Career Tips

Resume Tips

1. The purpose of your resume is first and foremost to get an interview. You also want your resume to effectively describe your past experience to a particular audience, which could be a recruiter, networking contacts, or a potential employer.
2. Your resume is a document that focuses not just on what you did but on what you want to communicate about what you did for a particular position and to a potential employer. It is not a review of everything you have ever done.
3. To personalize your resume, be sure to communicate results: who or what benefited or was impacted by your efforts; and what was achieved. Quantify results in terms of dollar amounts or percentages whenever possible.
4. Emphasize your strengths in a summary section at the beginning of your resume. Use the “buzz” words of your industry. If you can get the actual job requisition and use their language, it will make it easier for someone (hiring manager, recruiter, resume database) to quickly see that you have the required skills.
5. Yes, you will want to target your resume to a particular position.
6. If you don’t have a focus yet, create a template of your eventual resume containing everything you have done that demonstrates your successes. Also emphasize what you like to do. Then cut and paste when you are ready to focus on a particular position.
7. When you are moving between industries or companies, be sure to change the language in your resume from company or industry jargon to either something more generic or the language of the new industry.
8. Proofread your resume for typos, grammar and spelling one more time.
9. Your resume can be two pages if all the content seems essential for successfully marketing your skills and experience.

---

Interviewing Tips

1. Identify the strengths and skills you want to communicate along with appropriate stories to illustrate your accomplishments.<ol>
2. Prepare what you want to say about why you are leaving your current job and want this new job.
3. Communicate clearly how you will use your past experience in this new job–and you will be convincing.
4. Smile with your eyes as well as your mouth;  be present and focused.
5. Body language is very powerful, use it to your advantage;  show interest, enthusiasm and respect.
6. Respond to questions succinctly, but with enough information to create a picture for the interviewer.  When you have completed your response you might ask,   “Is there anything else you would like to know?”
7. Indicate the number of points you would like to make using numbers, to keep both you and the interviewer organized and focused.  “I have 2 things I’d like to say in response your question.”
8. Follow up with either a hand written or emailed thank you note, depending on what you think would be appreciated in your target industry.
9. Take care of yourself before the interview – do what you need to do to relax so that you can be yourself in the interview.  For instance:  take a short walk, try some deep breathing, or think about the success stories from your career…
10. The night before the interview, rehearse your stories with a friend, or in front of a mirror.  You might use the CAR acronym as a prompter for the elements of your story (C = Challenge, A= Actions, R = Results).  What was the challenge you faced?  What actions did you take?  What results did you achieve?  Remember to prepare the stories most germane to the job at hand.

---

Networking/Information Interviewing Tips

1. Be clear about the purpose of your meeting before you make contact.
2. Information interviewing means speaking with people to learn about a specific job, career field, employer or industry. The focus is on getting information.
3. Conducting an information interview about the occupation, position, company or industry can sometimes open doors to unpublished opportunities.
4. Networking means communicating what you are looking for and what you have to offer to everyone you know because you never know who they will know. The focus is on making connections, being visible and self-marketing.
5. Focus on establishing a relationship with your contact as well as the information you are seeking.
6. Be prepared to discuss 3-4 strengths along with relevant stories, which highlight your talents and emphasize what you want to communicate about yourself.
7. If you tend to be shy, focus first on people you know so as to gain some comfort before expanding your network.
8. Let your contacts know you would be willing to help them, too.
9. If you are changing careers and not sure what you want to do, say what you do know: describe the skills you want to use; your areas of interest or industries that you would like to explore.
10. Use email to elicit information from your network. For example, you might ask for potential contacts in your field; you might ask for information about companies you are interested in; or you might ask if your network knows anyone working at a company you are targeting.
11. Have an on-line presence. Create a professional profile on a social networking site, like Linked In, and use it to establish contacts related to your job search.
12. Two great questions to be sure to ask whether you are networking or conducting an information interview: 1. What suggestions do you have for me or resources can you recommend? 2. Who else would you recommend that I talk to?

---

Survival Tips — Be Prepared During Difficult Economic Times
(and any time)

1. Maintain an updated resume.
2. Maintain contact with your professional and personal network and stay informed and connected through your professional association or trade association
3. Stay abreast of new ideas, products and services related to your field.
4. Update your skills and knowledge regularly through education and training, which will instill confidence and build credibility.
5. This is a good time to re-assess skills and interests to prepare for a change when economic circumstances recover, which will enhance both your confidence and a sense of empowerment.
6. Meet regularly with your boss to determine how you can add value, develop new skills, or be involved with new projects.
7. Seek out a career counselor for a career “tune-up”. The career counselor will help you to take stock of your career and accomplishments thus far. Discuss strategies to maximize the contribution your current job can make to your career goals, identify potential changes and develop a plan to move forward.
8. Pay attention to your physical and mental health. Stay healthy through regular exercise and maintain close contact with your support system, including family, friends and colleagues.
9. Regularly evaluate your financial health, making adjustments to lifestyle and savings when appropriate.