Foot In The Door

Getting

The Interview

The Facts• Cisco Systems Job page gets 500,000 visits per

month• Microsoft gets more than 12,000 resumes per

month• American Express screens 3,500 resumes monthly• 10,000 Web sites offer job postings. • More than 1.5 million resumes online. • 30 percent of Internet users are looking for a job

online

Types of Organizational Fit

• Person-Job Fit– Degree to which the applicant has the necessary

knowledge, skills and abilities and competencies to do the job functions

• Person-Organizational Fit– Degree to which the applicant matches the values,

beliefs and ethics of the culture.

• Person-Group Fit– Degree to which individual fits within a work group.

Sequential Selection Process

Stage 1Screening

Reasons to RejectPerson-Job FitRisk-Seeking

Stage 2Selection

Reasons to AcceptPerson-

Organizational FitRisk Averse

Purpose of the ResumeAnd Job Letter

Applicant perspective– To demonstrate you meet or exceed minimum qualifications– To highlight key competencies– To separate your resume from the masses– To get your foot in the door– To demonstrate value-added attributes

• To Sell Your

Personal Brand

Purpose of the ResumeAnd Job Letter

Employer Perspective– To assess whether candidates possesses

minimum qualifications– To narrow down applicant pool– To identify inconsistencies or

gaps in employment history– To determine if people are

lying about their credentials

Accredit Your Job Worth• Cover Letter

– Summary of Qualifications– Links to Specific Company

• Resume– Functional AND Chronological– Specific, vivid adjectives– Concrete Examples

• Portfolio– Executive Briefings– Code Samples– Planning Documents– Class Report

Potential Resume Components

• Identification and Contact Information• Career Objective (optional)• Key Competencies• Work Experience• Education• Honors (optional)• Life Experiences/ Interests/Community

Involvement

Types of Resumes

•Chronological

•Functional

•Combination

•Electronic

Chronological• Job by job listing of each job you've held

starting with your most recent job and going backwards.

• Strong work history

• Worked for each employer 2 years or more

• Only a few gaps of only a few months between each job.

• Several years of employment in the field or type of position you seek.

• Positions show job growth.

Samples: Employment • 1992-1997 Oliver Health Services (Oliver Corporation)

– Generated $5 million in annual revenue for Northwest branch. – Positioned Oliver to win new contracts worth $16 million in

annual revenue. – Sold high tech home health care services including disease

management and early discharge programs, acute and chronic infusion therapies, high risk women and pediatric health programs. Client domain included managed care organizations, hospitals and physicians

Success Award Winner for exceeding performance targets 1996 President's Club Award Winner (Top 20% of sales personnel)

Functional/Skill-Based• Uses skill headings but does not include a

work history. • A functional/combination resume uses skill

headings but also includes a work history. – Erratic work history.

– Gaps in employment.

– Short work history

– Making a career change and your past work history and job titles don't match your job objective or salary level.

Samples: Key Competencies

• Medical – 15 years of medical sales experience in the managed care, hospital,

physician group and pharmaceutical markets

• Sales Prospecting .

– Positioned Oliver to win two prestigious contracts worth $16 million in revenue for Northwest branch office.

– Successfully led roll-out of Collastate Homeostatic Sponge and led entire region in total sales ($5.5 million)

• Customer Relations

– Excellent client relations skill leading to broad-based and long term relationships.

– Teamed with physicians to conducted client assessment and follow-up analysis to develop customized stimulators

On-Line ResumeOn-Line Resume• Electronic Mail

– Plain Text (.txt) -- ASCII only files– Rich-text (.rtf)– Hypertext (.html)– Compressed files

• Electronic Forms• Personal Web pages• Scannable Resumes• Your own domain name• Personal homepage

On-Line ResumeOn-Line Resume• E-mail Address

– “WildOne” versus “JaneSmith”– Signature– Easy to spell– Avoid Cutesy

• Your own domain name

• Personal homepage

Elements Of Your ResumeElements Of Your ResumeElements Of Your ResumeElements Of Your Resume• Heading• Objective (if desired)• Core Competencies• Employment data

– Key functions– Job Skills– Accomplishments/ awards

• Education and Training• Personal Data• Qualification Summary

The Buzzword Resume• Use the buzzwords to solidify your standing in the

Industry– Developed JIT inventory control system

using A-B-C hierarchical

• Use their buzz words– Terms in advertisements

– Homepage

– Mission Statements

– (e.g. evangelist, guru, independent contributor)

Individualize ResumeIndividualize Resume• Use a customer driven approach

• Individualized For EACH Company– Insure you have clearly delineated that you

meet the company’s minimum qualification• (e.g. 3 years C++ experience)

Quantify Accomplishments• Include specific concrete numbers

– Numbers (10% increase, staff of 15)– Dollars ($1 million), – Percentages ( 15% increase, Up 125%)

Original Job HistoryOriginal Job HistoryExperience• Manager, Freddie’s Readymart, Nanhassett, NY

– Supervised employees, trained cashiers. Responsible for inventory control. (1992)

• Manager, K-Mart Stores, Long Island City, NY– Responsible for camera department, hired employees and

supervised night shift (1991)

• Distribution supervisor, ABC Stores, Ithaca, NY– Oversaw all deliveries to 17 stores. Controlled 7 truck

drivers. Assisted customers ( 1990-1991)

Experience• Manager, Freddie’s Readymart, Nanhassett, NY

Hiring, firing and staffing authority for 5 full-time and 22 part-time employees. Designed and delivered 8 hour in house training for cashiers. Coordinated inventory control system 10,000 SKU items. Weekly sales of $100,000 in1999.

Accomplishments– Increased customer satisfaction ratings by 3% points in five months.– Reduced shrinkage by 25% in a six month period.– Received commendation for store cleanliness.– Increased weekly sales by 50%

Two Words Not to Use

Two Words Not to Use

•Entry Level

Don’t LieDon’t LieLie or Exaggerate• Ward Howell’s executive search firm found that

among executive candidates• 65% lie about their academic credentials• 43% lied about job responsibilities• 42% lied about previous compensation

• University of Pittsburgh found• 29-35% of medical students lied about research,

presentations and articles.

Cover LetterCover Letter• Proper Business Format

– Crisp and clean, no spelling errors

• Addressed to a specific person

• Original letter with specific reference to the company

• Provides relevant information– Summary of your skills

– Concrete example of value added

• Sells your brand to the reader?– Impress reviewer with applicant’s focus

– Clears up any questions from resume

Include QuotesInclude QuotesPersonal Statement

– “The secret of success is consistency of purpose”

– “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly - Henry Bergson

– “We are what we believe we are.”

– “If you win the rat race, you are still a rat.”

Quotes from References– “Tom is the brightest student I have ever known”

– “Ally always completed projects on schedule -- even the toughest ones”

The Postscript Technique

The Postscript Technique

Highlight a marketable skill by adding a postscript– “P.S. I was the first intern at The Boeing

Corporation to be named employee of the month. And I won it not once but three times. I am looking forward to bringing the same level of commitment to you at High Flyers.com”

Life Experiences SectionLife Experiences Section• Employers want people who are well rounded and have

diverse interests• People like people who are like themselves.• Conversation starter

Samples– Won Best in Show at the superbowl of dogdom, the Westminster

Dog show with Scottish Terrier Ch. Gaelforce Postscript

– Correspondent for the National Enquirer

– Avid runner. Successfully completed 5 marathons. Improved personal best time each run.

• Accredit Your Qualifications

• Gives a Competitive Advantage

• Demonstrates Creativity

• A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

• CD ROM or disk containing examples of your work

• Business Plan or analysis

• Class Project (e.g. Compensation study, executive briefing)

• Computer code,

• Power point presentation

• Product Design

• Web page (make sure it is perfect and links work)

• “Fleshed out” example of your solution to a particular problem

Appearance Appearance Of ResumeOf Resume• Are there spelling errors?• Is everything in proper tense?• Is it printed on good quality bond with matching envelope

and cover letter• Is the printing readable?• Does it provide relevant information?• Does it ramble?• Are the entries consistent?• Overall cleanliness, legibility?

• "Please note that I have a Fortune 500 pedigree."• "Worked in hospital as a candy striper."• "Great eye for derail.”• "Currently unemployed because of self-inflicted toe sprain."• "I have incredibly entertaining hair." • "Education: Some."• "Responsible for all customer complaints."

• "Finished eighth in my class of ten."

• "References: none. I've left a path of destruction behind me."

• "Sex: often. Marital status: often. Children: various."

• "It's best for employers that I not work with people."

• "Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions."

• "Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave.”

• "Note: Please don't misconstrue my 14 jobs as 'job-hopping'. I have never quit a job."

• "The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers."

• "I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse."

Did They Really

Say That?

Did They Really

Say That?