Free Resume Advice For Job Seekers

Following on from my previous blog titled ‘Job Selection Process and Psychometric Testing’ dated 1st July 2009, I’d like to share more real-life experiences with you.

Example 1:

A few months back I revamped a resume for a gentleman who had over 20 years senior management experience and had established several successful and profitable businesses. I met him face-to-face to deliver final product at his ‘office’ which was at a local coffee shop not far from where he resided. He conducted his business (using a laptop and mobile phone) sitting at his regularly allocated table on a daily basis (with the exception of weekends). In our discussions, he revealed that he was in ongoing consultations with another gentleman regarding a lucrative and dynamic position that would entail working overseas. He did not apply for this position, it was never advertised. Over a two month period he would see this gentleman at the coffee shop who was also a frequent patron. They introduced themselves, got to know each other more as time progressed, whereupon they began to disclose more about their businesses, experiences and expertise. Ongoing discussions resulted in unplanned brainstorming sessions where my client offered thoughts on how and what the gentleman could do in his business to improve and expand on operations. As a result, the gentleman offered my client a dynamic opportunity which would also involve overseas travel. His exact words to my client were: “You would be a great fit in the business and you’re the one I want!” At no time was there a structured interview process that took place.

Example 2:

Prior to establishing my current business, I managed office administration processes in a Brisbane-based labour hire company. We were on the look out for a receptionist/office administrator and I was getting ready to start the candidate search process (calling up recruitment agencies). On one particular day, the company’s recruitment manager came into my office asking me to pop into his office to chat with a female who had presented herself at the front desk asking if there were any positions available. The recruitment manager had been talking with her for ten minutes before I entered the scene. He disclosed to me that he liked her from the outset and thought she would be perfect for the role. I concurred with his sentiments; I only needed five minutes with her to determine that she was sincere, loyal, trustworthy and eager to learn, importantly, she was eager to work. Moreover, the rapport established between the three of us was very positive; she was very likeable and approachable. I offered her the position on the spot with a one month trial period. During the time we spent talking with her, we did not ‘interview’ her in a structured manner. Subsequently, she worked out very well and was well-liked by all the other staff members and those important personality traits that I determined from the outset, solidly established themselves throughout her employ with the company.

Example 3:

Prior to my employment in the labour hire company, I was living and working overseas in Vancouver, Canada.  I was employed in an administrative capacity in a company that specialised in managing new start-up oil and gas ventures. I was getting bored in the position. Every morning I frequented the coffee shop located on the mezzanine level of the office building before heading to the office. What is it with coffee shops! Anyway, one gets to see the same people day-in-day-out, and on one particular day, a gentlemen introduced himself to me after a certain amount of time passed where we would only exchange smiles and ‘hellos’. For around two months we would engage in light discussions but never for too long. As far as the context of work went, the only question we asked each other is what we did. He knew what I did (but not that I was dissatisfied) and I knew that he was the director of a small but successful business on the other side of the street of the office building I worked in. Time passed and then out of the blue one morning he took me aside and offered me the opportunity to work in his business in an administrative management capacity. I was quite taken aback and asked if he would like to sight my resume. His immediate and resounding response was an affirmative ‘NO’, he then went on to say and I quote verbatim: “Annie, I know and have seen enough to convince me that you would be a great employee and an asset to the business, my decision is made, you just need to make yours!”.

These are just some examples of job offers being made where job selection formalities and structure do not come into play. It’s a changing world out there, never before has networking been so important. Just by taking the initiative and being proactive in putting yourself out there and introducing yourself could assist you in landing a position. Even better, possibly even dispensing with having to go through all the formalities associated with the job selection process.

Cheers,

Annie Cerone

I would like to share with you some details on an interesting excerpt in the ‘Recruiter Daily’ I read this morning regarding a charter that has been developed (its still in draft form), which will be open to changes pending the results of a large survey being undertaken on current recruitment processes (both with recruitment agencies and employers). The charter covers up to 10 key areas and I would like to discuss 3 of them that I’ve been rallying for, for quite some time now:

1. Keep selection criteria questions to a minimum.
I believe that there are many suitable job applicants who are simply not applying for certain advertised positions because of the daunting process of addressing pages of criteria. The industry is already changing as I’ve dealt with many clients who have applied for positions within several government departments (for example, Queensland Transport and Queensland Health) where the addressing of criteria is set to a 1-2 page maximum. Now doesn’t this make the whole process so much easier!

2. Require that applications contain only a CV/resume and/or cover letter.
Wow, even better, way less documentation for applicants to prepare! I firmly believe that resumes can be tailored and developed to showcase the requirements of advertised positions. I am currently developing a resume for a client in Canberra addressing 6 main general criteria points (one to two sentences each) in an Overview section on the first page of the resume. I have used this format for two clients within the last two weeks who have gone on to win job interviews.

3. Conduct interviews in as informal a manner as possible.
Remember what I said in my blog dated 1^st July 2009 about changing the manner in which job interviews are conducted, steering away from a more formal approach to a less formal one. Looks like others in the recruitment industry are concurring. Stay tuned for a blog I’ll be posting soon that will give even more examples on the informal approach.

Cheers,
Annie Cerone

Psychometric assessment or testing is frequently used early on in the job selection process (in conjunction with the job interview) with its key aim of providing the employer with a profile of the candidate and how they would fit into the workplace. Research has shown that traditional interviews do not work so employers are incorporating assessment to tighten up their recruitment. Psychometric testing is used to assess applicants applying for positions across many levels from entry level graduate positions as high up as senior management or executive roles in both government and private sectors. It can be administered in the more traditional paper-based manner and as a series of online tests. Psychometric testing falls into two categories – aptitude/ability tests and personality inventories. Aptitude tests measure mental reasoning capabilities which can include numerical reasoning; verbal reasoning; comprehension/grammar; abstract, mechanical or spatial; information checking; and IQ. Depending on how you rank (or grade) on aptitude tests can determine whether you are more suitable for a certain type of role. Personality inventories reveal interests, motivations, emotional intelligence, values, attitudes and so forth. There is no right or wrong answer on personality inventories; responses are used primarily as a guide to determine suitability for the position and whether you are a good fit for the organisation.

The question is: is psychometric testing effective as part of the job selection process in sourcing the right candidate for the job? General consensus is yes. However, there are exceptions and let me share this experience with you. A good friend of mine was looking to change career direction from education to pharmaceutical sales. I developed her resume and she was subsequently called into interviews with three large global pharmaceutical companies in the capacity of a pharmaceutical sales representative in the Brisbane area. The process was lengthy (three hours all up), structured  and in three parts consisting of undergoing two behavioural-based interviews; conducting a 10 minute sales pitch; and completing 20-30 minutes of paper-based psychometric testing. She was subsequently placed in the top 3 final candidates, and was the second favoured applicant for one of the positions. Another applicant was offered (and accepted) this position, however, she only lasted four months in the role. My friend was contacted again by the recruitment agency (handling all the recruitment for this particular pharmaceutical company) to be offered the position as she was the second most preferred applicant. The first question she asked the recruiter was why the offer? Apparently, from the outset, the lady that accepted the position was confrontational and did not bond or get on well with staff and fellow team members. The very important question here is why was this not determined during the interview process orwith the psychometric testing? Surely this personality trait would have revealed itself in some form. When I assessed and analysed this particular situation, I wondered whether the interviewers actually assessed whether there was a rapport established with this candidate. Initial rapport says a lot and sells. I swear by this when interviewing. Unfortunately rapport is not something that can be ‘put into a box’ so to speak and assessed in a structured format; it’s either there or not, but must not be overlooked.

A certain recruiter who has been many years in the profession and HR industry and deals with high paying senior managers and executives recently revealed the need to change the manner in which the selection process and interviews are conducted. He believes they should steer away from a structured environment to a less formal one, initially at least. Specifically, he believes that when one initially ‘interviews’ a prospective candidate, it should be done in an informal and relaxed setting and manner, over a coffee away from an office environment and doing away with structured behavioural questioning! He also suggests that these type of meetings should take place more than once. The first step is in establishing rapport and getting to know the applicant and building from that. Conversation is free flowing and the quality of information that is imparted in this manner can reveal a lot about a prospective employee, both work and non-work related. I like this style ‘interviewing’, it’s my style and the way I like to get to know who I could potentially be working with.

Cheers,

Annie Cerone