Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are just one more of the many stumbling blocks to rising to the top of an applicant pool in today’s extremely competitive job market. They generally need to be taken into account in preparing resumes for all but the top, C-level positions in a company. However, first let’s properly define ‘C-level’ or ‘C-suite’ positions. While it is not uncommon for people to ... Read more

If you are a leader in your area of expertise, you probably don’t need a resume to open doors. This might sound a little odd coming from someone who runs the top resume writing firm for leaders in Canada. My business is writing effective resumes for six-figure professionals, so why would I suggest that you might not need a resume to get a good opportunity? Let me explain. If you are an experienced senior-level professional, your resume doesn’t hold the same sort of power that it might have had years ago. In fact, this time around, it might not be the first thing you need to succeed in your job search, but it probably is the final thing you need to close the deal.        

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Wouldn’t it be nice if you could see the resumes that your competitors are submitting before you apply for a position? What would you do if you could compare your resume with theirs? I suspect that you would want to revise yours to be certain it would be the very best one. Well today is your lucky day. As a professional resume strategist, I get to see hundreds of resumes from highly qualified professionals. I’m going to share three big secrets for resume success. Come into my world; let’s see how you can significantly improve your resume.           ... Read more

At Graham Management Group, our team of Consultants are experts at coaxing great accomplishment stories from clients. Most clients are initially reserved about expressing their value because it feels like they are ‘blowing their own horn.’ However, when they understand that there is nothing wrong with expressing their successes with integrity, they open up. Unfortunately, there is another – thankfully rare – side to that coin. Some clients innocently get caught up in what they believe they could bring to a role without the actual evidence to support their words. ... Read more

In this challenging market, I’ve heard from many executives, managers, and six-figure professionals who are now pursuing opportunities that don’t exactly match their previous job title. In some cases, the individuals were performing more senior activities than their title suggested. In other cases, they were transitioning into a different role for which they were qualified. In either situation, the job titles they previously held were not conducive to selling their expertise in the targeted position.

If you are targeting career opportunities that match your talents, but not your previous job titles, you can honestly and effectively address the disconnect.

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Return on Investment (ROI) is measured by the value you receive for the money you spend. But, don’t expect any reputable resume service to “guarantee you a job”. If it was that easy, then every executive would “buy their way” into the top jobs. Sounds quite unethical when you hear it like this. Right? So what is the Return on Investment of a professional resume? Calculating your ROI on investing in a resume service is subtle, but demonstrable. If your new executive resume will shorten your job search, help you get out of an undesirable work situation, or enable you to ask for a higher compensation, then it will be worth the investment. By leveraging a professional resume firm, you can recoup your investment in many ways. ... Read more

Executive-level clients frequently ask me if they need a cover letter. They’re not convinced anyone reads them, and they often wonder if writing them is worth the time and effort.

These concerns are not completely unfounded. About one-third of hiring managers will never look at a cover letter, another one-third will go back and look after reading the resume, and the final one-third will go through the resume IF the cover letter catches their attention. Since you don’t know which category the reader will fall into, it’s best to play the odds and include a well-written one.

Even if these statistics convince people they need a cover letter, they’re still not sold on the fact that it should be a good one. I’m here to convince you otherwise! Consider the following:

1)      Applicant Tracking Systems search cover letters: Keywords are terms that companies use to automatically screen candidates when they receive hundreds of resumes. The cover letter gives you an additional opportunity for including potential keywords.

2)      The economy is ROUGH: This is no secret. In an economy where there are multiple candidates for each job, it’s to your advantage to use any edge you can.

3)      Personal stories can make a difference: If you strongly believe in an organization’s mission and you don’t bring this out in the cover letter, you could be missing an opportunity. Especially in associations, leaders look for candidates who believe in their cause. In fact, Michelle Obama ultimately got her job with the City of Chicago after Valerie Jarrett (the hiring manager) was moved by her cover letter.

Though writing a powerful cover letter takes time, it may not be as much as you thought. They should just be one page and “less is more” – 3 to 4 paragraphs is all you need. Plus, once you have your first letter written, you should only need to customize a few sentences for each new position.

Make Your Resume Ageless

If you are a job seeker over 40 and are concerned that your age can get in the way of being considered for a job, be sure that your resume does not give away your age. 

The language, format, and content you include in your resume can date you.  Here are ten tips for writing your resume that will reflect your qualifications for the position you are seeking rather than revealing how close you are to collecting retirement benefits.

Tip one:   Avoid language that signals that you are concerned about your age.

Job seekers over 40 often open their resumes with adjectives like “Energetic” or “Youthful” to convey that they can compete with younger applicants.  Instead of using language that highlights that you are older, show how engaged and current you are with state of the art business trends and practices.

Tip two:  Exclude stating your total number of years of work experience.

Just because you have over 25 years of experience in an industry or profession does not mean that you are more successful or competent than a younger applicant.  It is what you accomplished in those 25 years and how you can leverage your experience for a new employer that makes you valuable.  Your competitive advantage is not total years, but your results in how you led people or projects, attracted or retained clients, made or saved money, or introduced or improved business processes.

Tip three:  Limit your resume to the most recent 12 -15 years of professional experience.

If you try to document your entire work history of 25 to 30 years of experience, inevitably you will include industries, roles, business practices, and technologies that have become obsolete.  Even if this experience was novel or impressive at the time, it has lost its relevance and value.  Your resume should focus your most recent  12 – 15 years’ experience and the most current business practices and technologies you have applied.  If you have experience from over 15 years ago that is critical to selling your qualifications for a position, add a section called “Additional Accomplishments” and do not include dates.  This will support your candidacy, but not draw attention to your age.

Tip four:  Omit your dates of graduation.

When you list college or graduate / professional degrees, do not include the dates, which will pinpoint your age.  Also, if you received a degree or professional credential over 20 years ago, what you learned at that time may be out of date or irrelevant now.

Tip five:   Include recent certifications and training.

If you have completed a professional certification or training in your industry or in leadership skills, business processes, or state of the art technology, include a section on your resume entitled “Recent Professional Development”.   Demonstrate any knowledge or specialization you have gained in emerging industries or professions that are in demand.  Convey that you stay current and are a lifelong learner.

Tip six:  Downplay titles.

Many organizations have become flatter and have eliminated layers of management.  If you focus on your past titles or any entitlements they suggest, you may be perceived as someone who is not able to function in a more modern and streamlined organization.

Tip seven:  Showcase your project and team based experience.

Companies are currently organizing work around projects that are managed by teams.  Highlight your project based experience and demonstrate your skills and accomplishments working on teams.   Provide examples of experience leading or participating on global or virtual teams.  List any project management certifications or training that you have attained.

Tip eight:  Sell rather than tell about your experience.

Job seekers over 40 will describe themselves as  “Veteran” or “Seasoned” to indicate that they have extensive work experience. However, these words suggest that you are older, but do not promote the actual experience you have that is relevant and valuable to the potential employer.  Gain the employer’s interest in your experience by citing the projects, clients, and technologies that you been involved with and the results you achieved. 

Tip nine:  Include metrics to demonstrate your effectiveness.

Highlight your worth to a potential employer by quantifying the results you have achieved.  Stating in your resume that you are “Proficient in” or “Excel at” at something is vague, unconvincing, and does not communicate what you can contribute to an employer.  Use numbers and percentages to show how many people you managed, the dollar value of a sale, revenue from a project or new client, and money saved by your efforts. Again, this is an advantage over younger candidates because they may have not had the opportunities yet to achieve comparable results.

Tip ten:  Communicate that you are versatile and flexible.

Change is the only constant in business these days.  Industries, companies, and jobs continuously evolve and you must show that you are able to adapt.  Include examples where you have dealt successfully with industry and business change:  rapid growth, mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and re-organizations. Project that you are a change agent and welcome new ideas and situations.

A resume is one of your key tools to promote yourself for the next step in your career.  You are creating and substantiating the image that will be perceived in the job market.  If you strategically choose the language, format, and content you use in your resume, you will be seen as a viable and valuable candidate and age will not be an issue.

Membership isn’t growing, but it’s not for a lack of trying. You put a strategic plan into place, are starting new initiatives, and your organization has a positive reputation. Still, the numbers aren’t increasing as much as you’d hoped, or, they might even be dropping. The answer you hear over and over again? “It’s the economy.”

It’s not news that with high unemployment and budget cuts, people are trying to reduce costs in any way possible – unfortunately, that can include association dues. While this can be a valid reason for declining membership, how can you present yourself as a strong leader despite the lack of results?

1) Remember that hiring managers are well aware of the challenge association leaders are facing: the economy and your industry may even speak for themselves. If you’re leading an association which focuses on architecture or construction, it will likely come as no surprise that membership is down.

2) Mention accomplishments that have nothing to do with membership: For example, did you build a strong team your first few months on the job? Did you reduce costs by eliminating services with a low-ROI?

3) Consider including case studies in your executive profile: Case studies give you an opportunity to tell a broader story than your resume will allow. For example, stagnant membership might not be something you’d want to highlight. However, if it had been consistently declining for the five years before you came on board, and you were able to stop it (or even slow it), explain your approach. If you’ve developed a long-term plan that should show results as the economy improves, outline your strategy and include your anticipated results.

Obviously, it’s important to do all you can to keep your association healthy. However, during tough economic times, there are limits to what can realistically be accomplished. If you’re concerned about how this will look to a future employer, use the above strategies to highlight all that you are doing to strengthen the organization.

Based on two North American studies, it is clear that many executives are still opting to follow templates rather than creating a distinctive, strategic resume. Historically, professionals have been told to list their career history in a chronological format, presenting their career progression in reverse sequential order. Functional resumes, on the other hand, have been used to disguise career issues by categorizing the career history under competency headings. There are other strategic options. Executives rarely choose to implement those.

As a leader and innovator in the Canadian resume writing industry, Graham Management Group (GMG) actively keeps a finger on the pulse of the market. In the largest research study of its kind, we evaluated 1000 randomly selected resumes that we received in 2009. These resumes were sent to us from senior executives, managers, and other six-figure professionals across Canada. The survey found that 25% of resumes were structured in a format that did not position the candidate most effectively. Practitioners often debate which format to use: chronological or functional. However, typically, many completely ignore a third option – a strategic combination resume format that may be a hybrid of the two.

There is a strong argument for applying a reverse chronological strategy whenever possible. A survey recently conducted by an independent research firm on behalf of Accountemps suggests that hiring managers veer away from functional resumes. 150 senior executives from 1000 of the largest North American companies were asked if they prefer a chronological resume versus one organized by job functions and skills. 75% of the respondents interviewed said they prefer the chronological format. Only 17% indicated that they prefer functional and 8% had no preference.

Hiring managers dislike functional resumes because the skills and relevant accomplishments are separated from the employment history. This makes the resume difficult to follow, as the reader cannot connect the candidate’s accomplishments with the position they held at the time.

Career Professionals of Canada, the national Canadian association administering the Certified Resume Strategist Credential, suggests that “while it is true that recruiters prefer the reverse chronological resume, there are occasions that call for other formats. Whenever possible, give preference to the reverse chronological format to keep the individual‘s responsibilities and accomplishments under the respective job titles. If you must, use a hybrid combination of functional and reverse chronological that will strategically minimize your client’s obstacles while meeting the employer’s needs.”

Based on the research, it may be best to avoid the functional or skill-based format. Since most recruiters prefer resumes to be formatted in a reverse chronological format, unless there is a major career barrier to address, there is no reason to veer from this strategy.

In many circumstances, a hybrid combination of functional and reverse chronological will strategically minimize obstacles and meet the prospective employer’s needs. If the candidate is attempting to transition into a new industry or role, or is addressing a major career lapse such as a lengthy sabbatical or career gap, then such a strategic option should be considered. Whichever format you choose, ensure that you mitigate all career barriers and present a compelling and readable story to draw in the hiring manager.

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist. You can download the groundbreaking research report from Graham Management Group here >> Research Study: How Does Your Resume Compare?