"Dig Your Well Before Your Thirsty" Harvey MacKay

Jose Anes has an excellent article on providing references. While reading his article, I remembered all the times when people called me for references. Don't you just hate it when someone only calls you when they need something? I haven't heard from Blue in years. Then ring, ring ring. It's Blue on the phone. A little small talk to act like we are catching up. Blue sheepishly asks if he can give my name as a reference. I say "no problem, have a nice life". I hang up. Now I'm annoyed.

Moral of the story: Stay in touch with people no matter how much life gets in the way. You never know when you might need a favor.

I have a contact management program that is phenomenal in allowing me to stay in touch with people. It lets me run a report of who I haven't spoken to in 30, 60, 90, 365 days. I call people and ask how they're doing, the kids, life, family, yada yada yada. When finished I jot down a few notes about our conversation in the contact manager. This allows me to have an excellent memory for the next time I talk to the person. I do this several times a week. That may be a bit much. I recommend reaching out to a few people in your network at least once a week, 30-45 minutes. It's part of making donations into the Good Will Bank.

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" - Zig Ziglar

Would You Hire You?

The steps for creating a high impact resume are almost the same as asking for a raise. When asking for a raise, an honest self-assessment must be performed. A raise request must be put in writing to be affective. Your resume is put in writing to make that same proposal as to why a person should hire you. Before you answer the question "would you hire you", consider reading "Don't Even Dream About Asking for a Raise". See if you can apply some of the raise justification techniques for improving your resume.

Lying Overloads the Brain

There is never any reason to lie on your resume. Once you start lying, you have to keep lying. The truth is, it's much easier to remember the truth. Lying requires way more brain power, because a person must keep remembering all previous lies. This leads to more lies. And the hits just keep on coming . . .

This point was highlighted last week with the resignation of David J. Edmondson, the former CEO of Radio Shack. The irony is, he had a solid 11 year track record at Radio Shack. So he's not a bad person. It was just a case of poor judgement.

There are plenty of word smithing techniques for pumping up the volume on a resume, without lying.

Trusted Networks vs. Job Boards

Job boards are an "unknown network". You're submitting your resume to someone who does not know you. Think about it. If a hiring person gets a resume from someone s/he knows and receives your resume, whom do you think gets called for an interview first? If you knew someone who could introduce you to the hiring person, wouldn't that be easier.

Participating in trusted networks better positions a person for a possible resume referral. Why? I'm glad you asked that question. 85%-90% of job placements occur through personal referrals, not job boards. Developing relationships with people establishes you quicker in a "known network". People are known to you and you get to know them. People, who know you, refer you to other people.

The caveat to networking is Forget What You Want. It's about reverse WIIFM. Below are some suggested places to network on and off line. Think of this way. You already know at least one person in any of these networks. I'm registered as C. E. Reid or SirReid. It would be my pleasure to introduce you to other people. Be prepared to give, in order to get. Pick up a copy of The Virtual Handshake to really kick your job search into high gear.

Ecademy

LinkedIn

Ryze

Gather

Circle of Experts

Network2Connect

The Lunch Club

ETP Network

LISTA

Biba4Network

Networking for Professionals

Business Over Breakfast Clubs

The Resource Room

Consultant Entrepreneurs Forum

Volunteer at National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship

The purpose of a resume is to obtain an INTERVIEW, not a job. Landing a job is up to you during the interview.

Smart Job Search Tools

On his Find a New Job blog, Jose Anes introduces Indeed as one of the smartest ideas for expediting a job search. In the top left of this blog you can try out a job search on Indeed. On any given search, it will additionally provide the latest job postings from unheard of places on the Internet.

Joining the Gadball community provides a free single resource for posting your resume on All the job posting boards. This saves quite a bit of time. Gadball eliminates having to post your resume on Monster and Careerbuilder and Dice etc.

For another smart job search tool using an RSS reader read "Make Jobs or Clients Come to You Using a RSS Reader". It's true you can use the smart searches of Indeed and an RSS Reader.

Your Career is Your Business

Can you carry your resume every where you go. Will you remember to carry your resume every where you go?

When you're looking for a job, everyday is a opportunity to market your skills.
- A support group meeting
- The grocery store
- Church
- Community / PTA meeting
- A per chance meeting on the street
- Someone asking for directions
- At the gas station
- In your building
- A nosey neighbor (if you can bruise em, use em)
- Delivery / Repair / Sanitation person
- An early morning run / the gym
- In the park with your children
- At the mall
- at the unemployment office

Having business cards allows you to be prepared, when you don't have your resume. If you have a bad case of "funds are low", Vista Print will allow you to print 250 cards for free. Use the back of the card to print your resume profile.

Don't Do it Yourself

"Anyone who tries to represent themself in court, has a fool for a lawyer" -unknown

The same holds true for people who use a self written resume, to land an interview. There is too much emotion tied to a resume we create for ourselves. There is no objectivity. It becomes the world according to our own personal view. Even having other people look at it, after writing the resume, still positions us in a certain corner.

I recommend doing whatever it takes to spend the money to have a professional layout your resume. You may have to write the 1st draft, to give the professional resume writer a starting point. That's OK. Then allow them to turn what you wrote into a marketing proposal.

Your resume is a marketing tool, as every Savvy Intrapreneur knows. If formatted properly, your resume can be a powerful tool to get your message across as:

- A Business card
- Having a solidly packaged skill set
- Memorable commercial
- Better positioned candidate who stands out from the pile of resumes
- "In your face" call me right now for an interview
- "I'm the best person for the job out of anyone you have interviewed or will interview"
- Providing a professional marketing image

If money is tight, work out a deal for a payment plan with a seasoned professional. Resume writers are a good resource. Career Coaches who provide a full package that includes writing your resume, is even better.

For goodness sake, do not try to market your skills with a self written resume. If you have been looking for a job for more then 3 months, using a resume you wrote, then I rest my case.


The purpose of a resume is to obtain an INTERVIEW, not a job. Landing a job is up to you during the interview.

Get a Referral from the President

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And venture belongs to the adventurous." -Navjot Singh Sidhu

Wouldn't it be cool to have the President of a company refer you? Wouldn't that cut down on time spent on your job search? Imagine introducing yourself to the company President or a high level executive. You give them your resume. The next thing you know you're getting a call for an interview.

Identify which companies where you wish to work. The next time you read an article about the CEO, President or another executive at one of your target companies, that's your window of opportunity. Maybe they received a promotion or were acknowledged or quoted in the article .

Purchase a box of blank invitation size greeting cards. Write a friendly note congratulating the executive. If you agree with what they said or accomplished in the article, then say so in your hand written note. Be genuine in what you write. End your note with "I am at your service, should XYZ company have a requirement for my skills". Insert your business card, Not Your Resume. Send it off via postal snail mail.

Repeat this process at least once a week. You're reading the newspaper everyday anyway. Why not make your reading even more worthwhile now?

One Resume for Many Opporuntities

I recently heard a sad story from an associate. He was willing to help a person land a job through his network of 8,000+ people. The person being helped said" I don't change my resume", while wondering why they hadn't landed a job in over a year.

You don't create different versions of your resume. When you come across an opporuinity you know you are qualified for, you sprinkle the appropriate sections of your resume where you utlized those skills listed in the job requirements.

You're running a business with your carreer. Marketing 101 dictates you meet a client at their need. Adjusting your resume to fill a job requirement, will greatly improve the chances of obtaining the result you seek.

So you have one (1) resume you will adjust to the many opporunities that come your way. This increases your chances of landing an interview.

The purpose of a resume is to land an interview, not a job. Landing a job is up to you during the interview.

Show, Don't Tell

Laura Morsch recently published an excellent article "25 words that hurt your resume". Certain over used words should be eliminated from your resume. Show hiring managers what you have accommplished with more concrete wording . This makes a more powerful impact, then using words that vaguely tell people what you have done. Laura further explains how to use specific words to show off your experience in your resume.

For further coverage of this topic read an article on Tech Republic's web site entitled " Nineteen Words That Don't Belong in Your Resume". You will have to create a free Tech Republic account to access the article.