unemployed, which means now you don't have a job. Here is what isn't a job: Sitting in your chair eating cookies."

I hope you appreciate this whimsical upbeat advice, there are some basic truths in her statements.

BAM! Check Me Out!

Suberbowl advertisers paid $3 million for a 30-second spot in the last superbowl. Advertisers are willing to pay this price to gain consumers of their goods or services. To ensure they are getting a return on this huge investment they need to make sure that their commercial is memorable for these 100 million plus individuals viewing these advertisements.

Just like these advertisers you need to create a Universal Profile/resume that is memorable to the Recruiter. Would your Universal Profile/resume standout from the crowd? Would your Universal Profile/resume jump out at the recruiter in a few seconds and grab their attention so they continue to read more?

Try this test. If it were a Friday, on a holiday weekend, right before work ended and you read your Universal Profile/resume would you be compelled to finish reading it or would you toss it over into the reject pile?

Emeril from the food Network puts an extra "BAM" on his food creations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvazQUYG1kE). What can you do to add that "BAM" to your Universal Profile/resume, to get the attention of the Recruiter or Hiring Manager?

Here are some quick tips:

• Summary - Begin with a well-written, memorable summary. In the summary include statements about your skills, strengths and experience in 3-5 concise sentences.

• Accomplishments - Back up your summary with quantifiable accomplishment. The accomplishments should be written in a way to demonstrate how you made a difference in your present and past roles.

• Terminology - Use current industry terminology to prove you are knowledgeable in your domain.

As I have stated in past messages, you only have a few minutes of the Recruiter/Hiring Manager's time. Grab the reader's attention by crafting a great summary and a great account of the top 3 accomplishments at each company. It needs to make them want to read the rest of the Universal Profile/resume, even on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Does your Universal Profile/resume pass that test? If not, try our resume review service, it will put the "BAM" into your resume.

A Brick Can Hurt

I stumbled across a Youtube video this weekend and thought it had a good message for those of you that are currently unemployed or facing a hardship in life. These words of wisdom came from Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, to a Stanford University graduating class.

"Sometimes, life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." Steve Jobs

Losing a job can feel like you have been hit in the head with a brick by life. It can feel painful and become more painful as one's unemployment lingers on.

Jobs did not have an easy path early in life; he was adopted, never finished college, and struggled early in his career. He became extremely successful at Apple only to then be fired in a very public dismissal from the company that he founded and loved. He felt like giving up on the work that he loved and running away from silicon valley.

Jobs never gave up and later recognized that getting fired from Apple was very constructive in his life because it allowed him to experience and learn new things and improve himself. He never gave up on the work that he loved and I am sure getting hired back on at Apple years later was very rewarding for him.

I know many people are struggling to find a job out there and this can lead to self-doubt and can chip away at your self-confidence. You can not control the bricks that life throws at you, but you can control how you respond. Don't lose faith, stay focused and work hard on your job search.

"You've got to find what you love…the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work… love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking." Steve Jobs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=player_embedded#at=893

Best Wishes,

Doug Smith
Director of Product Management, Talent Exchange

Get More Money! Do Your Homework

This story is an "alleged" transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and a Canadian maritime contact off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995.

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees North to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees South to avoid collision.

Americans: This is the captain of a US navy ship; I say again divert your course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, THAT'S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

Canadians: We are a lighthouse; your call.

This is a great story and makes the point that you need to perform your research before getting heavily into any negotiations. Here are a few points to consider when preparing for your salary negotiations:

Market Research
Do extensive salary research based on your title and location before you start negotiations. You want to ensure you are negotiating with numbers that are comparable in the market. You can find some good salary market data for someone with your title and location on your Talent Exchange Dashboard.

Everything is Negotiable
Remember anything and everything is negotiable during the offer process. Make sure you have an understanding of what is being offered and make a list of what is important to you and ask for it.

It can't hurt to ask! A big misconception that job seekers have is that negotiating an offer will be detrimental in being hired for a position. Maybe you think it will make you look ungrateful or greedy, or you will be seen as not a team player. Don't think this way; employers expect that you will negotiate the offer.

Finalizing the Deal
Once you get to an agreement on the offer, make sure you confirm with the employer everything that has been agreed upon. I recommend you send an email or a letter to the employer with all of the agreed upon items. The employer will then send you an offer letter that they will want you to sign. Read this very carefully and make sure all of the agreed upon items are listed in the offer letter! It is much easier to negotiate compensation terms before you are hired then after you have been hired.

Best Wishes,

Doug Smith
Director of Product Management, Talent Exchange

To Apply, Or Not Apply That is the Question

One common dilemma that job seekers encounter is determining if they should apply to a job if they don't meet all of the employer's listed qualifications. If you find a job that you are interested in but you do not match all of the requirements that have been defined on the job, what should you do?

Analyze Before Applying
Give yourself an honest estimate of how close you are to the employer's ideal applicant. Most hiring managers will look at all the job seeker has to offer. The full job requirements are put into place to find the ideal job seeker, which most of the time may not exist. If you feel you meet at least 50% of the requirements and have the right education, work history and skills these can make up for the requirement shortcomings. It can't hurt to apply, no skin off your back right?

Do Not Apologize
Do not send a cover letter that apologizes for your shortcomings. Send a cover letter that gives examples of how your education, work history and skills are relevant to the position.

Serial Applying
Applying for a job may seem like a pretty easy, low energy effort. However, you can become negatively flagged in the employer's system if you apply to jobs in which you are not even close to being a fit. I hear many employers complaining about these "serial applicants". Do not become flagged as a serial applicant because it will be in the employer's system indefinitely. This is not something you want on your record because it may impact you on future job applications at this employer.

Best Wishes,

Doug Smith
Director of Product Management, Talent Exchange

U.S. Adds Only 54,000 Jobs in May

The U.S. economy added far fewer jobs in May than expected, suggesting that the recovery in the employment market might be stalling.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls increased by 54,000 in May, after rising by an average of 220,000 in the prior three months. Economists were expecting the payrolls to rise by 169,000, according to Briefing.com.

The private sector, which has been the main contributor of jobs amid layoffs at the state and local government levels, added 83,000 jobs, a marked slowdown from the 244,000 jobs averaged in the last three months. Economists had expected companies to add 180,000 jobs in May. This came after they had revised estimates following the ADP report Wednesday which said companies added only 38,000 jobs.

With hiring slowing dramatically in May, the unemployment rate ticked up by a tenth of a point to 9.1%, higher than the 9% economists were expecting.  In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $22.98. The average work week for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 34.4 hours in May.

What Have You Been Doing?

What do you do if you have been out of the workforce for a long time? Many of you have asked me this question over the last couple months.

Unfortunately, the longer you are out of work, the more difficult it becomes to secure a job. An employer could be reviewing hundreds of resumes for a single position. If an employer views a gap on a resume they are left to fill in these gaps, which usually is not to the benefit of the job seeker. You need to overcome perceptions about these gaps on your resume so you are making it through an initial screening.

I offer the following advice to the long-term unemployed performing a job search:

Fill in Your Gaps with Relevant Experience
If you volunteered, took courses, performed tasks that were associated to the job you are applying, add them to your resume. Show the employer that you were still involved in improving yourself while out of the workforce and performing tasks that are relevant to the job in which you are applying. Did you volunteer at your child's school? Were you involved in any programs within your community or church? Did you take any courses?

Create A Cover Letter
In your cover letter, briefly explain why you've been unemployed. No need to go into great detail, but you should address it. Explain what you've been doing with your 'time off' and how you've been improving your skills.

Reconnect With Your Professional Network
There may be a large number of individuals in your professional network that you have not spoken with for many months or years. It is very important to re-connect with individuals in your personal network, professional network and community to let people know you are looking for a job and define the type of job you are looking for. If people don't know you are looking how can they help you? From each existing contact in your network that you reconnect with, make a goal to get the names of two or more new contacts they know who might be able to help with your job search.

Best Wishes,

Doug Smith
Director of Product Management, Talent Exchange