If job seekers have a favorite sport, it's networking. It's an excellent way to learn about employers, the industry, specific companies, and hiring authorities. Knowledgeable people can help you answer the second and third questions in your marketing plan: who needs it (your services)? And how can you reach them? Networking is, clearly, a powerful vehicle, but there are other ways to meet and persuade decision makers. Why not use them all?
Will Resumes Get You the Job?
For most job seekers, communicating with prospective employers means resumes because it is widely assumed that resumes get jobs. That's more myth than reality, according to some experts. Richard Nelson Bolles, author of "What Color Is Your Parachute?" For example, begins his discussion about resumes with the heading: "Our Favorite Way of Avoiding Rejection: Resumes." He continues, "Resumes have a lousy track record. A study of employers done a number of years ago discovered that there was one job offer, tendered and accepted, for every 1,470 resumes that employers received from job hunters."
Resumes are rarely the "door openers" that their proponents claim. In fact, they are more likely to screen you out than in. Why? Because companies receive resumes by the truckload, they use almost any excuse to get rid of them:
- you have too much experience-or not enough;
- your experience is too limited-or not specific enough;
- you worked only for major companies-don't understand small company mentality;
- you have done only operations-we want an operations/marketing person;
- you have no degree-or have too many degrees;
- you changed jobs too often-or stayed in same job too long;
- you worked for Global Chemicals (too expensive for us)
- you graduated from Harvard (I went to State U.)
- all your experience is in health care- this job is in retail;
- you managed a large group-won't be satisfied with a smaller staff;
- you did only military research-won't understand industrial needs etc.
Five Experts: Six Opinions
There's no consensus about the effectiveness of resumes, how and when they should be used, which format is best, etc. If you ask five resume "experts," you're apt to get six opinions. Or more! Despite all that, you'll be expected to have a resume.
Which Format Is Best?
Should your resume be chronological, functional, or a combination? The format which is best for you is the one that allows you to present yourself most effectively.
- Chronological. Employers usually prefer this most popular format because it is easy to scan and understand. You can show a variety of experiences in one company as well as a progression of increasing responsibilities.
- Functional and combination formats cluster your experience, accomplishments, and skills in areas of competency, separate from your work history. These formats give you more freedom to emphasize your achievements while minimizing employment gaps. Functional and combination formats may be preferable for career changers, for those with limited work experience, and for people who have extensive volunteer work to their credit. They may also be better formats for people with excellent skills but less impressive job titles.
The combination format is also organized by major skill area, but the work history section also describes responsibilities briefly. This format is particularly useful for describing the many hats that people in small organizations often wear.
