3FE: Lock The Job - Is Your Resume Courageous?

This is a very simple question and it is a direct progression of the theme we have been following with regard to resumes.  The question is straightforward.  Pull out your resume.  Look at it.  Is it courageous?

Is your resume courageous? Is the answer yes?  Is the answer no?  Do you even know whether it is or isn’t courageous? 

I need you to pay particular attention.

I’m asking you if the document you have created to represent yourself to the outside world, the sum total of your work experience, if this document boldly represents you in such a fashion as to elicit admiration.  When people look at your resume do they say, “DAMN! THAT IS HOT!”

Let’s clarify for a moment.  Courageous by definition means not deterred by danger, that specific quality that allows a person to face difficulty, to launch oneself into clear and present danger with grit and fierce determination.  Okay we’re talking about resumes so this may sound a bit excessive … but I assure you it is not.

When we talk about each and every one of you out there using 3FE: Find, Focus, establish the Fundamentals, Execute, the critical thinking tool for motivational empowerment, and the core of the Lock The Job process, we’re talking about courage.  

When we talk about the 3FE: Red Resume process, using upwards of 4 different fonts in your resume with at least one differentiating color (like red), and perhaps a professional image of you in the top right corner, we are talking about courage.  Make no mistake we are talking about courage.

This is courageous because I have encountered many of you and to a person without fail you each wear a look of concern, trepidatiousness, fear at the prospect of doing something different to the document that looks just like the document everyone else is submitting for the job you covet.  Is that the way to win?  

Differentiation is absolutely key.  Positive differentiation that is accretive to the job seeking career building process is key.  Positive differentiation that makes you stand out in such a way as to put you head and shoulders above the competition is key.  We are talking about shifting the paradigm with regard to standard practices in the job search.  It’s the 21^st century, don’t you think it’s time for a change?

With due consideration you must go down the path you feel most comfortable pursuing.  If your job search leaves something to be desired but you don’t want to take any chances, then keep on doing what you’re doing.  Better safe then sorry, right?  That is of course unless, sorry you still don’t have a job is the preferred outcome.  And I’m quite certain all of you prefer to Lock The Job.  With that understanding I urge you to hedge your bets, and join me in the paradigm shift. 

Do what is necessary to differentiate your brand.  Stand out.  Be courageous.  Take a second look at your resume and make some changes.  Take a second look at yourself and how you build your network, how you make your connections, how you interview, how you do all that you do with regard to your career, and make some changes.  Don’t settle.  Be courageous.

The Aspiring Critical Thinker,

D.S. Brown

3FE: Lock The Job – Unemployment is 7.7% … So Now What?

Thursday’s unemployment number was a bombshell. It was a bombshell not in the sense that it was an outrageously surprising shock.  It was not a bombshell in that it was a cause to jump out of your seat and sing Happy Days Are Here Again.  No, it was a bombshell in a sense that it unleashed a torrent of prognosticators, pundits, and so-called economic experts. 

There were no shortage of interpreters and job geniuses lambasting or extolling the numbers.  And lest we forget there was also the loud and vociferous fringe that squawks about how the government is cooking the numbers, leaving this out, shoving this in, and just plain outright lying about the figures … you know, because Obama is in charge.

When the numbers came I tweeted them.  I posted them on LinkedIn and on Facebook.   I didn’t waste time listening to the parsers.  Why?  Simple, the number has a very real bearing on the emotional state of our economy, and I knew it would make people feel good, and thereby perhaps push up the stock market.  Well, it did that!  Those savvy enough to capitalize in the moment made money.  

Let’s be clear, and on this I brook no dissent, I don’t care how educated your are or how many degrees you have on economics, the truth is jobs are all about innovation and demand.  That’s all it’s about, innovation and demand, and nothing else.  Everything else operates as subsets of these to macro indicators. 

All the statistics you can quote and all the numbers you may write on the white board mean nothing when it comes down to the brass tacks of economics, and that’s how people feel.  Do employers feel confident that demand has increased sufficiently to hire more people?  Do consumers feel confident enough to go out and spend money on stuff to increase that demand the employer is seeking?  Has the demand generated enough revenue that the employer feels good enough to invest in R&D and innovate something new that may generate new demand and thereby an entirely new revenue stream. 

Understand the underlying truth about our economy, as well as the stock market.  It’s all about how people feel.  It’s all about emotion.  With sincere and critical understanding let’s go back to the 7.7% unemployment number and what it means for us everyday working people. 

No matter what people may say to the contrary the number bodes well for the regular working American.  Some demand may be off, but demand in some areas is most certainly seasonal.  Step outside your front door and see what’s happening.  Depending on where you are housing prices may be stabilizing or even going up.  Supplies may be shifting supporting increased demand, and higher prices along with it.  The need for people to do things in your area just may be increasing. 

So … what does that mean for you, now what?

It means that you must be ready and wary.  I can tell you now for a fact that I am constantly in contact with people who are not only looking for a job, but are LOCKING THE JOB!  Let me make that very plain, especially for you doom and gloom people out there, THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB, DEMANDING TERMS AND ARE GETTING WHAT THEY WANT ON THEIR TERMS! 

Pause … go back and read that last sentence again. 

The job market is changing, and it is changing for the better.  Are you ready for it?  I will continue to push this message because deep down in my heart I want to see all of you succeed.  I want to see all of you gainfully employed.  I want you all to achieve Critical Success.  And what is Critical Success? 

Critical Success is the planned achievement of something urgent and essential utilizing careful planning and judgment for the express purpose of attaining personal prosperity.

In the 21^st century job environment there will be those who can make demands and lock the job again and again. No matter what happens their skills will serve them well.  In the IT field there is a shortage of skilled workers.  However, competition for some jobs will be stiff.  If you’re a .NET or JAVA developer you’re in the proverbial catbird seat and many of you know it.  However, if you’re a Project Manager you just might feel like a generic brand on the shelf.  I ask the question again, are you ready?

No matter your field of expertise, no matter what job you’re seeking, the 7.7% unemployment number is in line with what just might be happening all around you in your town.  Innovation is on the rise and demand is increasing.  This means the employers will need workers.  This means hiring will increase.  This means competition will increase.  This means you must be ready to compete well before you even walk through the door.

That 7.7% number is good news for you, and very timely, if you’re ready.  If you’re not ready, then you are behind.  Stick with us at this blog as we continue the journey of Locking The Job.  We will use 3FE: Find, Focus, establish the Fundamentals, Execute, The Tool For Motivational Empowerment in order to utilize critical thinking skills in our quest for the right job for the right person in the right time.  Together, we will capitalize on the job numbers, and the changing economic environment.  We will help each other.  And my sincere prayer through this dialogue is that we will all achieve Critical Success. 

7.7% my friends and fluctuating.  Be ready.

The Aspiring Critical Thinker,

D.S. Brown

3FE: Lock The Job – Why Your Resume Doesn’t Work

You resume will not get you the job.  In fact, it will just barely get you through the door.

Truthfully, your resume either just barely works, or doesn’t work at all.  You may think you have put together the ideal document.  You may think you have laid it out in a fashion that attracts attention.  You may think with your references, and your job experiences listed you have satisfied the requirements necessary in order to lock the job. 

You are wrong.

Please bear with me and allow me to explain.  Your resume is a black and white document on varying grades of paper.  You are using one font, maybe two, some bold and italics, and maybe some bullets.  You are using catchphrases and clichés to describe yourself.  You have actually been told to put industry watch-words in your resume, you know, so you can look like you know what you’re talking about.  You’ve listed multiple certifications, awards, and accolades, on top of where you went to school.  You’ve given your pedigree.  You’ve laid it all out.  You think you’ve encapsulated yourself quite nicely, with contact information so a prospective employer can know how to reach you.  You’ve got it all together.

You’re boring.

What you’ve actually done is the exact same thing 99.9% of your competition is doing.  That is the mind-numbing, eye tearing, soul-blasting truth.  You are boring.  You are mundane.  You are just like every other person putting a resume together, submitting it online, dropping it off at career-fairs, putting it in the hands of friends and acquaintances, hoping that it will get noticed.  Hoping that you will be selected, hoping that your resume will stand out.

The point of critical consideration is how to stand out in a positive fashion.  You hope you will stand out and be considered for the job.  However, your chances of doing this are drastically reduced when you look just like every other candidate on paper.  This is the fundamental truth, and this is why your resume does not work.

If you want to stand out, then stand out.  Differentiate yourself in a manner that highlights not only what you bring to the table, but the imagination and innovation you bring to the concept of the resume.  Yes, you can make your resume stand out in a positive manner by doing the things most resume experts and job recruiters will tell you NOT to do. 

Here’s the deal, you’ve tried it their way, now try it my way.  After all, it can’t hurt.  If anything go ahead and submit both resumes.  Yes, I’m being radical here, but 9 times out of ten then won’t even know you’ve submitted two resumes.  THEY SAY THEY WILL BUT THEY WON’T! 

What you want to do in order to Lock The Job is submit to what I call the 3FE: Red Resume treatment. The Red Resume treatment requires that you take a wholistic look at yourself, your skills, your story, and then redefine how you want to market your brand in your resume.  One of the first things I tell people to do is put some color in it.  Yes, that’s right, put some color in your resume.  Red for Red Resume treatment, highlight the hot skills, Red for what you do well, or Red for when the company was losing money just before you swooped in and played captain save ‘em, or Red for those watch words that everyone likes to see. 

Put some green on there for where you made a profit, gained some efficiency, or lowered cost.  Put some blue on there in the area where you tell the story of you.  Yes, that’s right, tell your story.  Add a paragraph in your resume and truly regale the prospective employer with the story of you, and why you are so very special. 

Put your picture on the resume!  This is the age of diversity and no matter how many people lament it history is clearly moving in the right direction.  You have nothing to fear from putting your picture on the resume.  Remember, if the place you’re considering doesn’t like Asians, or discriminates in age or weight, then is it really some place you want to work, even if you’re desperate?  Consider it.

Just make sure the picture you put on your resume is the very best professional picture you have.  Some of you definitely need to clean up before taking the shot.  Present your best self.  And don’t spend ten pages telling me about your last ten jobs. When confronted with a ten page resume the very first thing I will do is sigh.  Yes, I will sigh, and exhale deeply!  You don’t want your resume to be the one to make me sigh, or if you do it better be one hell of a damn resume. 

In truth, the most relevant information around your skillset will be comprised of the last two years.  You can make all the relevant information fit in under four pages, two to three years of employment history will suffice.  In truth it takes just about that long to gain a strong foothold and perhaps become expert in whatever it is you’re doing.  If the job you’re applying for is in the same field, then that is where I want you to concentrate your resume effort.  That’s what I’m interested in reading.  Some of your earlier jobs, I don’t need to see them.  Understand, I don’t need you to tell me about your entire job history from high school when you worked at the hot dog stand all the way up to now.  Don’t worry, I’ll do a background check on you anyway. 

These are but a few of the things you need to do in order to truly Lock The Job, be it for your next promotion, or your new position at that brand new hot IT organization.  The point is you need to truly think critically about the phrase positive differentiation, and your personal brand.  You begin to do this, and follow through, then you’ll get there.  You will Lock The Job.

The Aspiring Critical Thinker,

D.S. Brown

3FE: Lock The Job - Your Resume Is Boring

Last week we talked about how your resume will not get you the job. This week let’s talk briefly about why your resume is boring.  Yes, I called your resume boring.  If you would take a moment to pull out your resume and look at it, ask yourself the critical question.  Is it boring?  Does it stoke your flames?  Do you feel excited when you look at the pages you’ve put together to describe your career up to this point?  For the majority of you the answer is clear.  No.

Your resume is boring.

I’ve mentioned the need for differentiation.  In today’s highly competitive market I’ve mentioned the need for you to brand yourself appropriately.  Your resume is the initial introduction to who you are and what you bring to an employer.  You may have followed all the rules, included all the key words, set it up to pass the recruiter’s filters, done the same thing all the other potential candidates would do to make it over the initial hurdles, and considered for a possible interview.  However, that does not lock the job for you.

Let me be plain.  People who read resumes are people just like you.  They get bored.  They may have an urgent need but they become very frustrated with the interminable stack of papers that show name, address, skill set, professional experience, education and references.  The majority of resumes that managers receive all look the same.  I know this from personal experience.  Take my word for it.

Now, to be sure there are those managers who want to stick to the old tried and true and don’t like differentiation.  They don’t like effective self-branding.  They don’t want you to do anything to your piece of paper that would make it stand out.  They may even enjoy bringing you in on the strength of your eight page resume and put you through five rounds of interviews.  Let’s be clear, you don’t want to work for this person.  That’s a tragedy in the making.

Today’s competitive environment requires clarity, swiftness, effective communication, appropriate brevity, innovation, the creation of demand, and the maximization of the brand.  Not only does the description describe the successful company, but it describes the people who make that company successful.  If you would join them you would need to make sure that you exhibit these qualities.

We start with your resume.  We make sure it’s not boring.   You should strive for the appropriate use of color, font, size, and placement.  You should consider a picture on your resume.  The times are changing and the inclusion of a very professional image breaks your resume out of the mold, and definitely presents you as being bold. 

Besides, understand quite clearly that as you are vetted for a position the employer will scour LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and everything else in order to determine just what kind of person they might be considering.  Your face will not be a surprise by the time you arrive for the interview … if you’re chosen.

The most important thing I want you to consider in order to break up the monotony of the resume is tell a story.  That’s right.  Write a powerful communicative introductory paragraph about you.  Tell me why I should hire you.  Tell me about your experience.  Tell me where you have done the things that have made you successful and why.  Be brief, but exciting.  Be clear and compelling.  Be motivating.  Make me stoked at the possibility of bringing you in for an interview. 

This brief paragraph should be located in the top third of the first page of your resume.  Make sure all the other important elements are included in your resume.  Just the color alone breaks up the painful monotony.  However, by adding the other elements you have effectively branded yourself radically away from the crowd.  By doing this at first glance your resume will move from the trash pile to the second-glance pile. 

Now, a moment of honesty, some managers will frown on your differentiation.  However, I will say to you now as I have said to others, you can hedge your risk.  First, have no fear of submitting two different resumes.  Second, if you’ve been doing it the plain old boring way and have not met with success, why not try something different?  The point that you must consider critically is if you wish to be competitive and lock the job in an ever changing 21^st century job market, then you must be willing to be different, to stand out from the crowd, prove the case for choosing you, branding yourself appropriately.  It’s entirely up to you.  Consider it critically.     

The Aspiring Critical Thinker,
D.S. Brown