8 things to craft your career

Gautam Ghosh keeps an eye on career prospects in India, but his advice on how to build a good career applies to everyone:

1. Develop an area of deep expertise
2. Get to know a lot of other areas related to yours better, while not developing major expertise for them.
3. Become the "go-to" person for your expertise. That means making sure organizational and industry leaders know your expertise and you build credibility for that expertise.

There's more....

[ Tags: resume, career, job, career+advice, job+hunting, gautam+ghosh ]

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

I can't stress enough how important it is to proofread your resume. Have a couple friends proofread it too. Just spellchecking isn't enough. And don't forget to check for semantic errors.

"I am able to wok well with computers." - Do you bring your own soy sauce?
"My father is a computer programmer, so I have 15 years of computer experience." - Is your dad available for an interview?
"I'm attacking my resume for you to review." - Don't be so hard on yourself.
"Planned and held up numerous meetings." - Take the minutes, stick to the agenda and no one gets hurt.

Find more mistakes like these at Resumania, a website that collects humorous examples Resume Gaffs. Don't let this happen to you.

New Federal Rules for Resumes?

I'm not sure what to make of these new rules for resume processing by employers. But it definitely looks like federal regulation gone crazy. If these rules are enforced it will mean big changes for that way you search for a job.

How to Do What You Love - Paul Graham

Looking for a new perspective on your search for a rewarding career? Then read Paul Graham's excellent essay: How to Do What You Love.

To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We've got it down to four words: "Do what you love." But it's not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated.

Alternate Job Experience Entry

Instead of just writing your job experience in paragraph or bulleted style, mix it up a little bit. Use a combination of the two that spells out your responsibilities in a paragraph and highlights your achievements in a bullet list. This will allow the reader to quickly scan your resume and identify the salient information quickly. Here is an example:

Communications Director at Health International, a multi-state regional hospital and medical facility. Developed marketing plans and maintained good community relations. Previously managed staff of 12 sales representatives in insurance sales, health products and services. As Director of Sales, monitored 10 sites and supervised team of 45.

• Strategic Communication – Created Direct Mail Campaign to continuously attract new accounts. Directed content upgrade for Website.
• Business Development – Grew subscription revenue from $1 million to $1.8 million and spearheaded development of Insurance Program Sales to direct focus toward expansion and customer retention.
• Event Planning – Served on community relations team. Represented company at health fairs and other regional events.

CollegeBoard's Four Must-Haves

The College Board recommends Four Key Elements that belong in the resume of every strong, but young, candidate. It's possible to get a good job just on the virtue of these items alone. That, while true, will get you a cup of coffee if you also have $2.90 already in your pocket. So don't forget the networking and relevant experience parts.

Four main themes you should always include in your resume, no matter where you're applying, are volunteerism, association memberships, computer proficiency, and knowledge of other languages.

1. Volunteerism

No matter where you're applying or what you plan to study in college, potential employers want to know you're a well-rounded member of society. Listing your participation in a program such as Habitat for Humanity or your weekly work at a local soup kitchen can definitely add some pizzazz to a resume short of work experience.

2. Association Memberships

It's also an added bonus for younger high school students to list any associations they've belonged to, such as:

* National Honor Society (NHS)
* National Art Honor Society (NAHS)
* DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America; association of marketing students)

Juniors and seniors probably have more experience in this area, but never underestimate participation in group roles. This includes any other club participation at school or in your community.

3. Computer Proficiency

Let's face it, technology is everywhere. Knowledge of computers will most likely be a requirement for just about any job. List any and all experience you have with computers, naming the actual program names you're familiar with (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, etc.)

4. Other Languages

The world is getting smaller and smaller, especially in the job market. Knowing a second or third language can put you at an advantage in qualifying for a job and will certainly separate you from other candidates

Of course, number 2 is important if you want to rely on networking for finding your next job.

You too could be a billionaire

Here's a look at the Resume of Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, as it appeared in 1996 before his days planning global domination at the world's largest search engine. Just nine years later he was worth $11 billion.

What's interesting about this resume, besides how unassuming it is for the future Emperor of search, is how he also hosted a HTML version with links to his companies and projects on the personal webspace his school provided.

Resume Hell

Andrew Kantor writes about his experience after placing a help wanted ad in the paper. You could learn a few lessons from this if you're in the job hunt right now.

Resume Hints from Headhunter

Harry Joiner at the highly rated Marketing Headhunter site posted the biggest reason for the aspiring job candidate to craft their resume for OCR scanning. A recruiter like Harry will go out of the way to manually enter the information on resumes that catch their eye, but most recruiters won't. If you want to get past that first level screen you'll need to make sure your information scans well.

The Impact of Resume Power Words

When writing use plenty of resume power words to convey that you're a pro-active applicant who can get things done. These are particularly effective when used in your cover letter, summary, and accomplishments/job description.

Think of yourself as a best-selling author. You want to pack your story with powerful descriptive words that will keep your reader intrigued. You're doing the same thing with your cover letter and resume but you're telling your own story instead of a fictional one.

If you haven't added in power words to your resume yet, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results. The resume even reads better when you read it out loud.

A quick google for 'resume "power words"' will give you longer lists, but here is a quick one to get you started.

Accomplished
Administered
Advised
Analyzed
Arranged
Assembled
Assisted
Audited
Built
Calculated
Charted
Clarified
Collected
Completed
Compounded
Conducted
Conserved
Consolidated
Constructed
Consulted
Controlled
Coordinated
Corresponded
Counseled
Created
Criticized
Delivered
Designed
Detected
Determined
Developed
Devised
Diagnosed
Directed
Discovered
Dispensed
Disproved
Distributed
Drew up
Edited
Eliminated
Evaluated
Examined
Expanded
Forecasted
Formulated
Founded
Identified
Implemented
Improved
Increased
Inspired
Installed
Instituted
Instructed
Interpreted
Interviewed
Invented
Lectured
Logged
Maintained
Managed
Motivated
Navigated
Negotiated
Obtained
Operated
Ordered
Organized
Oversaw
Performed
Planned
Prepared
Prescribed
Presented
Processed
Produced
Promoted
Proposed
Protected
Provided
Purchased
Realized
Received
Recommended
Recorded
Reduced
Referred
Rendered
Represented
Researched
Restored
Reviewed
Routed
Selected
Served
Sold
Solved
Studied
Supervised
Supplied
Tested
Trained
Translated
Wrote

Resume: Summary

So now you have your page formatted, your name and contact info added in with proper puncuation, and you've sketched out your job history including major accomplishments at each position. What comes next? Well, geographically on the page, the next thing is the Summary. However, you'll probably want to leave the 'Summary' section unfinished until you're done with the resume. It may near the top of your resume, but no one said you have to write it in order.

You place the ‘Summary’ section at the top of your resume above the Experience section and after your name and contact info. Some might think the Summary is what used to be called ‘Objective’ or 'Work Objective'. It goes in the same location, but the purpose of the Summary is different. Instead of stating a personal objective that might differ from the company's objective, and thus eliminating you from consideration, you broadly summarize your background and state how you're right for the position.

The Summary is very important. First, if the resume becomes separated from the coverletter the Summary serves as a mini-cover letter and frames the rest of the document based on the position you’re applying for. Second, the Summary is your chance to sell yourself once again, to make the reader want to continue. Yes, it's all about the sell. After all ther person reading your resume has never met you and most likely won't unless you can sell them on why you're right for the job.

To that end, you will want to customize the Summary with the skills/experience required for the position you’re applying for. For example, if applying to a large organization your summary would be something like this:

Summary: A public relations and communications expert. Able to research and write clear and persuasive copy for speeches, press releases, and marketing materials. Confident spokesperson for a large organization with many facets.

If you were applying to a small firm, you would change your summary:

Summary: A public relations and communications expert. Able to handle all preparation and delivery of speeches, press releases, appearances, and marketing materials. Confident spokesperson for any size organization.

It won't hurt to echo back some of the job description in your summary. Just might make you seem like the perfect fit.

[ttags: resume, tips, help, blog, resumeblog ]

Your Resume: Skills, smoke'm if you got'em

Skills is the section where you load your resume up with keyword triggers. If your resume ends up in a database, these keywords will be useful in making your resume show up in search results.

Some positions require that you possess certain skills before they even consider your resume. Unfortunately, very few companies want to train new hires these days. It's a fact of life. This means, the best thing you can do to make sure you get a better job than the one you're leaving, is to enroll in training classes on a regular basis. Career Enhancement -- but that's a topic for another book.

Udner Skills you will be listing all the skills you've acquired since you started earning a paycheck that you could possibly use in a professional capacity. Were you responsible for copier maintenance in a job you had 10 years ago? Put that down. The company you're applying to may want you to handle their copier maintenance contract.

Don't be afraid to get minute here. If you know three kinds of word processing software, list all three titles. Don't abbreviate either. Abbreviations won't show up in keyword searches.

Some new skills you may not think of adding but probably have if you found this blog; Internet Navigation, Search, and Retreival; Joined Internet in 1994, HTML, Blogging, Discussion Board Moderation, Email, Text Messaging, etc..

Group your skills by subheading if you are listing more than ten to twenty skills. You might try; Computers, Internet, Office Skills, and Languages for a place to start.

Indeed: a New Kind of Job Search

I've added a new website to the sidebar today.

Indeed is a search engine for jobs - with a radically different approach to job search. In one simple search, Indeed gives job seekers free access to millions of employment opportunities from hundreds of websites. Indeed.com includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages - and we continue to add new sites every day.

If you're in the job market, you owe it to yourself to check out the A VC Blog's post about his recent funding of Indeed.com. It helps to be as educated about the job market, and the job listing market, as possible in your job search.

Even if you don't plan on using Indeed in your job hunt, you need to see their Trend watching page. This provides a very real look at where the jobs are right now. Definately a data point you need to know if you're planning to move, graduating from college, or contrarian-like you want to get away from the hustle and bustle.

References: What to do about Uncle Bob?

Finally, we get to the last section of the resume: your references. Many guides advise you to add a line at the bottom of your resume that states, "References Available Upon Request." But today that line is usually left off the resume. It is assumed that you will have references. It is likely they'll be calling the HR Departments of your former employers and you'll want to provide personal contacts to round out that vision of your work history. If the recruiter wants to see them they will ask for them in the job listing or for your first interview.

A professional reference is anyone you have worked with or for, in a professional relationship. That could be client/vendor, boss/underling, associate from your department, or similar experience. The exception to this rule is if that person is also a relative, even through marraige. Sometimes you won't be able to avoid listing a relative as a professional reference, but if at all possible find another worker from company. If you have a professional reference that works at the company you're applying to this is the place to list them.

A personal reference is someone who will vouch that you're not some wacked out looney and that the timeline and story you tell in your cover letter and resume is true. This someone might be a teacher, close friend, business partner, family friend (oh I knew Johnny when he was still in diapers), relative you have worked for or with in the past, etc. In this case I would avoid spiritual advisors or psychiatrists.

This next step is important: contact each person before listing them and politely ask them if you may use them as a reference. While you're talking with them verify address and contact information. Try to take a few minutes and discuss your career goals with them so they are on the same page as you if they are called for follow up. You don't want them saying you want to be a doctor if you've changed your mind since you last talked with them and now want to be a human resources director.

So what do you do if there is overlap between your professional and personal references? If your professional life and your friends overlap, you may want to use the same name on both your reference lists. There are some situations where you are probably fine doing this. However, if it is possible to chose someone else from that company or office who isn't also a personal reference, then do so. It's much better to list a family friend on your reference list than a family member.

Now you're ready to format your reference list:

Prepare a separate sheet of the same paper your resume is printed on with your same name and contact info formated exactly as on the resume. A few lines below that put the word 'References.' Then list three or four professional references with names, addresses, phone numbers and emails. You may format these aligned left or centered. I prefer centered, but aligned left may scan better. You may tab it in a few times if you like.

Now do the same thing for three personal references, except you'll title the sheet 'Personal References', that are different names from your professional references.

If you have more than four references, consider listing the four you think will give you the best recommendation for the particular job you're applying for. This may change from job to job.

When you’re all done make sure you have someone proofread it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. A fresh pair of eyes is important. If you can't find a proofreader, set it down for at least three hours, go watch some mindnumbing movie or PBS show, then come back and look at it.