Google is Your New Resume - Excerpt from What Color is Your Parachute? 2014

7/28/2019 Google is Your New Resume - Excerpt from What Color is Your Parachute? 2014

1/14


2/14
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/what-color-is-your-parachute/id607928651?mt=11http://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=isbn:9781607743637http://www.indiebound.org/product/info.jsp?affiliateId=randomhouse1&isbn=1607743639http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?EAN=9781607743637&cm_mmc=Random%20House-_-What+Color+Is+Your+Parachute?+2014-HC--Scribd-9781607743637-_-What+Color+Is+Your+Parachute?+2014-HC--Scribd-http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607743639?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc5635-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1607743639


3/14

A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters

and Career-Changers

2014 edItIon

richard n. bolles

What Color Is

Your ParaChute?


4/14

This is an annual. That is to say, it is revised each year, often substantially, with the new

edition appearing in the early fall. Counselors and others wishing to submit additions,

corrections, or suggestions for the 2015 edition must submit them prior to February 1, 2014

using the form provided in the back of this book, or by e-mail ([email protected]).

Forms reaching us after that date will, unfortunately, have to wait for the 2016 edition.

PUBLISHERS NOTE

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard

to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not

engaged in rendering professional career serv ices. If expert assistance is required, theservice of the appropriate professional should be sought.

Copyright 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001,

2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986,

1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1972, 1970

by Richard Nelson Bolles.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of theCrown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks

of Random House, Inc.

Jacket illustration copyright iStockphoto.com/alexm73.

The drawings on pages 141, 143, and 211 are by Steven M. Johnson, author of

What the World Needs Now.Illustration on page 20 by Beverly Anderson.

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-60774-362-0

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-363-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-364-4

ISSN: 8755-4658

Printed in the United States of America

Cover design by Katy Brown

Back cover design by Colleen Cain

Interior design by Colleen Cain


5/14

the 2014

table of Contents

Chpter 1 Its a Whole New World for Job-Hunters 1

Chpter 2 Google Is Your New Resume 21

Chpter 3 There Are Seven Million Vacancies This Month 43

Chpter 4 Sixteen Tips About Interviewing for a Job 51

Chpter 5 The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation 81

Chpter 6 What to Do When Your Job-Hunt Just Isnt Working 97

Chpter 7 You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are 111

Chpter 8 You Need to Do Some Informational Interviewing 191

Chpter 9 How to Deal with Any Handicaps You Have 211

Chpter 10 Five Ways to Change Careers 231

Chpter 11 How to Start Your Own Business 247

THE PINK PAGES

appenix a Finding Your Mission in Life 266

appenix b A Guide to Dealing with Your Feelings

While Out of Work 289

appenix C A Guide to Choosing a Career Coach or Counselor 298

appenix d Sampler List of Coaches 315


6/14

The Final Word: Notes from the Author for This Edition 337

About the Author 342

Index 343

Update 2015 352

Recent Foreign Editions ofWhat Color Is Your Parachute? 352

Additional Helpful Resources from the Author 354


7/14

He or she who gets hired is not necessarily

The one who can do that job best;

But, the one who knows the most

About how to get hired.

Richard Lathrop (19192001)


8/14

Chapte 2

Google Is you New

resume

I know what youre thinking. Im out o work, Ive got to go job-huntin. Sothe frst thing I have to do is put together my resume.

Yeah, that used to be true.

In the old days. Beore the Internet became popular with job-hunters.

Back then, the only way an interviewer could learn much about you

was rom a piece o paper that you yoursel wrotewith maybe a little

help rom your riendscalled your resume, or C.V. (an academic term

meaning curriculum vitae).

On that paper was a summary o where you had been and all you

had done in the past. From that piece o paper, the employer was sup-

posed to guess what kind o person you are in the present and what

kind o employee youd be in the uture.

The good thing about thisrom your point o viewwas that you

had absolute control over what went on that piece o paper.

You could omit anything that was embarrassing, or anything rom

your past that you have long since regretted.Short o their hiring a private detective, or talking to your previous

employers, a prospective employer couldnt fnd out much else about you.

That was nice. But now those days are gone orever.

Since 2008, and even beore, theres been a new resume in town, and

its called Google.

All any employer has to do is type your name into a search engine

(such as Google), and bammo! I youve been anywhere near the


9/14

22 Chapter 2

Internetand over 80% o us in the U.S. have1and i youve posted

anything on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Pinterest, or YouTube, or i

you have your own website or webcasts or photo album or blog, or i

youve been on anyone elses Facebook page, every aspect o you may

be revealed (depending on your privacy controls).

So naturally, a vast majority o employers now Google your name

yes, Google has become both noun and verbbeore theyll consider

hiring you. Theres your new resume, using the word resume loosely.

Bye, bye, control.

Statistics are hard to come by, and they tend to be all over themap. Some are rom very old surveys or very limited surveys (such as

100 employers). What we know or sure is that somewhere between 35%

and 70% o employers now report that they have rejected applicants

on the basis o what they ound through Google. Things that can get

you rejected: bad grammar or gross misspelling on your Facebook or

LinkedIn profle; anything indicating you lied on your resume; any

badmouthing o previous employers; any signs o racism, prejudice,

or screwy opinions about stu; anything indicating alcohol or drugabuse; and anyto put it delicatelyinappropriate content, etc.

What is sometimes orgotten is that this works both ways. Sometimes

29% o the time, it is claimedan employer will oer you a job because

they were impressed by what Google turned up about you. Things

like the creativity or proessionalism you demonstrate online; your

expressing yoursel extremely well online; their overall impression o

your personality online; the wide range o interests you exhibit online;

and evidence online that you get along well and communicate well

with other people.

But what you want to know is how to manage or remove anything

online that would cause a prospective employer to reject you.

Is there anything you can do about this new Google resume o

yours? Well, yes actually, there are our things you can do.

You can edit, fll in, expand, and add. Lets see what each o these

involves.


10/14

23Google Is Your New Resume

1. Edit.

First o all, think o how you would like to come across, when you

are being considered or a job. Make a list o adjectives youd like the

employer to think o, when they consider hiring you. For example,

how about: proessional? experienced? inventive? hard working? disci-

plined? honest? trustworthy? kind? What else? Make a list.

Then Google yoursel and read over everything the search engine

pulls up about you. Go over any pages you have put up on social sites

like Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, Pinterest, or YouTube, andremove anything you posted there, or allowed others to post, that con-

tradicts the impression you would like to make, anything that might

cause a would-be employer to think, Uh, lets not call them in, ater all.

You have the list, above, o what to look or.

I you dont know how to remove an item rom a particular site,

type or speak the ollowing into a search engine like Google: How to

remove an item rom Facebook or whatever.

The site itsel may not tell you, but using your avorite search

engine, you should have no trouble fnding somebodys detailed, step-

by-step instructions or scrubbing any site.

I guarantee youre hardly the frst one with this need, so someone

clever has already fgured out how to do it, and posted the answer. But

you want current instructions, so look at the date on the list o items

the search engine pops up. Pick the most recent, and do what they say.

I you want to be thorough, you should do this editing on any andall sites that you fnd youre on.

Now to the second o the our things you can do about your new

Google resume (so to speak):

2. Fill In.

On any o these sites, but on LinkedIn or Plaxo in particular, i they

ll t fll t fl fll it t l t l I l t l


11/14

24 Chapter 2

on Twitter, fll out your profle completely there, too. For help, see such

sites as http://blazingminds.co.uk/write-twitter-bio-gains-ollowers or

https://support.twitter.com/articles/20005336-promoting-your-profle#.

More importantly, be sure to keep each profle up-to-date. Really

up-to-date. There is nothing that makes you look less proessional than

having an obviously outdated profle.

Last thought here: I mentioned LinkedIn; be sure to get on it, i youre

not already. More than 200 million other people have, and it became the

frst social media site to go public. Its the site o frst resort when some

employer is curious about you. It allows corporate and agency head-hunters to avoid advertising an open position, but nonetheless to go

trolling on LinkedIn or what employers call passive job-seekers.

You aint lookin or them, but they are lookin or you. O course you

have no control over whether they fnd you, except or being sure you

have a completely flled-out profle. (They search by keywords.)

Now to the third thing you can do about your new Google resume:

3. Expand.

Expand your presence on the Internet. How to do this? Several ways:

Forums. Proessional sites like LinkedIn have orums, or groups,

organized by subject matter. Other social networking sites, like

Facebook, have pages devoted to particular subjects. Look through

the directory o those groups or orums, choose one or two that are

related to your industry or interests, and ater signing up, speak

up regularly whenever you have something to say that will quietly

demonstrate you are an expert in your chosen subject area. Other-

wise, keep quiet. Dont speak up about just anything. You want to

be seen as a specialistknowledgeable and ocused. You want to

get noticed by employers when theyre searching or expert talent

in your feld or specialty.Blogs. Start a blog (thats short or web log, which most people now


12/14

25Google Is Your New Resume

blog, there are helpul sites such as Blogger.com, at http://tinyurl

.com/294vgzr, which give you detailed instructions. Incidentally,

there are over 181 million blogs on the Internet. Figure out how to

make yours stand out.

I you already have a blog, but it roams all over the country-

side in terms o subject matter, then start a new blog that is more

narrowly preoccupied with your particular area o expertise. Post

helpul articles there, ocused on action steps, not just thoughts.

Lets say you are an expert plumber; you can post entries on your

blog that deal with such problems as how to fx a leaky toilet,etc. Generally speaking, employers are looking or blogs that deal

with concrete action, rather than loty philosophical thought.

Unless, o course, they represent a think tank.

Twitter. Some experts claim that blogs are soyesterday. Communi-

cation, they say, is moving toward brie, and brieer. Texting has

become hugely, hugely, popular. So has Twitter. Twitter now has

over 500 million users, who post over 400 million tweets a day.2

Twitters advantage is that it has hashtags,3 and Google is index-

ing all those tags and tweets. Savvy employers know how to do

Twitter searches on Google (or on Twitter itsel, or that matter).

All you have to fgure out is which hashtags employers are likely

to look or, when they want to fnd someone with your expertise

and experience.

Videos. Presentation is moving strongly these days toward the

visual. People like to see you, not just read you. Expensive equip-ment not required. The Flip video camcorder used to be the most

popular and inexpensive way to record yoursel; but that is ancient

history, now. It was displaced, as you might guess, by smart-

phones, which usually can do video, and sometimes rather sur-

prisingly good video.

As or where to post your video, once youve shot and edited it,

the champion o course is YouTube1 billion users, 4 billion views

per day. But there are other choices: see PCGDigitalMarketings

list ound at http://tinyurl com/8owtlbo


13/14

26 Chapter 2

Now to the ourth and fnal thing you can do about your new Google

resume:

4. Add.

The kind o resume everyone thinks o when they hear the word (the

pre-Google resume) still has its uses. It will take any employer or HR

department some time to sit through all the stu about you that may

appear when they do a Google search. You would help them by sum-

marizing and organizing the pertinent inormation about yoursel.You do this bysurprise!composing an old type resume. And you

can post it on the Internet (where Google will fnd it), as well as taking

or sending it to an interested employer.

You wanna do this? O course you do. Heres an outline you may

fnd useul or gathering that inormation about yoursel.

Since a resume is about your past, this gives you a ramework or

recalling that past.

A Starter Kit for Writing Your Resume4

Think o your working and personal skills that you believe you pos-

sess innately, or have picked up along the way. Which ones are you

proud o? What things have you done in your lie or work experience

that no one else has done, in quite the same way? Take some blank

sheets o paper and fll in any answers that occur to you.

It is important to be quantitative when you do this (e.g., mention

dates, percentages, dollars, money or time saved, brand names, etc.).

Volunteer, Community, and Unpaid Work

1. Have you completed any voluntary or unpaid work or anyorganization or company? (e.g., church, synagogue, mosque,


14/14

Documents

Google is Your New Resume - Excerpt from What Color is Your Parachute? 2014