Resume Tools

I read a blog article about 10 things that you can do with LinkedIn of which you may not have been aware. One of them included the resume tool. I went in and set up my resume. It took about 20 seconds. Unfortunately, I would be better served by a combination resume and the tool only allows a chronological resume.

The LinkedIn tool is perfect as long as your profile is 100% complete, your profile reads the same way you would like your resume to read, and a chronological format is the approach you would like to use.

Another tool that we recommend can be found on www.illinoisworknet.com in the Individuals pathway "Prepare" section. The tool within Illinois workNet will create and save up to 20 resumes for you.  You can pick from several templates including both functional and chronological.  There isn't a combination option posted, but you can always copy and paste from the workNet tool into a Word document.


A free tool that is available in the Career Resource Centers at an Illinois workNet Center is Winway resume creator.  This computer program allows you to select which of the three formats you would like to use and offers suggestions for tasks you may have completed based upon the job title that you enter.  Once you have all of your information entered, you may then go in and edit the description and tweak the resume to make it completely personalized to your experience.


Last but not least, the Illinois workNet Career Resource Centers offer free professional review assistance for your resume from our Career Resource Professionals, as well as workshops to help you with your resume and interviewing along with many other resources. 


What is the best resume tool you have found?

Email addresses speak a 100 words

The saying goes "A picture is worth a 1000 words".  I contend that your email address can speak at least a 100 words.

On your resume, you should have your name, phone number, cell phone number, email address, and if you have one, a link to your business related blog, and linkedIn account.

KCDEE recently had a booth at two area job fairs.  We were collecting email addresses from people who were interested in receiving our e-newsletter.  As I was entering the names and emails, I noticed that about 95% of the names were professional in appearance.  But, alas, there was that 5% that could potentially scare away an employer from contacting you.

The best thing to do is to make your email address recognizable to anyone who may wish to contact you about a job, contract work, or a potential business relationship.  If your name is very common adding a number to your name is acceptable.  Other options include first.middle.last@ email address or perhaps first_last@ email address, or last-first@ email address.  There are many free email services including hotmail, yahoo, gmail, as well as, the phone and internet providers in the area such as comcast, att, and sbcglobal.

Presenting a professional face on all forms of communication with potential employers just gives you more ticks in your win column.  Read more about email addresses.

Do you have PO?

No, I don't mean a post office box.  I mean po - lateral thinking Wiki definition.

I was introduced to this concept by a person who answered a question that I had asked on LinkedIn.  I was trying to figure out how to have my full-time job with KCDEE appear above a part-time family business job that I started more recently than I had started with KCDEE.

The person responded to my query with the term po and I was able to make enough of a change to accomplish what I wanted to do.

Po means to rethink how you are currently doing, thinking, selling, building, etc., to be able to address a potential new approach. It reminds me of a brainstorming Rorschach test, or possibly an "if = then" proposition.

Let's take this to the job search.  If you apply the "po" principle to your job search - the question may be "Why am I not getting interviews?"
po = become an entrepreneur
po = revise resume
po = change target
po = target specific companies
po = become a hermit
po = retrain for a new career

Which of your ideas are feasible and practical?  What can you actually accomplish? Which ones do you need help with to complete?  Do you know your resources?

What are your thoughts?

Your Personal Elevator Pitch

Can you highlight your resume in an elevator ride?

Marketers and public relations specialists know that in many situations you have just the time it takes for an elevator ride to grab the attention of a reporter. Hence, the phrase “elevator pitch”, came to explain the amount of time you have to explain your business or pitch your story. Can this correlate to your personal elevator pitch when it comes to sharing the key aspects of your career with someone?

A career coaching company in New York suggests a two-minute pitch. That isn’t how long it should take to “get to” your point, but it should take no longer than two minutes to share the best points of your career with a tiny bit of embellishment. Richard Skaare, a communications specialist, suggests that your resume should be able to be boiled down to the 140 – 160 characters you would use in a text message. Now, those two concepts work in concert with each other. To verbalize and expound on the 160 characters could take about 2 minutes.

Unless you are in that dream situation - sitting on the Metra next to someone who just happens to need someone with your exact skill set - the concept of using a 160 character resume is reserved for Twitter or a text message. The principle behind both thoughts mentioned above is you need to know exactly who you are, what skills you own, and how you have used them. Better still you need to be able to communicate those same things in a short, cohesive, cognizant statement if time is limited.

A couple of situations where your elevator pitch will work perfectly are networking events or job fairs. Yes, you may hand someone your “real” professionally prepared resume, but, what will you say to that job fair representative that will make him/her put your resume in the “second look” pile. What will you say to those you meet at a networking event that will pique their interest and entice them to spend more time with you, finding out more about you in greater detail?

Creating your Personal Elevator Pitch

You want to include a few key statements about yourself:

1. Your position – I am an architect – This is your key statement
2. General Experience – in commercial development for 10 years – this gives listeners an idea of what level of expertise you have.
3. Your sub-pitch – I’ve supervised over xx projects ranging from 10,000 square feet to 130,000 square feet in 20 major metropolitan areas
4. Add interest - including Singapore, New York, Chicago, and Little Rock.
5. Apply it to your listener – My concepts attract new business from companies like …. – if you are using your pitch in a cover letter or interview, direct this last portion of your pitch to create a comparison to the business situation, perhaps their direct competition if possible.

Let’s go back to the 160 characters. Forced brevity sharpens the mind. Work with a trusted friend or counselor to keep your pitch brief. Just as in creating new marketing ideas, you may need to brainstorm ways to keep the word count down.

Using your Personal Elevator Pitch

You have created your personal pitch, but if you don’t memorize it, practice it and know how to modify it depending upon your audience, you could end up stammering and jabbering just as if you didn’t take all the time to create your pitch in the first place.

Tell me about yourself is a typical question you will be asked on any interview. When asked, you want your personal elevator pitch to just flow. To do that you need to write out your pitch, memorize it, practice it in front of a mirror, a family member, your employment and training rep, your dog, or the car in front of you in line at the drive-through. You want the words to just flow.

You want your message to be crystal clear. Refer to it enough throughout the interview, that if the interviewer is asked to tell their boss about you when your interview is done, you know how they will position you after you leave.

Remember that when you are speaking, use a personal level. Standards today are based on the medium of TV, using a conversational style that is friendly and one-on-one. Speak as if you are speaking to an acquaintance and tell the interviewer something in your pitch that they won’t read by going through your resume.

If you need assistance with your resume, your elevator pitch, or anything else with your job search, KCDEE has Career Resource Professionals in the Illinois workNet Centers to assist you.

Why is rejection a good thing?

The very best letter or phone message that you can receive is the job offer.  Short of that, the next best contact you can receive from a business is the rejection letter.  You are thinking that I must be crazy right?? But, the reasons I am going to share will help you understand why it is such a good thing for your job search.

Rejection letters, phone calls, or emails are good for you because:

1. They let you know that the company has made a decision and you can move forward.
2. They give you a contact at the business and a way to network to similar businesses.
3. They give you an opportunity to find out what you could have done better.

Let's discuss the ways to find out what you could have done better.

In hiring situations today, the employer has the reigns.  They have the open position and with so many applicants, they can be super selective in their final choice.  In housing its called a buyer's market.  Finding out how to improve your personal "curb appeal" is what you are after.

• In no way shape or form should your request for feedback sound like sour grapes, be defensive or argumentative.
• Not every employer will give you an answer.
• Personalize your feedback request, just as you personalized your cover letter to the job posting.
• Thank them in advance for any feedback they may give you.

So as an example, perhaps you might say:

Thank you for letting me know that you have filled the XYZ position.  I would really like a position in the MNOP field.

If you have a few spare moments I would be most appreciative if you would be willing to provide insights about my interviewing skills, resume, cover letter, or salary expectations (whichever level of contact you achieved) to help me improve in those areas of my job search.

If you approach the communication as a learning experience for you, you will be more successful in getting an answer from your rejector.  Who knows - the letter you send may just give you a leg up if the person they chose doesn't take the job offer.

Have you been successful with this type of communication?

What is your call to action?

When you are sending your resume and cover letter, in effect, you are sending a sales document.  You are trying to sell your skills to the business and hopefully, you have packaged them successfully enough to entice a business owner or hiring manager to read your materials. Often, with hundreds of resumes appearing for one position, you need to stand out!

Any brochure or flyer needs to have a "call to action" to encourage the reader to:

• buy tickets,
• attend a rally,
• register for a workshop,
• READ your resume
• INVITE you for an interview!

Your cover letter gives you the opportunity to answer the question "what's in it for me?" that the person reading the cover letter will ask about why they should call you in for an interview.

If you have successfully accomplished your job of telling them why you would be a good fit for their organization, the last thing you need to do is establish your "call to action".  Here are some examples:

• I appreciate your consideration and look forward to speaking with you if my capabilities can be of use at XYZ Corporation.
• I look forward to meeting with you to discuss my candidacy. Thank you for your consideration.
• I will be in New York from DATE to DATE and wondered if it would be possible to schedule an interview for that time?
• I am available for a personal interview at your convenience.
• I hope to schedule a personal interview at a mutually convenient time.
• You may kindly contact me by phone at 224-224-2244 or email me at emailaddress (at) emailprovider.com
• Kindly review the enclosed resume and consider my application for the job.
• Enclosed is my resume and photographs of my work.  I have some great ideas for ABC Publication and hope to have the opportunity to discuss them with you.
• If you feel that my experience and drive can benefit ABC Company in this or other positions, let's talk!
• It will be a pleasure to meet with you at your convenience to discuss my credentials in detail.  I can be reached at the above numbers when you are ready to set up a time to meet.  I look forward to your call.
• Would your organization benefit from these attributes? Please call me at your earliest convenience to discuss my focus on bringing a fresh perspective to the LMNOP arena.

And rather than the standard "Sincerely yours" as the line above your signature (closing), what about:

• Enthusiatic about joining your team,
• Until we meet,
• Cordially, or,
• Looking forward to the interview.

The key to getting the interview is making your cover letter and resume stand out.  Your skills have to be a pretty good fit, but, how you package it makes all the difference in the world.

What other inventive, yet professional ending paragraphs or letter closings can you suggest?

Resources used:
Employment Digest
Cover Letter Format
The Everything Cover Letter Book by Steven Graber
Cover Letters for Dummies by Joyce Lain Kennedy
Cover Letter Magic by Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark

14 square inches of space

How often do you see in the paper an event advertised that is taking place in your community where businesses will be represented.  If there is a small fee for admission or no cost for admission, you might want to make sure that you attend the event.  It is a perfect networking opportunity.

If, for example, the cost of admission is a business card, you should be prepared.  Just because you may not be currently employed, does not mean that you cannot have a business card.  In fact, it is a perfect opportunity to use 14 square inches of space to your advantage.

Office supply stores sell business card stock as do many discount retailers.  Software programs are available with templates for business cards, or you can create one very simply in Microsoft Word if you know some of the basics.  Use the front side of the card to provide your basic contact information that should include name, address, phone(s), email, website address (if you have one), and a link to any of the other social media sites you are using to network for your job search.  A job title that would normally appear on a corporate business card would be replaced with your area of expertise, for example, Marketing Coordinator as an exact title could become a simple switch to Marketing Professional or Social Media Specialist depending upon what direction you wish to pursue.

Use the back side of the card to list your skills in bullet format using action verbs where possible. For example using our Marketing Coordinator position and skill set:

• Instructor for social media formats
• Graphic designer in multiple formats
• Editor for e-news and blog
• Creative writing
• Editorial writing
• Photographer

If you have portfolio type items, include a link to an on-line portfolio where contacts you meet can view your work.  If you need additional assistance creating a resume, enlist the assistance of a Career Resource Professional at an Illinois workNet Center near you.  To find other resume resources, visit http://www.kcdee.org/

Copywriting for your On-line Profile

Today I listened to a webinar entitled Writing Powerful Online Profiles that Lead to More Connections, Interactions & Possibilities with speaker Allison Nazarian author of “One Minute Copy Writer”.  Here are my thoughts and notes based on the webinar.

During your job search, potential employers will Google you to see what you are about. Only 17% of jobs come from job boards. What would a hiring company find if they see your on-line profile?

Writing for paper is different than writing for online profiles. You don’t want to just cut and paste. Your résumé may stay the same for years. Social media allows for more personality. You could potentially be editing your social media profile hourly. The social media medium allows you to brand yourself in your own voice.

You forward a paper résumé to a company, possibly unsolicited and wonder what if anything is done with it. If you update your LinkedIn or other on-line profile, you could receive an immediate response from people within your network. You are able to create a dialogue when writing for the on-line medium that isn’t available in a written résumé.

Copywriting principles apply to on-line profiles. You are selling yourself on your profile to a potential employer. Your profile is your on-line advertisement. Use words to sell your career skills.

1. Know your target market - before you place your profile or make a change to it, determine who you are targeting to read your profile. What is the job title of the person who would hire you? What are the demographics of the company that would hire you? How can you solve the problems your potential hiring company might have? You are also writing to your allies and advocates who might know someone who needs a new employee with your skill set. Be deliberate with your keywords for the search engines to hone in upon.

2. Benefits vs. features – your résumé will list the skills and experience you have, but doesn’t necessarily allow you to express the benefits without adding several pages to the document. On-line profiles allow you to express the benefits of your problem solving actions that could be applicable to the company to which you are applying. Potential employers think “what’s in it for me?” Make it short, sweet and simple so that the employer knows what you are offering.

3. Formatting – make your profile easy to read and visually pleasing – use short paragraphs, bulleted lists, bolded sub-titles, and ensure it is easily scanned for rapid review. Use first person when writing your profile. i.e. Use XX machine to complete orders.

4. Action verbs – use an active voice and action verbs when writing your profile – see our previous post on action verbs for a list of action verbs. Action verbs express that you do things, perform for an employer and act on problems. Get specific with what you can do for a potential employer. When you edit your profile, let your verbs do the work for you. Be conscientious of using the verb groups “to be” (is, are, & were), “to do”, “to say” and “to go”.

Remember you are selling yourself to a potential employer or business associate if you are seeking contract work. Use all of the tools at your disposal to get yourself re-employed.

How do YOU work a job fair?

You have your resume ready, you know the dates of the job fairs, but is that all you have to do?

Before you go, you should spend some time on your plan of attack.  Most job fairs post in advance the names of the companies that will be in attendance.  Review the list, see if any of the companies fall within your targeted area of expertise.  Complete some background research on that company so that you are able to converse with the representative at the fair. Make sure that your resume reflects the skills you have that will best suit that company.  If there happens to be more than one company at the fair that you will be focusing upon, prepare an individualized resume and cover letter for each of the companies. Don't just "spray and pray".

While you are at the Job Fair, make sure you have your "elevator speech" ready.  You may only have a few moments of time with the recruiter and you want to make the most of them by being able to express why you would be a good fit for their company. If you are allowed time to ask questions, you could ask about opportunities, job responsibilities, and skills and/or past experience they are seeking.  Also, you may want to ask about the application and hiring process and the appropriate method and timeframe for follow-up.

Do you ask for business cards from the recruiters? It is a good method to complete your follow-up (based on the follow-up timeframe) and send a thank you note or email. Use it to notate what you spoke with the recruiter about at the fair. 

After the fair, make sure you send recruiters any additional items they requested. Send your thank-yous. Track everything in your log so that you can jog your memory when they call for the on-site interview.

For more assistance on job fairs and your job search, visit our website at www.kcdee.org/jobfairs.html

Opinion time - Should you invite the recruiter to be a LinkedIn contact?

What resume format is good for you?

What type of resume should you use?  Here is a brief explanation of the types and who should use what:

• Chronological Resume - Information is organized in a date order.  Focus is on employment dates and job titles, highlighting your most recent experience.
• Functional Resume - Highlights your skills, experience and accomplishments without identifying specific dates and places
• Combination Resume - brings the best of both formats together.

Chronological format is best used by individuals with a steady work record who have experience that directly relates to the position for which you have applied. Good - It is logical, showcases growth, promotions and company loyalty.  Bad - It emphasizes frequent job changes, limited or lack of experience, and set backs or demotions.

Functional resume - is best used by individuals just out of school, who have gaps in employment, frequent job changers, or individuals who have gained skills from areas outside of documented employment (possibly volunteer work).  Good - emphasizes skills rather than employment, disguises gaps in work history, and organizes a variety of experiences. Bad - loses direction because of lack of focus, deemphasizes job growth.

Combination resume - good format for those individuals in career transition or re-entering the job market after an absence.  Good - highlights most relevant skills and accomplishments, De-emphasizes employment history in less relevant jobs, Combines skills developed in a variety of jobs or other activities, and Minimizes drawbacks such as employment gaps and absence of directly related experience. Bad - can be confusing if not organized, requires more effort to prepare.

Career Resource Specialists at the Illlinois workNet Centers can assist you in determining what format is best for you.  Visit one of our centers today!

Your Personal Elevator Pitch – Can you highlight your resume in an elevator ride?

Marketers and public relations specialists know that in many situations you have just the time it takes for an elevator ride to grab the attention of a reporter. Hence, the phrase “elevator pitch”, came to be to explain the amount of time you have to explain your business or pitch your story. Can this correlate to your personal elevator pitch when it comes to sharing the key aspects of your career with someone?

A career coaching company in New York suggests a two-minute pitch. That isn’t how long it should take to “get to” your point, but it should take no longer than two minutes to share the best points of your career with a tiny bit of embellishment. Richard Skaare, a communications specialist, suggests that your resume should be able to be boiled down to the 140 – 160 characters you would use in a text message. Now, those two concepts work in concert with each other. To verbalize and expound on the 140 characters could take about 2 minutes.

Unless you are in that dream situation - sitting on the Metra next to someone who just happens to need someone with your exact skill set - the concept of using a 140 character resume is reserved for Twitter or a text message. The principle behind both thoughts mentioned above is you need to know exactly who you are, what skills you own, and how you have used them. Better still you need to be able to communicate those same things in a short, cohesive, cognizant statement if time is limited.

A couple of situations where your elevator pitch will work perfectly are networking events or job fairs. Yes, you may hand someone your “real” professionally prepared resume, but, what will you say to that job fair representative that will make him/her put your resume in the “second look” pile. What will you say to those you meet at a networking event that will pique their interest and entice them to spend more time with you, finding out more about you in greater detail?

Creating your Personal Elevator Pitch

You want to include a few key statements about yourself:

1. Your position – I am an architect – This is your key statement
2. General Experience – in commercial development for 10 years – this gives listeners an idea of what level of expertise you have.
3. Your sub-pitch – I’ve supervised over xx projects ranging from 10,000 square feet to 130,000 square feet in 20 major metropolitan areas
4. Add interest - including Singapore, New York, Chicago, and Little Rock.
5. Apply it to your listener – My concepts attract new business from companies like …. – if you are using your pitch in a cover letter or interview, direct this last portion of your pitch to create a comparison to the businesses situation, perhaps their direct competition if possible.

Let’s go back to the 140 characters. Forced brevity sharpens the mind. Work with a trusted friend or counselor to keep your pitch brief. Just as in creating new marketing ideas, you may need to brainstorm ways to keep the word count down.

Using your Personal Elevator Pitch - You have created your personal pitch, but if you don’t memorize it, practice it and know how to modify it depending upon your audience, you could end up stammering and jabbering just as if you didn’t take all the time to create your pitch in the first place.

Tell me about yourself is a typical question you will be asked on any interview. When asked, you want your personal elevator pitch to just flow. To do that you need to write out your pitch, memorize it, practice it in front of a mirror, a family member, your employment and training rep, your dog, or the car in front of you in line at the drive-through. You want the words to just flow.
You want your message to be crystal clear. Refer to it enough throughout the interview, that if the interviewer is asked to tell their boss about you when your interview is done, you know how they will position you after you leave.

Remember that when you are speaking, use a personal level. Standards today are based on the medium of TV, using a conversational style that is friendly and one-on-one. Speak as if you are speaking to an acquaintance and tell the interviewer something in your pitch that they won’t read by going through your resume.

How we can help – We offer many resources to help you gain a new position on your way to a career. The Employment and Training Representatives at Kane County Department of Employment and Education can help you create a professional resume, refresh your interview skills, or help you find ways to network effectively. Visit www.illinoisworknet.com and click on the JOBS link, you can find additional tips to help you in your job search.

Four Offices to serve you:

• Elgin – 30 DuPage Court 847-888-7900 x 230
• N. Aurora – 2 Smoketree Plaza 630-844-6640 x 203
• DeKalb – 1701 E. Lincoln Hwy. 815-756-4893 x 240
• Yorkville – 811 W. John St. 630-553-8304

http://www.kcdee.org/

Is your job search a noun or a verb?

Recently, the word career popped up as the Merriam-Webster’s word of the day in my email. I thought I knew what the word career meant, but I was surprised when I read that it was referring to the verb Career – meaning to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner. This made me think that one could “career toward a new career”.

If your job search is not actively moving forward in a headlong manner, maybe it is because you aren’t using some of the best action verbs to describe your skills. Following are some action verbs adapted from The Damn Good Resume Guide by Yana Parker. They are great for resumes. Even better, incorporate them into your cover letters and during the interview as you speak about your previous work duties.

achieve, act, adapt, address, administer, advise, allocate, analyze, appraise, approve, arbitrate, arrange, assemble, assess, assign, assist, attain, audit, author, balance, budget, build, calculate, catalogue, chair, clarify, classify, coach, collaborate, collect, communicate, compile, compute, conceptualize, consolidate, contract, convince, coordinate, correspond, counsel, create, critique, customize, delegate, demonstrate, demystify, design, develop, devise, diagnose, direct, dispatch, draft, edit, educate, enable, encourage, engineer, enlist, establish, evaluate, examine, execute, expand, expedite, explain, extract, fabricate, facilitate, familiarize, fashion, forecast, formulate, found, generate, guide, identify, illustrate, implement, improve, increase, influence, inform, initiate, inspect, institute, instruct, integrate, interpret, interview, introduce, invent, investigate, lecture, maintain, manage, market, mediate, moderate, monitor, motivate, negotiate, operate, organize, originate, overhaul, oversee, perform, persuade, pioneer, plan, prepare, prioritize, process, produce, program, project, promote, publicize, purchase, recommend, reconcile, record, recruit, reduce,refer, rehabilitate, remodel, repair, represent, research, resolve, restore, retrieve, review, revitalize, schedule, screen, set, shape, solve, speak, spearhead, specify, stimulate, strengthen, ,summarize, supervise, survey, systematize, tabulate, train, transform, translate, upgrade, validate, write

When you describe your skills and accomplishments with action verbs potential employers will take notice. Which example has more punch?

1. I had 7 people that reported to me while we put merchandise back on the floor that sold the day before. We would scan the shelf labels to see other merchandise that needed to be filled that didn’t arrive in the truck. We would also help store the merchandise in the stock room with a computer system.

2. Supervised 7 employees; Responsible for merchandise replenishment; Generated lists of merchandise for replenishment; Processed merchandise for storage.

Not only will the action verbs help your resume sound snappier, it will help keep it to the recommended one-page length that hiring managers like to review.

How we can help – We offer many resources to help you gain a new position on your way to a career. The Employment and Training Representatives at Kane County Department of Employment and Education can help you find all the information you need to make your resume get noticed. Visit www.illinoisworknet.com and click on the JOBS link, you can find additional tips to help you in your job search.

Four Offices to serve you:

Elgin – 30 DuPage Court 847-888-7900 x 230

N. Aurora – 2 Smoketree Plaza 630-844-6640 x 203

DeKalb – 1701 E. Lincoln Hwy. 815-756-4893 x 240

Yorkville – 811 W. John St. 630-553-8303

www.kcdee.org