• Only one interview is granted for every 50 to 100 résumés received by the average employer.
• Initially your résumé will be perused quickly (about 15 seconds worth) rather than read thoroughly.
• The decision to interview a prospective candidate is usually based on an overall first impression of the document.
• The top 50% of the first page of your résumé will either win you an interview or lead to the circular file.

I Craft a profile that appeals to employer’s requirements to open doors
You only have one chance to make a first impression, and it’s essential to do this by capturing the reader’s interest immediately or your resume will be “filed.” Picture yourself as a hiring decision-maker searching for a candidate with specific qualifications and experience. So, to present yourself as the truly exceptional candidate, your résumé has to appeal directly to the employer’s needs in the first few words. Include your value proposition in the top half of the first page.

Think of your résumé as an advertisement designed to get the reader to call you for an interview and craft your profile at the top of your resume to include a clear, compelling statement of the tangible benefits you bring to your potential employer-without fluff or generalities.

II Identify your brand – your unique differentiators
Begin by identifying what factors differentiate you from your competition. What unique talents, qualities, strengths or expertise do you bring to the table? For example, are you a rainmaker, turnaround guru or industry innovator? Make sure you present your unique differentiators on your resume as a tagline in your profile and then illustrate the results you produced with these talents in the employment section of your resume.

III Take inventory of your contributions
If you are like most people, you have underestimated your value in the employment market and do not enjoy the thought of selling anything, let alone yourself. And, like most people, you may not fully realize the depth of skills, accomplishments and expertise you have to offer.

Before you begin to write, take an inventory of your contributions to each of your employers. Ask yourself these key questions: What have I done to help my employer?

• make money,
• save money,
• save time,
• make work easier,
• solve a specific problem,
• be more competitive,
• be more efficient,
• build relationships with customers,
• expand the business,
• attract new customers or staff
• retain customers.

The outcome of this exercise will lead you directly to the accomplishments to state in your resume and to the basis of the success stories to use in your interviews.

IV Employers and recruiters prefer reverse chronology formats
Choosing the best format for your particular background and situation is yet another important factor. What seems appropriate for one person may not necessarily present you in the best light, depending upon your particular employment history.

If you have a progressive history and plan to continue in your profession, a reverse chronological format works to your advantage. However, if you are changing your career, consider using a hybrid format that features your transferable skill sets in the first section of your resume, followed by your employment history. See below a sample of a corporate executive client seeking a career transition into the non-profit arena.

________________________________________________________________
VALUE OFFERED AS COO / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / VICE PRESIDENT
Focus: Non-profit Organizations & Associations
________________________________________________________________ Strategic leader who provides energy and vision to drive forward organizational development, revenue growth and profitability. Hands-on executive who leads by example and promotes an environment of open communications that motivates management team/staff to work in concert and achieve exceptional results.

• General management qualifications encompass P&L responsibility, financial acumen, business development combined with experience across all business functions.
• Expert in analyzing operations and building a scaleable organizational infrastructure, program model and integrated services-along with implementation of best practices.
• Persuasive and effective in building internal/external coalitions and consensus, quickly instilling trust and gaining credibility at all levels.
• Deep appreciation of and dedication to serving the mission of non-profit organizations.

Typically, functional style resumes are not well received by employers and recruiters. They automatically assume you have something to hide, and find it difficult to find the information they want.

V Asses your resume’s overall impact and minimize pitfalls

Review your résumé with a few friends to determine the overall impact it has on the reader. Does it present any of the following potential obstacles toward serious consideration? If so, make sure to minimize those factors to your best advantage.

• Your job titles are not progressive or similar to the type of position you are seeking. Solution: Next to the job title list a functional description that relates to your job target. For example: Insurance Consultant (B2B Sales.)
• You have been unemployed for a several years. Solution: Insert a statement such as Educational Sabbatical or Personal Sabbatical and the dates since your last position.
• Your experience history spans 20 years or more. Solution: Include only the past 10-15 years of experience.
• You have held a series of positions in only a few years. Solution: Eliminate positions that are less than 12 months.
• Your work history has gaps. Solution: Minimize gaps by omitting months; use only years.
• You appear to be short on achievements or appear to have none at all. Solution: Take complete inventory of your contributions and make sure to include 3-5 accomplishments per job on your resume.

In addition to helping you land the interview, an exceptional resume will increase your chances to maximize your compensation package. It can add 10% to 30% to your starting salary. Over a period of years this can add up to many thousands of dollars.

This article was written by Louise Garver, Career Success’s Coaching’s award winning certified resume writer and President of Career Directions, LLC. Her resumes position our job-seeking clients above the competition and help them access the decision makers they need to reach. You may contact Louise for a complimentary resume review at . As a special bonus, Louise is offering Mino’s Career Success Blog readers a 15% discount on her services through Oct 1.

If you’re an active job seeker you must join LinkedIn and learn the many ways the site can enhance your job search or career.

Here are 10 tips to help you enhance your job search using LinkedIn:

1. Complete your profile thoroughly. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your executive bio and complete your profile thoroughly. Often when clients tell me they’ve completed their profile and I go look at it, it’s rarely complete. This is what I mean by complete:

• Include your picture as it allows for a deeper sense of connection to you and should be part of your brand on all social networking sites.
• List your education, past employers, professional affiliations, awards, and keywords related to your jobs and activities. Some people advise to include employment only up to ten years ago. That is often good advice, not always. I’ve been a career coach for 10 years and previously I was an executive search consultant and recruiter. Letting people know I spent many years helping people to land jobs adds to my credibility as a career coach.  See http://www.linkedin.com/in/minosullivan. Use your best judgement on this one.
• Contact past supervisors, peers and subordinates for recommendations. Also include recommendations from customers, clients and colleagues. Hiring managers and recruiters regularly check recommendations to vet potential candidates.
• Create a descriptive headline (under your name). The generic title “Corporate Attorney” will not inspire many, but IPO Specialist will certainly attract those seeking to take their companies public. Make sure your headline is something your target audience is looking for.

2. Build your network. Build your network to increase the likelihood that your profile will come up at the top of the list when hiring managers/recruiters are looking for candidates. Invite five people a day, every day, to join your network and you’ll be amazed at the results. If you’re VP Marketing, you don’t want to show up on page 10 when people are looking for marketing pros. You want to be on page 1. The more contacts you have the higher you’ll be.

3. Prepare for interviews using LinkedIn. Expand your research by reading about the people who will be interviewing you. Knowing that you went to the same school, share a sport, both love the theatre, or have an acquaintance in common is a great way to establish rapport.

4. Join LinkedIn groups. Join as many groups as possible, but concentrate first on those whose members are people who could hire you (hiring managers) or can help you find a job (recruiters/executive search consultants). You may also want to join job search support groups and industry groups.

• Larger groups allow for more potential contacts and allow you to contact fellow group member even if they are not in your direct network. This can be very valuable in your job search.
• Groups are a great source of like minded individuals and are great places search in order to expand your network.
• Five groups for job seekers include:

Executive Suite – Community of over 100,000 US-based executive-level and recruiter members.

Star: Candidate for Hire – Group working in tandem with Linked:HR, the largest Recruiters’ Group on LinkedIn, to help top candidates find jobs quickly and efficiently.

Career Change Central – Group linking job changers and professionals in career transition with recruiters, hiring managers and career coaches.

Jobs Alert – Job search group for middle and senior-level managers worldwide.

Indeed.com – Official job search group on LinkedIn for Indeed.com.

5. Participate in discussions. Share your insights and answers to questions on discussion boards thus demonstrating your knowledge and desire to contribute. Post questions or discussion topics yourself. This will help you make valuable connections while building your personal brand. Always be sure to include your email address in your posts.

6. Search for jobs daily. LinkedIn’s job board functions like other job boards with the exception that many of the opportunities listed are exclusive to LinkedIn. In addition, many of the opportunities list the recruiters or employers who posted them, offering another level of personal connection for networking.

• Here your profile recommendations really can make a difference, for after you apply, employers and recruiters can instantly refer to your recommendations as support for your resume, cover letter and profile.

7. Ask and answer questions. Using the “Answer” tab you can contribute your knowledge and insight in your area of expertise. For example, if you are an employment lawyer who is looking for a job you can click on “Answer a question” then select “Employment law” where you’ll find two pages of employment law questions. By answering selected questions and offering your insights you will establish your brand and expertise and potentially create some networking and job opportunities.

• You can also post your own questions. If you are writing an article, which I often suggest to my job search clients, LinkedIn can be a great resource to get some ideas and answers to your own questions which can enhance the value of the content you offer others.

8. Identify target companies. You can identify companies by industry and geography to expand your list of target companies. You can filter your LinkedIn list by exploring the company’s web site and job postings. Then, by going back to LinkedIn, you can identify hiring managers and HR managers for additional information and potentially informational interviews.

9. Promote your blog and/or website. Many executive candidates have a website and/or a blog. You can promote your website/blog to the search engines by optimizing them on LinkedIn. Just go to the category “My Website” on your LinkedIn profile while in the edit mode and select “Other.” You can then add your name or a descriptive phrase describing your web site/blog.   This is so much more inviting than a simple URL.

10. Final Tid-bits.

• Update your profile regularly. Every time you update your whole network will be notified and you’ll get exposure.
• Include the link to your LinkedIn profile in your signature on every email. That way people can see all your credentials with one click.
• Post an “out of office” auto responder when you’re away.

Please forward this on to anyone you know who is searching for a job.

Download a Copy of This Article:

10 Tips to Enhance Your Job Search Using LinkedIn: (PDF)

Follow these tips to create your own successful job search.

1. Know what you want to do. To be successful in a job search you must develop a compelling vision of work that will excite and fulfill us as well as compensate you well. If you’re unclear on your next career step try http://www.skillscan.net. It’s an affordable assessment tool to help you gain clarity on what you want.

2. Develop a professional resume and cover letter. Use a professional Certified Resume Writer to create these documents or check out http://www.quintcareers.com/resres.html if you’re writing it yourself.

3. Create an Action Plan. Effective action plans include components to approach both the published and the unpublished markets. See our actiion plan check list at: http://www.careersuccesscoaching.com/job-search.

4. Organize your search. You will develop a huge amount of information during your job search. Check out http://www.jibberjobber.com to help you stay organized.

5. Research. This is critical. Learn as much as you can before you contact any company. The knowledge you acquire allows you to adapt your resume and cover letter to a company’s needs and a specific job. It’s no longer a one-size-fits-all resume world! A deeper level of research is crucial prior to networking meetings and interviews.

6. Identify a contact. Whether you are approaching jobs listed on a job board, web site or in print it’s crucial to identify a contact to whom to address your cover letter. In addition to Google, you can search networking sites like http://www.LinkedIn.com to find a contact in the companies you’re applying to. Responding to a job posting without a contact is not recommended.

7. Contact recruiters and search consultants. Select recruiters/search consultants who specialize in your industry and geographical location. You can use Google and The Directory of Executive Recruiters in your library to get up-to-date information.

8. Network. Learn effective networking skills. Remember the purpose of networking is to gain referrals not land a job. See: http://www.effectivenetworking.com.

9. Become a top notch interviewer. Study interviewing strategy and techniques by reading Internet articles and one or more books on the subject. Our favorites include:  Win the Interview, Win the Job: Outshine the Competition With Great Preparation and Skill by Caryl and Ron Krannich, Ph.Ds. (Impact) and Boost Your Interview IQ by Carole Martin (McGraw-Hill). The very best way to prepare for interviews is to work with a career coach. You will develop a philosophy around what you are trying to accomplish in an interview. Then you will prepare answers to numerous interview questions with your coach and role play the success stories you’ll create. Also, you’ll learn relevant and powerful questions to ask in an interview. Finally, you will debrief each interview with your coach so as to improve your presentation in subsequent interviews. This process will build your confidence and enable you to perform at your best.

10. Negotiate the optimum compensation package. Most job seekers leave 5% to 20% on the table. Make sure you get what you’re worth.

Given the state of the U.S. economy and resulting corporate belt-tightening, it makes sense to be prepared for a possible layoff. And for those employed by a company struggling financially, getting “job search ready” is a wise move.

Here are some steps you can take to soften the blow should a layoff hit.

Get Your Resume Ready: Refresh your resume by bringing it up to date, adding new skills as you master them and including career related milestones and accomplishments. You can always trim irrelevant information from final versions as you customize your resume for specific opportunities.

Keep Your Network Alive and Well: Actively networking while you’re still working is the best way to keep your network thriving; check in with network members with a quick lunch, phone call or email; seek out opportunities to help others – someday you may want to ask them to help you.

Start thinking about a career change now: If you’ve been thinking of making a career change, you’re much better off pursuing it while you’re still employed. A career transition takes more time than a job search. You want to give yourself the time to do it when you’re not under pressure so you can find a new career that’s really right for you.

Copy your official personnel folder: Get a copy of your personnel file from HR – performance reviews, letters of commendation, warnings, etc, and copy it – “just for my own records.” Although you may have many of these documents already (which, of course, you have been keeping over the years), make a copy of everything you can.

Put together a list of potential references: Ask supervisors, managers, colleagues, co-workers, and subordinates, whom you have worked well with for their personal contact information so that you can stay in touch after you, or they, leave your current employer.

Be a reference for others: If you like another’s work, be willing and prepared to be a reference for co-workers, colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates. This is a great way to initiate post-employment networking, and that’s a very good thing for your future job searches.

If you become clear that a lay-off is coming, quietly remove personal items from the workplace: Start taking personal items home, as quietly and as unobtrusively as you can as you may not have time to pack should you get tapped. If you’ve installed your own software on your company’s computer, take home the package, and all related discs and documents. Also, if you’ve done any personal work on your office computer, be sure to take copies home and delete those files from the office computer.

A word of caution: Be careful about removing anything that the company would consider to be owned by the company, including documents and information marked “confidential” or considered proprietary, like customer lists, proposals, patent applications, financial reports, etc. Unless you’ve made advance arrangements, your employer probably “owns” what you have created at work. They also own your office computer and the office supplies you use. You can be sued for violating confidentiality agreements or even accused of theft. Call an attorney outside the company if you are not sure. You don’t want to become a “criminal” in the process of preparing for your next job search.

Educate yourself on company severance policy: Explore the company policy manual to find out what you can expect from the company as standard practice and identify, in advance, what you might be able to negotiate as part of that package. Prepare yourself to negotiate for as much as company policy allows.

Pursue disability coverage before you lose your job: Personal disability coverage is an important thing to have – and it’s also important to secure coverage based on your current level of income. Apply for such coverage while your income is at its highest. This could involve supplementing the group coverage you may have through your job with individual coverage.

First, review my article on layoff preparation and complete those steps as quickly as possible. Then, make sure that you:

1. Create your personal “parachute.”  Explore the company policy manual to find out what you can expect from the company as standard practice and ask for what you want. Don’t be afraid to negotiate! Employees have more power than then know in these situations. For example-

• Use all “outplacement” services available to you
• Address all medical needs, particularly if your deductibles have been met
• Submit claims to flexible spending accounts to avoid forfeiting any balances
• Use vacation time or get paid for it
• Find out how unvested stock options will be handled
• Request information on benefit continuation – firms with over 20 employees are required to offer COBRA – health insurance at your expense

2. Avoid the urge to rush. Never sign anything without having an opportunity to review the termination agreement thoroughly yourself, and with your financial and legal advisors.

3. Register for Unemployment Compensation. Go to you state unemployment office immediately and register for unemployment compensation. If you wait too long you may become ineligible.

4. Reduce Expenses and Save Money. Unless you are independently wealthy is important that you cut your expenditures to the bone when you lose your job. This will allow you the maximum amount of time to find new employment without taking a job just for the income.

5. Professional Resume. Bring your resume and cover letter template up to date and have it reviewed/rewritten by a professional. Contact me for the Certified Professional Resume writer I use with my clients.

6. Ramp up your network. Make a list of everyone you know and divide the list into the A, B, and C groups. Spend at least one to two hours a day networking with the A group, people who might be helpful in identifying a new job, whether they be friends, former co-workers, colleagues, customers or clients.

Attend as many professional association meetings as you can.

Identify job search support groups and attend at least one per week. Not only will this expand your network, it will also provide you needed moral support.

7. Identify and connect with three executive search consultants / recruiters who specialize in your industry and functional area. Type the words recruiter or executive search consultant, your job title or similar words, your industry and your geographic area into one of the search engines. For example, “Recruiter Boston Portfolio Manager financial services” and you will create a list of recruiters who service this industry and functional area. You can check out their web sites and select three whom you find appropriate to your needs and to whose site you are drawn to.

8. Start searching. Visit the major job boards as well as those that specialize in your industry and functional area. Also check out the web sites of any relevant trade and professional associations and companies where you’d like to work for job postings.

9. Develop contacts. Try to have a contact in the organization to which you are sending your cover letter and resume. Use the company web site, your network, LinkedIn or call the receptionist, but don’t send a resume without someone to address it to. It’s a waste of your time and your stamp.

10. Brush up on your interviewing skills. Develop your own answers to the most commonly asked interview questions. Click here for my special gift to you: The Best and Worst Answers to the Most Commonly Asked Interview Questions. Also, develop questions you want to ask of an interviewer. Role play with family members or friends based on a job description that appeals to you. Better still, work with a career coach to develop proven strategies and skills to nail your interviews and negotiate the most favorable compensation package you can.