I’ve been thinking a lot about the job search and networking during the holiday season.  Fourth of July is pretty easy, as it’s only one day (sometimes a long holiday), but in the United States, from Oct 30 through the beginning of January it’s a little more tricky.

Some people say to not do anything in a job search:

• no one is in the office as this is a time people have to use their vacation before they lose it,
• no one is making hiring decisions, partly because the boss isn’t around,
• people are going to office parties and other things for the fun of it, not for business networking,
• the budget is just about spent, and new expenses can’t get picked up until January (or whenever the fiscal year starts),
• January is really when people are making these decisions, right?

The list goes on.  What does this mean for you, in your job search… should you just put the brakes on, “enjoy” the holiday season, and wait until there is activity?  No sense in going fishing in an empty pond, right?

First of all, if you need a job (if you are an active job seeker), you aren’t going to enjoy the holiday season much if you have NO idea what 2009 will bring, especially wondering when you will get that steady paycheck again.

Second, it may be harder to get to the right person, be on their radar, and get their attention, but if many job seekers aren’t doing it during this month then maybe this is the month you can get the most relationship building done!

Third, hiring decisions ARE made this month.  They are made every day (even weekends, holidays, etc.).  Perhaps things do slow down but it doesn’t mean you should.

Fourth, if you find you are doing what you think you should and are getting no results, take the time to do something else (in your job search).  It might be going back and organizing all of the notes you have, and sifting through previous contacts to see if there is someone you should follow up with.  It might be restrategizing and figuring out another tactic.  Maybe it’s picking up a copy of Dave Perry’s Guerrilla Marketing For Job Hunters book, to get some fresh ideas.  Whatever you do, don’t slow down and lose momentum.

Mike Thomas at The Daily Machete a great great post suggesting what you could do, and when, in a holiday job search… check out the Holiday Season Job Search Calendar.

On Monday we talked about “resume presentation,” where I shared thoughts on how important the actual presnetation on paper is (amount of white space, use of bullets, etc.).  Today we talk about the actual substance.

I’ve met job seekers who want to be  ________ or an ________.  After talking with them for a little bit I realize they just don’t have what it would take to be what they want to be.  Since I’ve been in hiring positions I’ve always been observant to find someone who would be the right addition to my team.  I think it’s important that when you present yourself, even in information gatherings, you always think that the other person might be interested in bring you into their team.

Stay positive, don’t talk bad about other people or projects (even if you are just trying to be “honest”), don’t slouch, give good answers, be interested and interesting, etc.  More on this stuff later.

Let’s get back to the content.  Who are you, and do you have the qualifications to do the job I need done?

I’m always interested in someone who is “high speed, low drag.”  That is, someone who is low maintenance, and high performing.

I want someone who is creative.  I’ve never thought of myself as creative (although people tell me I am… I just compare myself with creative artists, which is not good because I’m not artistic).  If you come to my team, though, I need you to be creative.  Creative people should be lower maintenance than non-creatives (who will probably have to ask how to do things, instead of trying to figure it out on their own).

I also want someone who is curious.  How does this work?  Why do we do things that way?  What if we tried it another way?  Who, what, why, where, how… don’t get me wrong, I don’t want someone who is going to ask me this all the time, but I do want someone who is going to wonder this, and try and figure out the answers.  I once worked with an engineer who was the king of creativity. I would tell people “give him a bucket of sand and a blow torch and he’s build a silicon chip.”  Probably technically impossible, but the idea was that his curiosity ate him up until he figured out solutions.

I want someone to figure out solutions.

This is what I’m looking for in my ideal candidate.  How does this apply to your resume?  Your resume must:

1. (obviously) have all of the factual stuff that traditionally goes on a resume.  Schools graduated from, dates, employment history, job roles, duties, etc.
2. the message that you are the right person for me.

The first is what most people focus on, and what we all think resumes are.  If your resume reads like an “obituary” it’s not going to stand out… it’s going to be just like most of others.  You focused on the wrong thing.

Focus on “the message.”  Why are you the right person for me.  This is where networking comes in, as you could network into my team and ask them what my hot buttons are.  There shouldn’t be any grammar and spelling mistakes, as I’m a stickler for that on a resume.  And of course put in evidence of curiosity and creativity.  That’s just me, maybe the hiring manager you are applying to has different hotspots.

Find out what they are and incorporate those into your marketing material (I mean, your resume).

So this post on substance and resume content took a different twist than what I thought it would take… I originally planned on writing something like “here are the 15 content components of what goes in a resume.”  I didn’t write about that because there’s already a ton of information about that elsewhere… and really, I think it’s more important to talk about your resume as a messaging tool, a marketing tool, rather than just a list of acheivements or employment history facts.

Does your resume properly show your substance as the right person for my team?

The last few weeks I’ve spent hours painting.  I painted one wall a dark red, which complements a dark tan and a mustard yellow.  I didn’t think it would look good but they all look very nice together.

A fresh coat of paint has made a huge difference in the presentation of our house.

Have you ever seen that?  Compare the difference between an old worn-out barn with peeling paint to the barns famous in New England that are pristine…

Think about your resume.  I’ll admit I’m not a resume expert, but it seems to me you have two significant factors in the success of your resume:

The Presentation - this is how it looks.  From the font, to the paper, from the placement of things to how much white space is on your resume, the presentation is critical.  As a hiring manager I remember discarding resumes just because they looked off.  They were weird… I couldn’t imagine that someone who didn’t take enough time to at least get the easy part of their resume done right would take the time to do the job right, if I were to hire them.  They failed before they even had a chance to interview.

The Substance - I’ll talk more about this later in the week, but basically this is whether you have the credibility and credentials to do the job.  More later…

Back to the resume presentation… is this important?  Is it wrong for me, as a hiring manager, to discard a resume simply because the presentation is not what I’m expecting?  Whether it’s right or wrong for me to do that, I know it happens.  And if it happens, and you can avoid it, you should do what you can.  Here are some tips on resume presentation:

• White space. How much?  A lot.  If I pick up a resume that has so much text I know I’m going to need to spend more time on it, I might put it in a “check this out later” pile.  Understand that I wasn’t seeing HUNDREDS of resumes a day, and I’m guessing that HR and recruiters who see something with too much text will have a different tactic (garbage?).
• Font. Don’t put anything in font that’s too big, and please don’t get too small.  I’m in my 30s but my eyes aren’t so great, and staring at a monitor all day makes them tired.
• Folds. I think it’s hilarious to send a resume in an envelope… folded.  Please don’t fold your resume.  If you do, and I like it, I’ll likely have to make a photo copy so I can keep it with all the other resumes I like.
• Margins. You *can* change the margins in your document, right?  Cool … but *can* doesn’t mean *should* … be careful to not change something that will give me printer problems (like, making the margins too small!).
• Graphics and photos. Unless you are in design or need to exemplify your creativity, be cautious about using graphics.  I’ve found many people don’t know how to make their graphics small, so a document that could be 100kb becomes 2,000kb, and I don’t like getting 2mb files in my email!  Aside from file size, the graphics could be a distraction, off-brand, or cause funky formatting on my computer (so I don’t see it the way you see it).
• Proper use of bullets. What icons do you use for the bullets?  Are bullets properly indented, etc?  Bullets are cool to help format your resume, but if you do it wrong it will look like you used a typewriter or very old word processing system.  Yuck.
• File compatibility. When you mail me a document and I can’t open it, we have a problem.  If you use Word 2007, for example, make sure the document you send me is in the 1997 - 2003 format… make it easy for me to open it with one click!

For some examples in presentation, check out the resume samples page.  What do you think is important in the resume presentation?

I didn’t think I had money for a job search coach.  I didn’t think I had money to have my resume done professionally, and that I could create a resume just as good as a professional resume writer.  We all know where that got me :)  Anyway…

In a two day job search seminar I went to I learned about job search coaches, and the importance of having one.  This is not a mentor, or a friend, or an adviser who you could lean on every once in a while.  A job search coach is someone who you have a formal arrangement with, and serves a critical role in your job search.

Your job search coach doesn’t have to be a professional job search coach, although many coaches would caution you away from using someone who is just a friend.  I’ll comment on that in a bit.  Let me share three things that I think a job search coach must have.

1. Proper understanding of current job search principles. Let me illustrate this with an example.  If you asked me to be your job search coach 3 years ago, I would have had you spending a ton of time on job boards.  I had assumptions about how to conduct a successful job search, and they were all wrong.  I’m guessing that over 90% of professional job search coaches have current, proper job search principles (which help you create your strategy and tactics), and less than 20% of non-professionals will have the proper principles.
2. The ability to hold you accountable. Being accountable in your job search is critical.  I found, as a job seeker, people treated me with kid gloves, and pretty much leave me alone.  I don’t remember anyone asking me “how’s it going” and really wanting to hear more than “good.”  A job search coach stops that, and makes sure you are doing the right things, doing what you said you would do, and getting results or changing strategies or tactics.  Your job search coach MUST dig down to find out what’s working, what’s not, and keep your performance on track.
3. Tools. A professional job search coach will have tools.  They’ll know where to do company research, and have a bunch of resources to help you as you figure out this job search process (it’s more complex than I thought it was).  Any job search coach can find about 90% of the tools you’ll need in JibberJobber.com (which is my site).

Can you get this from a non-professional?  Many professional job search coaches I talk with don’t advocate this, but I think it’s an option… as long as you understand what the coach needs to have (the three points above).  I think the two hardest things to establish are the first points.

With regard to the principles, if you find someone who has been in a job search, and studied it out, and is using proper job search principles in their own job search, and has helped other new job seekers, I think they’d be just fine.  The fact that they are currently in the ditches with you is good, as they are super-current on techniques and tactics.  I would not look for a non-professional coach unless I know they have had recent/current experience in the job search.  Also, realize that the strategies for a guy making $50,000/year should be different than the strategies for a guy making $120,000/year.  There are many other factors that influence the strategies… so it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing.

With regard to accountability, you must establish this upfront.  Don’t assume a non-professional is going to jump right in and hold you accountable like she should.  Have a discussion about when you will meet, what you will discuss, what you will do and how they need to talk about follow-up action items with you.  Empower them to ask you hard questions.  Make sure they know they are not there to babysit you, that you are an adult, but you need to be held accountable.  And then, when you have sessions, be honest with your coach and with yourself.

Career Resumes does not provide job search coaching (they provide professional resume writing services as well as LinkedIn Profile makeover services).  I’ll blog about where to find job search coaches next week.

Peter recently asked his LinkedIn connections what they thought about the new Group Discussions feature.  I’m shocked (kind of) at the results.  By the way, if you are not happy with your LinkedIn Profile, check out the new Career Resumes feature of revamping LinkedIn Profiles.  Here are the results from Peter’s question:

Dave Maskin says:

Getting lots of gigs from both the Q&A and group discussions…
Businesses ffind me, call me, hire me. It’s as simple as that…

Jim Wahl says:

Group Discussions are nothing more than ads. I completely stopped looking at them.

Glenda Brown says:

I find it a waste of my time - nothing but advertisements and the majority of them have zero connection to the group’s focus.

Martin Thomas says:

it’s all ads or people looking for jobs

really boring

don’t go there any more

Ives De Busser says:

I must say that I am not that long on LinkedIn and I must agree with the comments so far. If you post the same question in the Q&A section or as a group discussion, you get a lot more feedback on the Q&A post. The group discussions are all about looking for people to hire or looking for a new job, and in that extend that I think they are lost for asking real questions that members of that group could possibly make a difference in.

Renato Beani says:

I am in about 15 groups. I thought it could bring me some new topics to think about or a new way to see something I really know. But it seems, like everybody said, people misuse them as a space to ask for a new job. OK, there are groups for that, but not all of them!

Josh Chernin says:

From what I’ve seen (I belong to about a dozen groups), they range from very useful to a complete waste; one of them is simply enjoyable and amusing.

Victoria Lowe says:

I ‘own’ two groups and have become a discussion Nazi. Spam messages get deleted immediately (well, as soon as I see them… I might have a life outside LI). I’ve found the discussions to be lively and very informative.

I left a number of high volume marketing groups, because it was all-spam-all-the-time, regardless of pleas to the groups’ owners to actually moderate.

Annemarie DeMarco says:

I wish I had the time for group discussions.

Melissa Sullivan says:

I have been utilizing the groups to foster industry discussion of topics. I was hoping to generate new marketing ideas or learn other successful marketing techniques being employed by others. In some instances I have generated lively discussions and have identified like-minded individuals. As others have also expressed there were a few individuals that used these lively group dialogues to ask for business and to hire their company to solve the business challenge proposed. To me, they completely missed the point of the interaction. I admire their gusto but wonder if there should perhaps be some “norms” established for group discussions so that they do not become “ads” or solicitations for personal business.

Firoze Zia Hussain says:

yes its a great place

Melissa Bianca de Teffe says:

Like all things some are good and some are not. It depends on who does what. I found some Q that were uninteresting and others were. I was of great help in providing further indepth answers to a young professional seeking info on EU legislation on immigration/muslims/christians. so you have the chance to link to neat people and although the percentage is low it still brings me happiness so is worth it. Never stop searching!

Grayson Walker says:

While some ‘discussions’ and ‘questions’ are just self-serving advertisements, the F1 (Formula One) group has some very interesting and lively discussions. I find the group more civil than some of the topical boards, such as run by SpeedTV. Nevertheless, they are what Steve Covey would call time wasters.

Gianluigi Cuccureddu says:

Unfortunately, group discussions are polluted with ads and alikes.
Amongst discussions there are interesting ones, but you have to search well.

Hope LinkedIn creates a marketplace or something like that to seperate both.

For the most part, I have to agree with the concensus… but I do think there’s a pretty good Discussions strategy to employ.  I’m going to blog about it on my LinkedIn blog later this week.

I had to do a double-take on the newsletter article from Peter Weddle, titled Your Resume Won’t Get You a Job.  Is that really true?  I thought the resume was super-critical in my job search.  In fact, when I got let go I took the entire week to get my resume ready.  That’s what I would use to apply to jobs oniine, present in interviews, mail to companies, etc.  It was critical in getting me my job, right?

Yeah, it is a critical tool for your job search.  It’s not the only tool, but it’s a critical tool.  In his article, Peter Weddle says:

Your resume is a ticket to nowhere for most employers.

I can’t agree with that.  That’s like saying “a business card is a ticket to nowhere for most professionals.”  I think both are tools, both have their places, and both are sometimes used wrong.   I do agree that:

• The resume is NOT a silver bullet.
• The resume can misrepresent who you are, and what you bring to the table (your value proposition).
• Most resumes STINK.

If resume stinks, or misrepresents you, and you think it is your silver bullet, then I can agree with Weddle.  It’s easy to get this resolved, though:

The resume is not a silver bullet. I thought it was, and combined with the other silver bullet (recruiters), my job search would be a cake walk.  If you think that, you need to do some reading to understand what a successful job search consists of.

The resume misrepresents you. This is a really hard one, and it was my biggest problem.  My resume had big titles (CEO, VP, general manager), and I was applying to different levels of jobs.  The hardest part of this is giving up your professional identity… do you have to paint yourself into a corner as a business analyst when you are really a project manager or programmer?  Does customizing your resume limit your professional capabilities, and the benefits you bring to the company?  Perhaps… but check your ego at the door, because if you put EVERYTHING on your resume, like I did, with no regard to postings you apply to, you’re resume may end up in the garbage.

The resume stinks. My resume didn’t stink… in fact, many people thought it looked outstanding!  A resume writer should learn about you and be able to provide some advice, and customize the resume for your goals.  But let’s go back to that stinky resume… About 8 out of 10 resumes I see that are done by the candidate need improvement.  A professional resume writer will help with formatting (easy, I know, but you wouldn’t believe the formatting I see), key words (stuff you’d never think of), and overall current resume best-practices.

Not spending a few hundred bucks to get my resume up to speed meant, for me, months of lost income.  Ouch.

Oh yeah, let’s wrap up the “your resume won’t get you a job” idea.  The purpose of the resume is to get you a … you know this, right? … an Interview!

photo from howsed.com

We’ve had problems with our bathroom sink for almost five years, since we moved into this house.  It always drained slow.  We tried liquid plumber, liquid plumber gel, some plumber powder stuff, and my infamous homemade tool to fish stuff out of the drain.

Any solution worked for a day or so, but the problem never went away.  I guess now’s the time to admit I have like no man-skills as far as DIY goes, and spend more time frustrated than fixing the actual problem.

Enter Bob.  Bob came over to measure for a project and on his way past the sink we asked him what we could do to get to the root of the problem.  “Oh,” he says, “just unscrew the pee trap and I bet your problem is there. If not, work your way up to the drain in the sink.”  I asked “I don’t have to have that plumber putty stuff?” “No.” he says.  “I unscrew it by hand?”  “Yes.” he says.

I just fixed it.  4.5 years of problems with our sink are now washed away (pun intended ;)).  It took… oh, 30 minutes to get it fixed and cleaned up.

30 minutes, guided by an expert, and my slow-drain sink problems go away.

If I would have gone to a resume expert, like Peter at Career Resumes, I would have avoided a long, dreary, depressing, job search.  I try to DIY (do it yourself) all the time, because I’m cheap.  But in my cheapness I lost tens of thousands of dollars in salary that I would have captured if I only had a job.

And I didn’t get my job because I didn’t get interviews.

And I didn’t get interviews because I my resume wasn’t right.  It was shiny, and looked good, but it kept me out of interviews.

A professionally could have looked at that and said “hm, why isn’t this shiny resume getting you interviews?”  And after some discovery, they would have helped me get into interviews, and then into a job.

Is it worth paying the money?  If I could do it all over again, I definitely would have paid the money.  If you aren’t getting interviews, there’s likely something wrong with your resume.  Contact Career Resumes to see what they can do for you.  It may be a simple, easy, quick, painless fix, but you might need a professional resume writer to help you get there… just like I needed a professional builder/handyman to help me fix my simple drain problem.

I was at a networking/job-search event one evening learning about my job search, and hoping to meet some sharp professionals I could network with.  Before we got to chat with one another, the facilitator shared some thoughts with us.

He talked about how we have a strong identity when we are employed, but when we become unemployed we lose our identity.  I knew exactly what he was talking about, as I went from “Hi I’m Jason, General Manager of XYZ Company” to “Hi, I’m Jason …. …. … I’m looking for a job.”  I didn’t have it down very well and always tried to think of another way to say “looking for a job.”

It was hard, uncomfortable, humiliating, etc.  You may know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, he went on to talk about resumes and business cards, and what the purpose is of each.  Have you ever been to a networking event, probably with people in transition, and had someone give you their resume?  What’s the message when someone gives you a resume?

Please help me, I’m a job seeker and I need your help to land again.

Fast forward a few months to when you are no longer in transition.  What will you give people when you are at networking events?  Probably a … business card! Why?  Because that’s what professionals do… they give out business cards.

No matter where you are, you should have business cards to hand out.  Just because you are in transition doesn’t mean you aren’t a professional, right?  And professionals have business cards, right?  Here are some tips on putting together a business card (some I’ve heard and kind of agree with):

• Get anything but a glossy finish. People complain they can’t make notes on your card if you have a glossy finish.  I don’t totally agree on this one, as I don’t make notes on the card… but it’s a valid thought.
• Leave the back empty. This gives people room to right all their notes.  I also don’t agree totally on this one, as my back is quite different.  And that leads me to the next point…
• Make your card UNIQUE. Can you think of something to do to make your card just a little different?  A friend of mine cut his in a different shape (unique).  Another friend put “My Card” where the title would have been (humorous).  The back of my card is PINK with the words “PINK SLIP” in huge letters (on-brand for what I do).  If you can think of something unique that will help them remember your card, or want to not throw it away, you are doing good!
• Make your business card lasting. If you put some elevator pitch about being a “professional (job title) in transition,” what happens when you land your next gig?  All of your cards will be useless.  Of course it’s cheap to buy cards, so maybe that’s okay, but if you want to have a multi-purpose card, don’t put that kind of information on it.
• Make sure you have a good email address. LongLegs@aol.com is not a good email address.  To be safe, go with your name (like JohnSmith@gmail.com).  I favor gmail.com as a professional address, but that’s for another post!

Do you have business cards yet?  I hope you get some, as you are a professional, and that’s what professionals pass around!  But you better have a sharp, current resume ready, for the times when people say “can you send me your resume?”  If you don’t have a current resume, let Career Resumes know.  They do free resume reviews and have a bunch of resume samples you can learn from.

Oh yeah, here’s the back of my business card

The back of my business card

Last week LinkedIn announced they are letting you put “applications” on your LinkedIn Profile.  Career Resumes offers LinkedIn Profile services, including writing that summary that might be too hard for you to write (most LinkedIn summaries I read are just not compelling, and seem half-done or not on-brand).  If you are getting your resume done by a Career Resumes professional resume writer, ask about the LinkedIn Profile services they offer.

How is your Profile, anyway?  Assuming you know what you are doing with LinkedIn, or have a LinkedIn strategy, your Profile should be solid, compelling, and make me want to learn more about you, and encourage me to reach out to you to start a relationship.  When I speak or consult there are four main things I tell people to do with their summary:

1. Put your picture. People want to do business with people they can know and trust, and putting a picture makes you that much more personable to me.
2. Change to a vanity URL. The default URL for your LinkedIn Profile will be something like linkedin.com/pub/0/1234 or something like that.  Putting that in your email signature doesn’t do much… but something like http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonalba communicates exactly where they are headed (to my Profile page).
3. Get your websites, and customize what the label is. You should have a website… like a blog, or where you work, or something like that.  Instead of choosing “My Website” or “My Blog” or “My Portfolio” you should choose “Other” at the bottom of the drop down and then write something more compelling, like “see my professional portfolio” or “Experienced CFO” or something with a hook or description.
4. Write a complete summary. You get 2,000 characters and should use most or all of them.  Tell stories, and don’t be too corporate.  This is your opportunity to connect with me in your own words.  Watch out for spelling and grammar errors.  Have others give you feedback on your summary.  Make sure what you write is on-brand for what you want others to know about you.  Write about where you are headed as much as what you have done (it’s not the place to list all of your amazing accomplishments, rather, it’s a place to sell yourself).

Aside from these four things, I’m still thinking about LinkedIn Applications.  On the one hand, I think they are cool, and have added the Slideshare and Blog applications to my Profile, because I have blogs, and I have three slideshows on Slideshare.net. But I can see this is something that could clutter Profiles and show a lot of off-brand material.  I’ll think about it some more and write something later this week on my LinkedIn blog.

For now, revisit your LinkedIn Profile strategy.  And if you want help, contact Career Resumes, who helps with LinkedIn Profiles.  You can also check out my book, I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??? here.

Have you ever wanted to know what excellent resumes look like?  Resume Samples and Resume Templates are two of the hottest searched phrases on the internet because everyone wants to start with an excellent resume template, and just fill in their own information.

Career Resumes has 21 resume samples, which are kind of like resume templates already filled in.  They also have 4 cover letter samples (which, of course could be cover letter templates).  Here are the sample resumes:

• Resume sample 1
• Resume sample 2
• Resume sample 3
• Resume sample 4
• Resume sample 5
• Resume sample 6
• Resume sample 7
• Resume sample 8
• Resume sample 9
• Resume sample 10
• Resume sample 11
• Resume sample 12
• Resume sample 13
• Resume sample 14
• Resume sample 15
• Resume sample 16
• Resume sample 17
• Resume sample 18
• Resume sample 19
• Resume sample 20
• Resume sample  21

Here are the four sample cover letters:

• Sample Cover Letter 1
• Sample Cover Letter 2
• Sample Cover Letter 3
• Sample Cover Letter 4

If you are anything like me, you’ll spend a few hours pouring over this stuff, trying to do your own, and then finally just call the resume experts.  But hey, it’s a good few hours!