Don't limit your job opportunities - consider the other part of the career search equation when writing your résumé...
Karen Tisdell
● LinkedIn Profile Writer ● Independent LinkedIn Trainer ● LinkedIn Profile Workshops ● 170 recommendations ?? Australia based and don't work or connect globally as family complains my voice travels through walls ??
Your résumé should be your most loyal talent scout, promoting your talents beyond your immediate network, as interviewers refer you to their colleagues, and your associates pass your details on to their contacts. So don’t create obstacles for your biggest networking star! Don’t mark your CV Private and Confidential, limiting its ability to network on your behalf.
These days we are all far more connected than we used to be. We all have vast networks and we know countless people. We call upon our networks to fill gaps in our knowledge, drive down prices, drive up value, and fill vacancies.
Everybody works like this. Not just you.
When everyone has so many contacts, and everyone is keen to network, your résumé is perhaps more important than ever before – this contains the concrete information that can be passed on between contacts, going beyond your network into other networks. When you submit your résumé to a key decision maker, or to somebody you know, you want it to open doors for you.
Your résumé can’t open doors if it is marked ‘Private and Confidential’.
At best, Private and Confidential is a one-way corridor. At worst it is a door slammed shut.
If you have priced yourself out of the role (you named a figure that is higher than the budgeted salary set by the company), or your experience is more than the person you would report to (they are foolishly intimidated by your knowledge), you want people passing on your résumé to another employer within the group of companies, or to a trusted contact of theirs, who might just might offer the challenge – and the salary – you are rightly demanding.
Jeff* is an example of someone whose résumé did the legwork during his job search. Jeff had applied for a senior role and after three interviews, he was quietly confident of landing the position. He was extremely disappointed when the interviewer told him “they had decided to go in another direction” but then a week later, he received an email from another company.
“Apparently the guy who interviewed me had passed on my information to a business associate because he knew my skills made me a great fit for a role they were offering. So there I was, thinking I had no further options, and suddenly another door opened and someone specifically wanted me.”
Don’t walk a narrow path without any options or alternatives. Instead - take Private and Confidential off your résumé. Do it now.
But don’t be paranoid that your résumé will be shared everywhere. We all know the difference between public and private, but there is also a distinction between private and confidential. Your LinkedIn profile is public. Your résumé is private. Some aspects of your career history outlined on your résumé will be confidential, but your résumé itself should not be private. This distinction will be understood by other business associates.
Every professional knows that your résumé is not something they should publish or pass on willy-nilly. But you do want people talking positively about you to people they trust.
Your résumé should already present you in a positive light, because you wrote it that way, so what do you have to lose?
Only a few job offers!
We believe that securing the right job is about proving we are the best person for the job.
That is only half-correct.
Timing, luck, chance – these are the other parts of the equation. It is about finding the best job for you. And this perfect job could be just beyond the parameters of your network – but your résumé can travel beyond your network SO LONG AS YOU GIVE IT FREEDOM!
Preventing people from mentioning your name and any details of your background by marking your CV as Private and Confidential is going to limit your job opportunities!
Don’t let those three words on your résumé become a barrier.
Let your CV do what it does best - Act as your most versatile and vocal talent scout.
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Karen Tisdell ? 0404 083 678 ? [email protected] ? Professional Resume & LinkedIn Profile Writer ? Sydney, Australia
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● LinkedIn Profile Writer ● Independent LinkedIn Trainer ● LinkedIn Profile Workshops ● 170 recommendations ?? Australia based and don't work or connect globally as family complains my voice travels through walls ??
8 年"...most jobs I have found over the years have been self found, or found via my own contacts." Boss magazine reported in Aug 2015 (I think, might be July), that 52% of people secure jobs through people they know. You are quite right Alan to be using your network to secure you a role. To rely only on advertised positions is to ignore half of the job market! In coming years I am sure we will see even less advertised positions. It will all be word of mouth - making LinkedIn, and large networks, even more crucial to career success.
● LinkedIn Profile Writer ● Independent LinkedIn Trainer ● LinkedIn Profile Workshops ● 170 recommendations ?? Australia based and don't work or connect globally as family complains my voice travels through walls ??
8 年"I could be cynical and say that some recruiters don't bother to read CV's and just scan for the keywords" so true Alan Kernaghan, although this is of course because they are time-poor, their salaries and profession is threatened by a number of factors and so they scan quickly, just skimming the first 2-6 words of every sentence to see if you have what they are looking for. With 180 to 250 applicants for each job, and most recruiters these days working on 15-20 jobs a week, they don't have time to read. So position your key words early in each sentence, and don't expect the reader (or ATS software that scans for keywords) to take time to understand the nuances of what you do.
● LinkedIn Profile Writer ● Independent LinkedIn Trainer ● LinkedIn Profile Workshops ● 170 recommendations ?? Australia based and don't work or connect globally as family complains my voice travels through walls ??
8 年That is shocking Alan. Although I suppose there is that adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, if somebody secures a job that you also pitched for - this flattery is poor comfort! By removing all the details of what you have done though, are you getting interviews? I wonder how your resume can contain enough detail / keywords if it is stripped of all information...?
CIVIL/STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL CHECKER
8 年Having once received a resume from someone else which contained part of my own, copied word for word, I now only list the Project, position held and duration. They can cut and paste as much as they like, but only I can answer the questions.
Mechanical Quality Inspector (ETSD) - OXAGON - II NEOM at Bureau Veritas Group
8 年i should removed from my resume "Private and Confidential." recently i have made changes and as per advice i have put "Private and Confidential.