Your Resume Will Never Get You a Job

I used to get asked all the time how to write a resume that will get someone a job. The truth is, I can’t. You can’t. No one can. A resume is not designed to get someone a job; it is designed to get an INTERVIEW.

Okay, so you may be reading this and saying, “Well, yea, I knew that.” However, until you truly understand this concept, your resume won’t bring you the results that you are looking for. Getting an interview just means that you have sparked enough interest with your resume that the interviewer would like to learn more about you. You haven’t given them enough information to make a decision yet. This is KEY to writing a good resume. A resume should be written in such a way that the reader is left feeling like they want to know more.

We’ll look at types of resumes, and lengths, and other key ideas in the days to come, but for now, let’s discuss one more essential point.

On a regular basis, I would have people bring me their resume and ask for my advice on how to make it “better”. My first question would always be, “What job are you applying for?” I would estimate that 80% of the time, the answer was, “I don’t know” or “umm…anything”. At that point, we would sit down to talk about how a resume should be catered to the position be applied for. This means that if you don’t know what job you are looking for, you have no way of writing a great resume. It also means that EVERY time you apply for a new position, you will have to spend some time changing your resume to match the current job opening. Again, we’ll discuss how to do this in the coming days, but it seemed worth mentioning early in our discussion.

Sound like a lot of work? It can be. On the other hand, once you make it a habit, it goes pretty quickly. Like we’ve said before, success is a habit. Work is a habit. If you put the proper time and effort into developing a top notch resume, you’ll be talking to hiring managers in no time.

How do I prepare for a phone screen?

The dreaded phone screen. It’s the interview that decides whether or not you get a REAL interview. To make it even more interesting, you have no way of know what the person on the other end of the line is doing, or thinking. He may be taking notes furiously, or checking email, or maybe just lying in bed pretending to be in the office. What’s important here is that YOU are prepared and professional, regardless of what is happening on the interviewer’s side of the conversation.

ERE.net posted a great article about phone screening methods that is worth reading. In the article, they discussed what an interviewer should be looking for to find a top achiever. Let’s take a closer look at a few of their points and figure out how we can prove that WE are achievers. (We are, aren’t we?)

According to the article, phone screeners are looking for logical career changes that lead to a bigger career goal. As a job seeker, this means that I should be able to explain how each new position I have held not only represented a new achievement in my career, but also moved me in one step closer to my ultimate goal (whatever that may be). Truthfully, not all of our career changes may seem that logical (I am a good example of this), but if we can prepare a response ahead of time, we’ll certainly sound better than if we try to improvise.

Secondly, screeners should be looking for achievements. Like any job seeker, we probably listed our top achievement on our resume…take a moment here to double-check. This means we need to start coming up with an additional list. 3-4 solid accomplishments at each position we have held should suffice. These don’t have to be awards or formal recognition. These could be attendance and evaluations, raises, compliments from customers or colleagues, anything that shows that you go above and beyond what is typically expected in your role. This is your opportunity to show that you have a pattern of success that you plan to bring to your next position.

There are several other good points made in this article that are worth noting. It’s a quick read when you have a few minutes, so I would highly recommend it.

In case I haven’t said it enough, success is a habit. Work is a habit. Keep up the search, work hard at it, and the rewards will come.

Ahhh...the weekend

When you're looking for a job, the weekend seems like a bit of a strange thought.  Everyday is the weekend, right?  Well, I guess you could look at it that way, unless you actually want to change things and land that new position you've had youre eye on.

Success is a pattern.  Work is a pattern.  Just because you don't have an office to go to right now doesn't mean you are on vacation.

Here are some tips for your job search:

1. Get up by 8am, Mon - Fri
2. Dress in business casual for your job search, even if you have nowhere to go
3. Participate in job search activities from 9am - 5pm (online search, resume writing, networking, etc.)
4. Take two 15-minute breaks and a 1-hour lunch diring your day
5. At 5pm, be DONE with your search for the day
6. TAKE A WEEKEND on Saturday and Sunday

If you can stay in the habit of working, it will translate into your new career.  Also, it helps to eliminate that nagging, guilty feeling that some are inclined to have on the weekends when they aren't actually looking for work.  Put in a 40 hour week and be content with what you have done.  Trust me, the hard work will eventually pay off.

Dave's Best Work...

Dave Ramsey says...

I just got back from my final night of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (taught via video, not in person).  Dave is a great motivator and a pretty good teacher.  I caught myself at many times thinking, "This guy is getting paid a lot of money to state the obvious".  It's true, most of what Dave has to say is common sense.  Well, I guess it must not be THAT common...I was willing to pay $100 to go and many of you probably have to.

Actually, I highly recommend his class.  Even if you just learn a tidbit here and there, its worth the time and effort.  I like the idea of being able to set a good example for my son.  If I can teach him why credit cards are dangerous and spending cash is safer, I can at least give him a better start in life than what I had.  I'm not saying that I have huge debts that I'll never get out of, but it sure would be nice to be DEBT FREEEEEE...(mimic Dave's radio show here).

So how can we apply this to our job search?  Dave's view of money is somewhat radical by today's standards.  If you run into your next interview screaming "Cash is king" or "Sell the car", you are probably going to need to keep looking for a job.  However, being financially responsible is a great concept for personal and business finance.  Maybe it is time to brush up on cost of capital or the risk of bad debt.  Remember, life-long learning shows that you are serious about continuous improvement.  Employers like to see this in potential candidates.

PS...if none of this made any sense, I highly encourage you to check out Dave Ramsey's Website or pick up his book Financial Peace Revisited.  It's an easy read and it may just make you a millionaire!