Just about everyone has to deal with sensitive issues about their career. By including a cover letter with your resume, you can address many concerns and gain a distinct advantage over your competition.

• A cover letter shows that you are a proactive professional who takes extra effort to present a complete proposal.
• It displays your respect for the recipient – recruiter and/or employer – by addressing him or her directly.
• It gives you the opportunity to display your personality, character, and ethics as part of your submission.
• It can effectively mitigate a number of career issues by shifting the focus to your value proposition.
• It allows you to concentrate on the future and hone in on how you can address the particular needs of the employer.

Your cover letter reflects your principles and integrity.

So, how do you handle career gaps and gaffes without looking bad?

Never bring up career issues unnecessarily. Talk more about what you can do for the prospective employer than about what they can do for you. Centre your letter on addressing the employer’s needs, not your wants. If you feel that you must address certain serious situations, carefully construct an authentic statement that comes across as professional and optimistic.

Here are some diverse situations where you can address what seem to be awkward periods along your career path. In each case, describe the positives – the things that you did which were real contributions or learning experiences.

—– 

Instead of: Took two years off due to a job loss followed by personal issues.

Try: During a sabbatical, focused on personal and professional development.

 —–

Instead of: Took a break to travel the world.

Try: Travelled extensively, becoming more aware of global diversity and challenges.

 —–

Instead of: Worked for Company ABC for 3 months, Company DEF for 5 months, and Company XYZ for 6 months.

Try: Accepted three interim roles within the industry.

 —–

Instead of: Stayed home for five years until my youngest was in kindergarten.

Try: Assumed volunteer roles ranging from fundraising to teacher’s assistant.

—– 

Instead of: Quit work to complete college or university.

Try: Held multiple part-time assistant and research positions and gained credibility in the field while earning my degree.

 —–

One final point: during your career, you have no doubt encountered innumerable challenges that pertain to the roles you have held and the companies you have supported. Never portray your previous (or current) employers or colleagues negatively.

When drafting your letter, deliver a positive and upbeat message. For example don’t say, “As the hatchet man, I was sent in to clean-up the company, prune out deadwood, get rid of the current executive team, and then sell the organization.” Change the tone of the message to “I was recruited to revitalize and transform a company that had been in business for more than three decades. I restructured and rebuilt a top-performing organization, successfully positioning the company for sale within a year.”

Addressing career gaps and gaffes can be difficult. If you are struggling with how best to approach your situation in your resume, cover letters, or interviews, consider the support offered by Graham Management Group. Any of our talented team of expert consultants will be pleased to help you uncover the value in your situation and assist you in articulating it effectively. To find out what options there may be for you, be sure to send along your current resume for a free assessment.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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How do you deal with career issues in your cover letter?

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How much is a job worth to you? How would you feel if you were declined an offer after a background check? What if you were fired because of a misstatement in your resume?

In Canada, an employer can terminate you if they discover that you misrepresented yourself on your resume or in your interview. If your lie is found to be “material” to your employment contract, the employer could even sue you for damages.

Don’t take my word for it. When Coopers and Lybrand discovered that the resume Richard Clark gave them had three fake degrees – BSc, MSc and PhD – he was fired. He tried to fight the dismissal, but he lost his case and The Ontario Court of Appeal ordered him to reimburse the company $47,000 for business lost due to his lies.

When it comes to you and your career, honesty and integrity are paramount. Employers and recruiters need to believe – from the very first contact – that you have credibility. If people don’t trust you, they won’t care to hear about your amazing repertoire of achievements.

Steven D. Levitt co-author of Freakonomics suspects that more than 50 percent of people have “white lies” in their resumes.

Because there are so many resume liars these days, background checks are the norm. One hiring mistake can cost a company dearly because of wasted recruitment time, orientation and training, severance pay, fees to recruitment firms, loss of productivity, incomplete work, and decreased overall morale within the company. So, expect that every employer will have a very good reason to perform the due diligence required before hiring you.

It’s easy to fudge employment dates, change job titles, and mislead people with position descriptions on a resume. However, most recruiters are adept at spotting and uncovering the truth about suspect information.

Educational Credentials

Starting an MBA program can look like completing the program with three little keystrokes. You may think that all you need to do is put the credential next to your name. Wrong! Any simple educational credential verification can discover this lie and you won’t even get your foot in the door.

Job Titles

Forget about “creatively enhancing” your job title. You may have been a manager who did the job of the Vice President. However, it’s not okay to put “Vice President” in your job title. The very first step in a background check is calling your previous employer and asking what your job title was.

Lengthy Career Gaps

No matter how appealing it sounds, don’t adjust your employment dates. If you have faked employment dates, you can expect that most employers will screen you out before you ever get to the second interview – and you may never know why you weren’t selected.

Consulting Jobs

If you cannot authenticate a consulting job to “fill in” a career gap, don’t put it on your resume. Recruiters can easily see through this common lie in our current economy. They will immediately figure out that you either don’t have a job or tried consulting and failed. If you are lucky enough to get an interview, they will surely quiz you about your successes in consulting.

Position Description

It’s fine to talk a bit about the scope of the position you held, but don’t even think about increasing the number of people you supervised, the amount of your budget, or the region that you oversaw. If you cannot substantiate over the top numbers that seem “too good to be true” in this economy, don’t expect a job offer.

Competencies & Qualifications

Exaggerations in connection to your knowledge, competencies, and qualifications are just as contentious. You may come in “talking the big talk” about what you can accomplish for the company, but you’d better be sure you can back everything up when you’re on the job. Imagine suggesting that you can speak French fluently and then being found out in your first meeting that you can’t converse effectively with anyone!

Career Achievements

If you completed some hefty achievements, don’t creatively enhance them or take all the credit unless you were a primary contributor. You might be surprised at how many background-checking companies uncover the truth directly from the mouths of your best references. These companies are not paid to “approve you.” They are paid to find out the truth about you. The best companies come back with detailed reports about inconsistencies in your stories.

Take a good look at your resume today and ensure that it is accurate. Even an honest mistake or misstatement can be a permanent stain on your record. If you do get the job with an inaccurate message, you will always be wondering when the truth will come out.

When it comes to your career, honesty is absolutely the best policy. Graham Management Group can help you to represent yourself authentically and with integrity. If you need help dealing with challenging concerns in your career history or you have a specific question, email me directly.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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Resume Lies and Resume Liars

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As a vocal advocate for ethics and integrity in our Canadian labour market, I sometimes come across websites offering questionable resume services. Clearly, there are many, very good, highly qualified and certified resume writers worldwide. However, the practices of a few deceitful people can seriously harm the prospects of job seekers, and significantly discredit the complete resume and career services industry.

In this age of technology and the internet, job seekers are becoming more aware of potential dangers of job search scams. Most professionals now know about these dishonest practices:

• Scammers who take money from clients and then directly plagiarise from resume samples posted on the internet by credible and reputable writers.
• Disappointed individuals paying thousands of dollars for resumes that were not reflective of their qualifications only to find that the certification logo on the website is fake.
• Resume services that post fake jobs on job boards just to sell their services to innocent job seekers who apply to the featured position.

Such lack of ethics set job seekers up for failure by wasting their valuable time and money.

In recent days, I’m finding a new, more insidious and intangible concern: online software that allows you to “input your data” and “output a resume.” This type of resume service means to help, but inadvertently hurts job seekers. On the surface, the concept seems quite intriguing. Just plug in some information and the site will compile it into an exceptional resume. However, the program actually outputs misleading information. For example, a plant manager with no budget or finance experience can input his time managing the annual inventory and receive an output of “bookkeeping related experience.” If that manager presents his resume for an interview, he’d fail miserably. He would not be able to supply valid responses to support any bookkeeping experience. Suggesting such leaps in qualifications is both incorrect and misleading. For the poor individuals who succumb to the temptation, it positions them for disappointment when they try to support their claims through “white lies.”

How can you ensure quality resume services? How do you know in advance who to trust? What can you do to reassure yourself that you will receive the outstanding documents that you expect and deserve? Your best defence is due diligence: doing your research, asking the right questions, and getting the promised delivery clearly described in writing.

Do your Research

• Look up outside information on the resume service. Look for the company’s media reviews and published works. Research the writer on LinkedIn and read the endorsements supplied. Then follow the paths to those who endorsed the writer. In other words, learn all you can about whom you may be dealing with in the future.
• Contact the resume service in person, too. If they are hard to connect with, or ask for money before you’ve spoken with a human being and been able to ask your questions, look out! Credible business leaders are happy to spend time giving you the reassurance and information you need.
• Be wary if all you locate is a website filled with accolades. Anyone who would stoop to plagiarism certainly wouldn’t mind providing ‘testimonials’ that are totally bogus. Such individuals may even have copied their entire web content from legitimate competitors.
• Research credentials of resume services directly with the applicable association. For example, if the writer indicates that he or she is a Master Certified Resume Strategist, check out that person’s credentials on Career Professionals of Canada’s professional directory.
• Look up the resume business at the Better Business Bureau. Do what you can to learn whether there have been awards given or grievances made.
• Verify that there is a guarantee that comes with the resume services you will receive. This is not a guarantee of getting a job – because that is ultimately up to your interview performance. It is, however, a guarantee with respect to your satisfaction concerning the quality and content of what you will get.

Ask the right questions

• Connect by email – ask for a free critique of your current resume or a chance to talk about your concerns and situation. If they want money for either, be suspicious!
• Phone and ask questions pertaining to items or content you found on their website. Put them on the spot. Watch for evasive or canned responses that sound like telemarketing.
• Ask for references from those with whom you connect. Due to confidentiality, the references may be limited to redirecting you to their LinkedIn recommendations or testimonials, but it never hurts to ask.
• If the site does not show samples of actual work performed, ask for them. Ask if the samples are published elsewhere. You should be able to assess the material, so that you have an idea of the quality you can expect.
• Speak to friends and relatives about their experiences, and ask them what they liked about their contact. There is nothing quite as reassuring as getting a referral from someone totally delighted with the services and packages provided.

Get it all in writing

• Ask to see it all spelled out. The techniques in which you are coached are commonly the intellectual property of that coach or of the profession in which they are certified. They reflect the expertise of your consultant. Some companies even have their own material – workbooks and presentations – that they share with you prior to the actual consultation. This all has added value for you.
• Ensure that you get editing support on your material. At the other end of the equation, be certain that the contract includes provision to reconnect with a professional. Your resume and other documents that you initially receive should be drafts, not final versions. You should be able to request edits, corrections, or alterations within the first few weeks following receipt of your package. That is your ultimate way of ensuring the content, tone, and wording is authentic to you.
• Recognize that most professionals request upfront payment because you are actually buying custom services that will be created for you. Make your payment in full only after you have a clear description of all that is included in your purchase and fully understand it. When the payment has been processed, you should get a final receipt (hardcopy or electronic) and agreement. It should also include reaffirmation of expectations the professionals may have regarding your participation, collaboration, and commitment to the process.

There are many places you can go to further your research. Career Professionals of Canada is one professional association dedicated to outstanding business ethics. It offers lists of certified career professionals and contact emails for the executives. Please feel free to browse the site to learn more about how it works.

If you have tried other approaches for finding a stellar and highly reliable career business or individual, and have been very pleased with the results, I would love to share those with my readers. Please let me know what worked for you.

Similarly, if you have been disappointed or disillusioned with so-called professional support and have learned from that experience, I would be happy to pass along your sage advice. Together, we will make steps to ensure that more individuals are matched with professional career industry leaders that provide utmost integrity in their performance and delivery of impressive custom documents authentic to every individual client.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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Who can you trust in the resume writing industry?

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On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we observe two minutes of silence for our for our heroes who died in service to Canada.

November 11, 2011 at 11:00am.

The poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day.

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Commemorate Remembrance Day

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In this challenging market, I’ve heard from many executives, managers, and six-figure professionals who are now pursuing opportunities that don’t exactly match their previous job title. In some cases, the individuals were performing more senior activities than their title suggested. In other cases, they were transitioning into a different role for which they were qualified. In either situation, the job titles they previously held were not conducive to selling their expertise in the targeted position.

If you are targeting career opportunities that match your talents, but not your previous job titles, you can honestly and effectively address the disconnect.

Begin with your resume. Recruiters and HR professionals are attracted initially to the top portion of this document. If they don’t spot a title that indicates you are a candidate worth reading about, they will move on.

• Always maintain integrity by stating your actual job titles when you get to the job history portion of your document. There are many other ways to market your value truthfully.
• Introduce yourself with an overarching title that links your talents to the posted title. For instance, imagine that a recruiter is looking for a CFO and you’ve had all the accountabilities of one, but were given a lesser title like “Senior Accountant.” If you were in charge of the leadership, strategies, and budgets, it is perfectly fine to lead the document with a title that reads “Senior Finance Executive.”
• Add to your new title with more specific information. For example, if the role you are targeting includes running the IT department and you have had that responsibility, you might say. “Senior Finance Executive – Technology & Software.”
• Create a secondary description, or tagline if required. If you are seeking a Marketing VP role, you may have called yourself “Marketing Executive.” By offering a tagline or motto such as “Strategic Leadership for Emerging Technologies,” you can help your readers understand that you fit a technology marketing role.  
• Ensure that there is a clear value proposition and brand strategy opener for your resume. The title initiates things, but if you don’t provide a short, compelling description at the outset that reinforces the reader’s requirements in those first few lines, you will rapidly lose their interest in you.
• Customize your resume according to each target. Place your title and tagline in your other documents as well. Ensure your chosen title is supported by descriptions of relevant successes throughout all documents in your complete resume portfolio package.

Next, plan your Job Search introductions. Target the hidden job market. Whether doing this through cold calls, warm calls, or referrals, this is the most successful area in which to pursue your next position. It particularly allows you to introduce yourself with a title that is descriptive of exactly what you have to offer.

• Practice connecting your name and descriptive title with your tagline. Get comfortable using those as the preamble to every introduction. How will your listeners know what you can bring to the table – that others may not – if you don’t share that with them in a concise, clear way?
• Approach all your contacts including organizational leaders, recruiters, and HR managers. Introduce yourself with your name and new descriptive title. Then tell them what you do, using your impressive tagline and value proposition that reinforces your experience and expertise.
• Approach decision makers about posted roles that truly match what you have to offer. Do not discount positions with titles that sound too far-reaching or request formal designations that you do not yet possess. Rather, read the descriptions carefully. If you have the experience that fits to a ‘T’, reflect that in your approach.

Be prepared in your Interviews. Take your now-familiar introduction to the next level.

• When asked to talk about what makes you special, repeat your title, tagline, and value proposition – and then, offer facts and figures that back-up your brand. Ensure that what you describe fits what you know they need – and more.
• Repeat your title and accompanying tagline throughout the meeting. Carefully select when to do so. Consider using them as segues to effective achievement scenarios that answer the questions you are asked.
• Reiterate your reasons for applying to a role where old titles don’t match. Tell your listeners what your job with the lesser title really encompassed. Most interviewers are aware that companies assign internal job titles that fit their needs but don’t begin to cover what the role really entails. You need to remind them of that fact.

It is a mistake to not include a meaningful title in your documents, verbal introductions, and interviews. Vague titles such as “Public Advocate” or “Team Leader” are not helpful, either. Select a title that best describes who you are, honestly portrays your expertise, and serves as a valid reference point from which to launch any conversation. The title change must be authentic and serve as something that offers clarification while educating your readers and listeners.

Have you come across titles that you found particularly misleading or extremely innovative and informative? I am sure our readers would be interested in seeing more ideas to help them along. Conversely, if you have more questions about what to do in your own situation, the GMG team of career experts would be thrilled to develop your fully branded resume portfolio package and help you attain your career transition goals.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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What to do when your title does not match the role you want

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When I reminded a client this week of the importance of sending a thank-you note following an interview, I was surprised to hear that she had never thought of doing that before. It wasn’t that she isn’t a cultured person – it simply had never occurred to her to do so.

A thank-you is more than a gesture and a display of good manners. It can be an action that changes a meeting into an opportunity. Recruiters and hiring managers appreciate it when contacts make the effort to show that others respect their time – and there is little that does that better than a short, yet sincere, note.

When it comes to following up, I find that many job seekers fail because they do not comprehend or appreciate the difference between persevering and nagging. Follow-ups can be great reminders that let others know you are professional, proactive, and available. However, there is a great difference between showing appreciation and appearing needy or being a bother.

These tips may help: 

• Don’t let the ball drop. Depending on the circumstances, it might be a good idea to give the interviewer a brief call to express your interest and see if any new questions have come up. If you intend to do this, during the interview, let your contact know that you plan on calling. Follow up on whatever you say you are going to do.
• Send a sincere message right away. No matter what, be sure to send a timely acknowledgement that reiterates your interest.A formal letter sent by email or courier is most businesslike and professional. However, you might prefer the added touch of sending a card with a hand-written note for a personal contact.
• Recap your conversation. Mention items that you particularly enjoyed or topics that seemed to hit the target best. Remind your contact of what you can do for them now or in the near future. You can even add some things that, in retrospect, you wish you had emphasized more.
• Enclose more information. Whether giving your thanks or checking-in after a short interlude, consider enclosing new material. Attaching your biography or a brief PowerPoint presentation allows recipients to look at you in another way. This may help generate renewed interest in you and what you can do for them.
• Remember to follow-up with your references and colleagues too. If people start to feel you are taking advantage of their kindness and not appreciating their efforts, they will soon lose enthusiasm. Don’t forget to thank those in your network for their support and keep them abreast of latest developments in your job search.
• Reconnect only with a real purpose. Don’t keep emailing or calling just to ‘touch base’. You want your name to be associated with value. Therefore, when your name appears in a phone display or in an email listing, it will be a gentle reminder of someone that genuinely wants to be a part of an organization’s success going forward.

Thank-you notes, follow-ups, and other forms of connecting are valued strategies in your ongoing networking efforts. As such, any of these can be augmented by other networking activities. For instance, when you make a “LinkedIn” recommendation for a key reference person, you not only demonstrate your ‘thanks’ in another way, but give more proof that you appreciate what they have done so far.

Graham Management Group offers a number of articles on this topic that you may find valuable. Two – Writing an Effective Thank-you Letter and The Interview Review  reinforce some of the content of this post.

What my readers may be most interested in though, are your personal experiences. Has there been a special thank-you or follow-up strategy directed toward you, which really impressed you? What types of actions have you utilized in showing how you appreciate others’ time?

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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Thank You Shows Appreciation and Perseverance

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At Graham Management Group, our team of Consultants are experts at coaxing great accomplishment stories from clients. Most clients are initially reserved about expressing their value because it feels like they are ‘blowing their own horn.’ However, when they understand that there is nothing wrong with expressing their successes with integrity, they open up. Unfortunately, there is another – thankfully rare – side to that coin. Some clients innocently get caught up in what they believe they could bring to a role without the actual evidence to support their words.

Some time ago, I performed a free resume assessment for a young executive who had just penetrated the six-figure level. On first glance, it seemed that he had a great deal going for him. His resume was filled with bullets that spoke of large-scale, high-profile objectives. However, delving deeper, we found that the young man had NO corroborating stories to tell. Such examples of embellishment generally begin as innocent exaggerations – small stretches not intended to deceive, but to take a less than stellar document and make it shine.

When asked why he wrote these ‘pie-in-the-sky’ statements in his resume, he said – with all the confidence in the world – “I know that I can do those things. I just need to be given the chance.” It was only when we asked pointed questions similar to those he would be asked in an interview that he saw the trap he had set for himself.

Executive recruiters and employers are not waiting to give you a chance. They are looking for people who have already shown a track record of success.

The person you describe in your resume must be the candidate that appears for the interview. Honesty and integrity win jobs, not smoke screens and engaging fast-talk about your potential. You can be assured that if you overstate your abilities in your resume, you’ll get called out in your interviews.

If you really want to excel in your career, honesty is the foundation of everything you put forward. The following questions may help ensure that you are sharing authentic information.

• Do your documents reflect the real you? Your interviewers deserve your honesty. By painting yourself as someone you believe you can be but are not yet, you not only disrespect their time and intelligence, but hold yourself out as someone willing to stretch the truth if you think the end justifies the means.
• Have you included accomplishment stories that speak to your integrity? If you led a section of a complex initiative, ensure that is clear – that there is no chance a reader may interpret it as you having orchestrated the entire project. Similarly, if you weren’t the only leader, introduce your example with “partnered with” or “co-led”.
• Are your educational credentials complete? If you did not finish the degree, putting “Bachelor of Science” followed by the two years that you attended university is misleading. You can still get credit by writing “Completed two years of the program, earning marks in the top 10 percentile in such courses as….”
• Do you intend to obtain more education or take courses that could make you a more competitive candidate? Demonstrate your commitment to that end by enrolling now. That way, you can mention, for instance, “Enrolled in XYZ program with goal of completion by…”
• Did you opt to change a given job title? If so, will that alteration stand up to scrutiny? One client who functioned as a Director of Marketing reporting directly to the President secured permission from the President to replace his given title of Marketing Manager with the executive version. If that is not the case for you, then leave the title as it was, but be sure to provide other information. Add something such as “Accountable for strategic sales and marketing plans and execution affecting the 45-person corporate sales force…”
• How did you handle gaps in your resume? As most resumes now provide years of service without the start and end months, there is no need to explain an unemployment period that is only a matter of months. However, where there is a space of more than a year in your career chronology flow, you need to address that. Give your reader some modicum of explanation – whether it be “Travelled worldwide, gaining knowledge and insight into international cultures and ways of doing business.” or “Pursued a diversity of opportunities from volunteering in the community to completing online courses such as…”
• For every experience and competency in your documents, are you readily able to provide a compelling accomplishment example to support it? You must be able to articulate at least one situation from your past that showcases your actions and offer tangible results of those activities. That is the litmus test – a reality check of the validity and clarity of your material.

For more information on this topic, please read Executive Resume Pitfalls to Avoid. 

As an executive, you may have seen situations where candidates were less than clear – or perhaps downright dishonest. How did you react in those situations? Given the opportunity, what advice would you give to those people now?

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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Your Executive Resume:The whole truth nothing but the truth

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Have you noticed how many awards and acknowledgements there have been lately – thanking volunteers for their contributions? I’ve been following the CNN Heroes. Here in Canada, we have a number of National Award Programs and Provincial Award Programs for outstanding volunteers. Many not-for-profit organizations and associations also offer highly regarded awards to their volunteers. Even corporate volunteerism programs for employees are on the rise.

Recipients of these awards are tireless workers who give of their time with no expectation of praise – however if you ask, they will undoubtedly say that they have received much more than they have given. For them, it’s all part of living in, learning about, and giving back to their communities and to the less fortunate. However, in addition to reaping immeasurable personal rewards for the work they do, they create visibility for the organizations they help, and inadvertently raise their own profile as a leader in their area of expertise.

Many individuals in career transition allocate some of their time working in hospitals, schools, seniors’ residences, local food banks, sporting events, and fundraisers. They have ensured seamless completion of everything from basic necessities of life for the frail or chronically ill to managing a seemingly endless string of complex initiatives that are part of a massive undertaking. Thanks to their devotion, these true leaders have built their exposure and name recognition.

The value of such community service may be far more than you realize. The altruistic motives, of course, are strong:

• Volunteering is a great feeling of contributing – doing so unselfishly with no expectation of monetary reward is one that most volunteers say counts for most.
• Getting involved to make a difference – giving an hour, a day, a month, or more to make an improvement in an ongoing process, a specialized service, or an event.
• Growing your base of acquaintances – being part of something outside the home and building on new connections where you may get together outside the non-profit.
• Being known as a philanthropist – donating your time instead of (or as well as) money is a very sincere way of contributing and being respected for your commitment to a cause.
• Supporting a non-profit, political, or religious affiliation – benefiting an organization or philosophy that has deep connections and reflects your personal values.

If you are in a career transition, taking on a volunteer role offers you far more than all of this. You will reap many more career related benefits:

• Connecting to build your professional network – getting out, spreading your wings, and letting others get to know you, what you stand for, and how you work.
• Being active and getting to know your community – helping to keep the blues at bay when you are actively job seeking or feeling frustrated in your current employment.
• Gaining work or leadership experience at a different level – Learning and making contributions in ways that your own roles haven’t allowed.
• Building a reputation as someone that can be counted upon – making and sustaining a mark that makes people want to know you and to work with you.
• Sharing your knowledge – creating more valued relationships in sectors you’ve never considered. Giving support, information, and innovative ideas that drive solutions.
• Spreading your leadership talents – becoming an active member for ad hoc and permanent committees, and exploring the process to earn a spot on various Boards.
• Joining groups to gain executive experience and exposure – pursuing a range of roles until attaining levels such as treasurer, secretary, vice-president or president.

When you get involved, you really do get back many times more than you give. The more people that know you and appreciate what you have to offer, the better you will feel about your participation and leadership. Whether you are actively job seeking or not, there are any number of people in these groups or associations that can bridge gaps between employers and potential new hires. These are terrific connections to the hidden job market – that myriad of executive positions which companies prefer to fill through a referral process, not by posting openings.

So, whether your current full- or part-time ‘job’ is that of searching for employment or you are someone that is simply open to new opportunities, be sure that people know you and your worth. Especially if you are job searching, it’s important for you to share that vital piece of information with your contacts.

Here are some ways to consider using your volunteer experience to best advantage:

• Make a great first impression and continue to be visible, highly involved, and seen as a genuine, active, contributor to the vision of the organization.
• When people you meet in the volunteer world ask you how things are going, be honest. Showing appreciation for their interest, give them a positive and memorable update about your employment quest.
• Remember that you are with other volunteers and that they – perhaps more than others – love to help. When they ask, let them know what they may be able to do for you. It can be as simple as a request to let you know of any suitable openings.
• Ensure that you include your volunteer roles and activities in your job search material! If you are involved with a political party or religious group, use descriptions that are generic to ensure you don’t disengage someone with opposing views.
• Add information within your resume. Unless a paid board or executive position in a non-profit is your goal, this usually works best as a sub-section on the last page. Be sure to include any notable accomplishments that emphasize your leadership. Don’t forget to list the awards and recognitions that you have received.
• Mention your engagements in your online networking. Tell friends and followers in your Twitter account, Blog conversations, website, Google+, and other social media sites about your volunteer engagements and successes.
• Include your listing of volunteerism in LinkedIn. Recently, LinkedIn added this option. As you input yours, and the organizations you support, you are adding new dimensions that enhance your visibility for those looking for someone like you.

Definitely, pro-bono involvement gets a positive reception from recruiters and hiring managers. For decades, corporations have supported charities in ways that include large financial contributions, and more and more have expanded on that by donating employee time – allowing the company commitment to be seen and felt at the grass roots level – freely giving back and getting involved with high profile community initiatives.

Over the years, Graham Management Group has been proud to recieve many awards and accolades for our volunteerism. GMG team members regularly volunteer their efforts to raise the professionalism and quality of services offered to job seekers in the Canadian Labour Market. We have reaped many rewards for our volunteer service to our community.

What is your experience? What works for you and what benefits have you realized from volunteering? Please share your insights with my readers! I welcome your comments and emails, of course, but you may also wish to initiate this discussion in the Canadian Top Talent moderated LinkedIn Group. That is another terrific way to help your colleagues develop a new element for their own career strategies.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

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In Career Transition? Reward Yourself with a Volunteer Role

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As an advocate for ethics and integrity in the Canadian resume writing industry, I have the pleasure of knowing and working with some of the best resume writers that Canada has to offer. I have personally trained and mentored a number of highly qualified Master Certified Resume Strategists who have gone on to offer outstanding services in the Canadian labour market.

Our industry offers many authentic resume writers who provide services with ethics and integrity. Having deep reverence for the work of these qualified Canadian resume practitioners, it comes as a shock to me every time I learn of organizations that are not so ethical.

This month, I’ve learned about a large number of infractions from a few organizations offering resume solutions to Canadians. The complaints I have learned about include a range of unethical business practices:

• Plagiarizing marketing material from other resume websites and blogs. 
• Making unsupported claims regarding their organization’s rank within the industry. 
• Identifying exceptionally high client satisfaction rates without proof.
• Not sticking to prices shown on their website.
• Producing poor quality resumes and supporting documents.
• Not delivering on the resume and career services promised.

Most resume services in Canada never plagiarize anything. They always provide clients with exemplary services – and they are true to their word.

Do your homework. It’s easy to find authentic organizations in Canada before you ever retain them. Just look them up in two places:

Career Professionals of Canada’s website:

http://www.careerprocanada.ca/FindAProfessional

Determine if they are a REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL MEMBER. The most qualified practitioners listed have the Certified Resume Strategist (CRS) or the Master Certified Resume Strategist (MCRS) designations.

The Better Business Bureau:

http://www.bbb.org/canada/Find-Business-Reviews/

The TOP ORGANIZATIONS are rated at “A+” however there are a few organizations that have been given the lowest rating “F.” Not all organizations are listed, but your best bet is to select one that has a good rating on the BBB site.

Before retaining a resume service, do your due diligence. Ask for independent proof of statistics presented on a website. Make sure you receive a formal quote in writing prior to paying for services. If you have not received the quality, pricing, and services that were promised, you have a right to register a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Thank you for reading my blog! For further information, connect with me at Graham Management Group. We are a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ Rating. You can also find us registered as Master Certified Resume, Interview, and Career Strategists with Career Professionals of Canada. Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

Post from: www.sharongraham.ca

Resume Services that Give the Industry a Bad Name

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Many executives who find themselves displaced from their position, have never needed to apply for a job before. In the past, their success enabled them to be promoted, retained, or recruited into roles without ever having to do an interview. Since this is the very first time that they need to take the plunge, they just don’t know how to articulate their broad experiences and their great value. 

One day, when coaching an executive client, I substituted the phrase “tell me about your achievements” with “tell me a story about something you did that makes you proud.” That simple change in wording made so much difference to the quality of the information he shared, that I was astounded. I already knew, in a general way, what he did in his career. However, if he had not been able to tell his story, I would have had no idea how impressive his results actually were. By capturing the essence of each story, we were able to create a fantastic resume for him. More importantly, he gained the affirmation and confidence that he needed at the time. It wasn’t long before he had interviews where he capably articulated his stories and soon captured his dream job.

If you find yourself in a first-time executive career transition, you already know that your competition is stiff for the few senior-level jobs that are in today’s market. In order to select you from a group of other like-minded professionals, those people who hire executives need to know your stories of innovation, accomplishment, and success. It’s important for you to share that information in a way that makes sense – in your resume and interviews.

Great stories convey your successes in a logical progression from beginning to end. They are cohesive and energetic. They convey your passion, enthusiasm, and desire to do more of the same wherever you go. So, where do you start?  

Select stories that support your readers’ need to know.

• Jot down whatever career stories you can recall. Think about those events that made you proud or gave you the most satisfaction. Keep writing until you have several ideas. Then, ask yourself, “What about the story makes it important?”
• Now, take a close look at your target employer. Ensure you know what they want – what motivates them to employ you – and that you have the qualifications and value that they need.
• Evaluate your list in terms of the employer’s buying motivators and how well each story could be told to demonstrate your competencies and added value. Doing this will help you decide how much time you want to spend on each one.
• Organize your list by priority. If you know that re-engineering is more important for your target than team development, or that strategic planning is more highly valued than process improvement, be sure to create a list that echoes that order.
• Choose examples that are most recent. While there are certainly exceptions, for the most part, those that happened in the past decade will have more impact than those that took place more than ten years ago.
• Decide what to do about older achievements. If they are good, include them in your list. You may be able to use parts of them in your resume or you may decide to save them and flesh them out as fresh stories to tell in interviews.

Organize the content.

Once you know the stories you want to impart. Think about the beginning, the middle, and the end of your story. You want listeners and readers to take the journey with you. Help them to visualize the situation you faced, your actions, and the results.

• Beginning: What was the event, issue, challenge, or situation that started it all? Why were you picked to handle it? Was it something that was highly visible and could have negative repercussions if not handled well or tactfully? Was there a tight timeframe or deadline? Did everyone else think there was no logical solution?
• Middle: What roles did you assume? The Coach? Visionary? Leader? Executive Sponsor? Key Player? What were the key things that you did, which were pivotal to the outcome? What was different in this story from similar ones? What was the turning point?
• Conclusion: How did your story end? What worked out well? What surprised or delighted the recipients of the end results? Did the outcomes enhance things for the team, the company, the client, and other stakeholders? Can you provide more impact by providing tangible numbers such dollars gained or savings made?  

You will find, over time, that there are many places to tell your stories – in brief or the full versions. From resume bullets to casual exchanges and from informational meetings to formal interviews and salary negotiations, they have incomparable value. At the very least, they are great pre-interview resources for you. At best, they allow listeners to make the connection between your life history and their needs – making you a valuable resource.

Whether you are a naturally confident storyteller or someone who knows what they want to share, but are not certain of how best to do that, you may appreciate the opportunity to have someone coach you in the construction and selection of your stories that make up your brand. GMG’s team of executive consultants provide professional guidance to help you tell relevant stories. We’ll help you to ensure that recruiters and hiring managers will recognize you as the person they are seeking and understand why you are worth top compensation for the position they are filling.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

Post from: www.sharongraham.ca

Career Stories that Capture Attention

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