Top 5 Secrets to Keeping 2010 Career Resolutions

As the ball drops in Times Square to bid farewell to 2009 and usher in 2010, many people turn to the well-intentioned and time-honored tradition of making New Year’s resolutions which, as we all know, are usually broken before they even get off the ground.

So instead of silently vowing that 2010 is the year that you ditch that overbearing boss and go find a new job, you should instead make career resolutions that will actually stick.

The top five secrets you need to know about keeping your 2010 career resolutions will help you stay on track, be focused and get the results you want.

1. Think long-term. Don’t do a knee-jerk reaction of “I hate my boss- I’m going to take the first offer I get and get out of this place!” – this is just a short-term solution to an annoying problem. You are actually sabotaging your career in the long-term by making an un-meditated leap to the next thing that rolls along, regardless as to whether this new opportunity is actually going to help your overall direction. Take the time to think about what it is that you really want to do, and build a plan around it. If you aren’t sure what it is that you want to do in your next job, try hiring a professional career coach to explore the types of work that has meaning and/or is more interesting to you. Or, you can also explore your skill strengths and vocational interests with books like, “What Color is My Parachute” by Richard M. Bolles or take a Vocation Vacation where you ‘test-drive’ your dream job before committing time and resources to switching careers. The key point: Do your research before you jump ship. You’ll be glad you did!

2. Break your 2010 career management goals down into steps.
What do you want to accomplish this year? Do you want a new job? Do you want a new title? Do you hope to earn more money? Be specific in your career goals, and then sketch out the steps necessary to get there. By actually taking the time to write out what your goals are, you are starting the process of developing a road map. This will engineer a clear path and by having clear, actionable steps along the way, you are providing yourself with benchmarks towards achieving those objectives. Make sure to maintain an active component to your career progression by incorporating professional education/development opportunities into your plan, which will help hone your job knowledge, and join industry-related membership organizations to enhance your credentials. Volunteering also raises your profile as a leader who has the capacity to give back.

3. Keep track of your accomplishments.
How many times have you sat down to update your résumé and realized a little too much time has gone by since you last worked on it? Trying to remember what you actually did at each employer can be a daunting task if you have to dust off performance reviews and thumb through aging documents. Keeping your accomplishments up to date on your résumé reminds you of your value to your current or prospective employers. Another thing you can use this for is when you are feeling a little down in the dumps about your career, you can review your accomplishments. This is a sure-fire way to give yourself a much-needed boost – “I did this!” and that can be just the thing you need to get rolling again.

4. Plan to expand your contact base.
By creating a plan to build your network through active engagement in industry-specific events or general business gatherings, you never know who you are adding to your repertoire of professional contacts. While the results might not be immediately fruitful, keep in mind that building trust and becoming a known quantity takes time. If you cultivate your contacts carefully, you’ll open yourself up to more job opportunities by referral. Remember, most jobs are found through someone you know!

5. Keep a diary of your progress.
By documenting your job search and career management efforts, you’ll see a cumulative effect of your forward motion. Maintain a list of who you’ve met with, what jobs you’ve applied for, articles that you’ve read that pertain to your industry, and what additional educational opportunities you’ve been to… all of these add up to a career resolution that propels you towards your career goals, rather than treading water with no clear direction towards shore.

By taking these tips and putting them into motion, you’ll have a more fulfilling 2010.

Happy New Year!

How to be a Job Search Santa

Ho ho ho!  The holidays are upon us, and Christmas is just around the corner. 

But unfortunately, many people aren't feeling so jolly this holiday time simply because they still haven't found work, which can be incredibly depressing during this time of gift giving.   

If you find yourself in this situation, here's a few tips that will help you keep your head up and still enjoy the celebration. You can be a Job Search Santa, believe it or not, and here's how you can still enjoy the spirit of the season... which is giving:

1)  Find a volunteer opportunity and give of your time. Not only are you helping a noble cause, but you are also making connections and learning new skills that can be helpful at a later time.  And you never know when good karma can circle back to you as a result of giving your time and energy!

2) Realize that we all live in abundance, and give back.  You might not be able to give a physical gift to someone, but stepping outside your circumstances and helping another person engaged in a job search by offering your contacts and advice, that can also help lift another person's spirits as well.  Open up your Rolodex and your calendar, and you'll be amazed at how helping others helps you as well.

3) Mentor someone. "Brother, can you lend me a hand?" No matter how bad your circumstances are, there's always someone else who has it worse or just needs that one person who will help elevate them to the next level... and you could hold this key.  Mentoring someone can help bring out the best in you and help lift someone else up. You might not have a job to offer that person, but helping them achieve their dreams can help you realize your own! By working with each other during a job search and supporting one another, everyone gets a boost.

4) Thank those that have helped you.  Remember to drop a note or even pick up the phone to thank people who have helped your job search, no matter the results.  By taking a moment and making this gesture, you are giving a valuable gift back: gratitude.  In our fast-paced society, appreciation and gratitude are not expressed often enough, which oftentimes leads to the impression that many people have a sense of entitlement.  Instead, give a gift of thanks to those who helped you, and that will touch their very heart.

The spirit of Christmas is about giving, whether it be big or small, it's the effect that matters.

How can you help someone else by giving?

Merry Christmas!

Interview with a German Personnel Director: Tips on International CVs

Author’s note:

This week’s blog was delayed a bit; I had a good friend visiting from Germany and of course, this meant taking her around to experience some of the many incredible sights here in Oregon during her short time here!

As it turns out, she is a personnel director for large company in Germany, so I took the opportunity to interview her in-depth about the job application process in Germany. Specifically, I wanted to share information to American audiences about what U.S. applicants should know when applying for jobs in European Union countries.

Here’s my interview with Sabine List, Personnel Director for Berker GmbH & Co KG, in Lüdensheid, Germany:
________________________________________________
Question: What are some important things that Americans should know about the application process in European countries?
Answer: Obviously, be aware of the language requirements of the job. If the company has an international Web site that is in English, you can apply in English through that portal, but be aware of specific job requirements that include language ability. You may be asked for a CV (curriculum vitae – European-style resume which is different than U.S. documents) and application letter in that country’s language later as part of the application process. Also, it is important that in the first part of the interview, candidates are able to clearly summarize their CV background within five minutes, providing a concise career overview mentioning your career highlights with specific examples. Be prepared to discuss why these are important to your career. Finally, you should be aware that you also need to talk about how you have enriched your work environment and taken actions to grow your responsibilities in order to show a fit with the potential employer’s needs and interests.

Question: What are the top 5 things an applicant looking for work in Europe should never do?
Answer: Don’t assume that you can submit any document in English unless the position announcement says that English CVs are welcome. Stay with the local language first, otherwise. Also, never lie on the CV document. In the U.S., many people try to work around non-completion of educational diplomas by simply including the school name, leaving it open to assumption by the employer that the degree was completed.

Not so in Europe. Here, it is standard practice to include copies of your transcripts and diplomas in the application process to verify your educational background, in addition to listing it on your CV. Additionally, you need a letter from EACH of your employers, which is included in your application, and specifically states your dates of employment, your title, tasks involved, and an evaluation of your job performance while at that company. Be careful, of course, of bad grammar and any mistakes in your CV, and be careful of gaps of employment too… you can explain this in your work history.

[Author's note: read here about how some British job applicants who lied on the CVs are having to pay large sums back to the employer that hired them based on the false information: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/12/21/53497/nhs-hr-manager-who-lied-on-cv-ordered-to-pay-9600-in.html ]

Question: What would your company specifically look for in American CVs?
Answer: The applicant clearly must have the knowledge and degrees to what we are looking for, and also have held similar tasks and responsibilities in their former positions. We also look for personal skills and how that person might adapt to the European culture, as well as a demonstration of proper business etiquette/cultural customs. Obviously, where needed, appropriate language skills are also required.

Question: What are the top 5 things you LIKE to see in an application?
Answer: Provide me exactly what I am asking for in the position announcement. Send complete documents. It is also customary in Europe to include a professional photo along with the introductory letter, CV and support documents.

I appreciate seeing good structure in the introduction letter as well as the CV, and want to see strong career progression without gaps. Just like in the U.S., it is a tight job market, and creativity sometimes is what it takes to stand out from other applicants – we as personnel directors read hundreds of applications for each position. One time, I had someone send me some hay, and attached to it was their CV with a needle taped to the paper. A note said that “Finding the right job applicant is like finding a needle in a haystack…” – I enjoyed that application very much and it definitely got my attention!
_______________________________________________________
Sabine’s answers were very interesting, and enlightening. If anything, if you are based in the U.S. and are considering pursuing work overseas, it is very important to take the time to research and understand the unique application processes for each country. There are variations (the British CV is more like the American résumé), and you need to make sure that all the pieces fit together in the way that match the expectations and requirements of the position within that organization.

What You Need To Know About Graphics and Photos in Résumés

What is a fast and easy way to get your résumé tossed into the round file? Including any kind of graphic elements in this document, for starters.

As a general rule of thumb, any kind of graphic, color or photos are not acceptable in résumés, with the obvious exception for candidates applying in creative fields, where that kind of innovation can be part of the applicant review process.

Why?

In the case of photos, human resource and hiring managers are legally bound to not discriminate against job candidates, and by providing a visual representation of yourself prior to an interview, you might provide extraneous data that can influence the employer’s decision before you even meet them. Discrimination, albeit very difficult to prove, is pretty rampant on many different levels out in the job marketplace and can include ageism and racism, even including boiling down to looks.

Now wait a minute, some people might say. If I think of myself pretty good looking, wouldn’t that help me in getting the job?

Let’s put it this way: In theory, you aren’t being hired for your looks; you are being hired for your ability to do the job. Therein lies the danger zone for employers if they make a decision based on a visual preference. If someone else can prove that the company hired a lesser qualified candidate and can show a bias towards that person’s looks, there could be some legal liability on the part of the employer.

For this very reason, many employers simply skirt around any résumés that come in with photos (with the exception of the entertainment industry which does use headshots as part of the decision process). They simply don’t want the liability that a photo might add to the recruiting process.

However, there’s a new little wrinkle to this wisdom: LinkedIn and other social networking sites are offering up visual representations of job seekers, which can have an intended/unintended consequence. As social media has flourished, it is more acceptable to have a photo posted… and you should never misrepresent yourself to be something else you are not. Eventually, if you get to an interview, any disparities will be glaring if there are any!

If you do decide to post an image, make sure it is an accurate and professional reflection of yourself. Smile, be engaged with the camera, and exude confidence. You should know that while some employers are proactively trolling these sites for talent acquisition, the standard methodology to apply for jobs is still through electronic or snail means. This is your primary and formal way of introducing yourself to the employer, sans photographs. What the employer does after that introduction to research you on the Internet is going to be up to you to manage effectively.

Now consider the graphic element part of the résumé. You definitely want to think about the end user and how your document might read to them. You can include visual cues on your resume such as shaded lines to break out separate sections in your résumé, but adding any kind of pictures, images or drawings are considered a faux pas – those simply don’t belong in the document.

Some might argue that for this very reason, adding something into the document that is unexpected might draw attention to it that otherwise might not have happened. True, but remember, the purpose of the résumé is to provide, in a formal fashion, your career credentials, and there’s a certain amount of expectation from the employer side to have an easily readable format that allows the reader to quickly get into the ‘meat’ of the document. They’d prefer to not be otherwise distracted from unnecessary visual elements.

Finally, adding color is generally frowned upon, if simply for the reason that you don’t know if the end user has a color printer or not. Here’s the scenario: a hiring manager is in a hurry to get all the candidate résumés printed, and clicks ‘print’ without really reading the document. What comes out of the printer (which is black and white) is a fairly incomplete page because the printed sections that should be in color aren’t read by the printer. End game: the employer sits down in the review session and can’t really make heads nor tails of the résumé because it didn’t print out completely. Not good.

Keep these pointers in mind, and you'll have a good idea of how to develop an easy-to-read document that doesn't distract!

Tricks to List Interim Jobs on Your Resume

Right now, with the way the job market is today, many job seekers are taking any kind of work that comes their way, and sometimes that means short-term contract or consulting work.

So how do you parlay that onto your resume... without coming across as a job hopper?

The best way to show that you are full of hustle and not letting the moss grow means that you need to think strategically about how you list these shorter-term stints on your resume. 

You can either create your own company if your sales volume is big enough (recommended), or you can continue doing business in your own name.  The key is that instead of listing each contract, you can consolidate your contract work as follows:

Your company - City, ST
Title, YEAR -YEAR

-or-

Independent Management Consultant (or Contract NAME OF TITLE) - City, ST

Then list under either of these employment stints either a list of clients/projects or generalize indicating "small to mid-size _____ firms" or "Fortune 500 companies".    Then get into the function and results of what you did in serving those companies. 

It's easy to feel like short-term employment isn't going to get you where you want to be, when in fact, it can help pave the way.  It's how you shape it on your resume that can make the difference!