Why Your Resume Isn't That Important
Larry woke up full of anticipation. Today, he was to begin his
career as chief financial officer for Acme Software Systems, a position ideally
suited to his background and skills. In the past four months, Larry had pursued
his job search full time, networking with at least 50 people, collaborating
with headhunters, responding to postings on CareerJournal.com and other web
sites, and following up on potential leads. To stay balanced, he also scheduled
time to relax, play ball with his daughter, and work off that extra 10 pounds
he'd been wanting to shed for the past two years.
He's both enthusiastic and a little nervous about moving into a
challenging position where he will be working with a team that fits him like a
glove. While the past few months have had their ups and downs, Larry knows his
job-search approach produces real results. Should he ever need to use it again,
he's confident his winning formula will find him a great match.
Meanwhile, across town, Joe looks at the clock and notices it's
already 9:30 a.m. He sighs, stares at the ceiling and tries to convince himself
to get out of bed and face another day unemployed. After six months of effort,
Joe doesn't feel any closer to finding work than he did when he began looking
for a job. In fact, when he was laid off, he was a lot more confident about
moving easily into another mid-management position than he is today. With his
seemingly marketable experience, excellent reviews, sterling references, and
dynamite resume that took days to perfect, he can't help wondering, "Where
did I go wrong?"
Joe's problems stem from a combination of erroneous assumptions
and macho attitudes. He's made a series of mistakes that have sabotaged his
opportunities and heightened his depression. Unless he changes his approach,
he'll spend many more mornings under the covers pondering his fate.
Let's take a look at Joe's job search versus Larry's. The
differences should speak for themselves.
To Whom It May Concern
After he was laid off, Joe worked to perfect his resume like a man
possessed. He carefully constructed a chronological listing of his job
responsibilities to impress even the fussiest employer. He consulted his
thesaurus, fine-tuning every phrase for maximum impact.
After days of exhaustive labor, he pronounced his masterpiece
complete and ready to catapult him into any position a contact, executive
search firm, ad or direct-mail campaign might offer. He honestly believed this
resume was one of his life's proudest achievements.
Having produced the perfect resume and an equally perfect cover
letter, Joe spent several hundred dollars on typesetting and laser printing to
make hundreds of perfect copies at a local graphics firm.
While Joe put a lot of effort into his resume, he confined his
networking effort to just a few friends and relatives. He was embarrassed about
being laid off, so he didn't want to broadcast his unfortunate situation to
people who respected him, or put his friends in an awkward position by asking
for their help.
Instead he decided to make extensive use of executive-search
firms. In fact, he was really enthusiastic about other people's marketing him
to potential corporations. To get names of qualified headhunters, he Googled
Employment Recruiters and Executive Search Consultants, checked out some Web
sites and e-mailed all but the specialized ones his all-purpose resume and
cover letter addressed: To Whom It May Concern. Then he waited for them to
call.
Like many job seekers, Joe spent most of his job search poring
over job postings online, his local newspaper and the Web sites for major
dailies in other cities where he was willing to relocate. He responded to every
ad remotely similar to his experience, assuming that at least a few would bear fruit.
Joe targeted companies in his industry as well. He did an Internet
search for a list of the top 250 software firms in the
Joe, confident in the knowledge he had "papered the
world" with his resume, decreased his job-search efforts and eagerly
anticipated an avalanche of calls and letters from prospective employers. Much
to his surprise and frustration, 400 resumes generated six responses and one
job offer he didn't want.
Joe started his job search believing his experience would be
marketable in any number of places. In a burst of frenzied activity, he sent
hundreds of unsolicited resumes to search firms and companies, answered many
job postings, and did a little networking with friends. By the second month,
when he began receiving rejection letters, he experienced the sinking feeling
his job search would be more difficult than expected. In fact, the task began
to loom larger and larger until Joe felt crushed by its weight and scope. Was
he really as good as he thought? Would he ever find another job? Negative
expectations overwhelmed him, crowding out all the positive feelings he had
about himself, and usurping the time and effort he should have been spending
looking for a job.
Every time he searched a job board and saw nothing worthwhile;
every time he read about another layoff; and every time receipt of his resume
went unacknowledged, he sank deeper into despair. Yet he did nothing to seek
support from his family, friends and community because he was embarrassed and
afraid.
Why didn't Joe talk to his minister, a career counselor or a
therapist? Pride. Strong men don't need help. They solve their own problems.
I'm Available
When he started his job search, the first thing Larry did was list
contacts who might be able to help him find a new position. Then he
systematically met with each of them to explore a new career.
Recognizing that roughly two-thirds of jobs are filled through
networking, he talked extensively with potential employers. When he uncovered
an opportunity, he constructed a resume to parallel the position's requirements
and sent it along with a "Thank you for the appointment" note. As you
might imagine, Larry eventually developed quite a stack of resume variations.
But the thought and effort he put into them paid major dividends by showing
potential employers how his background uniquely fit their particular needs.
While Larry knew most job seekers found positions through
networking, he recognized that executive-search firms, ads and targeted resume
campaigns sometimes yield results as well. Consequently, he researched
headhunters and selected several who specialized in his field. Before he left
his position at Snyder Systems, he talked to each of them to find out what they
prefer in a resume and how they match candidates to search assignments. Then,
focusing on his most relevant experience, he followed each firm's favored
format and sent a copy of his resume to be edited, revised and resubmitted.
Perusing his local paper and online job postings, he selected a
few that required his particular combination of skills and experience. He
carefully tailored his resume to parallel what each ad requested by rearranging
the priority of his accomplishments, altering jargon phrases, highlighting key
personality traits, and even changing his objective to match the position,
title and company name. He became a dedicated stickler for detail. Friends in
human-resources positions had forewarned him, "Resumes are screening
tools. Even one 'off the mark' element can be the kiss of death."
Instead of beginning his cover letter with the usual, "I am
sending my resume in response to your ad for a CFO," he did some online
research that enabled him to focus his first paragraph on why the company
interested him. Having attracted the attention of the human-resources
department with this unique approach, Larry summarized his most relevant experiences
in his second paragraph. At the end of the letter, he promised a follow-up call
to answer any immediate questions and discuss the mutual benefit of scheduling
an initial interview. Of course, he addressed the letter to a specific person,
even if it required a little sleuthing to discover the name, while also sending
a copy to the CEO when possible.
To launch his very selective direct-mail campaign, Larry spent
several days researching companies to determine his best corporate candidates,
and even visited his local library to access its premium databases. He looked
for those whose philosophy, growth, organization, and products or services
intrigued him. As he read annual reports and trade-journal articles, he
searched for specific needs or niches he might uniquely fill. After having
tailored his cover letters and resumes, he sent them to the targeted CEOs most
likely to hire him, then followed up on the phone to find out if a
get-acquainted interview would be worthwhile.
By carefully pursuing chosen markets through networking, search
firms, ads and direct mail, Larry maximized his chances for generating serious
responses. By the time his job search ended, he had produced 20 inquiries, 10
initial interviews, six second interviews and four job offers, all of which
were good matches for his background and interests.
I'm OK
Larry knew his job search would be a roller coaster of "king
of the hill" highs and "crawl under a snake with a high hat on"
lows. Consequently, he built a variety of activities into his days to keep
himself on an even keel.
While he pursued a new job five days a week, he didn't obsess
about it. As a recovering workaholic, he didn't want to backslide by
concentrating on his job search every waking hour. He knew actively seeking a balance
of work, fun and learning was a healthy approach whether he was employed or
not. And he was hoping if he practiced his new lifestyle during his job search,
he would be more likely to maintain it when he returned to work.
A Resume Doesn't a Job Search Make
Larry's and Joe's stories illustrate that a perfect resume doesn't
produce a satisfying career. Unless your job search strategy combines a savvy
resume with lots of networking, targeted marketing, persistent follow-up and
psychological support, you, too, may find yourself depressed, unemployed and
wondering what went wrong.
The saga of Larry and Joe has alluded to a number of activities
and attitudes involving resumes. Now that you have read it, here's
a quiz to test your resume acumen. Don't worry if you don't answer all the
questions correctly. If you were an expert, you would be writing this article,
not reading it.
Ms. Besson is president of Career Dimensions, a Dallas-based
career consulting firm. She's the author of "The NBEW Guide to Resume
Writing" (John Wiley & Sons, 1996), from which this article was
excerpted.
Article from CareerJournal.com – January 2005