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With all of the layoffs and dire economic forecasts, there are more people than ever looking for a new job. One side effect of higher unemployment and less jobs is that a lot of people are getting pretty free and loose with their job search approach, and it’s showing in the numbers of resumes recruiters and employers are getting from their job postings.
I get a lot of phone calls and emails from people who tell me that they’re looking for an executive recruiter to represent them in their job search. They’re hoping to find someone who knows the market, has a lot of contacts, and who will line up interviews with companies for them.
Honest, what did I ever do before Google? I must use it 100 times a day. The amount of time it saves, and the depth of information I get that I never could have found before… Google is indispensable. Research about companies, industries, technology, business trends, candidates, it’s all right at my fingertips with Google.
I tend to rant a lot about resumes, and it might sound like complaining to some people, but honestly, these resume rants usually come from a place of astonishment, because it just seems so danged obvious to me that if you want someone to want to interview you, and the only thing they have to judge you on is your resume, then you should want your resume to show you at your best.
Most of us are going to change career directions a few times in our life. Sometimes we’re forced to, like travel agents who found their services made obsolete by etickets and online travel booking. Often, a job just slowly grew boring and we’re just ready for a change. Sometimes, we wake up one day and realize we hate our job. Or we get inspired with a new passion that we feel inspired to follow.
I was just turned on to a video of a short lecture at the 2004 TED Conference, which is an annual meeting where big thinkers from all walks of life get together to talk about interesting stuff.
TechRepublic, an online resource for tech workers, has an interesting conversation going, about the legality of discriminating against a worker at Costco who had a nose ring and sued when she was fired, saying it was a religious issue, as she was part of a Church of Body Modifications of some sort. Here’s the gist of what I added to that conversation, which wasn’t well received by some of the people, but really says how I see it.
I give in! For all of you who’ve been asking for personal coaching and advice about your job search… I can now say yes! I’ve carved time out in my schedule to do one-on-one personal coaching again. Just you and me, on the phone, having a focused and meaningful conversation about your most pressing job-search challenge.
Have you given much thought to your voice? Or perhaps I should say your voices, because there are three types of voices that I think are worth paying attention to. Your spoken voice, your written voice, and the voice of who you are in the world.
We all have something somewhere in our background that we would rather not talk about, but when it’s something that shows on your resume, you’re going to have to, and how you handle it will make a big difference in whether it is perceived as a negative or not. Tell too little and you invite uncomfortable questions, tell too much and you might risk losing the job.