Job Search Q and A

We have grouped questions by the following subjects so you can quickly focus on the issues that are more important to you:

• Skills and Experience
• Resumes
• Networking

 

Skills and Experience

Question:

I have experience in several industries. How do I overcome the perception by employers and recruiters that my experience is too broad?

 

Answer:

During recessionary times, employers (and their recruiters) tend to see people with experience in several industries as a “jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none” and, unfortunately, most employers want executives who have achieved a degree of “mastery” in their industry. Employers may also perceive you as someone who has not yet figured out what you want or you have taken jobs without much thought about how it affects your career. Employers prefer executives who appear to be in charge of their career and who have followed a logical career path.

 

During expansionary times, employers are usually more flexible if there are not enough executives within their industry that are available. If a company needs to make a strategic change, it may also then be more open to executives with experience in other industries.

 

Regardless of the circumstances, if your background is diverse, you will find that writing to employers and recruiters directly and sending your resume will not be effective. You are most likely to be considered for a position if you are referred to an employer or recruiter by someone that they already know and trust.

 

 

Question:

Employers (and their recruiters) do not seem to understand how my skills and experience relate to their industry. How do I overcome this?

 

Answer:

You must make the connection for them. Describe your skills and experience in ways that relate to the industry where you want to work. Use examples that demonstrate how your skills and experience are applicable to their industry. Use stories of achievements that demonstrate your skills in ways that the new employer can see how it relates to them. Do not expect them to make the connection for you.

 

Employers (and their recruiters) prefer candidates who have done at another company what they want done at their company. Their thinking is, “If you have done it before for someone else, you can probably do it again for us.” Consequently, they look for specific identifiable skills and experience that can be clearly supported. During periods of high unemployment, employers (and recruiters) will usually not take the time to understand how your skills and experience are similar to those in their industry.

 

Recruiters work on the instructions of their client, the employer – the one that is paying them a fee to find the ideal candidate. If you are not able to convince the recruiter of the transferability of your skills and experience, it may be because the employer gave clear instructions to the recruiter that they would only consider candidates with skills in their industry.

 

Resumes

Question:

How do I differentiate myself on my resume when many others have skills and industry experience that are similar to mine?

 

Answer:

Employers (and their recruiters) have difficulty remembering lists of skills and experience in candidates and trying to keep each person separate from others in their mind. While you may share the same or similar skills and industry experience as many others, only you used them in ways that were unique to you. That uniqueness can be described in achievements that demonstrate your skills and experience. If you write two or three achievement stories that demonstrate your skills and experience, employers and recruiters will remember the stories and will be more inclined to believe that you have the skills you say.

 

An effective achievement story is one that demonstrates your skills and experience in connection with some specific event. For example:

• Created the marketing strategy and recruited and managed a sales team that generated 35% annual sales increases of a new line of children’s leisure-ware over two years and increased margins by 12%.
• Fifteen years’ experience leading software design development teams, including twenty plus releases and four major new technology platform releases.
• Lead management involvement in three IPOs. Managed complicated ownership structures for companies with over forty international subsidiaries.
• Ten years operating multiple business teams and training cross-functional personnel to develop new markets and new businesses.

You should limit your achievement stories to two or, at most, three. If you list more, the reader will begin to get confused and will not be able to distinguish which ones are the major ones, or worse, will begin to wonder why you are looking for a new job if you have so many achievements!

 

 

Question:

Does it really matter how long I make my resume and, if so, how long should it be?

 

Answer:

The short answer is, as an executive, your resume should be no longer than two pages. The longer answer is your resume will not get you a job, only you can do that. You need to craft your resume so that it meets the needs of the recipient, not just you, the sender. If a recruiter or an employer cannot see in the first one-half of the first page that you have the skills and industry experience they want, the rest of your resume will not get read and it will very likely be discarded or, if it is being read by a recruiter, it may be set aside for possible consideration on other assignments in the future.

 

Your resume should pique the interest of the reader to want to know more about you. If it does they will contact you for the information they want. If you tell everything about you in your resume, they will find something as the reason not to call you and, hence, not to consider you any further.

 

Cover information that encourages them to see you as a solution to what they want. Be happy if a recruiter or an employer calls and criticizes you for not including enough information in your resume. It just accomplished what you wanted – a telephone call.

 

 

Question:

What should I include on my resume about personal or non-work interests that would be important to an employer?

 

Answer:

You resume is your sales and marketing brochure that is designed to document your work experience and describe what you have done and what you want in another job. It is not a biography about your personal life.

 

Readers of resumes look at your resume first to find reasons to screen you out. It could be screened out for any number of non-job-related reasons, such as poor grammar, misspellings, etc., and it could be screened out because someone reads something into your hobby that was unintended. For example, if you noted that you play tennis hoping that others will see you as energetic and competitive, the reader may see that and think that you are too competitive and, hence, not a team player.

 

Limit your resume to employment-related matters only. Include outside interests only if you know that it would be of interest to the reader. For example, if you know that the reader is a tennis player, then you might want to include that information. However, without that knowledge, it is better to leave personal information out of your resume.

 

Networking

Question:

I have been networking for a job for several months now and haven’t found a job yet. What am I doing wrong?

 

Answer:

Over 80% of executives find their next job through someone they already know. For those making a career change, such as from one industry to another, the percentage is even higher. This suggests that you should be spending over 80% of your time developing and working your network rather than sending out resumes, unsolicited, to recruiters or employers.

Networking for employment is much different than networking for business. In networking for employment, you must first initiate a relationship with someone else to get them to want to help you, then you need to obtain their help and support by making them familiar with your skills, experience, and exactly the position you’re seeking. Only after you’ve involved them in your search will they feel comfortable referring you to someone else.

 

 

If you have a specific question about making a career change or your job search, you can send your question to Carl Wellenstein for a confidential response.

If your question seems applicable to many others, we may modify the facts to protect your identity and add it to the list below so that others might benefit.