Tag Archives: Cover Letters

When Did the Job Seeker and Employers Become Mortal Enemies

Posted on by Bill Ryan

In my last piece I shared with readers the perspective of a long-term job seeker who had engaged in the job search process and the employment success she eventually found. Of course, for many others who ultimately get hired, “success” can often mean being underemployed or taking a pay cut from their previous position. It is a difficult pill for too many to swallow. 

For this piece a very different job seeker viewpoint, that of Linda Norris. As you will see the arduous hunt for employment can leave the searcher questioning what has gone wrong with the selection process. For many trying to obtain employment today, it has become an agonizingly slow, frustrating, and demoralizing slog. Below are the comments of an actual job seeker with a professional background and what she has found to be the new normal. In short, a daunting and often frightening search for work.
 

In years past, a job seeker would create a clear, concise resume, purchase a few local and city newspapers and apply for new jobs. The process would continue with a few phone calls, one to two interviews, a salary discussion with dual party agreement and a few distributed benefits brochures. The candidate would agree to the new job description with all its trimmings, dress professionally and start their new job. 

Then the internet arrived and the race for every company to get their job postings online. This worked for several years, until the arrival of Big Data, job coaches, job recruiters, job boards and concierges, job consultants, online job applicant profiles, pre-pre-employment online testing, candidate profiling, and other assorted job seeker tools that employers now use to weed out, but not hire candidates. 

Job seekers today must sort through a maze of confusing, conflicting, often out of date job boards and misleading employer web pages. There are lengthy job applications, which consume hours and hours of job seekers online time and resources. 

We are expected to willingly participate in online Pre-employment testing, Pre-Candidate quizzes, candidate profiling, multiple resume and document uploads, software testing downloads, Skype interviews, video conferencing from home, and multiple, time-wasting phone screens. 

Many job application interviews run into 5-hour stretches. These multiplex, invasive candidate selection processes are like the torture methods used in the Middle Ages. While the job seeker is not actually tortured physically, they often are intellectually. 

Once the online job seeker profile is completed and submitted, then there is the Candidate’s Application, EEO statement, resumes/documents to upload, the Pre-employment tests, applicant’s job scorecard and the applicant’s dashboard to be reviewed. After that there is ongoing, internet searches of the applicant to gain insight to their inner thoughts and deeds. If they have a Facebook page, a Google page, etc. this too is evaluated before the candidate can be hired. If the candidate rejects social media, then that rejection is also interpreted. 

Educational GPAs are evaluated, from grade school to college. The amount and fluency of foreign languages spoken or not spoken, is a criterion for hiring a job seeker. The candidate’s neighborhood, city, and state are also used as criteria for hiring. Driver’s license numbers are requested on applications, so that driving records can be interpreted, even library cards, overdue books, and fees paid are subject to interpretation by a future employer. 

What does all this invasion of a candidate’s privacy have to do with a new job? How does all this over-detailed, invasive micromanaging of a potential candidate’s lifestyle prove abilities to an employer? 

Why has the job seeker been placed in the position of being a mortal enemy, all for want of a job? 

Know What Your Performance Evidence Is

Posted on by Bill Ryan

“Hiring me will add value to your operation.” 

“I am prepared to take on the biggest challenges and come out a winner!” 

“You can count on me to tackle all obstacles and generate profit growth simultaneously.” 

Having the confidence and drive to be strongly competitive in this dog-eat-dog hiring climate is great. The meek unfortunately do not appear to be in the lead in inheriting this earth in any way that says employment success. Reaching out, promoting, in short, selling yourself is as combative as ever in employment and those with the stomach and skill for it can come out ahead. 

But making claims of greatness can be as fragile as a house of cards in the wind unless there is substance to back up your superlative declarations. You cannot call yourself a star performer if there is not some credible performance evidence to show in fact you can do the things you said you could do. 

Knowing what counts as solid performance evidence in your field and being able to clearly cite examples of your achievement in these areas boosts your standing among those making hiring decisions. These deciders can be listening about your performance affirmations at a networking event, job fair, or in an interview. They can be reading about them in your resume or on your LinkedIn profile. However, it is that they learn about those valuable accomplishments of yours that scream, “I’m qualified!”, the better off your career can be. 

So, what really matters in the work you do? Is it meeting quotas, raising profits, mitigating threats, improving lifestyles, expanding market share, stopping hunger, bringing joy to others, elevating student test scores, saving lives, or any number of the important things that show you have done what you were hired to do? We all have a rather limited set of crucial outcomes or objectives to realize in our jobs. Knowing exactly what they are and keeping track of your attainment of these goals is a good place to start identifying your performance evidence. 

Examples of execution carry more weight when they are quantifiable. Numbers can take a statement from subjective to objective, from opinion to fact. But be strategic about the quantities you select in your power statements. 

Now let us say that I am trying to prove to stakeholders that I am an excellent retail store manager. Do I talk about how demanding it is to track inventory, handle customers, and make good hourly-wage hires. That may all be true, but they do not speak to key performance indicators. Instead talk about numbers of units sold and employees supervised. Mention specifically how much you reduced operational costs and grew annual sales. Point out the increased percentages of surveyed customer satisfaction ratings and improvements made in associate training sessions. 

If vetting a candidate, which would you rather hear or read about concerning that person’s accomplishments: 

“Reduced expenses related to manufacturing operations.” or “Reduced costs, inventories, and cycle times of manufacturing operations, resulting in 52% – 68% gross margin increase, 4% –10% annual inventory turn increase, and 25% cycle time decrease.” 

Or how about this: 

“Managed operational and capital budgets.” or “Furnished operational and capital budgets for 18 commercial properties, comprising over $30M in expenditures for over 3.5 million square feet of space.” 

Not all professions embed the collection of performance data into their jobs like sales, financials, and medicine, among others. Sometimes it may be necessary for you to do your own quantitative logging, even if it is retrospective. 

Sure, it is a hassle, but in less than an hour, and maybe with some help from those who know your work well, you can compile a generous list of quantitative achievements from your recent past. This information can then be presented as demonstrations of your good efforts and workplace worth. 

Communicating in terms of performance evidence to hiring managers and recruiters strengthens your position as a job search candidate. So, go ahead and announce with confidence your capabilities and potential, but reinforce the message with the important deeds that count. 

Make Music When Tooting Your Own Horn

Posted on by Bill Ryan

One of the most difficult practices for people to pull off when advancing their careers is verbal self-promotion. Known commonly as the elevator pitch or the power statement, this self-promotional introduction can have the strength to leave a lasting impression about you with an influencer, or by contrast leave you forgettable. 

Being able to professionally introduce yourself to decision makers or those connected to them, when your objective is to seek employment or career advancement opportunities, is an important practice to master. Typically, there is often not much time to make a strong impression when opportunities to do so come about. People are busy. Time is short. If you cannot communicate relevance and practicality to the listener pointedly and in the moment, then you run the risk of being boring, extraneous, or even a nuisance. 

As if this is not pressure enough, think how awkward and stressful it can be to make a sales pitch about yourself if you are introverted, shy, or lacking in confidence. Well, that describes a whole lot of us! No wonder so many of us take feeble solace in saying, “I don’t like to toot my own horn.” 

We have convinced ourselves that to not display traits about ourselves is a virtue. We may even blame this weakness on our parents. “I wasn’t brought up to make a spectacle of myself.” True, to not draw attention to yourself is preferred in some social situations, but it does not help us to make a mark in our career development. 

Your professional introduction summarizes your expertise and value to the workplace. Making one need not be a major hurdle or social faux pas. There is a way to compose, practice, and eventually master the introduction. To make the spiel impactful, it should be short, perhaps 30 to 90 seconds, and rich in content. To begin follow a simple formula. For example: 

My name is

. 

I am [use job title or subject matter expert descriptor]. 

I have

years of experience as a
. 

Add Power Statement 1. 

Add Power Statement 2. 

By Power Statements I mean a line that includes a competency and an accomplishment. 

Let’s look at an example: 

My name is Jane Smith.  

I am an expert in dental office management. 

I have thirteen years of experience as a dental office manager, including eight with a $2M practice. 

I am highly organized. For example, I was fully responsible for all ordering of supplies, negotiating with dental supply vendors, and conducting inventory control. 

I am also great at personnel development, having hired, trained, and evaluated all seven of our non-medical staff. 

These pitches can contain your soft “human connection” skills, or they can highlight your innovative solutions to significant problems, or they can describe how you added value.  

So, now that we have a professional introduction framed out, we must make sure it does not sound too clinical. If you come across resonating as too rehearsed and scripted it will sound so — and not be impressive. Practice making these points as a real person would sound. Recite your pitch to others without worrying about word memorization and get feedback. Is it sounding natural? Is it coming across smoothly and genuinely? 

Another interesting approach is to begin your intro with a question. Questions have a way of focusing our attention at the outset. For example, “You know that stress you feel every spring as April 15 approaches? My name is Jim Smith and I’m a Tax Preparer…” 

For those of us who are not naturally smooth-talking salesmen, who can have just the right persuasive words roll off your tongue at just the right moment, you will need to prepare and practice. Developing a strong professional introduction can help accelerate your career. So go ahead, toot your own horn and make music while doing so. 

Reflections On My Business

Posted on by Bill Ryan

With this, my 100th blog posting since opening my career development business Ryan Career Services LLC in January 2009, I am compelled to stray from my usual pattern of offering career advice to instead summarizing how the business experience has been for me and to reflect on what I have learned from this venture.

Following a 31-year career in public education, which I left in 2008, I was primed to try something completely different — an entrepreneurial enterprise that capitalized on strengths I had developed as a teacher. Primarily, to assist each individual to become the best they could be.

I had been working on the concept, including the writing of a business plan, for three years prior to formally offering career counseling, coaching, and resume/cover letter writing services. Although I felt qualified to deliver a superior experience for clients I found myself faced with two big uncertainties:

1. Was there really a viable market for these services just waiting to be tapped into?

2. What impact would the start of the most serious economic recession since the Great Depression have on the success of my business?

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from people that “so many must need what you are offering during these times!” But what I found instead was that I was competing against the need for people to make sure they had food and shelter as the unemployment rate continued to rise.

The first year had an expected financial loss. I was not naïve enough to think a profit was to be realized at the outset. Despite the anxiety associated with launching a business, however, what I most feel now about that first year is profound gratefulness for the clients I did have who placed their trust and dollars with me.

I had two goals for year two. One was to increase my knowledge and skill and to refine my expertise. This did happen and continues to this day. I wanted to strike a balance between what service I could credibly provide with what service clients most wanted. I did get closer, but realized that this would be an ongoing process. What I learned from teaching came to mind — there is no pinnacle of perfection. You always keep learning.

The second goal had to do with trying to build a positive cash flow. Quite simply I wanted revenues to at least match expenditures. I achieved that point by the end of the third quarter and have never looked back.

Two significant lessons from year two included:

1. Half of my time was being spent on marketing, which I found interesting, but had no experience with at all. I can say, however, that I became impressed with the power and cost effectiveness of pay-per-click campaigns on Google AdWords. That along with continued optimization of my website has strongly increased my exposure.

2. The realization that career development was becoming more technological, in that how a client appeared online correlated more and more with the success of their career and employment prospects. It was during this time that I added a third leg to my stool, that of Online Profile Management. I became committed to being a go-to professional in this early stage industry.

By year three I reached an important milestone by earning one of the nation’s most prestigious resume writing credentials, the ACRW or Academy Certified Resume Writer. This has boosted not only my writing capacity, but my client base. Consequently I also found my writing going into two additional areas along with resumes and cover letters: LinkedIn Profiles and Professional Biographies.

Financially, I set a specific revenue-to-expense ratio goal to reach by year’s end that I again hit by the end of Q3. I began paying myself for the first time and found that my first big uncertainty from the start was no longer one. I became convinced that there is a market for these services.

But there was another significant risk to take. I knew I would get to this at some point and the beginning of year four, my current year, was the time to take it. I had always envisioned the business becoming one that drew in clients from around the country and that I would not be too reliant on just one geographical region, like New Hampshire. I knew that my lifestyle was starting to shift to one that involved more travel and living for extended periods in other places beyond NH. I have always felt that technology gave me the tools to merge a mobile style of living with the ability to continuously bring in work no matter where I was — as long as I had an Internet connection.

The past three months gave me an opportunity to test this concept out. I just finished living in Los Angeles for the winter, which is about as far away as one can get from NH while still being in the U.S. What have I learned?

1. The writing services are much more mobile than counseling. I provide resumes, cover letters, online profile, and professional biography writing services to clients from around the country who I never meet face to face. Many times we may never even speak on the phone. Email is an incredibly efficient means of conducting this end of the business.

2. How to offer career counseling and coaching from afar remains elusive. Despite Skype, webcams, and video conferencing technology the adoption rate for utilizing these tools into a counseling context is slow. For the issues that are raised in these types of sessions, the preferred means of contact is still face to face. I am still working on figuring this one out.

3. Marketing on a national level can be a lot more expensive than on a state or regional level. Google AdWords is based on selecting geographies to showcase your ads. That is no longer as relevant to me as before, even if I pick multiple locations to post ads. Pay-per-click with sites that are more national and targeted to professionals, such as LinkedIn, may be more appropriate. I shall see.

Financially, I have lost ground as I try to shift to building a more national client base. But I am confident that I can make this work eventually.

The other challenge that I have faced is to develop a resume writing tutorial service that is usable from my website for those clients who want to try their own hand at writing a resume, but who need a teacher to guide them. I have begun working with a web developer who has experience in course management software. I hope to have this up and running by the end of year four.

In closing, I have to say that my basic premise, which has always been that the quality of one’s life is tightly linked to the character of their work, has been reinforced by working with hundreds of clients to date. As the saying goes, do what you love and you will never work a day in your life, still holds. I feel very fortunate to be playing a small role in helping people reach that goal.

 

 

 

Meeting the Needs of Employers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

When searching for any new employment opportunity many of us tend to view the process as one focused solely on what is best for us as individuals. It certainly makes sense that we would want what is best for us, especially when it comes to such a time and energy expender as a job is. Too many of us are stuck in draining and unfulfilling jobs as it is. But by concentrating too much on what employment can do for us we may drift away from considering enough of the other side of the equation — what potential employers need from us. 

Satisfying employment is a win-win fit between employee and employer. Workers get to ply their trade in what for them is the most conducive environment for generating production and the front office gets to optimally benefit from this productivity. The sooner new job seekers understand about what paycheck providers want from their workforce the greater will be the chance of finding a fit. 

In general, employers are interested in three things: 

  1. Making money 
  1. Saving money 
  1. Becoming more efficient and competitive with achieving #1 and #2 

If you cannot address these needs concretely your chances of getting hired are slim. 

A huge contributor to the poor hiring situation these days centers around costs. Companies have become aggressive about trying to do more with less. We have all heard about how those not laid off are being squeezed by taking on the workload of those who were. And you are not only competing with other applicants for jobs, but also with cost saving procedures, equipment, and technologies. Being good is not good enough anymore. You need to convince hiring personnel that you are great. 

Think of employers as consumers out shopping for the best deal. Their logic is not different from any of the rest of us. We all want the most value for the lowest price. As demeaning as it may sound, to employers we are commodities. They won’t “buy” us unless we are seen as a valued acquisition. Being able to promote yourself as a potentially valuable possession has become Job Search 101. Fitting your value proposition firmly with their value longings is more important than ever. Once job aspirants accept this Darwinian reality the more likely they can get hired. 

Sure, when assessing an employment opportunity go ahead and think to yourself, “Here’s what’s in it for me,” but communicate to them, “Here’s what’s in it for you.” Be an answer to their questions while building emotional, social, and intellectual capital for yourself. Their goal is to succeed in business. Your goal is to succeed in your career. The two objectives need not be mutually exclusive. 

For job seekers to practice a little solution selling is not a bad idea. By focusing on solutions rather than features you can appear more appealing. Knowing clearly the threats and weaknesses faced by an employer best positions you for an outreach to them. Adequately researching a potential employer and tactically disclosing that you have done your homework in your cover letter and interview while emphasizing how you will address the three points above is smart to do. Do not just be assertive, be relevant. 

Preparing for a work search has always been strategic for the ones who got the best jobs. They have applied best practices. We can all learn useful lessons from watching how they operate. Savvy career advancers know how to promote not just their best qualities, but how they bring resolutions to the fundamental challenges of running a business. The basic strategy begins with this — believe in and champion yourself as someone they cannot do without. 

Cover Letters Examined

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Since we are moving toward becoming a paperless society the question often comes up in the context of job searching, whether cover letters are still necessary. The short answer is yes. 

Typically, when attempting to get the nod by an employer indicating you are to be hired, there are three initial doors through which you must sequentially pass — cover letter, resume, and interview. In each case you have an opportunity to make an impression. Also, in each case you have a chance to progressively present yourself in greater depth. The starting point is with the cover letter. So, let us examine this tool in more detail. 

The cover letter is your self-introduction. Its purpose is to get the hiring manager interested enough in you so that they will want to review your resume, which in turn will hopefully prompt an interview. There are some useful assumptions to make about such an introduction. One is that the hiring manager has a lot more work to do than time in which to do it. They are pressured and probably stressed. Also, they have a staggering number of applicants for very few jobs. 

This encourages the hiring manager to find reasons for eliminating applicants, since they must reduce a huge number to a very small one for eventual interviews. Finally, they have seen boring and generic cover letters time and time again. One with just enough distinction and relevance to catch their eye is what they are hoping to find. 

So, with these assumptions in mind, be prepared to write your cover letter in as targeted, economic, and powerful a way as possible. Pack as much punch into the fewest number of words as you can. 

There are three basic parts to a cover letter — the introduction, the body, and the closing. Here are things to keep in mind when writing each of the three parts: 

There are four different ways to write the introduction or opening: 

  • Traditional, in which you simply give your reason for writing, as in, “I am writing to express my interest in…” 
  • Creating curiosity, in which you begin with a stunning achievement, such as, “After a five-year commitment dedicated to the welfare of Somali refugees, I am now ready to add value to your…” 
  • Leveraging referrals, in which you mention the name of a trusted resource, as in, “Following the recommendation of your colleague Jim Hudson, I am eager to speak with you about…” 
  • Emphasize your headline, in which you point out your value proposition, as in, “As a Network Systems Analyst with extensive business development experience I…”  

The body is the most important part of the cover letter. It is here where you make the sale. Whether you do so in brief paragraphs, bullets, or some combination of the two, describe pointedly why you are qualified for the specific position to which you are applying. Nothing speaks to qualifications better than actual accomplishments and results you have realized from your career thus far. Just like we are more inclined to purchase a mutual fund with an impressive performance history, the same goes for a job candidate who can claim rich achievements. 

Since your resume should have a store of these attainments, harvest it for summary items to put into the cover letter body. Just be sure to paraphrase and rewrite so that your cover letter does not look like a copy and paste job from your resume. Also, the more you understand the employer and their needs the more direct your selection of relevant accomplishments can be. 

The closing should be, you guessed it, brief. It should also execute two things. One, confidently express why you deserve a closer look by the hiring manager, and two indicate your expectation for a follow-up with the company. For example, “Acme’s services, market prominence, and expansion potential are very appealing. I am convinced my skills will advance me as a key player within your company. I will contact your office in one week to inquire about when it might be convenient to meet. Thank you for your consideration.” 

As the saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. So, make your cover letters count.