Not All Help is Helpful

My colleagues and I try to help job seekers by constantly posting helpful information in LinkedIn.

I saw an article that was posted on a banking / investment / finance site about how to write a resume. Every suggestion in this post was just slightly off optimal writing. For example:

·????? Keep your resume as short as possible. (not necessarily)

·????? Don’t put your older positions. (not necessarily)

·????? Put as many skills as you can in your resume. Make sure that you have Microsoft Word in there. (No)

And then I looked up the bio of the author:

Started writing about careers and job search in 2014.?She's written about gaslighting at work … how to return from maternity leave… and introverts in the workplace for many online outlets.?

After many years in online media, she now works with companies to develop content strategy, manage the content creation workflow, and write blog posts, newsletters, emails, and more. She's worked with several software companies and Teach For America.

Nowhere in this bio does it indicate any experience in career services. I own a few stocks, so should I now go to her website and contribute an article about investing?

This is part of the reason why so many executives (and middle management) come to me saying that they got professional advice about their resume, but it still doesn’t seem to be working. One client told me that her advice came from her bank manager. Several clients have told me that they got feedback from their spouses. Recruiter advice is fine, but make sure that they know your industry. One COO client was interviewed by a recruiter who admitted she had no idea about what he does.

Let me at least clarify the bullet points above so that there is less confusion.

Resume length: Keep your resume down to 2 pages if possible. There is no set standard length for a resume, but studies (eye scans!) show that recruiters concentrate on the skills and the first position and that reader interest in general drops off dramatically after the second page. If your resume is properly focused to the position that you’re applying to, you really don’t need more than 2 pages anyway.

Older positions: You can add your older positions, but don’t add as much detail as the more recent ones. I like to put the positions that are older than 10 years in a section called Related Experience. I reserve this section for older positions at globally recognized companies and only if the executive can demonstrate leadership impact.

Skills: Do not jam-pack your resume skills section with skills. Unless the job posting requires Microsoft Word (most executive job postings don’t) don’t add it. That’s the equivalent of putting that you can use a computer. Read the whole job posting and add the skills that that specific job posting requires. And add it in the language that’s used in the job posting.

While I can’t stop others from posting misleading, unhelpful, or even wrong information (i.e. "to land your next job in just a few weeks, do this!"), I can attempt to clarify some of their statements. As I discussed in a previous article, No One Fix, there is no one easy “fix” or “hack” that helps you land the next job. The job search is intense, sometimes long, and requires concentration and investment in yourself.

Let’s not make it longer and more stressful by believing everything that you read, okay?

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Get a better job, sooner.

For a free resume review, please contact me at [email protected]

Contact me to discuss your situation: calendly.com/coachsoozy or [email protected]

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