Resumes

Easy Resume Updates

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In honor of International Update Your Resume Month, I am focusing this month on providing tips to update your resume. If you’re ready to spend an hour or two updating your resume, here are some things you can do:

• Remove positions that are more than 10 or so years old. Most resumes these days only go back 10 years since most employers want to know what you have done recently.

• Check the length; if you’re updating a private sector resume, make sure it does not exceed 2 pages; if you’re working on your federal resume, try to keep your resume to 4-7 pages.

• Make sure your resume is full of key words that reflect the kinds of positions you are targeting. And make sure your language is up-to-date. If you are in Information Technology, don’t call it Management Information Systems, as an example.

• Modernize your font. For federal resumes, think Times New Roman or Arial; for private sector resumes, think Calibri or another sans serif font. No one should be using Courier anymore—ever!

• Make sure you have white space to make your resume easy to read. And if your federal resume still uses only one long paragraph for every job, break it up into several smaller paragraphs. It will be more visually appealing, plus easier to read.

• Change all written numbers to numerals; use $ instead of dollars, % instead of percent, and M instead of million. This will make your resume more visually appealing, take up less room, and make those numbers stand out from all of your text.

• Update your training and technical skills. If you’re still showing Windows95, and training classes from the 1990’s and the early 2000’s, it’s time to move on. You do not need every single class ever taken or every single software or other technology you ever used.

• Remove your objective and references from your resume. These are both considered old fashioned. Employers are not interested in what you want; instead they want to know what you offer. And instead of including references on your resume, you should create a reference page and bring that with you to interviews (and leave it with your interviewers).

• Eliminate the term “responsible for” from your resume. Just because you’re responsible for something doesn’t mean you did it…it just means you should have done it! Start your sentences and bullet points with verbs. And don’t put “s” on the end of those verbs—keep your verbs strong and varied!

No, You Should Not Have References on Your Resume

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You read that right, references do not belong on your resume! I know that many of us grew up learning to include “References Available Upon Request” on our resumes. Those days, however, are over. Hiring managers know that you will provide references if you are asked. Do not waste your resume “real estate” with this information (unless the job posting specifically requires that you include references—and by the way, this is not a requirement of USAJOBS).

Instead of noting references on your resume, you should have a separate reference page ready to go. Your reference page does not get submitted with your resume when you apply (unless explicitly requested); instead, you should bring your reference page with you to your interview. Then, if the hiring manager asks for references, you’ll have your reference page ready to provide.

Here’s how to put together a reference page:

• Match the formatting of your reference page to the formatting of your resume (and cover letter) in terms of font, color, and any graphics.

• Include your name and contact information (professional-sounding email address—not your work email and phone number) at the top of your reference page. You may want to include your customized LinkedIn URL and any other social media links as well.

• List 3 to 5 professional references. Each reference listing should include the reference name, their title, organization, City, ST, email, phone number, and relationship to you. You may want to consider to consider listing projects or skills that they reference can attest to.

• Make sure the first reference is the most important one. Be sure to ask permission before listing a reference. And, provide your references with a copy of your latest resume so that know what you have been doing.

• If you are including references on USAJOBS (even though they are not typically required), make sure your references are different than the supervisor names you have provided for each of your jobs.

If you are asked to provide references for a particular job, contact everyone on your reference page right away to let them know. Let your references know the name of company / organization that asked for the information, the position you are seeking, and the name, title, email address, and phone number for the person who may be calling. You should also share some of the critical challenges and responsibilities of the position so your references will be prepared to discuss specific skills, experience, and achievements from their work with you.
And, don’t forget to thank your references!

Preparing a Private Sector Resume

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If you have made a decision to leave the federal government for the private sector, you’ll need a private sector resume. A private sector or corporate resume is much different than the resumes you may be used to seeing in the federal government.

Here are some of the more significant differences:

  • Resume length – Private employers are not under the same type of obligation to review your credentials as are Federal agencies. You can be sure that a ten-page resume will quickly find its way to the nearest waste basket. Therefore, resumes should be concise; just long enough to tell your story but not too long. Two pages is the maximum for private sector resumes.
  • Level of detail – Unlike federal resumes, private sector resumes do not require the name of your supervisor, the number of hours worked per week, or the detailed descriptions typically found in federal resumes.
  • Formatting – While federal resumes are typically devoid of most formatting, private sector resumes can effectively use color and other formatting tools.
  • Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) – The vast majority of private sector companies use ATS. While there are currently more than 50 kinds of ATS in use at the present time, there are a few standard features.

In addition to the above, most private sector employers are looking to understand how you can help them—what is called your value proposition. Who are you and what do you bring to the table? The content of your resume should point to that goal. Without this focus, your resume will be mediocre at best. Great resumes are ones in which every piece of information supports your professional value. If you’ve already established your value (in writing, not just in your head), you’re prepared to write your resume. If not, you need to spend some time establishing your goals.

As you write your resume, keep your value proposition in mind. This will help you decide what to include, what to leave out and will help target your resume. You may want to write your goal on a separate piece of paper and weigh each item in your resume against your goal. If it isn’t clear how the item relates to your goal, then strongly consider eliminating it.

A resume is not a literary document, it is marketing one. The rules of grammar are different from formal writing. Complete sentences aren’t necessary. Avoid the use of “I,” as the subject of the resume is assumed to be the person named in the heading of the resume. Resumes are written in what is called “telegraphic style;” this means that articles such as “the” are typically not used. Avoid long narratives; remember that your resume may be one of the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands that are submitted to an employer.

Pro Tip: Don’t Copy Language from your Resume into LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is great for networking and job search but there are certain features you want to be careful with or avoid all together. One of the ones you want to avoid is actually controlled by a setting within Microsoft Office 356, allowing language from your LinkedIn profile to be used in Microsoft Word’s Resume Assistant feature – that is, for other MS Office users to access language from your LinkedIn profile.

Resume Assistant is available to Microsoft 365 users who are Office Insiders, and allows you to see work experience examples and skills descriptions from public LinkedIn Profiles. This means that the hard work you have done to create your unique profile may show up in Resume Assistant and become parts of other jobseekers’ resumes. In other words, Resume Assistant provides content from LinkedIn users to help you develop your resume. You will not be able to identify the names of the people whose content you are seeing. Resume Assistant It will also show you potential jobs that meet your criteria.

While this might not bother you if you’re trying to create a resume, if you are job hunting and have spent time, effort, and perhaps money to develop your resume, you may not want other people stealing / using that content for free. And if the content is used often enough, your content might become boilerplate language for other resumes.

Bottom line: Be aware that LinkedIn now has a feature where your profile can be extracted into a Word document by other LinkedIn users.

Here is how to make sure this setting is turned off:

  • Go to your “Settings” section.
  • Click on “Privacy.”
  • You will see the option for “Microsoft Word.” Click on that.
  • Make sure the setting is then changed to “No.”

Further, you should never copy and paste your resume into your LinkedIn profile where that language could be copied. Let lots of people see your LinkedIn profile, but only give your resume to people you target.

8 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Develop Leads

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By now, we have all heard of LinkedIn and how it can help you with your job search. If you have been following articles in this series, by now have an account and a robust profile. So what’s next? Developing leads! Here are 9 ways to use LinkedIn to help you in your job search:

Find people on LinkedIn that you know or want to know. Grow your connections list. Every time you reach out to someone to connect, create a customized connection request rather than using the default. The goal is to establish and nurture relationships that go both ways (it shouldn’t be just about you). Tell the person what it is that attracted you to them—perhaps a recent article that you liked or an award you want to congratulate them for. There are many people who do not accept connection requests from people who do not include a personalized note.

Look at jobs on LinkedIn. You can search for jobs under the “jobs” category; your search can be by key word, zip code, and more. Use advanced search to further refine your search. You can even let recruiters know that you’re interested. I even see federal government jobs posted on LinkedIn; LinkedIn is not just for the private sector anymore. Learn more at: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/157/searching-for-jobs-on-linkedin?lang=en.

Once you find potential jobs, use your connections to find out more. Find 1st level connections to people you know at the company/organization you’re targeting and reach out. Ask them about the organization and the job.

Use Company Profiles on LinkedIn to research the organizations you have targeted. You will see your connections at the organization, jobs posted, and more. You can follow the company too, so it will show up in your feed. And you can use this information to help you prepare for an interview.

Look at the profiles of your interviewers on LinkedIn. If you are called for an interview, you want to be as prepared a possible. Looking at the profiles of the people you’re interesting with is a great way to get a feel for them. You might find some connections or interests you have in common; knowing this information may help calm your nerves before the big day!

Leverage referrals and recommendations. If the job is listed on LinkedIn you can request a recommendation or referral from someone who works there. Most employers are more likely to hire someone they “know” or knows someone they know, so having a recommendation or referral from someone inhouse could be a real plus.

Take advantage of LinkedIn Premium. LinkedIn offers a free trial of its premium service. Try it and see if its features work for you. Transitioning military members get free LinkedIn premium for one year. Make sure to take advantage!

Make others take notice. Establish and reinforce your credibility as an expert in your field by publishing articles on LinkedIn Pulse. You can also upload recent white papers you have written or PowerPoint presentations you have made. Be sure to get clearance from your manager first…you don’t want to get in trouble for sharing what they might see as proprietary or confidential information!

7 Things You Can Do to Finally Get Started with LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is used more in the private sector but there are many federal agencies (the US Department of the Army is the largest LinkedIn user in the world) that won’t interview you for a job if they can’t find you on LinkedIn. Instant pass.

I often encounter federal employees that still haven’t heard of LinkedIn or who don’t have profiles; so whether you’re actively looking for a job or not, there is no excuse for not getting started.

Here are 7 quick things you can do to get going:

Create a profile and customize your LinkedIn URL. Here’s how: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/87?lang=en. Having a custom URL is a great differentiator.

Include a photo. People want to know what you look like. Please make your photo professional. Your photo should show your face (rather than your whole body). No extra arms hanging over your shoulder or beer cans in your hand. And if you are transitioning from the military, your photo should be a civilian one—don’t forget to smile; you want to look approachable and friendly.

Put together a strong Headline. This is the line under your name. LinkedIn will provide a default headline (your job title) but this can (and should) be edited to be more representative of who you are. You can make this your branding statement or use it to target jobs you’re interested in. You can even separate thoughts or concepts by using symbols such as: ► or * or │ or ▪. Be sure to use symbols that are common across Word. You are allotted 120 characters for your LinkedIn Headline. Here’s my LinkedIn Headline as an example: Federal Human Resources Training & Job Search Expert. Here’s another: Program/Project Management ► Business Development ► Operations ► Aviation /Air Advisor ► Pilot ► Trainer.

Create a strong summary. You have 2000 characters to create a strong statement about who you are. Don’t just copy and paste your Skills Summary from your resume. Show some personality but be sure to include your qualifications and experience so that your profile will “pop up” in the algorithms. If you are transitioning military, be sure to translate your military experience into “civilian-speak”.

Populate the Experience section. Include your jobs from the last 10 or so years (going back 30 years not required or recommended). Again, this should not be a copy and paste of your resume. Show quantifiable results and use the key words from the industry you are targeting. And military transitioners: don’t forget to translate!!

Include skills on your LinkedIn; again, this is a great way to be seen in the algorithms. Only include skills that are associated with your target position(s). And make sure to capture them all. If you’re not sure what skills are appropriate, take a look your ideal job postings and identify the common words across them. Wordle may help: www.wordle.net.

Create connections. Reach out to people you know to up your connections. Show you’re an active user. And, when you connect with people, send them a personalized (not the default) connection request. Aim for 300+ connections.

We can fight the growth of social media, or we can use it to our advantage. LinkedIn a targeted toward professionals who want to find a way to stay in touch and keep up with colleagues and trends in their industry. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of this free, powerful tool?