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There’s a reason that businesses hire employees for a “probation period.” It usually takes a few months for new workers to learn the ropes and start adding value. Employers use this time to determine whether you’re worth the long-term investment.

If the manager likes your performance after the first 90 days or so, consider yourself gainfully employed. If your performance wasn’t up to par, you know what happens next: you’ll lose the job. But let’s turn the tables for a moment.

Getting fired is not always a bad thing.

Losing a job can lead to new opportunities. It can shake up a stagnant career. It can even remind you that you aren’t following your dreams, and provide motivation to get back on track.

If you were dismissed due to poor performance, you probably stayed too long.

During the probationary period, you surely noticed that something wasn’t right. The hours, the paycheck, the culture. Or the job responsibilities didn’t match your expectations.

Here’s the thing. Sometimes you need to quit your job in order to save your career.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard job seekers say they stayed in bad jobs to protect their résumés! Employers don’t like “job hopping,” they told me, so they sacrificed job satisfaction for what they hoped was a better-looking work history. They didn’t realize that short-term positions aren’t the end of the world, and there are ways to navigate this issue in résumés that actually strengthen your candidacy.

Here’s something else. If you find yourself feeling more concerned about your résumé than your happiness, your priorities are out of order.

Of course, every situation is different, so weigh the pros and cons carefully. And if you choose to quit, do it with professionalism. Think of it like this: job interviews open new doors, and exit interviews make sure the old doors don’t close too tightly. If done right, your leave-taking will sustain relationships, foster respect, and support your career progression.

Now, let’s fix that choppy resume.

Remember that your résumé is designed to land interviews. So it’s important to create a powerful brand and streamline the document. Include only the most impressive and pertinent details about your career. Cut everything else out. This may mean combining several short-term roles, removing irrelevant jobs, or showcasing the transferrable skills from fast-turnaround positions.

Let’s say your background includes 10 years in non-profit administration but recently you tried a short stint in sales that didn’t work out. Before moving forward in your job hunt, determine if the sales role strengthens or weakens your resume presentation.

Are you targeting sales opportunities? Switching to the corporate sector? Keep it in! But if you wish to return to your former career, make your non-profit expertise jump off the page instead.

Life doesn’t always unfold as we expect. If you need to leave a job to protect your health, happiness, or well-being, by all means. Leave. You can revise your resume once you’re out the door.

You’re considering a new opportunity—good for you! So, you pull out the old resume and think, “I just need to add my last job, and it’s ready to go, right?”

…Um…not so much…It probably needs a lot more work…first, you’ll need to age-proof that resume!

“Come on…” you may be thinking, “They can’t see my wrinkles on a resume!” Well, they sort of can…

Here are three items you’ll need to review, to ensure they don’t imagine the scent of Bengay wafting from your resume pages.

1) Dusty Dates

Let’s start with the major dead-give-away: Dates! If you write that you graduated from Columbia University in 1977, the person reading your resume might think you graduated with Alexander Hamilton (Columbia’s class of 1777.) Yes, I know you’re proud of that fine institution, and you can (and should) keep your degree on your resume—including your major (only if relevant) and “Magna Cum Laude” (if earned.) Just delete that darned date!

The same can be said for other dates on your resume. Let’s say you’re pleased to have worked at IBM back in the 90’s. But probably anything you did for the prestigious Big Blue involves an obsolete technology, process or practice. Instead, consider lumping all of your jobs prior to 2000 under the heading of “Related Prior Experience.”

2) Fossilized Formatting 

Remove the following from your header right now: street address, home phone and any email address that ends with aol.com or Hotmail.com. While you’re at it, scratch the section called “Objective” and the disclaimer at the bottom that reads, “References Available Upon Request.” Now, here’s what you need, instead:

Contact Information

The Header of your resume should list Your Name (Large, Loud and Proud,) your cell phone, your email address (which should be yourname@gmail.com; not CoolGranny1960@sbcglobal.net.)

Professional Summary

On a modern resume, this section replaces what used to be the Objective. As with any executive summary, you will write this last, and will not use “Professional Summary” as the section title—that’s like titling your top section, “Header.” Instead, use your targeted job title such as “Registered Nurse,” “Information Technology Leader” or “Operations Manager.”

Reference

These are a waste of valuable space on a resume. Save this separate document for the interview.

3) Old-School Skills and Technology

Remove any references to technologies that will show you worked in the dark ages. These might include the words “typing” (now “keyboard skills”) or Lotus 123 (Yes—I miss it too—but you now have mad Excel skills, don’t you?) Don’t mention your COBOL knowledge, either. As with everything on your resume, if it’s not currently relevant, it should not be there.

Following this check-list can help you present yourself as a ‘Thoroughly Modern Madison’! And although a great resume cannot get you the job, it can help you garner that first phone call—and hopefully, a face-to-face interview. And, yes, there are ways to age-proof that interview meeting as well, but first things first.

Networking is rightfully touted as the magic bullet in a job search. Overwhelmingly, when my clients land positions they covet, they first learned of a role through someone they know – often a weak tie rather than someone from a long-term relationship – instead of an online job listing.

Those of us who are introverts (and often extroverts, too) tend to be hesitant about reaching out to people we know and we’re often paralyzed at the idea of expanding our networks to include people we want to connect with but don’t want to impose upon. The good news is there are some useful techniques available to you that are best explained as what to avoid, including:

Steer around trite phrases such as “I’d like to pick your brain.”

Simply ask for help and let your contacts know that you’re in a job search while making it clear that you’re simply asking for their advice.

Don’t ask “what can I do for you in exchange for your help?”

You’re building a relationship, if you introduce the idea that you want a transactional connection with them – one where each of you is mentally keeping a spreadsheet about who has given more – that degrades the genuine connection you’re developing. Definitely, seek ways to support them and offer them intel, access to your connections, and the benefit of your experience and knowledge, but do it organically without the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” mentality.

Don’t confine your engagement to just one meeting.

Here’s where you DO need a spreadsheet so that you can track the dates and substance of your conversations with specific people. If you’re serious about launching a job search, you’ll begin to lose track of who you talked to when and what you discussed, so take notes. Also, mark your calendar to loop back to people with updates and individualized emails so that you stay on their radar. Remember that brevity goes a long way in these follow-up touch points.

Avoid pinning your hopes on one or two people and/or companies.

Desperation is a natural emotion in a job search. Much is at stake, and, of course, it matters that you land a job quickly. When panic bleeds into these conversations, people instinctively back away out of fear that they won’t be able to deliver what you need. To keep those emotions at bay, it’s important to have many avenues and opportunities so that one doesn’t topple under the weight of expectations that are too strong. Job opportunities fall away for many reasons that have nothing to do with your fit and qualifications, so guard against that agony by pursuing multiple opportunities and connections at the same time.

Trust your gut as you navigate networking conversations, and remember that people want to be helpful. If you structure your conversations in ways that make it easy for people to offer their advice and support, you’ll soon be welcoming offers for positions that you’re targeting.

Question: How do I know if a company uses applicant tracking system software?

More than one-fourth of all companies use some kind of an applicant tracking system to manage applications and candidates, and this number continues to grow. ATS software is more likely to be used in large companies (more than 100 employees) and certain types of industries — technology, healthcare, and government organizations. Unless you’re personally handing your resume to the hiring manager, it’s possible an ATS might be used in the applicant screening process. (And even then, the resume may be scanned in!) When in doubt, submit an ATS-friendly resume. You can always follow-up with a hard copy of a more formatted (non-ATS-friendly) resume or bring the formatted version with you to the interview.

Question: What is an ATS-friendly resume?

An ATS-friendly resume is formatted in such a way that it can be easily imported and read by the ATS. However, because there is no industry standard, the general guidelines are: No charts, graphs, or special formatting. Use only keyboard characters (*, >, /, etc.) to separate information. Save the file in .DOC or .TXT format (do not upload a PDF, RTF, or JPG).

Question: If I’m given the chance to upload my resume or copy-and-paste it in, which should I do?

If you’re given the choice, upload a Word file with your ATS-friendly resume. Larger companies are likely using newer ATS software that will keep formatting mostly intact. For smaller companies, copy-and-paste an ATS-friendly text file into the application form.

Question: How do I know which keywords will be used in the ATS search?

Many times, you can identify the keywords that will be used by reviewing the job posting for the position and job postings for similar roles. Also check out skills and other qualifications in resources like the Occupational Outlook Handbook (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/) and O*Net (www.onetonline.org).

Question: How does the length of the resume fit into this?

Resumes that will initially be screened through an ATS can be longer, because the computer file generally doesn’t show pages, only characters. Some ATS software has character lengths — but you’ll generally only see that if the resume is copied-and-pasted into an online form. In those instances, it will list a character limit (for example, “Submissions are limited to 20,000 characters.”). But not many systems have that limitation.

Question: How can I bypass the ATS?

Remember: People hire people. Ultimately, if you can get your resume in the hands of the hiring manager, recruiter, or company owner directly, you don’t have to worry about making it out of the applicant tracking system in order to get an interview. Research shows that approximately 75 percent of jobs are never formally advertised or posted, and only about 5 percent of candidates are hired from job postings. So focus on getting your resume to the right person in order to land an interview. It’s especially important to bypass the ATS if you don’t have the “perfect” qualifications, as outlined in the job posting.

How do you advocate for your career in today’s workforce?

Simple. Own your success instead of having it predetermined for you.

Katrina Brittingham, Chief Resume Writer & Career Coach at VentureReady LLC provides some tips on how to climb the ladder you have created for your career.

Thank You Letters

As kids we were taught to write thank you notes whenever someone did something nice for us. Today, thank you notes seem to be a thing of the past. In a job search they can separate you from the rest.

Your resume distinguished you from your competition. Now you need to narrow the playing field even more by writing a thank you note for the interview. Send a slightly different one to everyone you interviewed with. It does not have to be long.

Tell the recipient how much you enjoyed meeting him or her. Comment on something you learned at the interview and end it by telling them that you would really like to be on their team. This can, also, be an opportunity to clarify something from the interview or a chance to mention your strengths again.

Mail it within 24 hours after the interview. If the company has corresponded with you primarily via email then send a quick note via email when you get home from the interview. Also, send a longer version via snail mail.

 

Letters of Resignation

Always submit a letter of resignation.

Deliver it the same day that you verbally inform your boss that you will be leaving. It will document the fact that you are leaving and verify that you did, in fact, notify your employer well ahead of time. Date the letter of resignation and give the exact date of your last day at work there. Say nice things about the company and thank them for the opportunities you received there. This is not the time to vent anger and hostility. You may need them as a reference in the future. Send it directly to your boss but also send a copy to your personnel department.

 

Networking Letters

They say that at least 60% of all U.S. job openings are not advertised. They are filled through personal contacts. If you substitute the word TALKING for NETWORKING you might feel better about the prospect of doing it. Those job are what is called the hidden job market.

The purpose of a networking letter is not to ask friends and colleagues for a job but to ask for their help in finding a job for you through their connections. Just about everyone is eligible to receive a networking letter from you. Make the letter as brief as possible. Don’t waste the reader’s time. Get right to the point. Don’t leave the reader guessing.

If the letter is going to someone you do not know well then by all means refresh their memory. If you met them at a conference or a lecture or some association function remind them where you met.

If you know the recipient well, then get right to the point. Tell them that you are about to be downsized and what position you are looking for.

Tell the reader some of your strengths such as increasing revenues, expanding production, building new facilities, whatever they are. Come right out and ask them for leads. That is what you are really interested in. Send them your resume if you think it will help.

End the letter by thanking them for their assistance. And offer to help them with a future job search.

In this video Chief Resume Writer and Career Readiness Coach, Katrina Brittingham provides you with the tools for setting SMART goals for your job search and continued professional development.

Set SMART Goals

Upper Darby Award Program Honors the Achievement
On June 2, 2015  VentureReady LLC has been selected for the 2015 Best of Upper Darby Award in the Resume Service and Career Coaching category by the Upper Darby Award Program.
Each year, the Upper Darby Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Upper Darby area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2015 Upper Darby Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Upper Darby Award Program and data provided by third parties.
About Upper Darby Award Program
The Upper Darby Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Upper Darby area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The Upper Darby Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Upper Darby Award Program

CONTACT:
Upper Darby Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@awardsystem.org
URL: http://www.awardsystem.org