Write a killer résumé
A résumé has one function: to land you an interview. And experts agree that the way to wow potential employers is to be sure you have the basics covered. Make your résumé easy to read: a vertical format, not too much bold or underlining, plenty of white space. Keep it specific to the industry and don’t include a lot of extraneous information. Answer the three most important questions employers have: Can you either make or save them money? Are you innovative? Do you have the skills necessary to do the job?
The secret to a great résumé, says Kathy Sweeney, president of The Write Résumé, a Phoenix-area résumé writing and career-consulting firm, is to think of it as product packaging or a thirty-second commercial about you. Be sure the “profile” section at the top of your résumé details your core competencies. For instance, an accountant might have the words “accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger and financial statements” in her profile.
Recruiters want to see a good mix of duties and accomplishments. Illustrate where you have increased revenue or decreased costs. It’s best to use numbers, whether it’s dollar figures or percentages. Instead of writing “responsible for” and then listing what you did in a certain position, quantify your employment history in ways that focus not only on what you did but how well you did it. For example, instead of “Responsible for managing marketing,” say, “Launched a marketing initiative that resulted in a 40 percent increase in sales and improved customer services.”
If you’re a mom looking to reenter the workforce, hit the “mommy gap” head-on. Experts suggest listing the dates from the time you started staying home to the present, and write: “Off-ramped for personal reasons. Now pursuing return to full-time work.” Below that, suggests Nurys Harrigan, presi-dent and CEO of Careers in Nonprofits, a Chicago-based staffing firm, list the ways that you have updated and sharpened your skills during that time, through volunteer work, courses, or affiliations with professional associations.
If you’re sending your résumé electronically, be sure it’s in a simple format such as Microsoft Word. And in the subject line, include only the position title. “Staffing firms screen for that,” Harrigan says. “Especially when we’re getting sixty emails per hour.”
Start networking
“It’s who you know” is still very much a truism when it comes to getting your perfect position. Most people get their jobs by networking. And while it’s not as tough for men to be bold in this arena (thanks to old-boy networks) women have a harder time. Often women will say: “I hate this. It’s horrible asking people for things,” says J. Janelle Shubert, PhD, director of the Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College, a private business school in Wellesley, MA. But if you substitute the idea of “relationships” for “networks,” it gets easier.
Start networking where you’re most comfortable: your child’s playgroup, your neighborhood, your college alumni office. Don’t narrow your networking to work environments only. You might be surprised to learn that a mom at your child’s school is also the CEO at your town’s largest employer! Once you begin your job search, let everyone know.
The golden rule of networking is to give more than you get. So how can you help those you want to network with? Start networking before you need something. Think two
steps ahead to build goodwill and credibility. This works in short-term situations, too. “Don’t enter a room trying to collect twenty business cards in twenty minutes,” says
Roberta Chinsky Matuson, president of Northampton, MA–based Human Resource Solutions (yourhrexperts.com) and the former HR careers expert for Monster.com. “Instead, try to meet one or two people and keep the focus on them. Eventually the conversation will turn to you, and you’ll have the chance to share your story.”
