SusanStrayer.com

Week 8: Now You've Got the Interview

There's a funny thing about interviews--people think they're easy. If I can talk, I can interview right? Wrong. An interview is a sales experience. You're selling yourself and so is the organization. And selling and talking, well, they are two very different things.

Listen In: Secrets of Getting HR's Attention

I joined the Recruiting Animal today and some super-cool recruiting professionals the guest on Animal's regular Recruiting Show. We talked about how job seekers and vendors can get the attention of HR. Listen to the entire show, or just some of the highlights to get your inside tips.

Week 7: Understanding How HR Really Works

As you're job searching, you're becoming more and more familiar with Human Resources (HR). There's no doubt that HR has a varied reputation and Keith Hammonds' famous Fast Company article, Why We Hate HR from 2007, chronicled some of the ups and downs (more often downs) of the not-much-loved department.

As someone who has worked in corporate HR and HR consulting for over 12 years, I've seen HR in varied forms: small start-ups, high-growth, newly public and large, mature, Fortune 500 companies. There's good. There's bad. There's ugly.

Online Profile in Action: Getting Personal But Not TOO Personal

Michelle, the When I Grow Up Coach, is doing a cool interview thing over on her blog. She's personalized some interview questions for me (see below) which I'm excited to take a crack at. Here goes...

Job Search Week 6: Staying Professional Online

You've got a great resume, you've been networking and now you're using online tools to help with your job search. Perfect, you're all set. Wait...are you?

8 Steps to Finding & Creating Work You Love

I am so excited to introduce Brian Kurth, founder of Vocation Vacations as my latest guest blogger. I've always been a proponent of doing the right research to fund a career change and Brian's company can make that happen. Thanks Brian!

Job Search Week 5: The Resume

You've planned, networked, networked some more, and researched for action. All for good reason. You need a new job. And if you watched the Super Bowl last night (the ads at least) you may understand why I made you do all that networking and planning. Take a look at some of the best Super Bowl ads of all time. They all use different tactics, but the planning is the same. Companies, ad agencies and creatives don't just sit down and make the ad. They spend months researching their audience, getting to know the audience's interests and then testing their ideas out. That's what you're going to do with your resume.

Having a hard time comparing yourself to a commercial? Think about it this way--you're a new product on the market. An iPod let's say. And your resume is one component of your brand. It's your commercial. I've already told you about how to brand yourself in this way. Now it's time to put it into action. Your resume = your Super Bowl ad. You have one 30-second chance to sell yourself. Let's make it work.

There are seven steps below to the best resume for you. No resume is perfect, but you can create the perfect resume for you and customize it to each job. I have already written extensively about resumes in The Right Job, Right Now and in a New York Times Blog post I still get alot of questions and comments about. If you have some time, read both of those for the full lesson.

If you don't my seven quick-hit steps follow below. This week, the Twitter tips will focus on one step each day. Remember, this is the quick guide--I recommend taking the time if you can. But if you're anxious to get going, these seven tips are a baseline.

1) Start BLANK with a format that works
Don't start with an old resume or with those Microsoft or Mac Word templates. They aren't recommended by business people and they don't work with company Applicant Tracking Systems. Check out the format I recommend using. This one has content, but you're not ready for that yet. Note the six sections: personal info., title, profile, experience, education and professional development.

2) Find a sample job to use as your baseline
Like a good Super Bowl ad, you need to have an audience. So find a job that you have either applied for, or that you want to apply for. That's your audience. You want to customize the resume that you send to each job specifically for the job. You'll send fewer resumes for sure, but that's because you will spend more time on each one and you'll have a much higher chance of hearing back.

3) Create your title and profile
Next, you need a title and resume. Note how they are used format I recommend. The title should be what the reader will get when they hire you: Experienced Accountant, Marketing Coordinator, Human Resources Executive, etc. The profile should then support the title and tell the reader (1) who you are (2) what you bring to the table and (3) what you're looking for. Don't lead with the latter. Recruiters and hiring managers care more about what you can do for them than what you want.

4) Complete the education and professional development sections
Next fill in the standard sections. With education, always lead with degree first. List only degrees here. Put training classes in your professional development section. That section is a good way to show all the things you have done to make yourself well-rounded. You can see the example in the format I recommend.

5) Bullet out your content topics
Next, revert back to the job description and bullet out your content topics. You're not writing the bullets yet, you're just indicating what each bullet will cover (i.e., data analysis skills, client management in ABC account, team management). This way you can scan the bullet topics and make sure that the topics tell the whole story. Do they support your profile and deliver on what you sold in the profile? Do the topics cover examples of both tangible skills and behaviors?

6) Create your content
Now that you have topics, it is time to actually write the content. I recommend creating a content library: 10-20 bullet points for each job so that when you go to send out a resume, you can customize by pulling bullets from your content library rather than starting from scratch. When creating content be sure to be specific. Don't just tell the reader what the job entailed--then it reads like a job description anyone could have done. Be specific about what you did, accomplished and achieved. In the example I recommend, look how the individual was specific and used metrics and details. You can go to two pages if you have several years of experience.

7) Review, edit, customize and revisit your content library
Go back to your networking contacts and have them look at your resume. Send the job description and ask if they'd be interested in calling you based on the description provided and your new resume. Take feedback as feedback. Everyone will have an opinion on format--focus on content, that's where you want to know if you're selling yourself. Continue to build your content library too.

You can do this in one week, in several focused sessions. It's not hard--but it does take focus and patience. Follow my Twitter tips as you go along and like the ShamWOW, I guarantee your money back if you don't have a great resume by the end of the week. (If you were actually spending money that is!)

Need personalized one-on-one help? Contact me as I works individually, to provide virtual and in-person resume reviews. While career coaches can be helpful to coach you on how to write your own resume, don't pay someone to write your resume for you. This is something you have to do yourself so you have the skill for the future and so you're ready to follow-up in interviews.