Every job seeker receives different advice and strategy from family, friends and professionals when it comes to job search. But what is true and what is a myth. While certain myths of the trade are harmless, others are disastrous to the success of a job seeker. So how do you know which advice to disregard and which to embrace? Let’s expose the most common myths of the job hunt and offer some useful advice in its place.  Check out the full article on The Ladders Blog.

Myth: Registering on several online job portals will result in maximum call-backs

This is one of the biggest myths of this industry. Although online portals are accessible and increase visibility, they should not be viewed as having a higher success rate than any of the traditional counterparts like ads in newspapers and magazines. Thousands of people register on these portals on a daily basis and it could take days just for the screening process to end.

Advice: Register on two or three good job boards, and update your resume regularly to stay on top of the results lists.

Myth: A majority of vacancies are posted online or in the newspapers

It’s common practice for job openings to be “closed” or “hidden,” meaning recruiters will search for candidates or get references without ever posting the job online. The higher the title or salary, the less likely it is that the position will be advertised at all.

Advice: Start networking. It is the one and only fool-proof method of knowing what’s happening in the current job market. You have a better chance of finding what you seek if you make connections with others in your desired industry. For example, if you want to work as a freelance writer, building relationships with other writers and editors is your most critical resource in finding a position of your own.

Myth: Cover letters are not that important

Cover letters must be an integral part of your job-search strategy. A resume just gives an account of your work experience, skill set, and core competencies. It is all but useless if not accompanied with a document that gives a detailed description of why you are uniquely qualified for the particular job profile.

Advice: Every time you apply for a position, send a customized cover letter written specifically for the company that you are applying to. The only exception to this rule is when the employer explicitly states that he does NOT need one.

By many studies, networking is noted as the #1 way people find new jobs and advance their career. Levo’s Personal Branding Blog notes multiple strategies for effective networking, highlighting two:
1) Make the other person talk more than you and
2) make effective requests for action.

Many people believe that the goal of networking is to let as many people as possible know who you are and what you’re looking for. While this can provide some advantage, like blasting out standard resumes to many companies, you will never get the same response as targeted well-built relationships. This is particularly evidenced by the aforementioned strategy of having the other person speak. When others speak more it typically builds rapport faster and ensures you’re not dominating the conversation (which everyone hates!). Both of these strategies can be implemented by asking questions.

What kinds of questions can you ask? Well, early in the conversation, if you were introduced, you can ask questions about the person that introduced you (eg. “How long have you known Mary?”). If you weren’t introduced, rely on open-ended situational questions (eg. “What are you hoping to get out of this conference?”). Either way, you want to stay away from questions that allow only “yes” or “no” answers.
Once you really feel you’ve formed a bond with the individual, questions can help with your second strategy. Asking something like “Is there someone in your company with that expertise that you could introduce me to?” can really set you up to accomplish your objectives.

Questions are the meat of making connections – so get out there and get asking!
This blog was adapted from Levo’s Personal Branding Blog and can be found here: http://www.levo.com/articles/career-advice/better-questions-equal-better-networking-results

“As a major contributor to this blog and career specialist working directly with students and employers to assist in making connections, I have had the unique opportunity to review a lot of resumes. In fact, in the last six months, I have reviewed approximately 300 resumes – all belonging to SPC students.”

Student or not, describing previous employment on a resume can be tricky. When I wrote earlier, I explained that we’re talking about Skills and Accomplishments, not job duties.

Let’s begin in reverse order, Accomplishments. This means any awards, rewards, or promotions that you received. Don’t tell the name of the award, but rather the merit (eg. “Received Exemplary Customer Service Award three months consecutively”, not “Won Purple Pickle award 3x”).

Skills are a little more difficult.

1. The first step to highlighting your skills are to uncover what they are. Local career services centers can help provide assessments for uncovering your skills. There are also a lot of websites which offer skills assessments, like this one. Once you’ve assessed your skills, assign them to jobs that you’ve previously held, and rank them based on utility concerning your prospective job. This will decide what you will talk about and the order of the bullet points (I recommend only 2-4 bullets total – skills and accomplishments, combined).
2. The second step is to find strong wording. How you word your skills can give totally different impressions to the potential employer. Consider the following two sentences: “Clean toilets, scrub floors” and “Maintained sanitary conditions for guests”. One of those sounds like more of a skill. To get inspiration for wording, I suggest that you Google “100 great resume words” and click on one of the links. Using a strong verb will lead to a strong bullet.
3. The third recommendation for your skills bullets are numbers. Where possible, add numbers to back up your point. Earlier I told you that I have reviewed approximately 300 resumes in the previous six months, this makes a much more significant impression than “I review a lot of resumes”. Consider this and use numbers to make a lasting brand.For resume reviews, contact Career Services online or at a campus near you. Happy Job Searching!

As a major contributor to this blog and career specialist working directly with students and employers to assist in making connections, I have had the unique opportunity to review a lot of resumes. In fact, in the last six months, I have reviewed approximately 300 resumes – all belonging to SPC students. SPC students can mean a lot of things though – newly graduated high school students, grandparents coming in to show their kids that it is never too late, or even successful business owners looking to enhance their bookkeeping skills. Non-traditional students means non-traditional resumes – and I love that. There are a few similar mistakes that I see across the majority of my resumes and I want to share those with you.

1) PROFILE, NOT OBJECTIVE. In the old days (before the economic recession), a job seeker used to be able to tailor their resume in a way to say what THEY wanted from the job (a la “I am seeking a job where I can move up into management, receive incremental raises, and take 2 weeks’ vacation”) and a desperate employer still clamored to sign them.

These days have changed. With each openly posted position receiving around 200 applicants, employers are able to be more choosey. For this reason, the beginning of your resume should contain a short paragraph highlighting your BEST skills and accomplishments for that position. It should be a summary of you that entices the potential employer to keep reading.

2) NO HIGH SCHOOL. You’re in college now! You do not need to include your high school – just put your higher education. So you had a 4.0 and you were class president in high school? If it’s over a year ago, don’t include it. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved in college – find one!
a. I always get the follow up question of “Well, how do I list college if I’m not done?” I’ll show you:
School Name, City, State
Degree Pursued: Associate of _________: __________
Anticipated Graduation: 20__

3) SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NOT JOB DUTIES. Everyone seems to think that a resume is to tell a future employer what you did in that job… that’s not exactly true. I like to describe it as “What made you the best person at your job?”. A potential employer knows what a server at a restaurant does, or a custodian at an office building.

What a potential employer does not know is what made you skilled and what you bring to their company. I like to say that with the future position in mind, think about when you were working. There had to have been one or two of your coworkers who you always thought “How do you still have a job? I am SO much better at this than you.” – Well, what made you better? Were you faster? Nicer? More efficient? A better leader? A team player? Always on time? These are all skills you want to highlight.

This will definitely get you started on your resume. Keep watching this blog for more insight on describing previous employments and how to highlight your skills and accomplishments. For assistance or a resume review, you can contact your local career services, or me, Rebecca Sarver. Sarver.Rebecca@spcollege.edu / 727-341-7980