face time in job search/ bad resumes

Jun. 10 Face time in job search: I cut out this Edmonton Journal article “Face time always matters in job search” by Derek Sankey on Nov. 5 2011:

Joanne Dial receives hundreds of unsolicited resumes by email each month as director of human resources for Calgary-based Alter NRG Corp. Few grab her attention.

"They have no value because I need the person," Dial says. "The purpose of the resume is to open the door to screening calls, which is to open the door to have a face-to-face meeting with the hiring manager."

She's impressed by people who take the initiative to follow up, research the company and its key people, who make a phone call or drop by in person to try to get a foot in the door - provided it's done in a professional manner.

"It's very important that people take the time for the human connection," she says. "The hiring decision will be based on the human connection."

Some recruiters say the concept of face time gets lost in the virtual world, with its "email-only" resume collection and online job board and applicant submissions.

Robert Gosine, managing partner in Calgary for Summit Search Group, says candidates who muster the courage to make those sometimes awkward phone calls or request a meeting directly with the person behind the hiring decision will stand out from the crowd.

"They're getting quite a few resumes that come their way, and if you make the effort of going in person to a company that's hiring - it gives you a competitive advantage," Gosine says.

This past summer, his two university-aged children demonstrated the power of face-to-face meetings. His daughter, who had graduated with a business degree, went door-to-door looking for a summer job. Within a few days, she had five offers. Friends and colleagues who didn't follow up their online applications with a visit or phone call ended up receiving few calls or job offers.

"It just shows right there how effective it really is," he says.
The key is to be respectful of the company's time, offer thanks and then zero in on what they're really looking for.

If you're not the right candidate, ask what you need to work on to become the right candidate. "You get some market information out of it - all the kinds of things you're looking for to be more successful in your job search," Gosine says.

You could even offer to take some courses after work to fill a skills gap - perhaps even creating a role while you upgrade some key skills if you're a good fit for the organization.
Studies have shown the No. 1 reason people leave a job is because of their direct manager, so it makes sense that it's a high priority for both job applicant and hiring manager during the hiring process, Dial says.
David Litherland, managing partner in Vancouver for Summit Search Group, says the younger generation is so used to doing everything online that sometimes they forget - or haven't been exposed to - the importance of meeting a person.

"While a company may say to only send a resume to this inbox, it's those candidates who can find a way to get in personally - find out who the actual hiring person may be - that gives an added check on their application," Litherland says. "That initiative will be respected."

Call the hiring manager or a key human resources professional and ask for an information meeting to find out what positions may be coming available or to get more information about a specific posting and the requirements, he adds.

You can usually glean a lot of information from a company's website, including many sites that list biographies of key people.

Perhaps you "stumble into them" at an industry event or simply pick up the phone and make a call.

The worst that can happen is that they decline an in-person meeting, but at least you have tried and your name may stand out when it comes time to go through the pile of resumes. "It's anything you can do to get yourself a step ahead of the other applicants," Litherland says.

http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=cf1c8070-4b0b-49c1-aac5-a9e9b0911c87

My opinion: This is a good article and I hope it inspires you to meet people in a professional way.

Bad resumes: I wrote about this Globe and Mail article called “Resumes that stand out for the wrong reasons” by Wallace Immen on Sept. 3, 2011.  Here’s my blog post with my comments:

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2011/09/environment-motivational-videos-resume.html

Here are a few candidates who got rejected:

·  A candidate who said the more he was paid, the harder he would work.

·  An applicant who was fired from several jobs but included each one as a reference.

·  A job seeker who listed her dog as a reference.

Here are some good tips from the article: 

Stay relevant: Remember that you’re only applying for one position at a time. Describing every job you’ve ever had will not help hiring managers understand why you’re the best person for the position they’re filling. List only your experience that is relevant to the job description, or reword your past experience so that it’s clear it will transfer to the new role.

Go easy on the eyes: If you hold your completed résumé up to a light and can’t see much white space, you have a problem. Use formatting – bullets, line breaks, headings, readable fonts, wide margins – that guides the reader’s eye to the bottom of the page. Keep your descriptions to the point and trim out any unnecessary words.

Include a professional summary: Rather than writing an objective at the top of your résumé that states what job you want, craft a professional summary recapping your relevant experience in one or two sentences. Done well, this may persuade hiring managers to spend longer than a minute with your application.

Proofread repeatedly: A lot of hiring managers will toss any résumé that contains spelling, grammatical or formatting errors – regardless of your past experience. Even if you can’t find any typographical errors, e-mail your CV to friends and family to be sure. Odds are they’ll find something you missed. Fix it, and then send it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/resumes-that-stand-out-for-the-wrong-reasons/article4256041/

Jun. 11 Police officer: I was watching Rookie Blue today on globaltv.com.  It’s a good show and it’s in the 5^th season.  It’s about police officers in Toronto.  I want to help people and by being a police officer, you can do that.  However, I don’t want to be in real and present danger.  I would have a bullet proof vest, gun, mace, lots of training, but it’s still dangerous.

It’s also about dealing with the public.  There are lots of positions like maybe a forensic investigator.  After a murder happens, you can take pictures and evidence and analyze it.  You’re in a lab and it’s not dangerous.  However, I don’t like and am not good in science.

I also would feel angry and depressed.  What about death notifications?  Telling somebody their loved one has passed away is so sad.  What if someone dies in front of you?  I watched the episode called “Wanting” and it was intense.

Fortunately, I can turn off the TV after the show is over and not deal with it.  It really got to me and have me thinking about it.