Archives December 2006

How to write a masterpiece of a resume

Write a resume that generates results.
This award-winning guide to resume writing will teach you to write a resume equal to one done by a top-notch professional writer. It offers examples, format choices, help writing the objective, the summary and other sections, as well as samples of excellent resume writing.

Writing a great resume does not necessarily mean you should follow the rules you hear through the grapevine. It does not have to be one page or follow a specific resume format. Every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication. It should be appropriate to your situation and do exactly what you want it to do. Instead of a bunch of rules and tips, we are going to cut to the chase in this brief guide and offer you the most basic principles of writing a highly effective resume.

Who are we to be telling you how to write your resume? As part of our career consulting practice, we wrote and produced resumes for several Fortune 500 C.E.O.s, senior members of the last few presidential administrations, and thousands of professionals in nearly every field of endeavor. We also wrote resumes for young people just starting out.

We concentrate on helping people choose and change to careers that fit them perfectly. We have not employed resume writers for several years. If you are trying to decide what to do with your life, we can help you. That is our one and only specialty. Please don’t ask us to write your resume. We offer this resume writing guide to you because most of the resume books out there are so primitive.

This guide is especially for people looking for a job in the United States. In the U.S., the rules of job hunting are much more relaxed than they are in Europe and Asia. You can do a lot more active personal marketing here. You may have to tone down our advice a few notches and follow the traditional, conservative format accepted in your field if you live elsewhere or are in law, academia or a technical engineering, computer or scientific field. But even when your presentation must fit a narrow set of rules, you can still use the principles we will present to make your presentation more effective than your competition’s.

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THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD
The good news is that, with a little extra effort, you can create a resume that makes you really stand out as a superior candidate for a job you are seeking. Not one resume in a hundred follows the principles that stir the interest of prospective employers. So, even if you face fierce competition, with a well written resume you should be invited to interview more often than many people more qualified than you.

The bad news is that your present resume is probably much more inadequate than you now realize. You will have to learn how to think and write in a style that will be completely new to you.

To understand what I mean, let’s take a look at the purpose of your resume. Why do you have a resume in the first place? What is it supposed to do for you?

Here’s an imaginary scenario. You apply for a job that seems absolutely perfect for you. You send your resume with a cover letter to the prospective employer. Plenty of other people think the job sounds great too and apply for the job. A few days later, the employer is staring at a pile of several hundred resumes. Several hundred? you ask. Isn’t that an inflated number? Not really. A job offer often attracts between 100 and 1000 resumes these days, so you are facing a great deal of competition.

Back to the fantasy and the prospective employer staring at the huge stack of resumes: This person isn’t any more excited about going through this pile of dry, boring documents than you would be. But they have to do it, so they dig in. After a few minutes, they are getting sleepy. They are not really focusing any more. Then, they run across your resume. As soon as they start reading it, they perk up. The more they read, the more interested, awake and turned on they become.

Most resumes in the pile have only gotten a quick glance. But yours gets read, from beginning to end. Then, it gets put on top of the tiny pile of resumes that make the first cut. These are the people who will be asked in to interview. In this mini resume writing guide, what we hope to do is to give you the basic tools to take this out of the realm of fantasy and into your everyday life.

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THE NUMBER ONE PURPOSE OF A RESUME

The resume is a tool with one specific purpose: to win an interview. If it does what the fantasy resume did, it works. If it doesn’t, it isn’t an effective resume. A resume is an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less.

A great resume doesn’t just tell them what you have done but makes the same assertion that all good ads do: If you buy this product, you will get these specific, direct benefits. It presents you in the best light. It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career.

It is so pleasing to the eye that the reader is enticed to pick it up and read it. It “whets the appetite,” stimulates interest in meeting you and learning more about you. It inspires the prospective employer to pick up the phone and ask you to come in for an interview.

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OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS TO HAVE A RESUME
To pass the employer’s screening process (requisite educational level, number years’ experience, etc.), to give basic facts which might favorably influence the employer (companies worked for, political affiliations, racial minority, etc.). To provide contact information: an up-to-date address and a telephone number (a telephone number which will always be answered during business hours).
To establish you as a professional person with high standards and excellent writing skills, based on the fact that the resume is so well done (clear, well-organized, well-written, well-designed, of the highest professional grades of printing and paper). For persons in the art, advertising, marketing, or writing professions, the resume can serve as a sample of their skills.
To have something to give to potential employers, your job-hunting contacts and professional references, to provide background information, to give out in “informational interviews” with the request for a critique (a concrete creative way to cultivate the support of this new person), to send a contact as an excuse for follow-up contact, and to keep in your briefcase to give to people you meet casually – as another form of “business card.”
To use as a covering piece or addendum to another form of job application, as part of a grant or contract proposal, as an accompaniment to graduate school or other application.
To put in an employer’s personnel files.
To help you clarify your direction, qualifications, and strengths, boost your confidence, or to start the process of commiting to a job or career change.

How Do Executives Find Jobs

You make six figures, you have the office in the corner, and you¡¯re used to calling the shots. You¡¯re a high-level exec, and you have been for a while. You¡¯ve got a great understanding of your industry and business as a whole, and you do a fine job of motivating those you work with. You¡¯re education is enviable and so is your experience. So why are you totally confused when it comes to the job search?

Of all of the groups of employees out there, many believe that executives are the most misguided when it comes to conducting an effective job search:

¡°It¡¯s surprising how many executives I work with think all they have to do is float their resume to a couple of headhunters, then wait for interviews and offers to flood in.

After all, they have a great track record¡­ industry expertise¡­ name-brand employment¡­ stair-step career progression¡­ maybe an Ivy League education. What more could any recruiter (or employer) want?¡± (From Executive Career Management)

The author goes on to highlight all of the different steps executives need to take to get hired including networking, targeted searches, quiet search strategies, and more. They¡¯re all important, and they ensure that executives won¡¯t have their resumes fall into the abyss as so many resumes do.
Now, recent studies have shown that executives, like many others, would prefer to and expect to use an online job board to find their next job:

¡°They recently asked the visitors to the WEDDLE¡¯s Web site to tell where they expect to find their next job. A total of 1,270 people participated in the survey. Here¡¯s how they think they¡¯ll be successful in future job search campaigns:

57.6% Responding to an ad posted on an Internet job board
16.8% Networking at business and social events¡­
Since it is accepted wisdom that most executive level jobs are found via some form of networking, this points to a major disconnect in the minds of employment seekers and the real world.¡± (From Executive Resumes)

So, executives expect to find their jobs online, but right now that¡¯s not the best way to go for them. Well, we say let¡¯s make it the best way to go. Networking will always play a large role in the job search, but if executives can¡¯t find what they¡¯re looking for online, maybe it¡¯s the searches and not the executives that are expereincing the disconnect. The fact that you¡¯re looking for a higher salary than many others or that you¡¯re in search of a top-level position shouldn¡¯t keep you from finding the right job match online.

An online search that facilitates communication and information exchange; one that allows executives to do more than just ¡°float their resume to a couple of headhunters,¡± and one that attracts top companies and top talent will allow executives to use the online job search as a primary tool in finding their next position.

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What Not to Wear to an Interview

What is the worst outfit ever worn to a job interview? For a career services director at the University of Chicago, it was the applicant who sported a Madras tie as a belt and a patterned cotton hat. Other contenders, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey of hiring managers, include candidates with dirty fingernails, micro-miniskirts, t-shirts with offensive slogans and even bare feet!

No one needs ‘Queer Eye’s’ Carson Kressley to tell them that wearing shoes to an interview is a good idea, but could you be guilty of one of these top 20 fashion faux pas?

1. Carrying a backpack or fannypack instead of a briefcase or portfolio: Some image consultants suggest women ditch their purse, too!

2. Sunglasses on top of your head or headphones around your neck: Be sure to remove all your “transit gear” and tuck it in your briefcase before entering the lobby.

3. Too-short skirts: Forget what some of those gals on ‘The Apprentice’ are wearing. Your skirt should cover your thighs when you are seated.

4. The wrong tie: Ties should be made of silk, no less than three and a quarter inches wide with a conservative pattern. Image consultants say the best colors are red or burgundy.

5. Overly bright or large-patterned clothing: With the possible exception of creative fields like advertising or computer programming, it’s best to stick with navy, black or gray.

6. Heavy makeup on women (or any makeup on a man)

7. Earrings on men: In fact, men should avoid wearing any jewelry unless it is a wedding ring, class ring or metal watch.

8. More than one set of earrings on women

9. Facial piercings, tongue jewelry or visible tattoos

10. Ill-fitting clothes. Few people can wear things straight off the rack. Spending a little extra to have your garments tailored is a worthwhile investment.

11. Long fingernails, especially with bright or specialty polishes. Nails should look clean and be trimmed to a length that doesn’t leave an observer wondering how you keep from stabbing yourself.

12. Unnatural hair colors or styles. Remember, Donald Trump was a billionaire well before he began wearing a comb-over. If you’re balding, try a close-cropped cut like Bruce Willis or Matt Lauer.

13. Short-sleeved shirts, even worse when worn with a tie

14. Fishnets, patterned hosiery or bare legs (no matter how tan you are). Women should stick with neutral color hosiery that complements their suit.

15. Men whose socks don’t match their shoes, or whose socks are too short and leave a gap of flesh when they are seated

16. Rumpled or stained clothing: If interviewing late in the day, try to change to a fresh suit beforehand.

17. Scuffed or inappropriate footwear, including sneakers, stilettos, open-toed shoes and sandals

18. Strong aftershaves, perfumes or colognes: Many people are allergic to certain scents. For a subtle fragrance, use a good quality bath soap.

19. Belts and shoes that don’t match: Shoes and belts should be made of leather or leather-like materials and the best colors for men are black or cordovan.

20. Telltale signs that your wearing a new suit. Remove all tags and extra buttons — and remember to cut off the zigzag thread that keeps pockets and slits closed!

Don’t be a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. Plan and lay out what you’re going to wear several days before the interview, so you’ll have time to shop or get garments pressed and cleaned.

Save “innovative” or revealing garb for the club (or your couch) and strive for crisp, clean and professional. Remember, you want the interviewer to be listening to what you’re saying, not critiquing what you’re wearing.

Pre-Employment Background Checks

Executing pre-employment background checks can save your company time, money and its reputation.

It is a company¡¯s worst nightmare. A star employee gets caught funneling money from the company coffers. This was not the first business she¡¯d robbed. In another instance, a security guard unjustly detains a customer whom he suspects of shoplifting. The customer was injured during the restraining and sues the company for negligent hiring / training of the guard, and excessive use of force. The court case reveals that the guard has a history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, and rules in favor of the plaintiff: $100,000 in damages payable by the guard¡¯s employer.

Each of these incidents could have been avoided if the employer had performed a simple background check before making an official offer to the employees. With negligent hiring lawsuits on the rise, companies must take every precaution in looking into an applicant¡¯s background. One bad decision can wreak havoc on a company’s budget and reputation; and ruin the career of the hiring executive.

What type of information is included in a pre-employment background check?

Employment background checks can vary depending on the nature of the position for which the company is hiring. Here is some of the information that might appear in a background check:

* Driving records
* Vehicle registration
* Credit records
* Criminal records
* Social Security no.
* Education records
* Court records
* Workers’ compensation
* Bankruptcy
* Character references
* Neighbor interviews
* Medical records
* Property ownership
* Military records
* State licensing records
* Drug test records
* Past employers
* Personal references
* Incarceration records
* Sex offender lists

Employers who are actively recruiting may be able to find some of these documents on their own via the Internet, however this task could be quite time-consuming, and has the potential to uncover second-hand information. Legal experts agree: the most accurate, efficient option is to hire a company that specializes in employment screening.

What to look for in an employment background check firm?

There are thousands of background check companies ranging from private investigators, to firms that do nothing but employment screening, to online data brokers. A corporation with many employees may use a third-party background checking company on a retainer basis, or may even use an affiliated company for employment screening. Other background checking firms work on a less formal basis with their clients.

In choosing an employment screening firm, look for a professional partner as opposed to just an information vendor selling data at the lowest price. Use the same criteria that you would use in selecting any other provider of critical professional services. For example, if your company needed a business development consultant, you would not make your selection based on the lowest price, but would instead choose a firm that was experienced, reputable and fairly priced.

An employment background check firm should have an understanding of the legal implications of background checks, particularly the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Avoid companies that claim to be able to uncover everything about everyone. Such companies run the risk of breaking federal and state laws, particularly provisions that require accuracy of employment background check reports.

Doing this type of ¡°due diligence¡± will confirm your decision to hire the best candidate for the job, and potentially save your company millions of dollars in damages in a negligent hiring or retention lawsuit.

Vote for this story on recruiting.com

Growing Into Applicant Tracking Systems

An applicant tracking system only works when all parties¡ªapplicants, hiring managers, recruiters and executives¡ªuse the system. Ease of use remains an issue for smaller firms while midsize companies are adding functions to existing systems, and large companies are moving toward full integration of applicant tracking and talent management systems.
By Fay Hansen ——————————————————————————–
asty turnover rates, high recruiting volume, deep cyclical volatility, a difficult mix of low-end and high-end positions, and a heavy emphasis on customer service have always marked the hospitality industry. It’s not a pretty place for recruiters or applicants.

“The problem today is to fill open positions with speed because of the impact on customer service at each property,” says Jonathan Kubo, director of recruiting and relocation for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company with more than 280 properties and 26,000 employees. “Open positions, or positions filled with less than optimal candidates, can have a negative effect.”

With most companies in the industry hiring on an ongoing basis, inefficiencies in the recruiting process generate additional problems.

“For both hourly and nonhourly employees, any delay in hiring caused by an untimely process or compliance issues means that you lose candidates to your competitors,” Kubo says. Constant hiring can burden staff and pump up costs.

Jeff Wade, vice president of human resources at Hersha Hospitality Management in Philadelphia, feels the same pain.

“Recruiting in the hospitality industry is always a challenge because many of the positions are lower-wage jobs, and front-office positions are often filled by college students who want to move on with their careers,” Wade says. “We can find bodies, but it’s difficult to find people with the right attitude toward guests, and it’s hard to train people to be hospitable and guest-focused.”

Kubo reduced the hiring workload at Interstate by installing a customized applicant tracking system that allows direct comparisons of candidates and fully automates compliance monitoring. In an average 30-day period, 3,400 applications come in through Interstate’s ATS and the company closes out 400 positions.

Wade followed the same path at Hersha to meet the company’s growth surge as it expanded from 15 hotels to 54, with a dramatic surge in hiring. Hersha’s new ATS launched on September 1.

But applicant tracking systems only work when all parties¡ªapplicants, hiring managers, recruiters and executives¡ªuse the system. Ease of use remains an issue at smaller firms, which are still in the early phase of ATS adoption. Midsize companies are adding functions to existing systems, while large companies are moving toward the full integration of ATS and broader talent management systems.

ATS initiation
Rapid growth and high turnover in the hospitality industry provide a fertile field for testing quick and effective automation.

Hersha personifies the smaller-company trend toward ATS adoption, while Interstate is following the ATS developmental pattern for midsize firms that are now adding functionalities.

When Wade joined Hersha in April 2006, there was no HR function or recruiting infrastructure. A general manager handled hiring for all hourly positions; a half-dozen outside recruiting agencies filled management positions.

The company signed on 1,000 employees in 2005 with no uniform process for applicant tracking and no systematic practice for interviewing. With 1,000 additional new employees needed for 2006, Wade had to install an HR function, build a recruiting process and hire more than a hundred new employees a month.

Although Wade faced urgent hiring needs, he rejected the idea of outsourcing.

“We have a unique founder-led culture, built on a foundation of taking care of our associates who, in turn, take care of our guests,” he explains. “My fear was that outsourcing providers might look for candidates and pass them on to us too quickly, and not take the time to tell our story effectively. Outsourcing recruiting would be like outsourcing sales.”

Instead, Wade hired HR and recruiting personnel and installed an ATS system, all within a matter of months. He now works with a staff of seven, including a director of talent acquisition.

“The recruiting process is no different from any sales position,” he says. “When I looked for a director of talent management, I did not look for someone with a HR background. I hired a director of sales from a hotel.”

Wade also structured the director’s compensation so that 30 percent of it is contingent on meeting recruiting goals and preset metrics.

“Part of her performance will be measured from the feedback we get from both successful and unsuccessful candidates through our ATS,” he notes.

Hersha surveyed its 3,000 employees, who reported that they searched and applied for employment online, confirming Wade’s sense that the company could automate recruiting for all positions, from hourly associates in hotels to senior leaders at corporate headquarters.

“All candidates want to be able to go online and to be kept in the loop,” he notes. “Automating the system allows recruiters to focus on speaking with the candidates.”

Wade tapped ERC Dataplus Inc. to provide an ATS.

“We began the process in April 2006, signed an agreement in June and had a complete customized system in place by September 1, which is really fast,” Wade notes.

The customized system takes employees all the way from prehire to three-month and six-month reviews to exit interviews and everything in between.

New hires go through an initial hour-long orientation online from anywhere they chose, which speeds up onboarding and gives them a better sense of the company.

“No one, from senior vice presidents to hourly workers, can go on payroll without being in the system,” Wade says. “It’s our first step in moving to a paperless HR function.”

Evolutionary process
Interstate implemented its current ATS in September 2005.

“I like our system because we have the option to post positions on job boards and community organization sites though a one-step process for posting on multiple sites, but then all applications are brought in to a single point,” Kubo reports. “We can track the status of the application and manage online all the data related to selection and interviewing.”

With ATS up and running, Kubo is now considering adding a prehire assessment function that can sort applicants by their probability of success on the job. The function uses prescreening questions for basic information and specific questions designed for each position, and then remove applicants that don’t meet minimal requirements.

Kubo is now meeting with ERC, Interstate’s ATS provider, to determine which assessment tools are most appropriate.

“We want tools that are customized for the industry and the company,” Kubo says. “One of the big advantages is that all the tools will all be incorporated into the system. My role is to evaluate if the assessment tools make sense.”

“Now, we are seeing modifications of the technology at the larger companies, including a significant increase in using validated assessments to get better hires and reduce time and costs,” says Paul L. Rathblott, president and CEO of ERC.

He also reports significant improvement in the integration of other add-on components.

“At one end of the spectrum, you have PeopleSoft HRIS systems, which store a lot data but do not have extensive capabilities or functionalities,” Rathblott notes. “At the other end, you have systems that have a lot of functionalities such as performance assessments.”

The goal is to integrate data storage and functionalities and fold all the components into one process that links all information for new hires and existing employees.

Intuitive systems
“Recruiting technology must be redesigned so that it is as intuitive as Travelocity or Orbitz, which we use as a model for truly intuitive systems,” Rathblott notes. “The point is to have a system that someone can use even if they’ve never used it before.”

Employers commonly underestimate the extent to which applicants are able and willing to use a fully automated system, but ERC and other ATS providers report that the flow of applicants actually increases when companies move to an Internet-only application process.

“The higher flow occurs because candidates are attracted by the flexibility of the Internet,” Rathblott explains. “It allows them to learn more about the company and the job and provides them with a quicker response.”

Access to the ATS is critical for hiring managers, but the system may go unused if it is not intuitive.

“For example, hiring managers cannot use the requisition system in PeopleSoft,” Rathblott says. “They end up filling out a requisition form and faxing it to HR.”

“With the exception of very heavy employee-based industries such as call centers, the typical span of control for a manager is eight to 10 employees, which means that even with very high turnover, the manager will interface with the recruiting technology no more than eight times a year,” Rathblott notes.

An ATS must be designed to accommodate this very infrequent user. The ERC system is supported by a wizard process like Orbitz uses, with a step-by-step process for requisitions and audio support.

“Recruiters may be interfacing with the system on a daily basis, so it must be not only user-friendly but also user-pleasing¡ªpleasant to work on,” Rathblott says. He believes that resistance to ATS adoption in small and midsize companies will disappear as cost and ease of use improve.

At Hersha, Wade is already approaching his goal to cut by half the fees that the company hands over to outside recruiting firms. Time-to-hire for hourly associate positions is now down to five days.

“Salaried positions take 30 days, but we will cut that in half,” Wade says. “You have to get recruiting right.”
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Fay Hansen is a Workforce Management contributing editor based in Cresskill, New Jersey. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.