[Cool Story Bro] Chronicles of Unemployed Clutchfans

With your vast experience, is it possible for you to create your own company and do outsourced work from the big companies and eventually grow it with more employees?

 

Good on #2- yes, I did realize the relocation issue comes up primarily during interviews- but if you do send your resume to a company outside of your geographic area, you either have to leave your address off (which you did) or you have to write "Planning Relocation to (NAME OF CITY)" under your address.

For #1, I really recommend not using a pure functional with the job history at the end- most employers do not like the functional because it is typically used to hide things. A pure functional would look something like this:

HEADING

OBJECTIVE or SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

SKILL AREAS (in the functional, this is usually a long section, a page or more)

SKILL AREA #1
Item
Item
Item

SKILL AREA #2
Item
Item
Item

#3, #4, #5, etc. - at this point, many are down to the bottom of page 1.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

EDUCATION


What I usually recommend is a modified version of this, with no Skill Areas section and a Summary in which you bring to the front the skills and experience relevant to the positions you seek:

HEADING

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS (describing your years of experience and skills relevant to the position you seek)

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS (just 2 or 3 relevant to the position you seek)

WORK EXPERIENCE (describing both your responsibilities and achievements under each employer)

EDUCATION


In this format, the heading, summary and selected achievements are only about 1/2 a page combined; you want to start the Experience section on page 1 at some point, usually no more than 1/2 way down page 1.


Now, you have to remember that if your format is working, meaning that you're getting steady interviews with it, ignore what I said. The advice above applies to most situations, but like I tell people, if it's working, go with what works. Some people will say things like, "Don't ever put a picture on a resume..." Not true if you're an actor or broadcaster. Some will say, "Don't put your interests and hobbies on a resume." Not true if you're in sales and your hobby is golf or another competitive sport, or if you're in banking and your interests are in community activities.

So, if what you do works, keep doing it and ignore the recommendation for a modified functional format. Again, that is generally preferred over a pure functional.

 

I would just like to thank dandorotik for the information in this thread.

Some of you younger folks should really heed his advice. This type of professional help would not come cheaply and he is volunteering it.

I'm near retirement now, but it would have been very helpful coming up.

Good stuff dan. repped.

 

Y'all hang in there. I've been there and I feel for you. This too shall pass.

 

Oh, it's no problem- anything for fellow Rockets fanatics- WOOOOHHH!!!!!!

Job search is a real pain in the a**. Everytime you think you know what you should do with your resume, interviews, references, follow-up, etc., either the guidelines change or you get conflicting advice. That's why I'm careful about saying, "This is the way to do it." You try to ask advice from career professionals, friends, colleagues, etc., and you'll get different recommendations from many. And what we really want is a "this is the exact perfect way to do this!!" and we'd be OK.

So, you know, all the advice in this thread, mine and others, is relative. I have a little bit of an advantage in working on these types of things with 1,000s of clients, but some of the things are common sense and you certainly don't need me to tell you what to do. You take the whole Thank You letter issue. I don't think there's any question that sending a thank you letter for them taking the time to interview you is the proper and potentially beneficial thing to do. However, sending a TY letter in which one is harping on negatives and basically pleading for the job wouldn't work, either.

So, the best advice is sort of a combination: send a TY letter but keep it brief and keep it positive. Display confidence during an interview but temper it and also show that you're willing to correct/overcome any negatives that may come up (e.g. the old "what is your greatest weakness?" question- you don't want to be glib and say, "My greatest weakness is that I work too hard..." You want to be honest, but you also don't want to mention something that is critical to the position, like an accountant saying, "I tend to lose sight on details." You try to mention something that is easily fixable with a little bit of training and assistance).

When you write a resume, try to focus on achievements but don't forget to include a brief description of responsibilities for each job. You can use a word like "excellent" to describe a key skill (e.g. "excellent skills in Salesforce.com), but don't use these words throughout, too many uses of "outstanding" and "tremendous" will be too strong. You use stuff like "Proficient in.." or mention years of experience in a skill as proof you're good at it (e.g. "Over 15 years of experience in using forklifts, barcode scanners...."). It's all just a balance of trying to sell yourself without trying to go overboard, I guess.


Oh, for the person who asked earlier, this is an example of a modified functional, where if you mention skill sets, you do so briefly but also include a mention of your achievements in your Experience section. For this person, he was applying for a position that involved extensive work in delivering presentations and building relationships, so we brought those up front for emphasis:


NAME
Address
CITY, STATE, ZIP
Voice: 000-000-0000
Email: name@yahoo.com


AREA VETERINARIAN, EQUINE SPECIALTY

Over 5 years of experience in the veterinary field, with a focus in Equine Science. Degrees include Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and BS in Animal Science from the University of NAME.

SKILL AREAS:

> External & Internal Presentations – Extensive experience in delivering presentations to small and large groups, including: demonstrations at COMPANY open houses to audiences of 200+ (2006-2008), lectures on emergency medicine/ critical care to horse owners at the NAME trials (2007), and research speech to the entire senior class and 20-50 faculty at the University of NAME (2004).

> Intra-/Inter-Department Collaborations – Worked jointly with the CEO of COMPANY on publishing monthly success stories, diversifying revenues through service offering expansion, and designing advertisement published in an industry trade journal.

> Customer & Partner Relationships – Built relationships with local veterinarians through free diagnostic services that led to 80+% referring difficult cases to COMPANY. Upheld high level of satisfaction with key customer (accounted for 25% of total sales). Contributed to securing sponsorships with Legend, Adequan, Butler Animal Health, Nutrena, and Gastroguard.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE


COMPANY – LOCATION – 2004-Present
Director of Field Services

Oversee field service activities and perform medical procedures as 1 of 3 veterinarians. Function as the primary clinician for share of high-emergency cases, including colic, laminitis, lacerations, and neonatal crisis management. Operate and maintain nuclear scintigraphy, digital radiology, ultrasound, and endoscopy equipment. Team with the CEO and office manager on various marketing and business development strategies, including traditional and online solutions.

** Business Growth: Recognized as a primary catalyst in expanding the breeding division of the hospital from 30 mares annually in 2004 to over 300 in 2009, with up to 85 mares in different stages of care at any one time (stages of cycling for breeding).
** Technology: Gained proficiency in the use of Cornerstone software for invoices and medical records, EDSI for stallion management, recordkeeping, and farm fees, and tracking of shipments. Used software to bill breeding procedures.

* Co-expanded reproductive services for breeding mares that increased market share on stallion and mare side.
* Developed 30-minute video for a local CBS station filmed at the hospital to increase community exposure.
* Co-designed ad featuring stallions at COMPANY subsequently published in the NAME Journal.
* Formed partnership with ORGANIZATION that promoted COMPANY on their website.
* Led efforts in offering health packages of horses, increasing owner compliance 20% as a result.

(ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE DELETED)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS


Doctor of Veterinary Medicine: University of NAME, College of Veterinary Medicine –2004
Bachelor of Science in Animal Science: University of NAME, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences – 2000




Happy Easter, and good luck to all ClutchFans job seekers! You know, we should all just put Member, ClutchFans at the top of our resumes- that would indicate to the reader that we're intelligent and devoted- that's what is most important, anyway!!!

 

This particular position had over 800 applicants, of which we conducted about two dozen face-to-face interviews. When you are competing against almost a thousand people who have similar resumes, you really need to be on the ball. Any slip up can make you lose the top spot.

 

Agreed. Major props to dandorotik

 

How old are you? That's how it is in the real world. You are the confident and good communicators. You don't want somebody that communicates a da desperate and inferior manner representing you to investors or clients in emails or letters.

 

I've got to agree with the thank you follow up note I saw mentioned earlier in this thread. Due to some bad luck I've found myself without a full time job the last few weeks and I started interviewing around. I met with several places and the last place I really liked I sent a followup thank you email to the interviewer the next day. I was somewhat tenatively scheduled for a followup interview before the conclussion of the first interview though it was more of a "We'll get back with you when we can." Needless to say, I was contacted later that afternoon for my second interview two days later. At the end of the second interview the president of the company looked at me and told me, "By the way, you really impressed everyone with that thank you note you sent. You're the only person we've interviewed in a very long time that sent a followup note. We don't know if that is your style but you really made yourself look good." I'm glad I sent that note becuase of all the jobs I've interviewed for recently it was the one I wanted most and I think that thank you note fast tracked the hiring process (hope to have an offer on Wednesday...fingers crossed).

Good luck to my fellow unemployed!

 

Duly noted.

I'm about to start my "find a job" process and this info seems like gold.

 

I just quit my job because it was going no where. Politics is a ****ty industry. You get exploited because they know you're not in it for the money. No overtime pay, no raises, nothing. I made so much more money working for a fortune 500 company. (and I worked maybe half the time)

Anyway, some campaign should hire me, I'm officially an insider

 

AWESOME AWESOME! I hope you get the job. People make excuses about why not to send a thank you note. That's it worthless or the company won't even read it. The amount of time and effort to take write a note is minimal compared to everything else in a job search.

If you don't have connections, it's one of the best things to do. You should follow up with thank you notes to everybody else also, even though it's late. You want to keep all your fishing lines out, since you don't have a job yet.

 

Yes, there are always some who won't read the thank-you letter, but most will. What's even tougher is writing and enclosing a cover letter knowing that many won't bother to read it. A recent study by SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) found that about 65% of employers and recruiters don't bother to read the cover letter. So, the question is: if over half don't read it, why bother to include one? Simple- because you never know if you're sending it to the 35% who do expect it and will read it. So, unfortunately, even though you know that, possibly, over 1/2 of your effort is in vain, you have to do it.

I also had someone voicing their concern to me today about the fact that, these days, many references will not provide any information to employers that call them (they won't even provide positive info, just a "Yes, he/she worked here..."), and if there is anything to do about it. Well, sort of. I recommended to him that when he develops his list of references, he includes a short 1-2 sentence description of what the reference "could" verify about him (that's why all the descriptions use the word "can," in case the reference does not actually provide this info when the employer calls). It doesn't completely override a reference that will not provide info, but at least it gives the potential employer a little bit of insight into what the references might say about him- and I've had positive feedback from some recruiters on this, so it can't hurt, right?

It would look something like this:

HEADING


PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Larry R. Doe, VP of Marketing
COMPANY NAME
Address:
Phone:
Email:

A former supervisor at COMPANY NAME and a 29-year music industry veteran, Larry can verify my strategic abilities in the development of new business ventures and business models. He can speak to my achievements in negotiating favorable content acquisition deals and producing videos.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom P. Doe, Senior Director
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Address:
Phone:
Email:

As a former employee at COMPANY NAME, Tom can confirm my strong skill sets and achievements in the industry, and he can also elaborate on my creation of the NAME OF record label and archive recordings.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve N. Doe, Director
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Address:
Phone:
Email:

Steve can speak to my comprehensive knowledge of the video production and entertainment industry based on our extensive collaboration as peers to produce concert videos. He can also confirm our achievements in negotiating and securing financing for the NAME OF series broadcast on PBS.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elissa A. Doe, Department Manager
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Address:
Phone:
Email:

Elissa and I worked together to secure sponsorship deals and the content partnership between COMPANY NAME and COMPANY NAME. She can verify my excellent business development skills and management abilities in directing COMPANY NAME’s concert tour sponsorships.



I just feel like any little thing you can do that most people won't do positions you above the competition. Plus, as I mentioned, I run some of these ideas by recruiters, and if they give me the thumbs-up, since they're on the front line, I take what they say to heart. :grin:

 

Sorry for all these posts, don't mean to monopolize this thread, but I have another suggestion for something to do to impress an employer during an interview. Now, this might considered a bit sneaky, but then again, maybe not, depending on how you go about it- let me explain. This is something I actually tried when I interviewed with a firm several years ago and it worked. Every employer wants to know that you know about their company. So, what I did was print out several pages of the web site for the company I was interviewing with. I put this in the same folder as my references list and other documents I had to submit during the interview, my docs on the left and the home page of the company site (and several underneath) clearly visible on the right. So, when I gave my career documents to the interviewer, he could clearly see the pages of his company's web site on the other side of my folder. He commented on this and I replied that I printed these out to read and learn more about the company. Totally impressed him.

But here's the potential B.S. factor- if I didn't actually read the info. I really did want to learn about the company in case the interviewer asked me questions, so I was being truthful in my response (with an admitted ulterior motive, as well). The B.S. would come into play if someone just printed these out and showed it to the interviewer without having read them. It wasn't like 20-30 pages or anything like that- just about 6-7. Conversely, you could simply tell the employer what you know about the company, as many will ask this question. But, I'm for anything that works that's not too crazy (even though that can work on rare occasions; like the guy that wrote his resume on a sandwich board and walked up and down Wall Street wearing it. He got hired by a top investment firm. Strange, and not recommend in many situations).

So, regardless, it's always beneficial to research the company you are interviewing with. And you don't have to limit yourself to the site; you can Google the company name and you can sometimes find an article about the company to print out and/or read. I know, I know, a lot of work- you just try to balance doing some research without doing too much, I guess.

 

I thank you very much for your kind words. It's just disheartening to hear the the stories I sometimes have to hear about individual's struggles with their job search. It's a very cold, lonely feeling in Job Search 2010 when it seems as if they, the employers, hold all the cards and any little thing you do could cause them to choose someone else, etc. In reality, they don't have all the power- but try telling that to someone who's been out of work for 6-8 months, they don't want to hear that crap, and understandably so. I've gotten numerous tips on various topics from this site, from resolving computer issues to fixing my house, so anything I can throw out there, I gladly do so as a member of RocketNation.

 

Regarding this.. my HR tells me that when I call for a reference, I am not allowed to ask about job performance. I can only call to verify dates of employment. The closest thing regarding to job performance I can ask is: "Would you hire them again?"

I am also discouraged from answering any job performance related questions when people call me for a reference.

They mentioned something about it being against labor law... but I didn't get too far into it. Do you know anything about this?

 

-Why don't you get a job ? If you're so hungry, why don't you get a job ?
I lost my job.
-Why ? You drinking ?
-Is that why you lost it ? Insider trading ?
-Just joking.
-Listen, what's your name ? Al.
-Hmm ? Speak up. Come on. Al.
-Get a ******* job, Al.
-You got a negative attitude. That's what's stopping you.
-You gotta get your act together. I'll help you.
You are so kind, mister. You're a kind-- You're a kind man.
-It's okay. I can tell.
Please, you gotta tell me what to do. You gotta help me.
I'm so cold, I'm hungry.
-You know how bad you smell ?
-You reek of ****. Do you know that ?
-Al.
I'm sorry. It's just that--
I don't know.
-I don't have anything in common with you.
Oh. Oh, thankyou, mister. Thankyou.
I'm cold out here.
-You know what a ****ing loser you are ? What ?

 

Laws differ from state to state. In Texas, this is how the law reads regarding references:

The Texas Legislature enacted H.B. 341 in 1999, a bill that essentially codified existing case law dealing with job references and defamation lawsuits; the statute is found in sections 103.001-103.005 of the Texas Labor Code. The bill protects from defamation liability an employer who releases information about a current or former employee to a prospective new employer, unless "the information disclosed was known by that employer to be false at the time the disclosure was made or that the disclosure was made with malice or in reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the information disclosed."

So, the employer is protected under the law in providing information about you, but it's the "malice" part that probably has companies' Legal departments cautioning them to give "only the facts." Of course, facts can include a reason for termination, but maybe it's just the fear that they might slip, so they avoid it altogether.

Of course, this doesn't take into account personal or client references, but we know that prospective employers are probably going to want to hear from the most recent employer.

I do recommend a combination of personal, employer, and client references if you feel that you don't have enough employer references, or if you think the current employer might say something less than good, especially client references for individuals in customer-driven areas like sales, account management, etc. Clients can give you some of the best references, for sure.

 

I had an interview Monday with a company that I really liked and the job seemed like something I would enjoy. The guy said he would let me know something by the end of this week. I've been sitting here all day and haven't heard anything. It's making me sick.