Recruiter's Couch

I read resumes for a living and sometimes I feel compelled to let you know about some nasty things that I see.  Nasty may be a little strong but in the scheme of things, this is your career and your resume should represent you clearly and professionally.

Today’s bugaboo is abbreviations.   One of the resumes I read today was full of abbreviations and it damn near drove me crazy.  If you don’t have time to write out the word, you don’t have time for my job.

If you are senior, say senior.  Not Sr.

If you are a Mechanical Engineer, do not succumb to using Mech. Eng to refer to yourself.

Sr Mech Eng looking for long term growth opp.

This kind of language is fine is you are tweeting or looking for a date but has not place on a resume.

Seriously.  What happens if your resume is received by someone who does not know what the abbreviations stand for?

If you specialize in piping design systems, say so.  PDS could Panzer Dragoon Saga (a role playing game) or the Planetary Data System.

If there is a lengthy term that is going to appear throughout your resume, then you can introduce an abbreviation early on (in parentheses after the term) so the reader knows exactly what you are talking about.

So spell it out.  You have worked hard to get where you are.  Let it shine.

Imagine you are at the final stages of interviewing for a great job.  The salary, location and job description are all great fits.  You are beyond excited.

You get asked for references.  You just about pass out.  You forgot about this part and have not connected with your references for ages.

Using the guy in the next cubicle three years ago is not going to cut it.  Neither will using your neighbour or a family friend.

Employers want to be able to verify that you do what you say you do in a way that is consistent with how you have presented yourself.

They want to talk to three or four people who have worked closely with you recently enough to remember it.  At least one of those people should have been your manager.

Cultivating references is almost as important as keeping your eyes open for new opportunities.  Think about the people you interact with on a daily basis.  Who would be willing and able to vouch for your skills, attitudes and work ethic?

Don’t let this fall by the wayside.  Keep your resume and references at the ready because you never know where and when the next opportunity will show up.

I was at the Canadian Nuclear Association conference in Ottawa last week and some really interesting people came to our booth to talk to us.

The one that stuck out was a soon-to-be graduate of a nuclear engineering program.  Most of his classmates were heading down the typical path – applying to power generation and research companies.  His dreams, however, were different.  He wanted to do work on the policy side, not the application side.

All of his co-op terms and summer jobs had been political, not practical.  He was looking to us for some guidance.

His skill combination was very unusual and was going to make finding a job trickier.  He had already come to the realization that his resume was not going to rise to the top of pile in either world.

I was reminded of a story that Martin Buckland, founder of Elite Resumes, once told me.  He was working with a senior executive who wanted to make a life change.  He wanted to leave the city altogether and be able to live and work at his cottage.

He had discovered that the hospital near his cottage was looking for a CEO.  He came to Martin and asked if together, they could create a resume that would get him in the door for an interview.

They researched what the hospital was going through and identified the challenges and opportunities that the new CEO would have to face and then presented a resume that reflected his experience with those things.

He got an interview and subsequently, got the job.

Did I mention that he had no experience in healthcare?

Here is someone who also had a less-than-typical profile and yet, managed to get into the role he wanted.

The key is to decide where you want to spend your time working.  It does not have to be a specific organization. It can be a certain type or size or location or brand personality.

Once you know where you are going, lay out a map to get there. Do research.  What’s happening in the space?  Who do you know there?  How can your experience help them?  What problems can you solve for them based on your knowledge?

It takes patience and perseverance but it will be worth it in the end.