Does Your Online Reputation Really Matter in the Job Search?

At a recent conference for career services professionals, there was a presentation by Joshua Waldman, an author and social media expert. In his presentation, he stated that 95% of hiring managers use LinkedIn to find candidates and 80% of employers admit to looking up candidates on LinkedIn before calling them for an interview. Additionally, they say that 50% of candidates are rejected because of something negative the hiring managers find online. It seems from the evidence that the answer to the title question is a resounding YES!

Your online reputation has become critical to your job search in today's market. Having a LinkedIn profile is no longer an option - it is a requirement and an expectation. However, your online reputation goes much deeper than just creating a bare bones LinkedIn profile. Here are some additional areas for you to consider.

• Conduct a Google search on your name and see what comes up, you might be unpleasantly surprised. If you share a name with a controversial character or a popular celebrity, your presence may be harder to find. Be sure to include your LinkedIn link on your resume so HR can find you.

• Clean up your Facebook presence - both on your page and on your friends' pages. Evaluate pictures of yourself to ensure there is nothing inappropriate. If you would not want your Grandma to see it, chances are your potential employer won't like it either!

• Evaluate your Twitter and Facebook accounts for posts on controversial topics such as religion and politics. Don't get screened out of the job because you and the hiring manager don't agree on which political party to support. You would not discuss your religion in the work place, you probably should not talk about it online either. 

• Ensure your LinkedIn profile is 100% complete. Not having your LinkedIn profile 100% complete, with a professional photograph, is like putting on your best interview suit with old ratty tennis shoes. Put your best foot forward in your online reputation by optimizing the tools LinkedIn offers to you.

Five Resume Myths That Are Hurting Your Job Search

A quick Google search for "career advice" returns over 15 million hits. That's a lot of career advice. And, as you would imagine, some of the it is good, and some of it...well...leaves a lot to be desired. In this series, I will delve into the pieces of advice that are outdated, unsubstantiated, or just flat-out wrong. First up: resumes.

1. A resume should only be one page: A resume can be over one page if your experience allows. If you are a professional with over three years experience in one field, it's entirely possible to have a resume over one page. Recent college graduates, however, will most likely have a one-page resume unless extensive experience in college calls for two. A resume beyond two pages is dicey, though, unless you are a senior executive (vice president or above) or are creating a curriculum vitae.

2. A resume should only list positions chronologically: This is a myth to an extent, as many job-seekers will use functional resumes to try and hide gaps in their employment (a big no-no). However, it is entirely acceptable to highlight first those jobs that most directly relate to the applied-for position. In the past I created two resume sections - "Related Experience" and "Other Experience" - to highlight the experience that was directly relevant to the position and then my other experience that could indirectly contribute. My job history was maintained, but I directed employer to what was most important to them at the top.

3. Every resume should be in a Times New Roman font: With the ubiquitousness of Times New Roman, the look of your resume could suffer if you use this font as it will not stand out. There are plenty of great alternatives depending on your needs, such as Garamond  High Tower Text, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Georgia, and Verdana. These fonts will make your resume visually pleasing without being caustic or extreme. Which leads us to our fourth myth...

4. Use a "creative" resume to stand out: Unless your job field calls for it (graphic design, fashion, game design, or other typically creative fields), a creative resume with extensive use of charts and graphics is not recommended. While a creative resume in a creative field will highlight your work and expertise, one outside of those fields will come off as distracting and unprofessional.

5. Every job you ever had should be on your resume: Many people do not understand that a resume is a marketing document, not a chronologic history of every single job they ever had. That position in high school when you are now 45-years-old? Keep it off. Most resumes - except for extreme circumstances - should profile only your last 15-20 years of work experience.

These are five resume myths, but there are most certainly more. What resume myths have you encountered? List them - with an explanation of why they are myths - below in the comments. Or, if you have a question about whether or not something is a myth, leave a comment about that, too.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Elevator Pitch, Promotions, and Career Killers

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

1. Tips for Making a Short and Succinct Elevator Pitch
"With a well-planned, succinct, targeted introduction, you'll inspire additional conversation with your networking contacts."

2. 8 Gimmes You Need to Include on Professional Emails
"Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, are extremely valuable to employers. Every message they receive from you will serve to form an impression."

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos 

3. 8 Things to Consider if You Were Passed Over for a Promotion
"Don’t let this derail you or your career goals.  Learn from this situation and take the right actions that will get you where you know you can go."

4. 5 Career Killers to Avoid
"A surefire way to ensure you never move up the corporate ladder is to become complacent in your job."

5. 10 Scary Job Interview Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
"Sometimes, reality is even scarier than our dreams, and these common job interview mishaps are too nerve-wracking to ignore."

When is Too Comfortable Too Much in a Job or an Interview?

To some degree, it can be beneficial to be comfortable in your job or, if you’re a job seeker, in an interview. However, there is a fine line between being comfortable and too comfortable. Getting too comfortable in a job can lead to complacency and disinterest. If you find your work no longer challenges you and you are performing your job on auto-pilot, it may be time to look for opportunities to take on more responsibility. Start by identifying any immediate tasks or projects you can assist with, and meet with your manager to see if he or she agrees or could propose other additional responsibilities.

Performing mundane work, particularly over time, can stymie creativity, problem-solving skills, or the ability to handle unexpected situations and tasks. Dull and routine work can also lead to careless errors and poor quality, plus productivity can slide.

In interview situations, being too comfortable can also backfire and even be detrimental if that comfort is mistakenly interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm about the job opportunity. Additional drawbacks may include being too casual in your responses or sharing personal information that is unrelated to the job you’re pursuing. These behaviors are often perceived as unprofessional.

Learn to recognize when you’re crossing the line between being professional and being too comfortable. It’s a fine line that you don’t want to cross.

Go Ahead and Fail! Why Failure is Actually Good for You.

I have an 8-year old daughter who is not the most confident little girl you have ever met. She changed schools this year, moving from a public school to a charter school environment that is much more challenging. So much so, that in August she had an F in math. I am proud to say that just two months later, she has raised her grade to an A-. Her reaction when I told her that she broke 90% was priceless. It inspired me to write to you about failure today.

So often, we don't take chances or make changes in our lives because of our fear of failure. I would like to encourage you to step away from that fear and give yourself permission to fail. In fact, I would like to show you that it can actually make a huge positive difference in your life. Here are some ideas of how failure can help you.

You Appreciate Your Success More When You Have Failed
I know for a fact that my daughter appreciates her hard work and her achievement of improving her grade so much more than she would have if she had been at that level all along. When you don't immediately get the outcome you are looking for, you often get discouraged or frustrated. However, when you finally achieve success, you know the hardships you went through to get there. It makes success that much sweeter.

You Grow and Learn When You Fail
Failure is not pleasant, it is not easy, and it is not fun. However, your attitude toward failure defines whether it can be a positive or negative experience. Remember Thomas Edison said that the hundreds of attempts to create the light bulb weren't failures, they were simply his way of discovering the ways it did not work. When you fail, take time to look at why and learn from it. Use the experience to motivate yourself to move outside of your comfort zone and grow in your abilities.

Failure Increases Your Chance of Success
It seems counter-intuitive. However, a Stanford University Psychologist's research shows that people who are open to growth and change, as opposed to having closed minds, are more likely to become focused on achieving success. The experience of trying something and failing gives you the advantage of experience over someone who has not had the learning experience of failure.

The Top 3 Categories You Must Include on Your Resume

Fall is the season for resume writer conferences. I attended one session and listened to a recap of another session with recruiters and hiring managers from Fortune 500 companies that are currently hiring globally. In these sessions, they shared with our group of career services experts these 3 key points they are looking for on your resume.

Your Value Proposition
An employer is searching for the best, most cost-effective candidate. When reading a resume they are looking for your core competencies, your strengths, your areas of expertise, and a clear statement of the benefits you can deliver their company. Think of yourself as a product, what would your brand statement be? What can you deliver that others can not? How do you differentiate yourself from your peers? The answer to these questions must be found in the resume and cover letter.

Your Chronological Work History
Most recruiters admit to skipping right over the summary (although they say you should still include this section) and going straight to work history first. They want to know what you did, where you did it, and how long you did it. Include details about each company such as number of employees, annual revenue, its core customer base and competitors, and whether it was a start-up or an established public company.

When discussing your experience, detail the big picture - not the minutiae of everyday details - of your position's functions and challenges. Use statistics that measure your value such as number of personnel supervised, dollar amount of budgets managed, and promotions through the company.

Education and Professional Development
Employers want to know that you are dedicated to keeping your knowledge current and your skills updated. Seek out opportunities to further advance your skills by attending free workshops, webinars, seminars, or courses in your area of specialty. In addition, affiliations with industry-relevant organizations is another way to demonstrate your focus on honing your craft.

Five Thank You Note Mistakes to Avoid

The thank you note is a mainstay in professional culture. Thanking the interviewer for her time shows graciousness and politeness, a reflection of the worker that you will be. However, there are mistakes to avoid when preparing thank you notes. Follow these tips to make sure what you send has impact:

1. Sending the note too early: this might seem counter-intuitive, but makes sense when you think about it. Thank you notes have become relegated to the "box interviewees check" category, to the point where the tone of the note can appear to be "I'm doing this because I have to." The timing of the note is a perfect example of this idea: sending a note minutes after your interview (or, worse, writing the note before the interview) puts you into this perfunctory category. Send a thank you note within 48 hours after your interview, but give it at lease two to three hours to show that you are not simply acting on an obligation and being disingenuous.

2. Failing to advocate for your candidacy: do not simply thank the interviewer for her time in your note: use it as an opportunity to readdress specific points brought up in the interview and how your knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal qualities can help the organization reach its goals. Perhaps you thought of a better example that more clearly demonstrates how you can help solve an organizational problem, or there was a skill that you want to emphasize. Addressing these points shows how the thank you note is not a mere professional obligation, but an extension of the interview and positions you as the strongest possible candidate.

3. Spelling & grammar errors: it goes without saying, but candidates can hurt their chances by not proofreading their work. Do yourself and your career a favor by double-checking for spelling and grammar errors.

4. Believing you have to send a physical note: there are arguments abound whether sending a physical note or an email makes you stand out as a candidate. In our current business environment, either one is acceptable. When you get down to it, it is the content of the note that will make you stand out. Focus on your content...not on the delivery method.

5. Not sending notes in other professional contexts: thank you notes do not have to be (and should not be) exclusively for interviews. Strong leaders see the contributions of their supervisors, colleagues, and supervisees, and send pointed and specific thank you notes to show them appreciation for their efforts. Incorporate this into your professional life and see the difference that it makes.

Do you have any thank you note tips that have been successful for you? If so, leave them in the comments.