During my matriculation I worked at the campus publications all four years, and was paid for them. That experience is listed on my resume as such. But my question is, when asked how much experience I have in my field can I say four, even if I never worked outside of those campus organizations?

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Technorati Tags: advice, career, CAREEREALISM, careerrealism, experience, job, Project, resumes, T.A.P. (Twitter Advice Project)

I would like you to cover best way to cover significant resume gaps. Particularly with respect to online tools - but also how to deal with gaps in submitted materials to potential employers: cover letter language and resumes.

In my case, the gap is about 8 years which is quite a while!

I took advantage of a restructuring and after going through outplacement services then and going on many interviews and getting two solid job offers, zero decided that it was at a time I needed to devote to long overlooked family issues.

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Technorati Tags: advice, career, CAREEREALISM, careerrealism, cover letters, family, gaps, issues, job, Project, resumes, significant, T.A.P. (Twitter Advice Project)

By J.T. O’Donnell

It’s summertime. (Well, unless you live in New England like me where NONSTOP rain has made it seem more like early spring.) However, for the most part, the summer weather generally brings each of us at least one opportunity to relax and enjoy a break. At which point, we all usually say something like, “I’m going to take some time to go to the (insert beach, lake, park, etc. here), plop in a chair and read a book.”

Well, I’ve got the book for you. And you are going to love the price: It’s FREE.

The author, Dale Dauten, is a a true management authority. He’s written 6 acclaimed books and is hired by some of the biggest companies in the US to work with their teams. I also happen to be lucky enough to know him personally. I still scratch my head and wonder how I ever convinced him to choose me to become his writing partner a couple years ago. Someday, I need to write a post about it because it’s a really neat story…

Dale wrote a book not so long ago called “It’s A Wonderful Job.” Surprisingly, the publishing house opted not to publish this INCREDIBLE book. (I mean it, Dale’s writing style is fantastic.) Want to know why they didn’t choose to publish this book? Because it’s for people who feel like they are lost in their careers. (Which is roughly 70%+ of the American population these days). And yet, the publisher’s thoughts were this: Unemployed people don’t buy books.

So what did Dale do? After all the time, energy and thought he put in to writing it…. he decided to give it away. In fact, he has both a written and audio version and you can get them by clicking here.

It’s A Wonderful Job is a powerful tale. A thought-provoking read that I know you will finish and say, “That was worth it.” So, download your copy, grab a chair and some sunlight and enjoy this summer read. When you’re done, tell 10 friends about it and I guarantee your professional credibility with them will rise. And don’t forget to say Careerealism.com was the site that told you about this great, FREE book.

ENJOY!

Technorati Tags: book, career advice, CAREEREALISM, careerrealism, Dale Dauten, free, It's A Wonderful Job, job search

How do you follow up on your resume or application when a career posting asks for no phone calls?

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I applied for a job that requires a review process - meaning they allow all the applications to come in by a certain due date before they review them. I said on my cover letter I would follow up to confirm my application was received as the deadline for applications approaches.

Would it be better to call the person I addressed it to directly or just a follow up by email? And if I did call, is it a good time to reiterate how interested I am in the job, or should I just let my application speak for itself?

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Technorati Tags: advice, application, career, CAREEREALISM, careerrealism, cover letter, e-mail, follow up, job, phone, Project, T.A.P. (Twitter Advice Project)

• What social networking information should be contained on your résumé?
• Do you reference your LinkedIn address?
• What about Twitter and Facebook?

Do you have a major presence on one or all of these? How about the myriad other, albeit smaller players in the space? For what it’s worth, here’s my two cents on what should be referenced on your 2.0 résumé:

#1 - Referencing your LinkedIn address at the top of your résumé is a good idea. For those inclined, they will connect to you and also obtain additional information regarding your background while learning about your extended connections. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and LinkedIn is a great way to leverage your professional connections. It also demonstrates your ability to engage with others, particularly from a business perspective if you post information and participate in discussions on the site.

#2 - Twitter…well that’s a bit different. You can certainly reference your Twitter address; due to the flurry of information that flows therein, and the 140 character limit you should not just post a Twitter address. I recommend referencing something specific on the résumé with respect to this. Consider adding not only your Twitter name but also some information regarding the types of things you post about. You can include this under an Additional Experience header at the bottom of the page. If you write a blog or several blogs for different sites, consider listing that as well, with some detailed 411 about your posts. You might even create a link in the event someone wants to read something you have written.

#3 - Here’s where Facebook fits in. If you are using Facebook to reconnect with old friends, share pictures of your family, including the one with little Suzie baking a cake with Grandma Rose, leave it off. A résumé is not the place for this type of personal interaction. I have found that Facebook is more social than professional, and would therefore stick to things on the résumé that are indicative of how you tie social media to your professional life.

There are many other social networking sites out there. Since you cannot reference all of them, choose those where you are most active; provide some data on the résumé to let the reader know that you have an understanding of these tools and use them to share information with a larger community.

A résumé does not just have to present a reverse chronological listing of your job history. It should serve as an engaging tool to allow a potential hiring manager the opportunity to learn about what makes you unique as a candidate.

The bottom line is this: If you are using social networking sites to promote your professional life, then by all means include information on the résumé. If you are using the sites to engage with friends and loved ones, the résumé is not the place to do that.

Deb Wheatman is an authorized DISC Administrator and Chief Career Officer, ResumesDoneWrite.Blogspot.com. Connect to her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter.

Technorati Tags: 2.0, advice, career, CAREEREALISM, careerrealism, design, facebook, job search, linkedin, resume, social media, T.A.P. (Twitter Advice Project)

How long should you wait before following up (to see the progress of your potential employment) after an interview? I was told “we expect to follow up soon.”

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I am planning to relocate to Miami, FL and have been applying to jobs in that area. I am going to Miami briefly and thought about visiting those places where I applied and stopping by to see if they did receive my materials and if they had questions for me regarding my application. I thought this might add a little extra to my application and show I am enthusiastic about the position. But does this turn off employers or seem too desperate on my part?

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Good Afternoon,

I am requesting that the T.A.P. experts look at my Personal Brand.

You requested the following…

LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Resume

Thank you in advance…

Michael D. Lewis

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Michael,

I was surprised to see your request to be part of the ‘Am I Money’ program. As a recruiter, I would assume you must have your own opinions on what makes a great personal brand. And yet, I admire you because it shows you are interested in gaining others’ perspective. (A sign of a great recruiter!)

Moreover, it didn’t surprise me that you:

A) have such an extensive number of networking connections, and

B) have a large number of recommendations as well.

Overall, I’m going to say you have incredible “money” potential, but there are a few things that would be worth tweaking. So, I’m going to give you a 4.0 to start and offer these observations and suggestions for you to consider:

RE Pictures - An on-line brand needs consistency visually. Your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn photos are all different. I’d suggest finding one picture that works for all three. Also, if you must use different photos, it’s best to use headshots from the same angle and with you looking directly at the camera so viewers can be certain you are the same person. Make it easy on HR/hiring manager looking at your candidacy by letting them visually validate they are looking at the right profile. Picture consistency achieves that goal.

RE Twitter - It looks like you are researching and finding people to connect with successfully. I see a lot of acknowledgement of that in your feed. I’d start adding your own thoughts to the mix. I have to assume you read a lot of great articles that would be of value to your followers. If you want to capitalize on your brand as a recruiter for logistics/supply chain marketing, then it’s time to prove you know what you are talking about by serving up some content to back it up.

RE LinkedIn- I love that you have over 500 connections and 11 recommendations. You’ve also made sure you have recommendations from your most recent roles. That is fantastic! I also think the photo you are using in this profile is top notch. What I do worry about is the wording/writing of the ‘Summary’ section. It’s pretty long and covers a lot of different topics. Most people aren’t going to bother to read something that long. I think you should decide who the audience is that you are trying to impress upon and cut down your Summary to 1-2 short, concise paragraphs. Personally, I’d also consider not doing the ‘hard sell’ in this section. Sticking to the facts and listing quantifiable accomplishments seems to be the most successful approach to leveraging a LinkedIn Summary. While our profiles are marketing pieces about ourselves, something gets lost in the translation when you say in all caps, “TO DOMINATE THE RECRUITING SPACE ALL OVER THE GALAXY.” My guess is good friends and colleagues that know you read this and know it is you displaying a great sense of humor, but strangers may not take it the same way.

RE Resume: My favorite part about your resume is the bullet points under each of your jobs. I’m always stressing to job seekers to keep bullets short and to stick to the quantifiable facts. Your bullets are exactly that! They really prove your expertise and make it easy for the reader to validate your experience. That being said, I’d make two suggestions.

First, I’d get rid of the Objective Statement. These days, everyone I know says it’s a waste of valuable space. People should share their objective in their cover letter.

Second, I’d suggest you revamp your ‘Strengths’ section. The way it reads now is too subjective. You claim you are accomplished in all the areas listed, but that is your opinion. Unlike the bullets under your jobs, you don’t quantify your experience as effectively in your ‘Strengths’ section. I’d suggest you replace the sentences with skill set listings and the number of years of experience you have in each one instead. Something like this:

10+ yrs - Account Management & Sales
15+ yrs - Candidate Screening, Interviewing & Hiring
12+ yrs - Client Research & Customer development
13+ yrs - Employee Training & Talent Relations

This simple summary immediately draws the eye in and tells the hiring manager you’ve got the depth of experience they need. It’s easy to read and make a strong, positive impression.

I hope the above suggestions are helpful. It’s great to see a recruiter who is passionate about their work and has the online profile to prove it!

JT

Technorati Tags: am i money, career advice, CAREEREALISM, careerrealism, facebook, job search, linkedin, personal brand, resume, T.A.P. (Twitter Advice Project)

What are some obvious signs I can look out for that will hint at the fact I’m about to be laid off. I have a gut feeling I could be the next one to go.

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