Career Counselor and Life Coach
You've decided it's time to move on, for many reasons or one big one. Or you've been downsized or fired. There's so much advice floating around from your friends, colleagues, and relatives. How can you prepare best for your coming interviews?
This isn’t an uncommon problem. Let’s do a little diagnostic work here.
“I know a little about X, but not much, really” or “No, I’ve never supervised anyone” without mentioning you’ve led teams from across the organization, or “I’ve never done that” without mentioning similar things you’ve done or know about.
I get the same question often: Shouldn’t I have a one page resume?” or “My Dad told me I’ve got to boil this down to one page”. Or my retired HR Aunt Linda says “never” to two or three pages.
On resume length, one size doesn’t fit all. In most instances, go for TWO pages (or more: most Federal resumes and CVs benefit from 2+ pages of detail.) [Read more…]
If you loved tests in school, you’ll love this: More computer testing for job applicants.
In-basket exercises and basic testing have been used to some extent since World War II). It’s gotten way more sophisticated now, with skills assessments, “cognitive aptitude” tests, and artificial intelligence programs analyzing facial expressions, language patterns and body English. [Read more…]
Were you hoping I had a contrarian view on the prevailing pro-keyword consensus? If so, I’m sorry to disappoint, but the short answer is: VERY IMPORTANT! So important, in fact, I’ve taken to calling it the Tyranny of Keywords.
Simply put, if the resume you submit doesn’t contain enough keywords that reflect the skills and knowledge areas in the job ad, you probably won’t make even the first cut. All that trouble for nothing. [Read more…]
You’ve been told four or five times: “I’m sorry, you’re overqualified.” Is this the real reason you’re not getting hired? Even if it is, what can you do about it? [Read more…]