Impress Me

I’ve been seeing a lot of crappy resumes lately, many coming from so-called “professionals.” At first I thought these were anomalies. But I have seen so many lately that I can’t possibly keep quiet. So instead of being the passive aggressive, quietly seething, HR Pro, I am going to provide job seekers with some resume advice…warning rant ahead!

1. Use a cover letter to inject some personality into your resume. Explain why you are a fit for the job, why you want to work there, it doesn’t have to be an 800 word missive but it is a nice way to get a feel for your experience and personality. Without one I may still call you but a nicely worded letter gives you a bit of a leg up.

2. Tailor your cover letter to the job and the company. If your cover letter says you are interested in joining Macy’s but the position you applied for is at Dillard’s, your candidacy is already sunk. I feel so strongly about this that I would say if you don’t have time to write a tailored cover letter, just skip it.

3. Spend some time on your resume - I’m not kidding here. Seriously, get to know your resume. Have multiple people review it. You do not want a single mistake on your resume. Are your bullet points lined up? Are you using the same font throughout? I realize this may sound nitpicky but your resume is my first impression of your work. If it’s sloppy and riddled with mistakes I assume that is the kind of employee you will be.

4. Have a LinkedIn profile…please, please, have a LinkedIn profile. I’m begging you…do I have to repeat that? When I search for a candidate and don’t see a LinkedIn profile I think two thoughts: a.) They aren’t really serious about finding a job or b.) They are a Luddite who doesn’t think LinkedIn is necessary. You may or may not find a job through LinkedIn but it is one more place to get your name out there and in a pool of searchable professionals. Also, you can add relevant information to your LinkedIn profile that is not on your resume.

5. If you are looking to move into a different field, you have a tough (but not impossible) job which means you need to work even harder. You need to utilize all means available to demonstrate that you can be good at your new field. This includes things like a customized cover letter explaining why you are looking to move out of your current field. It also means you should probably have some on-the-side experience (volunteering, blogging, etc. in the field you want to move into. Make sure to place this info in your resume and cover letter.

Finally, please impress me. I realize that your resume is not a fair or accurate display of who you are. It is a flat piece of paper that can in no way demonstrate the value you contribute to your current or previous employers. Unfortunately though, until someone comes up with a better method I have to work off your resume. This flat piece of paper is your foot in the door.

So that is why I say “Impress Me!” I don’t want to see another bland resume extolling your virtues of coming to work on time and getting your filing done. That doesn’t make you stand out. I already assume you can get to work on time and do your assigned duties. Instead, tell me about how you revolutionized the filing process at your work. How you got a 2 year backlog caught up, and do it with a resume that doesn’t have grammar, usage or formatting errors. You are asking me to take a risk and hire you, please do me the favor of putting your best work in front of me.

Looking for some good resume and job search advice? Not sure where to turn? Check out my Resources page. Just after recommended HR blogs I have links to some great career websites. Know of one that I don’t have listed? Let me know.

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in Recuriting 5 Comments

It’s all about connecting #MNSHRM Part 2

Earlier I discussed the first key theme that emerged from this conference: accountability. Today I’m talking about the second theme to emerge: networking. Now before you say “same old, same old” I am not talking about the traditional method of networking, i.e. attend event, exchange business card (that method is still a great one), what I witnessed wasexposure to networking on a different level for many professionals: online through Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

To kick off introducing HR to a new version of networking, Paul Debettignes introduced searching on LinkedIn and other forms of social media. He did a quick overview of many sites but spent some time in-depth on LinkedIn. I am by no means a LinkedIn pro so it was great to see how Paul utilizes the site.

Even more important than the LinkedIn walk through (IMHO), he also spent time explaining how and why to get started in social media. It is really as simple as starting with one site (that’s what I did with Twitter), if you don’t like that try something different.

Next up Monday’s key note speakers Talent Anarchy talked about social gravity. This was probably one of my favorites from the entire conference…Jason and Joe talked about the importance of building social capital. You see, when you have social capital, a company isn’t just hiring you they are hiring your posse.

Your posse doesn’t just appear one day…instead it’s something you have to work at. This means connecting with all kinds of people, not just the kind of people you think you need to connect with (i.e. ignoring a vendor phone call but picking up the phone whenever an HR contact reaches out.). Connect with everyone regardless what you “need” right now. This is key to any kind of networking but many people overlook this because of the time involved in networking.

Finally, I enjoyed the opportunity to connect IRL with many of the cool people whose blogs I read and follow on Twitter or Facebook. I’ve been building my network via social media for a long time (over a year) but it was much more powerful to build that in person. I really felt like I was taking it to the next level. Besides meeting Twitter friends I made some new connections with the awesome HR people in Minnesota and across the country.

A friend once told me that a good HR conference should be like a revival: you learn and you are revitalized. I’ve never been to a revival (I’m Catholic we are too serious for that) but this was an experience close to a revival. I learned a lot, challenged my thinking and came out of it re-energized and ready to take on the world again. Thanks #MNSHRM!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in networking 7 Comments

Dirty South Mashup Part 1

I’ve been blogging now for a little under a year and one of the first people to reach out to me was Chris Fields from CostofWork.com. We’ve talked HR, north vs. south (O-H-I-O) and for the most part we tend to agree but recently we found an issue to disagree with. So after throwing down on the hot topic of Social Media background checks we decided blogging was better then another Civil War. And thus was born The Dirty South HR Mashup. Check out Chris’s opinion here then click on over to Cost of Work for my opinion.

It’s Blows But You’ve Gotta Do It!

Welp, it seems that some employers are asking for your Facebook user id and passwords while making a hiring decision. Many people are pissed off about it, HR people too. We really don’t want to do it but we’ve been burned.

I happen to have mixed feelings on the subject. Go figure a subjective answer from HR. SHOCKER! But yeah, I‘m torn, let me explain.

On the one hand, I don’t think anyone should have you user and id and password to anything. That includes Facebook and Twitter. It’s too intrusive. Save me the analogy on how it’s comparable to asking for a key to your house, come on seriously? It’s only Facebook folks. However, I do think that HR has to include social networks as part of the background check. Just like we use personal and professional references to help determine character, we need to look at your social identity.

In my region (Memphis and the Mid-South) we deal with messy unprofessional people all too often. Sorry it’s true. Gold teeth, (yes they still do that) face tattoos, saggy pants, too much jewelry, club clothes and country grammar.

When we make a hiring selection, we’re making a costly decision that often times becomes risky. When I say that we should look at the social identity, I’m not looking for your age, sex, race, family situation, disability. I’m looking for your behavior.

Let me give you 2 quick true examples that support my opinion.

#1. During an interview, the candidate claims to be the best of the best, top performer, highly professional, confident and able. She says she has no weakness. When asked if she uses Facebook, she then stutters; stammers, and reluctantly say “yes.” Using her name we did a little Facebook search (we did not ask for login information), her avatar was a picture of herself with a gun in one hand and the other hand flipping the bird.

Harmless you say, means nothing…maybe and maybe not, until she comes to work and brandishes her gun and shows a pertinacity to violence, aggression and disrespectful behavior, then what?

#2^nd example. All male boarding school for trouble teens between the ages of 12-18, hires a young attractive lady named Cinnamon as their guidance counselor; within a year she’s accused of having an affair with a 17 year old student. The local news discovered that on her Facebook and MySpace pages she had topless photos posted. Embarrassment and civil laws could have been averted.

Remember this; HR does not want to add more work to its already full plate. When new rules or processes are created it’s because there have been so many COSTLY examples of failure that we now have to pay attention. People are so messy and bold. They use social media to share their dirty habits. And dirty habits at home have a way of filtering into your work life, and that’s why HR must be proactive instead of reactive.

Check out my rebuttal post: Your Facebook page is not my business over at CostofWork.com

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in Social Media 4 Comments

Weekly reMix 2/3/2012

Stories this week cover the on the new, new war for talent in silicon valley, introverts and the lack of women on Facebook’s board.

Apple fuels silicon valley hiring amid bubble 2.0 concerns - In an interesting shift, more and more MBA’s are heading to silicon valley. Previously these graduates flocked to investment banking and financial services but are now giving silicon valley a second look. Apparently the double digit growth is a big factor in their decisions. The rapid growth and “war for talent” mentality isn’t fooling some people though:

“After some real dark days, there’s a lot of excitement and innovation happening again, but as a guy who has been through Bubble 1.0, I can’t help but see a lot of similarities,” said Stuart MacDonald, chief marketing and revenue officer at Freshbooks.com, a maker of online business software in Toronto. “I can’t help but think I’ve seen this movie before.”

Let’s hope this movie doesn’t end with Ben Bernake telling us Apple is too big to fail.

Quiet, Please: Unleashing the power of introverts- Turns out introverts aren’t anti-social freaks after all…who knew?

No women on Facebook Board – What’s up with that? Kind of interesting considering the majority of Facebook users are women.

Best of the Blogs:

Have you checked out Manage Better Now? If not you should, this blog has some excellent insight into managing and leadership. My favorite posts this week were LinkedIn, The Policy Police, and The Absent Leader and Developing Your Grit.

In case you missed the reMix this week, I talked about shiny disco balls of distraction and how to keep your new job:

Twitter! Squirrel! Facebook! Shiny Object!

You’ve got the job now how do you keep it?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in weekly reMix Leave a comment

Twitter ! Squirrel! Facebook! Shiny Object!

Image by The Next Web via Flickr

For regular readers of this blog you know this is a period of transition for me, after getting laid off I’m out looking for a job, working part time, blogging and networking. I have very busy days but on the days I’m less busy I find myself fighting the distractions coming at me from every direction: Twitter, Facebook, the web, and TV to name a few.

What can we do to fight daily distractions? A few suggestions that do not require much willpower:

Shut off all notifications. Email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc. If you have a smart phone learn how to shut off notifications on that as well
Set aside time to check your social media sites and do not check them any other time. This gives you concentrated time to check social media but prevents the distraction of leaving those sites open all day.
Purchase a program to block the internet or certain parts of it allowing you to focus on your work:
1. Freedom – you get five free trials with this, after that it is $10. This program shuts down your computers networking for up to eight hours, allowing you to work without internet distractions.
2. Anti-Social – made by the same makers of the Freedom program, this only shuts down social components of the internet such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype and your email.

My last suggestion requires dedicated will power and practice. It is the practice of focus. There is a growing consensus that multi-tasking is really not good for you (I’ve blogged about this before). By practicing focus, I have found that I write better, I am less stressed out and have richer interactions with people. A couple examples of how I practice focus:

As much as possible, when I am on the phone I am only on the phone talking with that person, I don’t tweet, play video games, wash dishes, or respond to IM.
I take time to read without distraction – this means no TV playing in the background.
I have turned off all notifications on my iPhone, no mention of me on Twitter will interrupt movie night again

These are just a couple examples of how I try to stop myself from leaping at the shiny objects in life. I don’t know that my personal method of practiced focus is based on any kind of science but it works for me. What about you? What do you do to stop distractions?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in RandomLife, Social Media 5 Comments