Keep your resume short
I’ve looked at quite a few resumes. And while there are some exceptions to this rule, if you are the exception, you generally don’t need to be reading this blog for resume advice. Here are the three out of the six you MUST do right now to cut down your resume:
- Don’t overdo the underlining, bolding and italics. Wow, this is one that flubs me every time. If you use bold and italics on every other word, not only is it hard to read, it doesn’t actually highlight anything.
- Include old information sparingly. I say this with a caution: make sure you are disclosing that you are giving incomplete information. I made a very targeted resume for someone and I gave it the term “Relevant Work Experience” and include a phrase that her full job history was available upon request. I also made her have a separate sheet that include her full work history available with her at all times.
- Leave out personal information. One fellow that has dropped off his resume before has included his full vital stats. That is completely unnecessary. You can talk about your love of big game hunting once you’re hired. It is really unnecessary for you to include it on your resume, especially considering the amount of precious space available.
Everything else in the article is good too but you have to follow those rules.
RecruitingBloggers.com
David Perry of Guerrilla Job Hunting
Maureen Sharib of Recruiting Edge
Amitai Givertz of Recruitomatic
Colin Kingsbury of HRM Direct
Glenn Gutmacher of Advanced Recruiting Online
Shannon and Julian of Exceler8ion
Shally Steckerl of Job Machine
and last but not least
The Canadian Headhunter of Recruiting Animal
Terrible Job Ads
There is one employment agency in town that runs some terrible advertisements for employment and I thought I should share with you. I am not going to share the name or location but I don’t think it really matters. Ugh:
Exuberant HVAC Service Technician
GOING FAST SERVICE TECHNICIANS! Clean driving record one minor infration ok if longer than two years. NEEDED dedicated workers, drug free, dependable, responsible does this sound like you get? WE WANT YOU! Call today before 10am or after 4pm. Ask for Mercedes or Rayn we are here to make the hiring process easy for you. Never a fee to you! So what are you waiting for apply online, fax your resume and call to make sure we received it again before 10am or after 4pm. We look forward to meeting with you!Shipping and Receiving Clerk
Growing company looking for growing team of workers. Experienced in shipping and receiving clerk, plus refrigeration experience as shipping/receiving clerk. Do you enjoy working in a warehouse even in the winter but the best part you get paid! Are you dependable, responsible, team player, reliable? If yes, WE WANT YOU ! Apply online now. Call us after 4pm or before 10 am for inquiries about this position. Ask for Ryan or Mercedes please. Have an AWESOME week.Dairy Wholesale Assistant
EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT! Medical benefits provided. Dreamy about numbers, fast pase, crazy phones, personable? Does this sound fun yet? AP/AR assistant and fast data entry at least 90 kmp or 5400 kmh. Awesome phone voice, and computer skills using windows based program, word, email, multi-task, order taker, filing, backup reception, attention to detail is a must, responsible for counting out route drivers deposits. In search of experienced assistant in a high volume office with 9 sales persons and responsible for calling 500 customers. Outstanding benefits and pay for the right canidiate! IS THIS YOU? Then apply on line and call us for an inquiry callDedicated Sheet Metal Worker
This a evualation to hirer position! Great company to work for. Competitive pay. Do you enjoy sheet metal ductwork using a variety of tools, including: bending, notching and forming machines, riveters; test manifolds, including guages and hoses, leak detection devices; portable vacuum pumps, piping and fittings of brass, copper, steel or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and sheet metal snips. Doesnt this position sound exciting with never ending challenges. Please, clean driving record only. Apply online and than call us for an inquiry callJack or Jill with many skills, and many hats
Looking for a little cash? Not a career position? Then you are the professional office personnel we our looking for? Do you like a crazy work environment, up beat, fun stress, answering phones, filing, taking messages for sale associates, stuffing envelopes, stuffing booklets, taking out the garbage. Starts at $7.63 hour, professional attire. Men: ties, dress shirt and slacks. Women: dress skirt suits, or dresses conservative in nature. Hours vary from week to week 4 hrs maybe 12 hours some weeks. Three line phone system. outstanding attention to detail, personable, awesome attitude. Does this sound fun yet? We wants you!
And I was going to highlight the good parts but it is pretty much all good. Or bad, depending on your view.
The best boss in America
Winning Workplaces apparently has the answer.
This is actually a pretty good article if you view the gallery and see them talk about those bosses and what makes them stand out from the rest. I have posted the blurbs after the jump.
Do you have a story about a good boss? Tell me about it in the comments or contribute a story of your own.
Here are the five bosses and why they are featured:
Richard Caturano
Company: Vitale Caturano, Boston
Strategy: It’s not unusual for employees of accounting firms to spend more time at work than they do at home during tax season. To ease the stress on the 300-member staff of his public accounting firm, president Richard Caturano offers workers free gourmet dinners and Saturday lunches during the busy season.
For those who don’t have time to fuel up at home, there is a year-round, complimentary breakfast buffet with free espresso. A concierge service handles staffers’ errands, such as picking up dry cleaning, laundry drop-offs and visits to the auto shop.
And when employees do have spare time, the company makes it easy for them to give back to the community. It provides free or low-cost access to charity events. Perhaps it is not surprising that the company is so generous to its team. It is 100% employee-owned.
Paal Gisholt
Company: SmartPak, Plymouth, Mass.
Strategy: While many CEOs rely on Monster.com, Paal Gisholt prefers to find employees for SmartPak, a maker of equestrian products, at horse shows and university equine-studies programs.
Since he founded the company seven years ago with his wife, Gisholt estimates that he and his HR team have attended 85 horse shows and built relationships with 15 equine-studies programs.
Ashley Wener, 22, who received a degree in animal sciences from the University of Vermont, sent her résumé to SmartPak after a professor recommended the company to her. She joined SmartPak in June and now works as a product specialist in the sales department.
Her 3.67 GPA helps, she says, but Wener has expanded her knowledge of horses since Gisholt hired her. “I’m constantly learning,” she says.
Sales at SmartPak grew from $15 million in 2004 to $23 million in 2005, and the company recently expanded into selling prepacked daily helpings of all-natural dog food.
Don’t be surprised if Gisholt starts scouting for talent at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Mellody Hobson
Company: Ariel Capital Management, Chicago
Strategy: Ariel prides itself on its slow and steady approach to investing. The investment firm, which runs three mutual funds and has $17 billion in assets under management, uses the same strategy to advance its social mission: educating African-American kids about investing.
Its 97 employees reach out to Chicago children through Ariel Community Academy, a public school that the firm helped the city found and that it supports with help from two financial firms: John Nuveen and Lehman Brothers.
Each first-grade class receives $20,000, which Ariel invests equally in its Ariel fund and the Nuveen Rittenhouse Growth fund.
Hobson, the company’s president, gives regular lectures at the school to both students and their parents on topics such as saving and investing, and she came up with the child-friendly statements that each student receives on the $20,000 investment.
Says Hobson: “Ariel Community Academy allows us to attract like-minded employees who have a sense of community.”
Graham Weston
Company: Rackspace Managed Hosting, San Antonio
What’s the best way to keep a young company in the fast lane? Weston, co-founder and CEO of Rackspace Managed Hosting, based in San Antonio, hands top performers the keys to one of his cars, a BMW M3 convertible, for a week. Finding creative ways to recognize the stars on his 1,000-employee staff has helped Weston grow annual sales to $139 million at seven-year-old Rackspace, which hosts web applications for other firms.
“I think it’s one of the biggest bargains in business,” Weston says. “If you gave somebody a $200 bonus, it wouldn’t mean very much. When someone gets to drive my car for a week, they never forget it.”
For extra recognition, he offers workers the use of a guest house he owns on the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas, where the water is 72 degrees year round.
“You know if you work hard, Graham sees it and will take care of you,” says David Bryce, 34, vice president of customer care at Rackspace. “You don’t have to worry about fighting for yourself to get what’s ‘due’ to you. It’s not a lot of fun working for a boss who doesn’t give you a raise unless you ask for it.”
Weston also offers flexible arrangements for employees working through personal problems. When Bryce, who joined Rackspace in 1999, was struggling to cope with a divorce, Weston offered him several months of paid leave, which he gratefully accepted. “I would do anything for Graham,” he says.
David Williams
Company: Merkle, Lanham, Md.
It’s just as tough for employees to stay competitive in the marketplace as it is for companies. To help his 850-member staff keep their skills sharp, David Williams, CEO of this database marketing agency, requires them to take classes on subjects such as computer programming, business writing, public speaking, and best practices in their field at the firm’s The Merkle Institute of Technology, founded in 1990.
Classes are taught by their colleagues, offering lots of opportunities to cross-pollinate ideas with folks in other departments. Classes don’t cut into employees’ personal time, because they are scheduled during business hours.
To make sure the firm’s commitment to employee-education is clear, Williams requires each member to earn a certain number of credits and, in some cases, to teach a certain number of hours to be eligible for an annual raise. The firm, which is 80% employee-owned, holds him to the same standard.
What seems to be the key to all of these bosses? They are all highly employee and customer centric. A win-win situation for everyone involved.
The Candidate Bill of Rights
Confessions of an Executive Restaurant Recruiter (a great content filled blog by the way) talks about the Job Candidate bill of rights. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 are up.
It seems to me that it could be simplified greatly by saying three easy words: respect the candidate. Be fair, be attentive, and be considerate are all great and specific but probably unneeded if HR people respected candidates.
LinkedIn tip
Matt writes:
A tip that people should consider using for linked in. I changed my last name in the linked in profile to “Last name [email@address.com]” and include the [email@address.com] in my linked in summary. This is one way to make sure that those outside your third degree connections can still find a way to contact you. It is particularly helpful to those in transition that no longer are reachable at their company.
This may be a no-brainer to some people but it wasn’t to me. I had seen profiles with email addresses before but I wasn’t sure why until I fully figured out how LinkedIn worked. If you want to be contacted by the maximum amount of people, include your e-mail address in there some way. It will make it a lot easier.
Also, if you are in the greater Chicagoland area, Matt is the moderator for a group that focuses on HR people in transition. They have a Yahoo! group set up as well as regular meetings. You can check out the Chicagoland HR transition home page for more information on getting in touch with that group.
Do you have a story to tell?
Part of the reason I moved to this to a different blogging platform is because it allows the ability for all kinds of users to contribute. Although I love sitting here and telling it like it is, many people have expressed some interest in having an anonymous stage for venting some of their frustrations. Maybe some people don’t want to be anonymous but like the focus of this site.
The really cool dynamic about this blog is that I get a lot of HR people, employees and job seekers interacting. It has been great to talk to all of you by e-mail and many of you, as shown by the e-mails and comments section, have great feedback on the processes so many of us in all aspects of HR rely on.
If you have a story to tell, a question to ask, or anything to contribute in general, there is a little button on top that says Contribute. Notice it doesn’t require you to log in or do anything like that (but you can create an account and login). I will put up some minimal ground rules:
- No naming companies or people. Your HR Guy has no legal team.
- No personal attacks
- No complete whoring of your website/blog/spamming/etc…
- Business topics are strongly encouraged.
- Good writing is a must
My promise to you is that I will not invade your privacy. Other than that, there is a moderation queue just to keep out the spammers and garbage. That is it though. Let me know if you have any questions (lance AT yourhrguy DOT com).
Your HR Guy has Saved Your Ass
While HR people are all cast as these evil doers who are ready to throw you under the bus at a moment’s notice, I have found that it is not often the case. In fact, what I have found is that HR has saved more people than it has fired.
Now that can be a good and bad thing. Bad because sometimes a person is dead weight on your organization and it isn’t going to change. Good thing because some people should have the chance to improve and often do. I have found that when expectations are clearly set out and an improvement plan is in place, most managers don’t think the person will make it. At a job I held a couple years ago, we had a lady who was way too slow at doing everything and I cautioned the manager to let me set out expectations with her and see if she could meet them. And what do you know, within several weeks she had gone way beyond what anybody had expected her to do.
Now the opposite problem has happened to me too. Whenever a guy who just couldn’t get through training is extended another week by my call and he still doesn’t make it, that comes down on me too.
Welcome to the new yourhrguy.com
Welcome to a new design of YourHRGuy.com! I worked for a few hours this afternoon on putting the finishing touches on this and I thought I would share why I would choose to change:
- WordPress is limited. That much is true. The only thing I don’t like about GeekLog is that the URL’s to my posts don’t look pretty.
- My Google juice is lame. Your HR Guy has been writing for four months and my site still isn’t indexed. I figured if I was going to change, I should do it now.
- My Technorati love wasn’t going so great. I tried reinstalling WordPress over and over to get it to send trackbacks and pings right. No good.
- Allows me to execute the master plan. Just kidding. Sort of.
So if you have any permalinks to one of my entries, it no longer works. I apologize for that. All of my content has been ported over to this new site though (wee) and it is all searchable and all that goodness. I hope that you will enjoy the new site and some coming features.
Have you started networking yet?
If the answer is “no”, the question is “Why?”
If you are unemployed, are you spending more time submitting applications than connecting with people in your industry? If you are currently employed and seeking employment, are you spending 80% of your job seeking time networking for contacts? If you are happy with your job, are you certain that it is going to be there in six months? Even if you are secure, are you sure you couldn’t be building business relationships by expanding your contacts? Are you better off knowing more or less people in your business?
The answer for all of this is simple: network. It has become cliche to say it but you would be foolish to ignore it for that reason. Good relationship building is a key indicator of success.
So how do you start networking? Three things you can do right now (from easiest to hardest):
- Get LinkedIn. I suggest LinkedIn because it is an easy way to keep track of people but any sort of e-mail or internet based contact method is grouped in here too. If you like my blog for instance, we can connect via e-mail or LinkedIn (lance AT yourhrguy DOT com if you like). If you make a new contact, you should ask if they have an e-mail address or LinkedIn. Most recruiters like making connections, e-mails and LinkedIn helps facilitate that.
- Pick up the phone. There is such a phone fear today but it is an important tool for connecting. The advantage of phone is that it is immediate. I use the phone so often, I forget that some people want appointments to talk on the phone. If I talk to anyone who may be on a busy schedule, I make sure to try to make an appointment by e-mail or by a quick phone call (or message). My rule is call everyone on your contact list once a quarter. Even for ten minutes. You can probably allocate more time for family though.
- Meet new people. My goal is a bit different than most people. I want to meet one new person per day. That might be a bit much (especially if you’re just starting), so I challenge people to meet one new person per week. That is about 50 new people per year. It is so very doable with just a minimal amount effort.
Those three steps are a good start to networking.
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About
Your HR Guy is a Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field. But don't let that fool you, this isn't a boring blog. I seek relevance and humor in a place we will spend much of our lives. Everything from workplace issues, job seeking and terrible bosses. Read more...
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