Category: Networking

5 Things Recruiters Look for in a Resume

6/23/2012

Yolanda M. Owens is an author chick who's fluent in humor and employer dating issues. Her book How to Score a Date with your Potential Employer parallels job searching with dating from the lens of a corporate recruiter.

5 Things Recruiters Look for in a Resume
By Yolanda M. Owens

Have Recruiters Seeing STARS!
You've heard people say that when they met that special someone, they saw fireworks. Well, when a potential employer reads your resume, they should see S.T.A.R.S. (Simple; Truthful; Assertive; Results-driven; Swagger).

A resume should be intriguing and informative, alluring yet accurate, should tell a story, but leave room for conversation and the reader wanting more. So how do you accomplish this without sounding cliche, self-absorbed, or like you're trying to hard? Follow the S.T.A.R.S. guide below and win the attention of recruiters who will be screening your resumes.

Simple = Skip the fancy formatting! Recruiters respect the fact that you're innovative and have a knack for clipart and textbox formatting. But at the end of the day, just keep it simple, sunshine! Be more graphic about the skills and deliverables you have to offer than showing off your flair for
clip art.

Truthful = Make your resume sound interesting but keep it accurate. In other words, save the embellishments for your outfits. Most companies conduct background checks on your resume information, so that little white lie could banish you to the unemployment line.

Assertive = Don't be afraid to toot your own horn! That's why they call the resume a brag sheet. It's an opportunity to show what you've accomplished. But keep it professional and relevant to the position(s) you're applying for. You don't need to list every accomplishment you've made since your third grade spelling B!

Results-Driven = Focus on your deliverables and quantify them. This will make you stand out among the competition. Anyone can say they make widgets. But if you say you made widgets 25% more efficiently while saving the company $10k in production costs, you'll get more attention.

Swagger = Having swagger means taking that extra step to tactfully get someone's attention and getting them to want to know more about you. This means showing you put some thought and effort into your resume before dispatching it. A well-crafted, thoughtful resume is the first step in demonstrating that you've got game.

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How to Get Out of an Employer Dating Slump

5/19/2012

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How to Get Out of an Employer Dating Slump
By Yolanda M. Owens

Dear How to Score a Date with Your Potential Employer,
I've been looking for a job for almost 6 months and haven't landed anything yet. I've posted almost 400 resumes to various job boards and still nothing. Help! --R.A., Washington, DC

First let me say that I admire your tenacity and congratulate you on sticking with it! It's easy to get discouraged when you don't get attention from employers right away. But don't take your employer "dating" hat out of the ring just yet! You see, finding a job is an investment; and with any investment, you need to diversify. You can't "date" an employer by simply posting your profile on job boards or blind contacting employers through social media. It takes more than 140 characters and some emoticons to start a relationship. So here are a few tips to amp up your job search:

Patience is a virtue. The reality is job seeking doesn’t happen overnight. Your ego and patience will have its fair share of blisters from pounding the pavement and you’re going to make a few trips around the employment search block before landing a position. Employers will take their time in getting back to you, making decisions on where they want the relationship to go…You may find yourself involved with an all talk, no action employer or employers you just don’t have
chemistry with. In the midst of it all, build your professional network and learn from your mistakes and successes throughout the process. The right opportunity will come along, and your patience will be virtuously rewarded.

Hang with people who are already in a relationship. Your single friends (aka those also swimming in the job market pool with you) are your competition. So find happier ponds to swim in by keeping in contact with friends who have jobs at companies you’d consider working for. They’re in a better position to provide you information on current openings, names of hiring managers, and can refer you for positions through employee referral programs. Visit sites like http://www.bettergrind.com that help you find a job where friends work.

Make yourself uncomfortable. Stop relying solely on job boards to look for positions. In order to find where the jobs are, you need to give a little face time. Get out and mingle. Go outside your comfort zone of people, places and things you typically do and take plenty of business cards with you. Contact individuals from your alumni association, be a plus-one at a company sponsored event, attend a professional networking happy hour...Unexpected things come from unexpected places so expect the unexpected and see what opportunities follow when you dare to stray from the path. You’ll have more possibilities when you let yourself go outside the box.

Have a "pre-date" through an informational interview. Instead of blindly contacting someone to ask them for a job, stroke their ego and build a rapport before asking them for an official "date". Send an email or message via LinkedIn (if you don't have a LinkedIn account I STRONGLY suggest you get one!) telling the individual that you're interested in their field, company, project, etc. and would love to schedule an informational interview to discuss their involvement. Never send your resume with your initial request. Give the individual an opportunity to respond first so your first impression isn't tainted by looking presumptuous or
opportunistic. If you feel the need to include some professional info about yourself, be subtle and add a link to your LinkedIn profile to your email signature. Once you've established a relationship, then you can talk about your interest in working for the company and how that individual can help you make it happen.

Mind your manners. No matter the outcome of any job search situation, always remember to follow up with a thank you. Common courtesy goes a long way. So while you may not have landed the opportunity you applied for, taking the time to say "thank you" at the end of any job search contact could keep you top-of-mind for the next opportunity that crosses that person's desk.

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Finding Summer Love in the Employment Market

5/12/2012

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Mix resumes with your SPF

Finding Summer Love in the Employment Market
by Yolanda M. Owens
Oh, the lure of summer! Back yard barbecues, beach parties, and outdoor happy hours are the perfect summer settings for finding love; especially if you’re in the market for a new employer. Whether the boy-next-door or the business down the street, summer is the season for everything relaxed. So take advantage of casual dress codes, summer hours, and company picnics to scope out new employer prospects.

So how do you mix summer fun and sun in your employment search? Here are a few tips to go along with your SPF 30…

Get Referred. That’s right, get someone to refer you. Employee referrals take top priority with recruiters when interviewing potential candidates. Couple that with slower markets during
the summer seasons and you have a winning combination. Many companies and employment agencies use the summer to promote their employee referral programs and can offer referrers upwards of $5K for candidates they refer that get interviewed or hired. So scroll through your rolodex and bring your resume along with your killer potato salad to the next cookout and see where the summer takes you.

Party with a Purpose. Summer is the perfect time for meeting and greeting. Use your charms to be a plus one at company picnics, professional organizations, class reunions and alumni networking events. Get your name out there and get a sense of the hiring climate while chilling by the pool. You never know what opportunities could be waiting poolside so be prepared to dive in when they do!

Be an Accidental Tourist. If your job search is open to relocation, consider planning your summer vacation in a place you may want to move to. Ask your friends for contacts they may have in the area or contact your alma mater’s alumni association or career center and get a list of area alums. Then contact them and set up meet and greets or mini reunions over
coffee/happy hour. You can also play the tourist card and sneak in an informational interview while taking in the sites with your contacts. Not only will you get the insider view of your potential new home/employer, you’ll stroke the contact’s ego by giving him/her the opportunity to show off what they love about their city.

Capture the Moment. Follow up can be a little awkward in ordinary networking scenarios. But summer makes it easier and much more creative with casual settings, sunsets and a little help from technology. Take a camera with you to networking events and capture some Kodak moments. Then forward the pictures with a “pleasure meeting you…” email. By sharing summer memories you’ll keep your name filed away in their mental rolodex for future opportunities and have your own memory book of people you want to stay connected with.

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Hooking up on LinkedIn

7/9/2011

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Why people just aren’t into your LinkedIn invites…

You’ve been there. You meet someone inspiring at a presentation; share a wink and a gun with a few movers and shakers at a networking event; exchange some laughs with an infectious social butterfly at the local bar…You’re enamored. You want to bask in the glow of their effortless charisma. So you give in to the urge to add this professional Phenom to your social networking circle of professional life on LinkedIn only to find out they’re just not that into you.

So what do you have to do to professionally “hook up” with someone on LinkedIn?

Don’t fret my wounded butterfly. Your social skills will flutter again on LinkedIn. Here are a few rules of thumb to help you emerge from the cocoon…

Stop sending John Doe requests. You know the John Doe request I’m talking about. The “I’d like to add you to my professional network” template. I get about five of these a day and they drive me absolutely bonkers. Why? I interact with hundreds of candidates on campuses, via phone and online and my mental rolodex can only hold so much at the end of the day. So when I receive one of these John Doe requests where I have no idea who you are or how we recently met, you lost me at the subject line. Luckily I’m nosy and have an inherent need to help people professionally. So I usually open the request to see if we have someone or something in common. However, if I’ve I come up empty after all those page clicks, not only am I ticked that you’ve added to my spam, but that’s precious time out of my day I’ll never get back.

So stop contributing to the spam epidemic and get time back on your side. Personalize requests to individuals you’ve recently met. Instead of using the LinkedIn template, take a few seconds to write “Hi Yolanda! I recently attended one of your workshops and would love to network with you on LinkedIn.”

Much. Better. When someone takes the time to personalize a message to me (even if I don’t know them from a can of paint) I’ll accept the request. But without a point of reference, there’s no point of us being LinkedIn.

Subtract from your Common Denominators. Six degrees of separation is certified gold in any hook up scenario. Do a little digging and see if you and the Phenom have any friends in common. Then ask those friends for a LinkedIn introduction request. Since the introduction is coming from a trusted source, you’ll elevate yourself from potential spam to friend of the inner circle.

Stroke that ego. Flattery will get you somewhere so go ahead and work it to your advantage when personalizing your requests. For example, “Hi Yolanda! I recently attended one of your workshops and was impressed with your knowledge about XYZ. I would love the opportunity to network with you on LinkedIn and learn more about where you get your information.” Now you’ve stroked my ego, probably made my day, and have a new LinkedIn hook up.

Flutter. Flutter.

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May 20th, 2011

5/20/2011

First Post!

1/23/2011

16 Comments

Fatten Your Professional Little Black Book Online and Off

In a time where everyone is living their lives out loud and unfiltered, it's hard to determine the professional comfort zone when networking. Whether tapping into your six degrees of separation or in cyberspace, you need to establish some professional boundaries. Recruiters and hiring managers realize times are tough, but that does not give job seekers a get out of jail free card for invading their personal space in the name of professional networking; you need to know your role.

So let this be your litmus test. The next time you decide to call, email or "friend" a random stranger on a social network, ask yourself, how would you feel if this person did the same thing to you? Blindly contacting someone you don't know who could possibly take you out of the unemployment line with a 30-second elevator pitch is the equivalent of drunk-dialing an ex minus the personal connection. Can you say stalkerish? And do you honestly think this makes a great first impression? Sure it demonstrates the size of your moxy, but doesn't bode well for you in the personal judgment department.

So what is the protocol for networking (online or off) with people you've never met in the job search process? I call it my social algorithm: six degrees of separation + a common denominator +3 contacts = trust. In other words, in order to effectively network with individuals you don't know (without being labeled a stalker) you need a connection to their social circle, share something personal in common, and have at least three contacts with them to win their trust. You can't expect someone who doesn't know you from a can of paint to miraculously recommend you for a job based on a blind friend request, phone call, meeting at the grocery store (fill in the social scenario blank). You have to build a rapport with them and earn their trust through the social algorithm.

So how do you get these types of vitals on said stranger who could hold your future employment in their hands? Channel your inner 007 and legitimately use your cyber stalking skills for your intelligence. Do a search for said stranger on LinkedIn to see who they're connected to and if you share individuals in your social circles. If you do, contact that connection and ask them for an introduction to said stranger so you can elevate your status from stranger to acquaintance. Now, don't assume that since the introduction has been made you have free access to immediately ask this individual to hook you up with an interview while you're in town the following week. You have to build a rapport. Dig deeper on LinkedIn, Google, or just ask your connection where this person went to school, whether they have kids, play the tuba...The angle here is to find out something personal you both have in common so there's a connection and a conversation piece other than the weather and the fact you need a job.

Now that you have this information in your arsenal, you need to employ the secret phrase "Flattery will get you somewhere". Use these common denominators to stroke the person's ego and get on their personal level. Set up an informational interview to find out more about what they do for a living, ask them to be your tour guide next time you visit their city, give them a list of great restaurants for the vacation spot they'll be heading to for the holidays. This is far more subtle than the blind contact elevator pitch and will get you more traction in the long run. You'll know the equation is complete once you've had three meaningful contacts with the person. By then you'll have established enough common ground to talk about your credentials and how your new acquaintance can help you build upon them.