Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our monthly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
Laura M. Labovich is a nationally renowned resume writer, certified career coach and job-search strategist.
Q:
You have a solid background in human resources. What is the most significant lesson you
bring from your HR background that you apply to resume writing? What aspects of resumes
drove you crazy when you were in HR that you now avoid as a resume-writer? What do
job-seekers need to know about how HR folks view their resumes?
A:
As an HR professional in corporate America (prior to my career-coaching days), I
would often scan a resume in search of keywords alone. I'd ask myself (in about
10 seconds or less): What job does the applicant want? Does his or her resume
reflect skills and keywords of the job to which he or she is applying? Is there
a header that is relevant, and does not include the old resume speak: "Seeking a
job where I can utilize my communcation, interpersonal, and computer skills" (too
much about the candidate; not enough about the company!)? Does the resume speak
to what he or she can do for my company, not simply what he or she did for previous
companies? Does it tell a story?
In my HR days, attention-grabbing resumes were ones that:
spelled out the job the applicant wanted in detail, leaving absolutely no
unanswered questions for the recruiter;
contained relevant keywords found by analyzing a job posting and sprinkling
them throughout the resume (I distinctly remember a hiring manager counting the
number of times an applicant listed java and c++ in his resume);
and were error-free.
In my private resume-writing and coaching practice, I now write resumes from the
perspective of an HR manager; one who never did have the energy to fight to decipher
the "fit" between a requisition and a candidate.
Q:
What do you feel is the most disturbing trend in job-hunting today?
A:
I have found that with the increase and accessibility of new and improved social-media
sites, job-seekers can easily get caught up in trying to participate in all of them,
and shortcut themselves in the process. In lieu of "getting out there" and attending
face-to-face networking events (association meetings, alumni events, open houses, job
fairs, etc.), job-seekers spend time behind their computer on the various and growing
list of social and professional media sites; but are not doing themselves any favors.
While utilizing Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter (and a small handful of others) is helpful
in small but strategic doses, nothing replaces hard word in the form of cold-calling,
informational interviews, direct mail, and traditional networking, and to have a
robust, effective search, the old adage still prevails: one must power off their
computer to power up one's job search.
Q:
What do you feel is the most exciting or hopeful trend in job-hunting?
A:
Job search today has become much more transparent. With all of the new social
media sites available to job-seekers (many of which are free), it is much easier
to access contact information of decision makers within companies for whom you
would like to work. Of course, as I mentioned, too much of a good thing can be
bad. But, given the right strategy and willingness to really "work" the right
sites rather than giving into the need to be on all of them, a job-seeker can
tap into insider information much more quickly and easily than he or she could
even a few years ago.
Q:
What's the one job-hunting secret you share with clients but that may not be widely known?
A:
As a former marathoner, I often explain the process of responding to online job
postings in terms of exercise. Since many of my clients are also parents, I ask
them if they have ever walked their kids to the bus and, 100 percent of the time,
the answer is yes. I then ask if they believe that they can lose 20 lbs. simply
by walking their kids to the bus and, not surprisingly, the answer is no. I
equate this process to the practice of applying for jobs online. Job-seekers
can still respond to online job openings (walking kids to bus), because often
it is instantly gratifying and also easy to do, but most likely, they will not
get a job (lose 20 lbs) doing it! They will have to add networking (healthy
eating routine), and cold-calling/informational interviews (weights), among
other things, to the mix to get them to the end goal -- a job!
Q:
What's the biggest mistake job-seekers make that your advice could correct or prevent?
A:
I often tell my clients that they must fight the urge to say "I'll
take anything," as this sentiment simply, in most cases, is not true.
I ask: "Will you work in a funeral home? Will you build homes? Will
you walk dogs for a living? No? Then, you won't do anything." And,
the employers do not want to hear that anyway. For a job-seeker,
especially during a downturn economy, "targeting" (or as my clients
call it "pigeonholing" and "limiting") may feel scary, but it is a
necessary (no, essential) component of having an effective job-search
campaign. If you can narrow your target down to only three entirely
different job functions, that's ok. Simply go after these targets
(a target consists of a job function, industry/company size, and
geographic region) separately and methodically; creating a new
elevator pitch, resume, and targeted search documents for each.
That is much more proactive, organized and structured than "I'll
take anything," and will yield much better results in the long-
(and short-) run.
Laura M. Labovich is a nationally renowned resume writer, certified career
coach and job-search strategist with more than 15 years of experience in
recruiting, human resources, training, and consulting roles at Fortune
100 companies, including Disney and AOL Time Warner. As president of A & E
Consulting, LLC (Aspire! Empower!), a job-search coaching practice based
in the Washington DC, area, she provides customized job-search strategy
and resume-writing solutions to individuals and groups, helping her clients
increase their momentum and achieve breakthrough results in their job-search
marketing campaigns. You can reach Laura at
www.aspire-empower.com.
