What a Difference a Couple of Decades Make

Employers were/are focused on the needs of the organization
A couple of decades ago, when the internet did not rule our lives with mass amounts of information, a recruiter (internal or external) could take the time to get to know a candidate. It was an employee market, where certifications, experience and knowledge were the key to place the individual in a “matching” position. Salaries soared.

Companies are still focused on their needs, but they are now inundated with resumes from all over the world. Competition for a single position is crazy. New developments in database heuristic filtering allow a single person to filter through hundreds of resumes, without reading any of them. The filtering algorithms search for the correct percentage of keywords in a resume focusing on keywords to deliver the “appropriate” number of applicants. Social Networks like LinkedIn have facilitated this by adding their own filtering mechanisms.

The moral of the story: If you want to get noticed, research job postings and descriptions for the right keywords and how to use them accurately.

Relationships First
With the recent geometric explosion of Social Networks, you no longer need to belong to exclusive/expensive networking groups. They may be important to you but they are not required. Facebook, LinkedIn and several others allow you to make connections. Profiles have replace resumes as introductory professional documents. This is the biggest reason your profile needs to be as clean as possible.

‘Personal Brand’ has almost become a household word. These days, even if you don’t know what it is, you still have one. However, many don’t take it seriously. Recruiters (internal and external) are looking for any reason to filter out more pre-qualified candidates. So you have to decide, are you going to take control of your online identity?

Background checks can be expensive, depending on how deep they go and calling your references can be a huge waste of time. Recruiters, like anyone else, want to bet on a sure thing, so scanning online profiles, testimonials and recommendations (or lack thereof) can reduce or increase the perceived risk of your candidacy. Using massive search engines like Google can influence whether or not they present you as a potential employee. The information is almost instantaneous and for the most part it is free.

Join online groups, it is a safe way to meet people and gain trust. After you have established yourself (asking questions, beginning discussions, contributing to discussions) ask a few to join your “inner” network. You can learn much about current trends and let people know you are what you say you are. It will make it much easier for them to recommend you as a future employee.

The moral of the story: If you want to get noticed, you have to play the game and play it better than your competition.

Getting an Interview is More About Tactics, Than Applications

Most of us have, at one time or another, said, “This job was written for me, if I could only get in front of the interviewer,” or some variation.

Like the animated GI Joe slogan of the 80’s, “Knowing is half the battle.” One of the biggest rules of the recruiting game (internal or external) is that there are unpublished criteria they use to filter out the masses. Because of that you must also have a game strategy and execute it in order to be seen by decision-makers. Here are some tricks to enhance your “visibility” to the eyes of potential employers.

Research positions to make a determination of exactly what your “Ideal” job looks like to today’s employers. Even if you already know the job, research it anyway, find out if there are changes, additions, or deletions to the job descriptions from what you knew. Career Focus, Part 1 and Career Focus, Part 2.

Build an eProfile (online website describing your professional attributes) demonstrating your ability to meet and exceed the requirements of the position, so that your online presence can be expanded from the typical social network profile. Examples can be found at Looking for a Job or a Career, What Does your Online Presence Say about You? Contact me for more information on building an eProfile TheProfessionalsEdge@gmail.com.

Join LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or other similar social network(s) and construct your professional profile such that it presents you in the job title that you want.

Already a member of social network(s), take a strong look at your profile, is there anything there that might lead someone to believe you would not be a good representative of the company. Check out Online Reputation and Background Checks. Remove ALL potentially damaging information, pictures, comments, etc. Find someone, well respected in business, to review your eProfile and Social Network site(s) to give you a critique as if they were contemplating hiring you (friends, neighbors, members of your religious organization, and/or parents of friends/neighbors are good places to start even if they live far away). Make any necessary adjustments.

Connect with groups of similar professional and geographic interests on LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or other similar “Professional Based” social network(s).

Listen to the groups conversations. Research the individuals who are the biggest contributors to determine their ability as decision-makers. Contribute to their conversations, ask legitimate questions. Let people see you as a real person, not just a screen name.

Through your contributions, supply restrained indications of your knowledge, abilities, and skills. Embed a hyperlink to one of your accomplishments or sample work downloadable PDF on your eProfile that’s relevant.

Establish your interest by asking intelligent questions. People like to feel important, they want to know what they say matters. So ask. Make a list of questions you want to know about the field and/or industry. Approach it like a research paper, interview a subject matter expert. For ideas on questions check out the What Questions Do You Have section of Opening/ Wrap-Up/ Negotiation Interview Questions.

Interviewing: To Suit or Not To Suit

Dressing for an interview is one of those tricky things that should have been taught in school, but for some reason was overlooked in the curriculum. Clothing distinguishes serious individuals from those that don’t really know they are out of college yet. Interview uniforms must be put together based on where you want to work and what you want to be doing.

Many organizations are business casual. The problem is in the interpretation of business casual. In some companies business casual for men means blazer, tie, good slacks and for women means a jacket and skirt instead of a suit. In other businesses it might mean dress shirt and slacks for men and women pants/skirt and nice blouse. And finally in the third category it could mean jeans and sneakers. So how are you to tell what you should be wearing to an interview.

First of all over dressed is better than underdressed. If you are unsure of the dress code, make the call. If you know ahead of time that you will be far over dressed for the interview (because you don’t want to tip off your current employers or you have several meetings that day) call ahead and explain the situation. Your interviewer will most likely be okay with it and they will appreciate the heads up. Let him, her, them know that you have several meetings with potential clients, vendors, or some other reasonable kind of meeting. If for some odd reason you reach the interview and realize that you are seriously over dressed for the meeting, quickly apologize and explain that it was short notice and could not be avoided. The same cannot be said for being underdressed. There is no excuse!

If the call didn’t answer your question or they tell you they are a “Business Casual” environment you may want to do a little more research/reconnaissance. Find a time when you can be “near” the entrance or exit (parked across the street or in the lobby if it is a multiple business high rise building). And… if you have used your social media skills, you may know some of the faces to watch for when the come out and make notes as to what they are wearing. Additionally, look for several examples so you can see a happy medium as you don’t want to show up wearing one of the extremes. While it sounds like it could be a little “creepy” taken singularly, it will also help you to NOT make a “fashion” faux pas. Of course you always want to dress one or two steps above the position you are applying for. This shows your respect for the interviewer, the company, and the seriousness you take in the on-boarding process.

If you are in college and have had or will have the opportunity to intern or summer jobs at one of these companies, take note of what people are wearing at the level you want to apply for. Then you can take your time, over the next few months, and put together the right kinds of outfits.

Save a boatload of money by shopping at second hand stores, then have the items tailored (this really isn’t as expensive as you might think). If you plan your purchasing over time, it won’t hit your bank account too hard. Many items of the good items are under $40.00, tailoring often under $20.00. Personally, I found a $1,000, black, wool suit for $40.00 and the tailoring $30.00 for both the coat and slacks. It may have taken a little time, but I saved $930.

A great article on How to Dress for an Interview – 5 Job Search Dress Code Must-Haves. While it begins with an introduction to college students, the “5 Must Haves” are for anyone in the professional workforce.

Cover Letters

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics approximately 1 in 6 people, in the labor force, are either looking for work or better work. This does not include all of the people who are no longer in the work force because they have “given up” or have “dropped off” the unemployment rolls because they have been unemployed for “too-long.”

So, how important is a cover letter?

Given two people with equal qualifications (according to the resume) which one will move on to the next step in the screening process? The one with the cover letter. It shows a more polished look.

A cover letter is supposed to be the first impression someone in the on-boarding process has of you. The supposed part of this is that in many cases your cover letter is read after your resume, if you have qualified for the next read. Your cover letter if often the second thing that read. However, there are a few tricks you can use to help it move up in the pile.

One of the first realizations a job seeker must make is that the reader of your materials will only take between 8 and 30 seconds to decide if you are qualified to pass on to the next reader. As a whole, cover letters are generally fairly plain, predictable, and seen over and over and over. A cover letter that states the candidate is applying for the position and that they can do a good job and not much more. Setting yourself apart from your competition by telling the employer exactly how you can solve the employer’s problem.

Here are tips and tricks that you can really use to help raise your materials toward the top of the keep pile.

• Analyze the position. What exactly is the employer looking for? If you cannot figure out what the employer is looking for how can you answer their call? Make a list of the knowledge, abilities, and skills the posting is looking for, then rate each one to its importance based on the posting. The Tailored, Job Specific Resume
• Your opening paragraph should be a single sentence to indicate the “position title, where you found the posting, and to please consider the following.” Your last paragraph should include your “belief in yourself to do the job and that you are looking forward to a meeting to discuss your qualifications soon. You can be reached at the above telephone numbers.” In other words, set the expectations and live up to them.
• Limit your cover letter to one page. Pick the top 4 or 5 characteristics the employer is looking for, based on your analysis. List their qualification and then your accomplishment fulfilling that requirement. Use the same formatting in your heading as your resume (Name, contact information, etc).
• Between the first and last paragraph, use your accomplishments to demonstrate your ability to be successful in the job, include results (qualitative and/or quantitative). Similar to showing a house for sale, you have to take out all of the personal items to let potential buyers see themselves and their new home. Avoid company or field specific acronyms and lingo, the first and probably second person to see your materials will be from HR. It is up to you, to help the reader of your materials see you in the job and doing it successfully. Don’t just tell them you can do the job; show them how you can do the job and do it successfully.
  If you are an experienced word processor, organize the middle of your cover letter in a left/right format. A table is often the easiest way to do this. List their requirements in each of the left cells and your accomplishments in the right cells.
  Your resume should contain your primary example as well as 1 or 2 other examples of each requirement to demonstrate the depth of your knowledge, skills and abilities as demonstrated in other jobs. Don’t forget your qualified or quantified results on your resume. The Tailored, Job Specific Resume
• Since most marketing material is passed through an employer or recruiter’s website, use the content of your cover letter to copy and paste into it. Sometimes it can be difficult to find out who exactly to send the email or letter to (HR types tend to be enigmatic about releasing names). If you can find the name, use it. Otherwise, when you have a telephone screening, ask if you can email your cover letter and resume to the telephone screener, since internet sites don’t keep the formatting. Address your email to that person. Copy the content of your cover letter to the body of the email and attach your resume. When you have your face to face interviews change the addressee to the person or persons you will be meeting with. This information can be found out during the scheduling of those meetings.
  When you print your letter and resume to take with you to the meetings, use a higher quality paper than regular copy/printer paper. Standard copy/printer paper is 20 pound paper, go to your local office supply store and get 22 or 24 pound extra or bright white paper. Ask the copy desk to show you white samples, if you are not sure. The color and weight of the paper will help you to stand out from your competition.
• Unfortunately, the rules that apply to candidates do not apply to HR. The accuracy of descriptions in postings and spelling/grammatical errors in those postings aside, there is zero tolerance for these kinds of errors on your materials. Check, Re-Check, and Triple Check your documents. Have someone else read them. Read them backwards (this is an old trick used by editors and copy writers in order to avoid spelling mistakes).
• Plan your follow-up strategy. For some reason, HR (as a whole) doesn’t believe it is important for them to confirm receipt of your resume or to respect you as a person and let you know the schedule of interviews or your disqualification from the on-boarding process. You must instigate the contact; you must call/write to them to get your status in the process. Since they do have many resumes to go through, give them at least one week but no more than two before you attempt contact (Whatever Happened to General Courtesy).

Email me and I will share with you a specific exercise to help analyze the job. The Professional’s Edge

Online Reputation and Background Checks

Through a couple of comments on my site, I was led to an interesting post, Privacy on the Web. An Oxymoron? by “Freedom, by the way” and after reading it, I had to write this post.

With as many classes and students as I have taught over the years on software, email, and the internet; it still amazes me that people don’t comprehend that once you save or post something, it is there forever on your computer or the internet. I mean come on, haven’t you been watching any of the crime show dramas? They are constantly retrieving information from computer hard drives and the internet. Yes I know that it is TV, but, it isn’t like they are fantasy/SciFi shows depicting off world or futuristic scenarios. Just as your friendly neighborhood computer/system repair geek.

Freedom, by the way’s post discusses an article written by Jeffrey Rosen, The Web Means the End of Forgetting , published in the NY Times Magazine on July, 21 2010. The article is pretty long (printed out 15 pages) though discusses several things that may have slipped through the newsworthy cracks of NBC, CBS, ABC, etcetera. And, I agree with Freedom, “This piece should be required reading material for every person who visits cyberspace.” I might even go further and say that this should be read by every parent; then reinforced at the beginning of every school year in middle and Senior High school, New Students classes at colleges, and every New Hire class at every organization.

In the NY Times Magazine article, Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputation.com said:

We’re hearing stories of employers increasingly asking candidates to open up Facebook pages in front of them during job interviews.

Creepy! Does not even begin to describe the applications and trends of people, other than law enforcement – but that is a whole other story, utilizing the internet to locate digital reputations. Having been in the HR field and having seen some of the issues that arose (both personally and through gossip, now plastered on the internet) on one hand I see the side of the organization and on the other hand the side of the individual.

Think about the responsibilities of the organization. The organization (ultimately providing some kind of service or product to the public in some fashion), is responsible to protect the public from potential employees with behavioral issues like theft, rape, bullying, harassment, etcetera. One of the main functions of HR is to screen out these potential problems before they become the organization’s problem. It is a question of liability and how much the organization might have to pay in a court situation. That having been said, HR often goes too far in its conservatisms. The article describes a student teacher (person in training to become a teacher) who was reprimanded for a picture on her Facebook site where she was at a wedding party, wearing a pirate hat, with what appeared to be an alcoholic beverage in hand, and with the tag “Drunken Pirate.” The reprimand said that she was promoting drinking to underage people. Let’s just say that she is no longer seeking employment as a teacher. I would bet the majority of kids she was charged with, saw more promotion of alcohol from their parents and family on the weekends.

Other parts of the article go on to say how there are so many businesses cropping up to help people with their digital reputations. If you are in the career path search mode, this might be the avenue to research. The laws of the land have not caught up with cyberspace yet and probably wont, at least in the next 20 or so years. Cyberspace as a whole cannot be regulated due to its “Global” nature.

The other side of this argument is the individual’s. For years, I have been warning students (corporate and collegiate) about the dangers of posting TMI. Sharing online questions and answers, online conversations, digital pictures, and emails creates a digital trail. My question to the author of the article in the NY Times, did any one ask where the parents were when these children were growing up? Most children, have some kind of parental unit, who is suppose to explain right from wrong, good from bad, monitors the input of information as age appropriate or not. Yes, I realize that in today’s economy both parents, in most cases, must work. However, teaching kids how to behave in public seems to have gone by the wayside and with it, that magic “self censorship” button many of the older generations seemed to have. And with that missing filter, also went the civility as it appears to be SOOooo acceptable for people to post these embarrassing snippets of their friends.

But there is good news, if you don’t have a very good digital reputation. You can hire one of the reputation fixers in the article or maybe audition for the next season of Jersey Shore or The Real Housewives of wherever.

So before you post, think about it. Is ruining someone’s life (even if it is your own) really worth posting that one picture?