For many people, a business card is something they expect their employer to provide with the name of the company, their title and contact information as part of representing their employer in a professional manner. We also expect to receive them when doing business with merchants and service providers, such as myself, your local handyman or financial advisor. However, if you’re in job search mode, have you thought about making your own business card to market yourself?

Whether you call it a business card, calling card, networking card or some other term, with a very small investment you can create a valuable job search tool.

At a minimum, include your contact information: name, phone number(s), email address and LinkedIn profile if available. Expand it to include the position you are seeking (ie. Territory Manager) or promote your expertise (ie. Account Management Specialist). All of this can be placed on a single sided business card, however, if you want to attract further attention (and pending your budget), go further and print a 2-sided or multi-folded card. Add a tag line, list your soft and hard skills, incorporate concise bulleted accomplishments, list your certifications, awards or publications…any information to briefly highlight your value to an organization or guide an individual in helping you on your job search quest.

Carrying around your resume is inconvenient, awkward and unnecessary. A business card is compact and very portable.  Make the card simple to read and pass onto others. Use a standard business card size (not a postcard size) making it quick and easy for the recipient to review and retain. Keep the card clean and crisp, avoid handing out a bent or dirty card (remember, first impressions count!) Always carry the cards with you so you are ready to seize any unexpected opportunity, introducing yourself in a professional manner and allowing you to share with others your qualifications and target career/industry.

Speaking of first impressions, what better way to outperform the competition than to have a professional looking business card at the ready! I’ve seen career professionals challenge each other at a networking meeting for who had the best “networking card”. These people understood the value of a tailored business card in igniting interest, providing a competitive advantage in a tight job hiring market.  

The time you remain in job search mode can be lengthy and frustrating. For a small investment in your future, a standout business card can give you a head start on the majority of the competition to help decrease the career transition time frame.

For more advice on creating a networking card or other job search documentation, contact Brenda Collard-Mills, Certified Resume Strategist (email: brenda@robustresumesandresources.com).

When interacting with a client during a free resume critique, there are basic areas I review and will share with you in this blog.

Contact information:Is the information current? Is there a phone number? (Yes, I have seen resumes with no phone number.) What type of email address is listed? A hotmail address is the least preferred during a job search. Instead, use a gmail address or one from your service provider. Hotmail addresses can be frowned upon by some HR professionals and recruiters.

Objective statement: Starting your resume with an “Objective” dates a resume. The new approach is to incorporate some personal branding into your resume. Start with a title such as “Administrative Specialist”, then write a descriptive paragraph of your hard and soft skills. (More information about this in previous blogs).

Professional Experience: Has the resume been written in the preferred reverse-chronological order? Do I notice any career gaps between employment dates? Gaps can immediately eliminate your candidacy. Instead, be honest and address the gap. Took time off to raise a family? Say so, be creative such as “Personal Sabbatical” and list the years.

Education/Professional Development: Please exclude your elementary (yes, I’ve seen that listed) and high school education. Have you included the year of graduation for all post-secondary achievements? While you may think leaving the dates off your university graduation means the employer can’t tell how old you are, it also means they can make an inaccurate assumption of your age. Again, be open and honest by including graduation dates (year only, month not required).

Personal Interests:Unless your personal pursuits and community involvement directly relate to the position &/or corporate culture of the company you are applying to, this area of the resume is not required.

Now that I’ve shared some basic do’s and don’ts, why not pull out your existing resume and spend a few minutes reviewing it and determining if it’s current or needs a little updating. Remember, your resume is an important marketing tool in your job search and is the only tool used by an employer to form their initial impression of you as a potential new employee.

Robust Resumes and Resources offers free resume critiques customized to each individual. All it takes to begin the process is to send your resume to brenda@robustresumesandresources.com.

The word “ACTION!” snapped sharply by a Director captures the actors attention and is their clue to commence performance in their role. A similar approach in resume writing is used to capture the attention of HR professionals by strategically selecting action verbs to describe your career performance, better known as accomplishment statements.

Simply put, an action verb describes something a person did or can do. Examples often seen in a resume include: Supervise, Train, Create but the list is endless. A simple google search of the term “action+verbs” produced 766,000 results.

Action verbs attract attention when used to begin each accomplishment statement. Here’s a before and after example:

Before: I received multiple Perfect Attendance awards.

After: Recognized by Senior Management for exemplary attendance performance, earning 4 consecutive annual Perfect Attendance Awards, 2005 to 2009.

The after example is far more captivating in describing your value to a future employer.

While many of the accomplishment statements for your current employed position (after all, you are updating your resume regularly aren’t you??) will be written in the current tense (ie. Manage, Train, Lead), the balance of action verbs will written in the past tense (ie. Managed, Trained, Led).

Feel free to think outside the box, selecting words not regularly seen in a resume. Perhaps instead of “Managed a team of…” you select “Championed a team of…” or “Commanded a high profile team of…”. Word selection is another opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competition during job search and shows a level of creativity that can be brought to the job.

So, why not revisit your resume and escalate the content by incorporating enticing action verbs to describe your fabulous career performances.

Can’t tell an action figure from an action verb? Hire a professional, such as Brenda Collard-Mills, Certified Resume Strategist, at Robust Resumes and Resources (email: brenda@robustresumesandresources.com)

Every job and company have words of importance to the position, the corporate mission/culture, and the industry sector. Finding and incorporating those keywords into your resume not only helps to escalate your document but also is of significant value if a company is using computer technology (OCR) to perform the initial resume review, swiftly eliminating those submissions which did not include the keywords selected by the company as the “pass/fail” criteria. Here is where to find, and examples of, keywords.

There are a variety of options in searching for the most appropriate keywords to include in your resume, beginning with the job posting or advertisement. Expand this search by reviewing the company’s website. Often you will find highlighted words on the site reflecting their importance to the organization’s culture, mission and vision. Websites for industry associations are also valuable research tools for specific sectors. Lastly, and simply, performing a google search for “keywords+your industry or position” will often prove beneficial.

Here are some examples of keywords for particular fields of employment.

Sales: Account Management, Territory Management, Advertising, Marketing, Brand Management, Vendor Relations.

Healthcare: Medical Terminology, Emergency Response, Long-Term Care, Patient Care, Assessment.

Accounting: Account Management, Accounts Receivable, Profit & Loss Reporting, Tax Strategies, Collections, Banking.

Administrative/Secretarial: Word/Data Processing, Report Writing, Conference Arrangements, Front Office Operations.

Remember, a well-written resume is NOT about you but IS employer-focused. Researching and incorporating pertinent keywords is one of the critical keys in escalating your resume and your chances of securing an interview.

Need help writing a keyword rich resume? Interested in a free resume critique? Simply send an inquiry to: brenda@robustresumesandresources.com for friendly, professional service and advice.

Every individual is unique, forming their own set of soft and hard skills throughout life. Your resume should also reflect your uniqueness and value by selecting the most appropriate words to describe yourself and your career knowledge. In this blog, we’ll expand upon and provide examples of both your soft skills and hard skills.

By definition, soft skills are your people skills….the personal attributes used to describe you. Think about what type of performer you are; how would you describe your communication style; are you a team player? Can you solve problems? How would others describe you? Employer’s value soft skills as a predictor of job performance. Review the job description for the soft skills pertinent to the position and be sure to incorporate those skills into your resume.

Examples of soft skills include:

Tenacious, analytical, patient, methodical, confident, reliable, diligent, intuitive, inquisitive, ambitious, focused, goal-oriented, detail-oriented, organized, competitive, fearless, innovative, inspiring, loyal, and versatile.

Hard skills are the specific abilities achieved through education and career experience. Unlike soft skills, hard skills can be learned and developed at any time, such as pursuing a new language or industry certification. Similar to soft skills, hiring professionals value your hard skills as they directly relate to your qualifications for the position. Again, review the job description to determine the relevent hard skills required to fulfill the position then build strong accomplishment-based statements to support each hard skill. For example, if one of your skills is Project Management, provide at least one example of how you successfully managed a project, what was the scope, budget, time frame, end result?

Examples of hard skills include:

Accounts payable, business writing, administrative support, team leadership, budgeting, resource management, customer service, problem solving, program management, telemarketing, and employee supervision.

Reviewing the job description to determine the combination of required skills, then building your resume around these key words, helps to escalate your resume, making you stand out among the candidates all vying for the same position.

It is not uncommon for people to struggle in determining their soft skills. Hard skills are typically easier to identify. If you’re struggling, a professional resume writer, such as Brenda Collard-Mills of Robust Resumes can help you uncover your combination of soft and hard skills to best market your talents for your job search. As always, Robust Resumes offers free resume critques. Simply forward your resume to: brenda@robustresumesandresources.com.

Where and how you’re looking for work is as important as your resume in helping you seek a new job and minimize the time between placements.

Many job seekers mistakenly devote 100% of their time to searching and posting their resume on job board sites such as Workopolis and Monster. While these sites do yield results, they should not be the sole avenue used in your quest for a job. Did you know less than 5% of available jobs are found on these sites? Yes, let me repeat that, less than 5%.

Using a Recruiter is another avenue of availability which can prove valuable but, again, only a small amount of the job market resides within the client lists of recruiting firms.

So, where should you be looking and devoting the majority of your time? Networking! The hidden job market contains the majority of available jobs and finding those positions takes a concerted effort. Yes, searching for a job is a job unto itself.

Your networking efforts should be a combination of personal attendance and online connecting. Successful networking organizations such as Happen and ExecuNet are examples of popular networking groups with ExecuNet focusing on the $100,000+ career professional. Industry associations such as Professional Engineers Ontario or the Association of Administrative Assistants also host monthly events. There’s the Chamber of Commerce in your local area, specific ladies organizations such as Women With Vision or Pink Slip Parties in some communities. There’s probably more local networking events scheduled in your area than you ever realized before, so practice your “infomercial” and get out the door!

The other successful networking avenue to be used daily in your job search involves online social networking sites. The top 3 include LinkedIn, FaceBook and Plaxo. Use your fabulous accomplishment-based resume to create an enticing online profile. These sites are valuable tools in your job quest. Utilize the mass of data contained within each for a multitude of purposes such as: search for available jobs, research the industry or a particular company, learn who the decision makers are at that company, delve into the career history of your interviewer, or connect with previous employees of a company you’re interested in to learn more about the company and their culture as part of your decision process.

Did you know many HR professionals and Recruiters are now using the Internet to find &/or pre-screen candidates? Don’t miss out on this valuable resource, available to you 24/7/365 from anywhere you have an Internet connection.

It takes preparation, research, effort and a little detective work to find a job but networking will provide more results than simply attaching a resume to a job board or online posting and then waiting for an interview request.

Take control of your job search today. Start your networking by establishing a profile on LinkedIn and connect with me at http://ca.linkedin.com/in/brendacollardmills. Mention this blog in your connection request.

Certainly the first step in searching for a job, or career advancement opportunities, begins with a compelling resume however there are several other factors to consider in your quest for employment and progression.

Have you created a compelling cover letter to accompany your resume? The candidate review process is subjective; some HR professionals and Recruiters prefer to begin by reading a candidate’s resume while others start with the cover letter. To ensure you’ve addressed both approaches, devote time and careful consideration to writing a strategic value-add cover letter indicating why you are the perfect candidate for a company.

While the attention-getting t-shirt accompanying this blog is comical, your personal presentation should be business appropriate. Whether you are networking, cold-calling or attending an interview, you only have one chance to make a first impression so be sure that impression is a positive and lasting one, not a memorable but inappropriate impression.

Out of the total available jobs, only a small percentage are found on Internet job boards and through Recruiters. The majority of jobs are in the hidden market requiring you to network, network, network. Establish, maintain, and actively network both in person and online. Join Linkedin, industry associations, community networking groups such as Happen or ExecuNet. Google yourself and swiftly address any potential negative information which could be seen by a potential employer using the Internet to prescreen candidates.

Review the message on your phone. What type of impression does it emit? Will it encourage or discourage an interested employer to leave a message?

Conduct thorough pre-interview research of not only the company but try to learn something about the interviewer. Connect with previous employees online, ask questions, seek opinions, learn as much as possible then prepare fact-based questions to ask during the interview.

Show your appreciation by creating a post-interview thank you letter. While there is much discussion if this should be done by hand or typed, and sent by email or snail mail, just send one!

As you can see, job search is definitely more than just a resume but involves an entire package of preparation, connections and first impressions.

Interested in the advice of a Certified Resume Professional? Contact brenda@robustresumesandresources.com today to help move your job search forward.

You know your resume needs to be improved but where do you begin? Whether you’re going the “DIY” route or you’ve hired a professional, accredited resume writer, you first need to do some homework. Here’s a list of items to focus on.

Do you have a professional email address?A gmail address or one from your service provider is always a good option. Try to avoid using a hotmail address when job searching.

Get to know yourself by doing a self-assessment.  Known as soft skills, what words best describe you. For example, are you: ambitious, persistent, detail-oriented or brave? Now, what are your hard skills, those qualities which have been developed over the course of your career, such as: project management, contract negotiations, customer service, sales forecasting, process or quality improvement, etc.

Know your accomplishments. Employers don’t want to see a list of job duties and responsibilities. Sell yourself in your resume by describing the achievements you’ve generated during your career, showing the value you can bring to a future employer. For example, have you saved a company money, reduced downtime, improved safety performance, etc.

Be prepared with the dates, provider, location, and names of all the courses you’ve taken as part of your professional development.  Avoid a generic statement such as “Various business courses.” List each course, such as Business Communications, The Art of Selling, Train the Trainer, etc…

Do you have, or can you attain, a testimonial from a recent employer/co-worker? Including a recommendation in your resume &/or cover letter is another great way to stand out among the multitude of competing candidates.

Know what you want. The more specific you are in the target area you seek employment in, the more defined and enticing the resume can become.

Google yourself. Do a quick Internet check to verify no unwanted personal information can be found by a future employer.

A resume is an investment in yourself and your career. By doing your homework before writing the resume, the process becomes streamlined and efficient while producing an enticing and valuable job search tool. Wouldn’t you say that’s one homework assignment worth the effort?

Need help writing a resume, cover letter or thank you letter? Interested in a free resume critique? Contact Brenda Collard-Mills of Robust Resumes and Resources, a Certified Resume Strategist and member of Career Professionals of Canada.  (brenda@robustresumesandresources.com).

Many job seekers make the mistake of sending out the same resume and cover letter for each position they apply to. I’ve written before about modifying your resume to suit the particular situation (key words might need to be adjusted, a refocus on accomplishments…just to name 2 potential areas). The cover letter should also be unique to the situation, as there are various reasons for writing a cover letter. In this blog, we’ll review a few of the more popular reasons.

Let`s begin with the job advertisement, the most popular reason for writing a cover letter.  The content of this type of letter must show how your experience, accomplishments, education, and credentials specifically match the needs set out in the advertisement. Typically, this type of letter is addressed to the Human Resources Manager unless a specific name or title is provided in the ad.

Another type of letter can be written to request an informational interview. Here you`ve targeted a specific company you`re interested in working for. Your goal is to provide a brief introduction of yourself, your qualifications and why you`re interested in that company. Since you`ve done your company research, include anything that could generate interest in you working for their firm, motivating someone to call and provide you with the opportunity for an interview. Often you can find the names of relevant Management Team members on the website. Select a member of the team and address your letter to their attention. If possible, continue to research and learn more about that person so you`re prepared to establish a personal rapport at the interview.

Your active networking is paying dividends and you`ve been given the name of a person to contact at a company that might benefit from your qualifications and expertise. The referral or networking letter is addressed to that specific person and generally starts with by mentioning the name of the person who referred you. For example, John Doe suggested I contact you. He is of the opinion your firm could benefit from…and continue this sentence describing your value to the organization. Similar to the informational interview letter, you will also provide a brief description of your qualifications, experience, pertinent education and perhaps highlight one or two relevant career accomplishments to further tweak that person`s interest in contacting you.

Then there`s the letter to a recruiter. While this form of letter is addressed to a specific recruiter, the balance of the document must be written a bit more generic since it is not the recruiter that will hire you but a representative from one of the recruiter`s client firms.  If you are targeting a specific geographic location or are unable to relocate but willing to travel for the right position, include this information in the letter so the recruiter has a clear picture of your needs and can more accurately assign you to the right client.

While writing different cover letters to match each unique situation might seem like an overwhelming task, it`s really not. There`s alot of content applicable to each form of letter such as your accomplishments, awards, reason for seeking a new position. Being creative in your cover letter endeavours is another way to help you make a great first impression and stand out from the usual, mundane, one size fits all letter used by your competition.

Brenda Collard-Mills is a Certified Resume Specialist, qualified to help you tailor your resume and cover letter(s) to meet your specific needs. Feel free to contact her at www.robustresumesandresources.com.

With the dawn of the computer age, increasingly more people rely on spell check as their only means of proofing a document or an email.  However, as you’ll see in the following blooper examples, sometimes spell check is not enough. Real words used in the wrong context can give new meaning to a sentence. Just last week, I was proofing a resume (after performing spell check), only to find a misspelling of the company name from Clean Marine to Clean Marie…the difference the letter “n” can make.  So, here’s a few spelling slips.

My #1 favourite (to date, that is)…

“Interviewed business users to collect additional data whorehouse requirements.”

Look what this successful salesperson was awarded:

“Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year.”

This begs the question…were they “innies or outies”?

“Spent several years in the United States Navel Reserve.”

Talk about a well-equipped port-a-potty:

“Very experienced with out-house computers.”

How just missing one key letter can change everything:

“I’m good with Pubic Relations.”

Here’s a rock solid fellow:

“I never take anything for granite.”

Lastly, for the computer software specialist…

“Development and maintenance of software for creating and administering computerized testes.”

Though it is easy to interpret what the intended meaning of each statement truly is, it is also equally as easy that this one mistake eliminates your resume from consideration for a position you might truly deserve. Before submitting or distributing your resume, proofread every page for grammar and interpretation. Have someone else also proofread the document. The more eyes that read the document, the better your chances of correcting any misinterpretations in advance. Remember, you only have one chance to make a good impression using your resume, so take the time to make the best impression possible.

For assistance writing a resume, cover letter, thank you letter or bio…contact brenda@robustresumesandresources.com.