Thrive! Resumes

Joni Holderman was quoted in an article on getting a job after 50 by Kristin Colella in The Street.

Here's an important reminder. If you're in a job search, and you're not a software engineer, you can and should ignore advice from tech recruiters. You see, tech recruiters focus primarily on luring computer programmers, software engineers and software analysts away from their current jobs. There are many more of those hands-on coding jobs than there are people with the required skills. In other occupations there are more qualified candidates than jobs. This is true even for other professions in the tech sector like marketing, sales, project management, product management, etc. And it's true of virtually all other industries and occupations (with a few exceptions like RNs, especially critical care nurses.) That's why most job search advice from tech sector recruiters won't apply to you.

The resume is not your life story!!! It's really common for folks to say "my entire work history is really hard to get on paper" or "it's difficult to capture the full scope of what I do on a two-page resume." But the good/bad news is--we don't have to. Your resume needs to trumpet your qualifications for your NEXT job. That's it. If you're targeting a job in sales, we can (and should) leave all your accomplishments in accounting, plumbing and tap dancing off the resume. If you don't know what type of job you're targeting ... well, that's a separate problem.

Today's inspiration. #resumes #jobs #jobsearch

Your resume should probably be 2 pages long. It's an urban myth that the resume should only be one page. It needs to be focused communication, but only recent graduates can truly get by with a one-page resume. Most experienced professionals need a resume that's two pages long to communicate their outstanding value to prospective employers. Plus, two pages gives you twice as much keyword optimization in the AI systems. More than two pages is seen as an inability to communicate clearly and concisely. #resumes #job search #jobs

The future is here! Artificial Intelligence (AI) already determines which candidates have a shot at an interview. BizTech leader CNet estimates that 95% of the resumes in any given database will never be seen by a human being. That's why it's important for your resume to appeal to humans--but even more important for it to appeal to AI. #resumes #jobs #interviews

If you are currently between jobs, you can stop chasing recruiters. Third-party recruiters or headhunters are not your friend when you are between jobs. That whole business model was founded on luring away the VP of Marketing at Ford for a job as VP of Marketing at General Motors. When you don't fit that profile--when you're between jobs or in a career transition--headhunters are no longer your friend. Many folks find that the same recruiters who called them constantly when they were employed won't return their calls when they are between jobs. Fortunately there are much better ways to leverage technology to land a job today. #jobs #recruiters #jobsearch

Today's inspiration from Mark Watney (Matt Damon) in the movie "The Martian." "Every human being has a basic instinct: to help each other out. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do." Some psychologists believe violence or murder are the defining traits of human beings. But others of us believe it's teamwork and cooperation. #inspiration #jobs #resumes