Readers: Dr. Randall Hansen, a nationally recognized career expert, is the Career Doctor.
Discover more about Dr. Hansen, read about the purpose of this column,
and find previous issues of this column at the home of The Career Doctor.
Dr. Hansen writes this column on a biweekly basis. If you have any college, career, or job-related questions or comments that Dr. Hansen could
provide valuable assistance with, please
feel free to email him at: careerdr@quintcareers.com.
Michael writes:
I have a question about the types of skills employers are searching for from job-seekers.
I'm about to start my last year of college and if I can pick up a course or two during this
year to make it easier for me to find a job in May when I graduate, I want to do it. So,
can you help me?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Great question! I actually encourage my juniors and seniors at Stetson University to conduct a
SWOT analysis in preparation for better career planning and job-searching. A SWOT analysis
examines your strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats in your
chosen career field. And it's something that ALL job-seekers can and should do occasionally.
Matching your SWOT with the skills employers are seeking then gives you some directions
for finding educational opportunities or experience to fill the voids of any skills where you are weak.
You need the so-called hard skills of your chosen career, and I am assuming you have been
gaining those as you have attended college. However, for your enlightenment – and to strengthen your
resume -- you need to fully know what those skills are that employers seek of a college graduate
with your career interest.
Then there are the soft skills that all employers seek of prospective employees. These skills include
teamwork, communications (writing, oral, listening), organizational, analytical, creative thinking/problem-solving,
leadership, adaptability, and multicultural sensitivity.
A great way to conduct some easy research on the dominant soft and hard skills that employers in your
career field are seeking is to gather a variety of job postings and simply do a content analysis of the
requirements that these employers seek. Then find experiences you have had that used those skills
and highlight them in your resume and cover letter (and later in the job interviews).
Here are some key articles that can give you a lot more depth on the topics covered in my answer to you:
Mauro writes:
I read an article of yours -- Resume
Critique Worksheet for Job-Seekers -- and found it very interesting. I have been applying for
quite a few jobs recently and have not had much luck getting interviews, and I think this has a lot
to do with my resume. I know it can be improved a lot and was wondering if you could provide me
with some critique given your knowledge and experience. I sincerely appreciate any help you can provide.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
I'm sorry for your lack of job-searching success, but pleased that you have taken
the time to analyze your situation and recognize that your resume is probably the
problem. Anytime you are not getting job interviews, the problem generally lies with
your resume or cover letter. (It could also be that you are applying for positions for
which you are not qualified –- or overqualified, but let's assume that is not the case.)
I was kind of stunned recently when the results of a recent online poll revealed that
almost 50 percent of business professionals thought their resume needed improvement.
I can only imagine how high that percentage would be for all job-seekers.
Your resume is one of the most -- if not the most -- crucial career-marketing tool
a job-seeker uses, and yet, as evidenced from the thousands and thousands of resumes
I have seen over my career, many job-seekers just do not get either the importance
of the resume or simply do not put the time in that is necessary to produce a resume
that is going to result in employer interest.
Sometimes, all it takes is some tweaking and minor adjustments, but other times, it is
best to start from scratch. How do you decide? Get your resume professionally critiqued. If
you are a college student or alum, go to your college's career services office. Or, hire a
professional resume writer. Or, even just ask some of the people in your network to
critique for you.
Here are some suggested links for mastering the resume-preparation skills you need:
Eileen writes:
After being on the job market for several months -- and a finalist for a number
of jobs -- I found out that my former employer may be giving me a marginal reference.
I am having some colleagues call to find out what he's saying. But, if that's true,
how do I get around not giving him as a reference since I worked for that company
for 14 years? That alone screams problem. I can't have a potential employer call
someone else at the company -- any calls would be referred to my boss. It makes
me wonder how many jobs I might have lost because of this.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Yours is a tough situation, because whenever you have had a long stint with
one employer, it does indeed make it a bit harder to have references outside
the company -- but you have to do so.
I am kind of surprised to hear about the marginal reference given the litigious
environment we are in -- where most employers shy away from saying anything
negative for fear of being sued by their former employee.
And while I do not want to discount the importance of references -- some employers
call every single reference you provide -- I also think the stronger you are as a job
candidate, the stronger you dominate the others competing for the job, the less likely
a marginal reference is going to affect getting the offer… so, also take some time to
strengthen your interviewing skills.
OK. Here are two ideas for improving your reference situation.
First, confront your former boss -– in a professional way. Mention that you have
heard s/he may not be giving you the strongest reference and ask if that is true,
why is it true. Remind him/her of all your accomplishments and loyalty to the
organization. Even if you can't change his/her mind, you might get some interesting
insight about how this boss really sees you.
Second, unless you reported directly to the president or CEO of the company, there is
ALWAYS the possibility of using other people inside the firm as a reference. You could
ask another manager you worked with, a co-worker, one of your employees, a supplier
or contractor you worked with. Identify people you worked closely with who know your
skills and ASK them to serve as a reference; you do NOT need to always use a direct
boss as a reference.
Gwen writes:
For the past 11 years, I have been married and worked on writing novels and
children's books (which have not been published yet). I have a Ph.D. in Education
Administration and prior to this had a business of my own. I am in the process of
getting a divorce and am trying to get myself retrained to reenter the job market. What I
would like to do is to go into the nonprofit industry. I have enrolled in two fundraising
courses to get a certificate in fundraising and also trying to get a certificate in public relations.
I have signed up to take the fundraising certificate exam. What's the best way for me to break i
nto the job market?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Wow, you have quite an interesting background and it will be a challenge to
create your resume to package everything you have done in a manner that
would help you make the career change you seek -- but it is certainly not
impossible. It will require identifying and using transferable skills you have
mastered and applying them to the skills required in the job you seek in the
non-profit industry.
But the first thing you should do? Make a list of non-profits in your area and inquire
whether they need volunteers for fundraising or public relations. My guess is just a
bout every one of the organizations you call will resoundingly say yes.
Once you have your foot in the door, and once you complete your certifications,
you will then have the transferable skills, certifications, and current experience (yes,
volunteering counts as experience) to make the jump from volunteer to paid staff.
Making career changes is never an easy process, but I encourage you to keep
moving forward. Having a career that you enjoy and have passion for is so much
more important than working in a career you dislike but are compensated well.
