Good morning and Happy Monday. Many job-seekers start writing their resume on Monday. Forget, for a moment, that if you want to start a new habit, starting on a Monday is not the best idea (more to come on that later). Today, just be sure you haven't put any of these 11 things on your resume:
Read MoreYou may want to sit down for this one. If you have earned your Master's in Business Administration, the coveted MBA, don't tell any one. Well, you should tell your friends and family, but no one else.
I told you that you'd want to be sitting.
Yes, after spending thousands of dollars and countless hours working on what might be your proudest achievement, I am suggesting that you keep it a secret.
Now, for starters, let me just say that this applies to the general MBA, and for those whose roles don't need a graduate degree. The operative term being "need".
Yes, it is true that many jobs require an under-graduate degree, and you should tell everyone that asks that you have one.
But consider this. You may be applying for a job where you have more education than the hiring manager. No sense in risking potentially one-upping the person that can say yes, or no, to you.
If you went to graduate school to earn your MBA, you should have walked away with some great knowledge, some practical skills that should make you stand out as an employee. Use those skills to earn your worth.
An MBA is your chance to show, rather than tell, your prospective boss that you have the skills they need.
The piece of paper that says "MBA" isn't worth as much as the education. Resist telling everyone you have your MBA and wow them with your skills. When you hit a home run at work, and someone asks how you did it. Then tell them that it was something you picked up in school.
A couple of months ago, the CEO of Yahoo, Scott Thompson, resigned. The likely cause was his resume flap. He had said he graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College. It was later discovered that his degree was in accounting only. Lying on your resume is stupid.
Period.
Sure, people do it. It is still stupid.
So, I was surprised to read about former Police Chief Ulring bowing out of the running for the Police Chief job in Spokane because of a possible issue with the education on his resume.
As an optimist, I am sure that there is a very reasonable explanation. Regardless, if there was even a hint of doubt in the legitimacy of the university, it should not have been listed.
This should serve as a reminder to all: it doesn't pay to be less than 100% honest and transparent on your resume. Companies and hiring managers are more connected than they have ever been and can quickly sniff out lies, inconsistencies, and exaggerations.
Links:
money.cnn.com/2012/05/13/technology/yahoo-ceo-out/index.htm recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120725/A_NEWS/207250325 spokesman.com/stories/2012/jul/24/chief-candidates-resume-questioned/
If you own your own business, you likely wear many hats. If you own a very small business (you're the only employee), you wear all the hats. You started a shoe-shine business; you're doing computer repair; you have a great website that sells Furbies. Congratulations.
Now you're looking for a traditional job. And on your resume, you list your title as CEO, likely because that is what you put on your business card. There is nothing wrong with considering yourself the CEO of your small business.
But should you put it on your resume?
When hiring managers see your resume and you are listed as CEO, they chuckle.
Were you appointed by your board of directors? What's that? You don't have a board of directors?
If you're company does not have a board of directors, the body to which a CEO typically reports, consider giving yourself a different title.
If you're a one-person shop and you give yourself the title of CEO, you can come across as being focused on prestige and how others perceive you, more than serving customers or achieving results.
How about just listing your title in plain english: Owner.
No matter what style your resume is in, I'll bet your name, address, phone number and e-mail address is on the top of the page. I remember writing resume before e-mail was as ubiquitous as it is today. Nearly everyone had an address that ended in aol.com or yahoo.com, as well as the occasional bigfoot.com (anyone remember that one?). And there was nothing worse than the 726651.98712@compuserve.com ones. But several years ago, I started seeing a disturbing trend of inappropriate e-mail addresses adorning the top of the page.
Candidates sent me resumes with e-mail addresses that looked like (slight variations made to protect the guilty):
As the hiring manager, can you guess what my perception of these candidates was? An e-mail address like one of those is a huge red-flag!
My recommendation? Create a unique e-mail address specific to your job search. Don't use it for forwarding jokes or registering for a dating website. There are a lot of great e-mail services out there, just pick one. GMail (the free e-mail service from Google) works perfect. For best results, use your real name as your handle if you can. If your name is Suzanne Queue, try to get suzanne.queue@gmail.com. By the way, you can add "." anywhere in your e-mail address.
Lastly, if you own your domain and your e-mail address is on that domain, everyone that sees your resume will visit your website. Make sure it's something you'd want a prospective employer to see.
In this week's My Job Story, we hear from Jenny-Faye Klooster, a Photo Stylist who runs the photography department for Gibson Overseas, a large kitchenware company, a job she has held for almost four years.
Do you want to differentiate yourself from your peers at work? I have a simple suggestion. All you have to do is speak up! That's right. It's time to work on your public speaking skills.
Networking is a terrible verb to describe human interactions. For some people, networking still has that cheesy sounding ring to it. I've spent countless hours reading newspaper and magazine articles, blogs, tweets and Facebook posts from recruiters from all over the country and nearly all of them say that one of the most important job search strategies is networking.
Asking for a referral is important. How you handle that referral is even more important. If you want to work at XYZ Company and you know someone that works there, you should ask them to refer you to a hiring manager. Ideally, your contact will make a personal introduction, or copy you on an e-mail introduction. Sometimes, you'll just get a phone number or e-mail address of the hiring manager.
Even if you've been without a job for some time, it is generally best not to settle for a job that you may not enjoy. Having said that, there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself when evaluating a job, or when determining what companies to target.
A job fair can be an effective way to meet hiring managers and recruiters in your community and learn about many job opportunities in one day. If you are prepared and use your time wisely, you can walk away with many strong job leads. Many job seekers make careless mistakes that can hurt their chances of success at a job fair. Here are 16 simple tips to make your next job fair a success.