From Passion to PURPOSE

Stop sitting in job interviews and describing yourself as passionate. Take the time to think about why you actually want to do the work that you do. Check out this link for some tips. #ThursdayThoughts

Tips for Updating Your Resume

A new year provides new opportunities. This is the perfect time to do a quick and fairly simple update of your resume. Here’s how.

Update contact information
Try removing your full address from your resume. It will save space in your document and it is seemingly unnecessary information. Instead, use the space to provide solid contact information (i.e. phone number and email address) as well as links to professional profiles (i.e. LinkedIn)

Remove objective statement
I don’t know how many times this has to be said, “Remove objective statements from your resume!” 99.5% of the time they add nothing to your story.

Make sure you include relevant skills and experience
Do not fall into the trap of listing everything you have ever done or can do. Focus on the skills and experience that speaks to where you want to go.

Simplify your educational achievements
If you are including information about which high school you attended, stop it immediately. GPA’s and irrelevant certifications need not be included on your resume.

Modernize your formatting
This does not mean that you have to produce a highly stylized document. Style will never trump substance. Your resume must be accessible, skimmable, and of course, able to get past the always dreaded applicant tracking system.

Don’t forget to work for yourself this holiday season

We have made it through Thanksgiving and are only a few weeks out from another holiday season. My thoughts are permeated by holiday preparation but I can not let my career goals fall by the weigh side. Don’t decide that you will start again in the new year.

These “7 LinkedIn Job Hunting Tactic that Work” are a fairly easy lift. Use your online time for good, not evil (or at least for frivolity all of the time) and do something for yourself this holiday season.

Tracking Your Career Accomplishments

Here’s a fun way to keep your resume alive and your career mojo moving.

Late last year, I noticed people making “good things” jars. The idea is simple, write down the good things that happen to you throughout the year, decorate a jar (I am sure a vase will do in a pinch), and collect the stories.

So I decided to make one but instead of happenstance, happy moments that magically occur, I decided to record and collect career accomplishments and skills that I build throughout 2017.

It’s my “Accomplishments” jar and at the end of the year, it will be filled with career milestones, new skills that have been developed, and personal and professional achievements.

The lack of any of the above will provide me with insight on areas that need to be worked on.

I tell people that resumes are living, breathing documents that need to be visited on a regular basis. This statement is not new, but very few people are revising and updating their resumes on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis unless they are actively searching for new opportunities.

A few recommendations for maximizing the usefulness of your “Accomplishments” jar.

1. Prominently place your accomplishment container
   Put your jar in a space that is visible to not only you but to visitors to your home and office. It is a great way to start conversations with others about your goals. They may have opportunities or advice that can help you fill your jar with a few more accomplishments.
2. Think about your language
   We work hard to achieve and grow as professionals. Make sure every accomplishment you drop in the jar acknowledges your effort. No one gives us anything. We earn what we get and if you can not comfortably say that, there may be some things to rethink.
3. It is not just a good idea or decoration
   This fancy little jar provides a nice, sort of fun, way to track your career development on a regular basis. Just think of it as a creative way to keep that resume up to date.
4. Separate accomplishments from skills
   Be creative when documenting your growth throughout this year. Perhaps you can distinguish achievements from newly developed skills by using various paper colors. Making a distinction will provide an easy visual of where you are making progress and where gaps may be forming.

It is important to celebrate, document, and assess your career development. Doing all three while mixing in a creative, craft project is a win-win. Let the collecting begin!

Professional Ghosting

Remember telephone books? When was the last time you used one? Today we all Google what we need and companies that can not easily be found in these search results typically don’t get as much patronage.

The same principle applies to you. It is important to have an appropriate, online presence.

4. Having no professional, digital presence 

I reconnected with a former co-worker a couple of weeks ago and he said that he was not on Facebook. I immediately thought he was lying and probably trying to hide something.

I know that there really are people who don’t use social media but it’s weird. Many employers search for applicants online and having no digital presence can be just as harmful as having inappropriate search results.

Just to clarify, I am encouraging you to develop a professional digital presence. There are some simple ways to start:

1.  Sign up for LinkedIn
2. Update the LinkedIn account you signed up for years ago
3. Start a blog about issues pertaining to your area of expertise

Taking one of these suggestions provides another method of defining yourself as a professional. You can discuss accomplishments, demonstrate knowledge, and of course grow your network online.