The reader is generally not thinking about you when they read your resume. They read a resume. They are thinking about themselves and can this person solve my pain or deliver they results I need.
Our methodology for addressing the reader's pain is S.O.A.R. This can be used to convert all the features/facts into benefits.
• Understanding S.OA.R. to describe your accomplishments:

o Situation - briefly describe the issue

o Obstacles - what obstacles did you overcome

o Action - what action did you take

o Results - identify the quantifiable results you achieved.

Below are actual statements taken from candidate's resumes. Then examples converting features/facts into a benefit:

• Feature - 20 direct reports with specialization in project management, purchasing, operations, logistics and analytics.

o Benefit -Saved $200,000 per year while leading the implementation of a supply chain management system. This included overseeing project management, purchasing and logistics.

• Feature - Negotiated and drafted joint venture & strategic alliance agreements in the US, Canada and Europe

o Benefit- Assisted in generating revenue increases by 35% in two years by negotiating and drafting joint venture and strategic alliance agreements in the US, Canada and Europe.

• Feature - Established cost per hire metrics. Managed turnover to below industry benchmarks.

o Benefit - Established cost per hire metrics that reduced the cost per hire from $2000 per hire before metrics to less than$1000 per hire within 6 months of setting metrics.

• Feature - Established cost per hire metrics. Managed turnover to below industry benchmarks.

o Benefit - Established cost per hire metrics that reduced the cost per hire from $2000 per hire before metrics to less than$1000 per hire within 6 months of setting metrics.

o Benefit- Reduced turnover to below industry benchmarks within 1 year saving the company $250,000 in training fees, recruiting fees and cost per hire.

The benefits address value created, while the former simply addresses features. The benefits add value to the accomplishments and demonstrate value created as a result of you being in the position.

Review your resume and convert the features/facts to benefits. Have multiple benefits for each position, as not all benefits are the same for every company.

ShareThis

Here are 7 thru 10. Click the link above to read the others.

7) When an applicant was offered food before the interview, he declined saying he didn't want to line his stomach with grease before going out drinking.
A candidate for an accounting position said she was a "people person" not a "numbers person."
9) Candidate flushed the toilet while talking to interviewer during phone interview.
10) Candidate took out a hair brush and brushed her hair.

Candidates often just don't understand the impact of the things they do. I have personally had number nine happen to me. I suggested to the candidate they should consider muting the phone prior to flushing. However; the one that stands out most in my mind is when a candidate interviewing for a Director of Human Resources told the CEO that she "had sued her last two employers."

If you have had stupid things happen either while you were interviewing a candidate or better yet stupid things hiring managers have done during an interview share them with others by commenting.

ShareThis

There is a major warning with using a Compelling Marketing Brochure, you can't cross the line between professional and appearing desperate. Many candidates don't know where that line is. An excellent example of this is based on a recent article on Yahoo Hotjobs titled "Wacky Job-Seeker Stunts; Too Much Creativity Can Thwart Success.

There are many examples in this article of wachy things candidates do to get noticed, from sending flowers to attaching scratch and sniff stickers to a resume. The consensus of all those quoted in the article is this will generally diminish the candidates changes of getting an interview. Most hiring managers, even those in sales, marketing, the advertising and PR industry don't like these gimmicks. In fact, few take the candidate serious when they do these wacky things. They come across as desperate.

As recruiters we completely support this. Wacky resumes generally get a laugh and then go in the shredder. We aren't looking for a wacky candidate unless that is in the job description.  We want professionals who let their accomplishments speak for them.

You don't need to be wacky to get  noticed. Create a professional resume that sells and addresses the direct needs of the hiring manager. You do that you won't need to go over the line to wacky.

And your resume or Compelling Marketing Brochure will get noticed.

ShareThis

We often do one-on-one search coaching with candidates. This is a program covers all aspects of a person's search. We work weekly to ensure all is being done to expedite their search. We cover issues that might arise before they arise, discuss areas of conflict, develop a marketing plan, perform interviews, resumes, interviewing tough questions, compensation negotiations and pre-checking references. It is very comprehensive and often hidden issues that might prevent the candidate from getting an interview or job are discovered and addressed before they become an issue. Too often the candidate never finds out why they didn't get an interview or offer. When a little up front work would solve the problem before it becomes a problem.

As part of this coaching, the candidate develops a complete set of references. The candidate always assures us that the reference has told them "They would give me a good reference." A CEO I was working with had a board member as one of the references. I called to talk with this reference just to make sure all was well. It didn't take long to realize that the reference although not bad was only average to barely passing. It wasn't what the reference said, as much as how he said it. Not something the candidate would want a company to hear. We went back to candidate suggested they use other board members (at least two) instead of the first one. They both had great things to say and in fact one was going to recommend the candidate for another position. It turned out the first person had a grudge to bear against the CEO for leaving. These two then became the reference. Had we not done this the candidate would have never found out why he didn't get the position.

This is just one of many very easy things to deal with before they become a problem.

ShareThis

Many years ago we completed a search for a CFO of a major healthcare company in Orange County. The CFO later retained us to conduct a VP Finance search for him. In the middle of the search he called and said "So, I was in my office and just happen to look out my window. To my amazement I see this guy with a surf board hanging out the back of his car and a big dog in the back seat. If that wasn't weird enough, he got out of the car and started changing from a bathing suit to a business suit right in the parking lot. I started laughing and thought nothing more of it, until a few minutes later my assistant tells me she is going down to bring up my next interview. Guess who walks in my door."
The CFO felt this person showed such poor judgment that he wouldn't hire him regardless of his qualifications.
The interview begins as soon as you enter the parking lot.

ShareThis

BusinessWeek.com published an interview with David Keirsey that is enlightening regarding understanding the role one's personality plays not only in one's success but also happiness.

We have many clients that give candidates a personality test prior to hiring the candidate. There are many of these on the market. You probably have taken one yourself, maybe the Myers/Briggs, DISC, 16 PF, Birkman or even one by Keirsey. He wrote one of the most popular books on the subject "Please Understand Me." These tests are valuable and we support them as one step in the process.

In this interview Keirsey discusses how to use the test to your advantage when seeking  a job, your first career or even a career change. It can be valuable for students graduating from college. I wonder how many candidates we interview that just plain don't like what they do would be happier had they pursued a career that fit their personality. I know I am one of those. I selected my major based on what industry was the hottest when I graduated. I majored in accounting and went to work for a public accounting firm. Had I taken a personality test while in college it would have been very clear this is not consistent with my personality. In fact, I recently took a test for the fun of it. The first thing the person that analyzed the results said to me was "it is clear why you did not like accounting. You should never have considered that based on who you are." She was right. I last 4 years in accounting and hated it. I selected a career for the wrong reasons. I was one of the lucky ones to realize this and changed careers early. Too many don't recognize this and stay with it, often blaming the company so they constantly change jobs. Instead of realizing they don't fit the career.

Most of these tests are not about stereotyping people. They are about how we can best interact with others. Knowing how your future boss processes data, their communication style and management style  are very helpful to know when considering a new position.

As you read this interview consider if taking a test yourself or having your company begin to use these as part of the hiring process would be beneficial.

ShareThis

A strong first impression dramatically increases the odds of getting the job. On the other hand, if you make a weak first impression you rarely get the job, regardless of how perfect a fit you may be. Our experience has been that candidates under estimate the first impression or completely ignore it. Either case spells disaster in the interview.

First impressions take only a second or two to make and hours to overcome if you ever get the chance. So here are a few things can do to ensure you make a strong first impression:

1) Dress for success. Whatever that is for your level and occupation you need to know. For professional level jobs we believe that even though most companies are casual you should still wear a business suit for the first interview.
2) Strong and firm handshake. Most people think they have this, but only about half really do. You need to test this with a person that will be truthful with you. Easy to fix, but few ever do.
3) Strong introduction with eye contact. Practice your introduction and make sure you have eye contact while saying it.
4) Small talk back to the office is important. You have to be comfortable with small ice breaker type talk. A good coach should be able to help you on this.
5) Body language. Sit up straight, so many people I interview think they are home watching a ball game with a beer in one hand. Look at the person when speaking to them. I have coached more people in an interview that they rarely looked at me while answering. I have never had one say back to me "Yes, I know" they all claim they are. So they don't have an awareness they are even doing this.
6) Speak slow and clearly. Pronounce your words clearly and slowly. The right pace of talk is consistent with the person interviewing you. If they speak fast you can too, if they are slow and thoughtful take your time, slow down and mirror them.

Few obvious things to me and to most candidates. Only thing is most don't realize the importance of these and as a result ignore them.

ShareThis

EI continues to grow in popularity as another indicator of success. Many believe it is more important than IQ. Daniel's blog gets comments arguing both pro and con if IQ is more or less important. I guess depending on where one lands on the IQ scale might bias their position.

Having conducted hundreds of senior level executive searches our position is that it is a balance of both that is important. Too much of anything is not good. We have all met very smart people that can't manage themselves, let alone others. They are very good technically or with whatever skills are required to perform the job. But put them at the head of a corporation and it is chaos or nothing ever gets done.

We believe that as one moves up the corporate ladder there occurs a shift from IQ to EI. Obviously one has to have a high enough IQ to get on the ladder, but that IQ will only carry one so far. As the day to day activities shift away from the technical more towards people and leadership, the successful exec must be able to shift from IQ to EI. They must be able to motivate others, resolve conflict without alienating people, bring teams together to accomplish a goal when everyone isn't in sync with the goal and communicate a vision that people get excited about. Knowing when to bring down the hammer, the right way to bring it down, who to bring it down on and having them thank you for hitting them with the hammer is EI at its best.

So where on you on the debate between IQ and EI? Have you experienced a boss with too much of one and not enough of the other? Which one do you believe is most important?

2008 Copyright. All Rights Reserved

ShareThis

We manage one of the largest executive networking groups in Southern California known as the American Association of Senior Executives. All the members are at least VP's or higher in small to Fortune 100 companies. All have been told that the key to finding a job is networking. Yet none have been instructed on how to network. So they run from networking meeting to networking meeting to networking meeting. After about three months of this they are burned out and left scratching their heads why all this networking hasn't paid off. The experts are wrong and as a result they give up.

This happens because they were doing a lot of activity but that is all. They have stacks of business cards that they don't even remember if Pat was a male or female. The people they were networking with don't remember them either. Networking is an overused, over blown and completely misused term. Networking isn't about activity, it is about relationships.

The best networkers know that it is about building a relationship with others and that is how to get referrals. The key to networking is knowing how to turn a networking contact into a connection and then into a relationship. This takes time, multiple meetings, getting to know the person's background including their likes and dislikes. It isn't just passing out a business card and giving an elevator speech.

Most candidates would get far better results with 100 great connections than with 1200 contacts. Stop running from meeting to meeting. Instead pick a few meetings that you feel hit your target and go deep with those. Serve on committees, get on the board, attend meetings even when not looking for a job and most of all reach out and help others. They will remember this and help you when you need it.

Gives use your feedback on this article and let us know if you enjoy networking? Let us know if you have found jobs using networking?

Visit our candidate page at www.impacthiringsolutions.com.

ShareThis

We have interviewed thousands of candidates. We have sat in on hundreds of interviews with hiring managers. We have coached so many candidates we don't know if it hundreds or thousands. One thing is consistent - candidates rarely ask the one most important question before accepting a position.

Questions asked by candidates generally revolve around the company such as growth, goals, products and some other very general questions. Some of which are important, some are worthless and most are the same ones every person asks in one form or another. Less than 1 percent ask the single question that will determine if they will be successful.

"What defines success in this role?" is really the key to your success once you come on board. The candidate should then engage the hiring manager in a substantive discussion around what it will take to accomplish this success. Will it require more resources, are the time frame expectations realistic, is the infrastructure in place to get the job done, has this been done before by others and how much independence will you have to accomplish these goals. Just a few follow-up questions that will let you know you can be successful once you come on board.

Don't wait to come on board to find out if the hiring manager has reasonable expectations for you. If you wait till you are on board, then it might be too late. We have put together a list of the 10 most important questions to ask in an interview. They are free and available at the bottom of the Free Resource section on our website at www.impacthiringsolutions.com.

We welcome your comments on the article. Please let us know your favorite questions.

2008 Copyright. All Rights Reserved

ShareThis