Month: July 2012

Formatting Your Resume for the Internet

When sending a resume in an email or uploading your resume to a website, you want your resume to look as beautiful and read with the same impact that it has when you read it directly on your computer.

I work with all types of document extensions (that is, .doc, .txt, .docx, .pdf, .xls, .html, and others) on a daily basis.  I see many resumes.  I have found that the best word processing file format for a resume one that is created Microsoft Word© and saved with file the extension .doc.

Some website developers caution that Microsoft Word© can be problematic for web publishing software.  WordPress even has a special setting for dealing with Microsoft Word codes and has a help section on the problems with Apache Open Office formatted worksheets.  So I do not write a document in a worksheet and paste that document into my website.

However, the basic worksheet publishes on a web page and maintains the font settings for bold and normal, and works well as an upload or a copy and paste from a .doc.

FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY

 The following sentence, beginning with “This is a test,” is a direct copy and paste from a worksheet into this web page and did not involve any special settings.  Immediately after the copy and paste is a screenshot of the same worksheet.

This is a test of a copy and paste from a Microsoft Word worksheet as a direct copy and paste.

Screenshot

WHERE THE TROUBLE STARTS

When writing a resume, avoid the tabs “insert” and “format.”

There is code in those tabs and that code delivers different results on different software.

Some people incorrectly believe that they can prevent their resume from being changed in any fashion by clicking the review tab at the top of a worksheet and clicking “Track Changes,” thereby marking up changes a person might make after receiving the resume.  However, a person can simply copy and paste the resume into a new document and save the new document instead of the one with the “Track Changes” setting and the markups on the document do not appear.

Therefore, you really do not want to use the “track changes” setting, because it can really make your resume ugly if it gets passed from person to person in a company’s hiring pyramid all marked up.  By the time your resume lands on the desk of the President of the hiring company, the resume may look something like this:

BROWN PAPER BAG OR CROWN PRINCESS

The brown paper bag of word processing is .txt (Notepad*).   Notepad is used most effectively as a text editor for websites and saved as an .html.  In .html, Notepad is the crown princess of the Internet.  However, it is not at all necessary to send your resume out in Notepad and have all the code and highlighting stripped out.  If you have your resume written in a worksheet .doc and paste your resume into a website form, most often, the forms strip the content down to text only.  Those forms with visual editors are not very common and are designed to work with worksheets.

RESUME BRICKS

Sending resumes through websites can be a challenging event.  A .pdf makes for a terrific downloading document.  However, for me they are kind of a brick, and if your resume gets passed through many hands on the way up to the executive office, somebody may need to make a note on your resume and may not be knowledgeable enough nor have the software to write on a .pdf.  As an aside and FYI, Google Documents can convert a .pdf to a worksheet, if you need to edit the document.  The service is free.

.docx:  .docx arrived with Microsoft Office 2007 and is very dynamic yet appears to be problematic for some people.   The issue with .docx is that some .html uploading software still cannot process .docx correctly and your resume may not get uploaded nor will the software indicate that the upload submission did not actually upload.  However, if you prefer to send us .pdf or .docx, we are fortunate to be able to handle anything short of a stone tablet.

KNUCKLEHEADS

I rarely see anyone use .xls (Microsoft Excel ) so if you are thinking about it, forget it.  I get about one resume a year in Excel or an .xls.  It marks a person as some who sees himself (never got an .xls from a woman) as the only person in step as the parade goes marching by.  Occasionally, I get emailed a linked resume (.html).  Really?  You want my computer to go to the trouble to pop open your link so I can see your resume on the World Wide Web.  And?  Just send me a .doc like the rest of sane humanity!

Hey, Catch! Interview Preparation

Have you ever had someone toss a ball your way and let you know it was inbound after the person had thrown it?

If you have good reflections and a clear mind, a surprise ball toss can be easy to handle.   Personally, I need to know the ball is coming and preferably have a bucket to catch it in.

I have found that thinking on my feet in business can  be similar.  In my basic training at Procter & Gamble, the instruction booklet on persuasive selling included the recommendation of anticipating objections and preparing for these objections before entering for my presentation.

The Sacramento Kings  had a point guard named Jason Williams, who was a real gym rat, street ball, highly gifted athlete.   He was a lot of fun to watch and so unorthodox that the other players on the team had to maintain total mental presence lest they catch one of Williams’ no-look passes on the nose.  Obviously, the players on the Kings team had an advantage in knowing what was coming next from Williams.  They spent hours practicing with him and playing on the same team.

Giving a persuasive presentation in any situation, whether it is a job interview, a sales call, a meeting with peers, I find that I am more comfortable if I take a minute, write a few notes, research material I think might come up even if I believe that I know the answer, and try to think of information that might add value to the presentation and offer solutions where needed.

Related Articles
Creative Ways to Manage Any Process
Going to an Interview? Got an Agenda?
Hey, Catch! Interview Preparation

Another thing that I have learned to do is position material so I show I am interested in the point of view of the other person or people in the meeting.  For example, without even agreeing with another person’s position, I have found that it sometimes helps to say something such as if I were in your shoes I am sure that I would feel the same way.  I also try to make sure that the other person or people in the meeting have an opportunity to speaking through to the conclusion of what they have on their mind.

Some people find it helpful to call other people before a meeting and in that call, present what they plan to share in meeting, especially when the stakes are high or on occasions where there might be a lot of resistance to his or her position.

In closing, I am reminded of the famous statement regarding directions:  “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? The answer:  practice, practice, practice. ”

The World’s Noblest Headhunter!  

Counter Offers: The Reason That You Resigned Seldom Goes Away If You Stay.

The simple fact is that companies employ people at the convenience of the company.  As soon as the company no reason to keep a person or finds a reason to let a person go, the person would be shown the door and people who are perceived as disloyal may find themselves at the head of the exit line.

In my first year of recruiting, I saw firsthand the problems people can encounter when accepting a counter offer.  The candidate was working for a large consumer products company.  In the counter offer he found himself in front of some very aggressive and persuasive sales managers.  These managers were not going to let the salesperson leave the company.

The candidate was so stressed that he called me in tears at 2:00 AM during the counter offer process. He called me again the next day in tears. The sales managers had convinced him to stay.

Four or fives months later, the candidate called to say that the same company had fired him.

After accepting the counter offer, he continued to be unhappy at the company, and he continued to interview.
He had been at the airport interviewing and a fellow employee had seen him. However on his daily report, the candidate had indicated that he had been on a sales call.

The company was well within its’ right to fire the guy for cause. He lied on his daily report.  At the same time, the company had other less punitive options: a letter of reprimand, probation, or increased management presence.  However, they chose this time to fire the salesperson.  .

The poor guy had just been unfortunate to accept an offer that was too good to accept.

Cocktail Napkins, Interview Questions, and Landing a Job

Cocktail Napkins, Interview Questions, and Landing a Job

I have a friend who has a way of making people aware of his interest in them as friends. He always greets people with questions that allow people to talk about themselves and their families. With me, for example, he asks how I have been. He asks about my wife and each of my children.

In a job interview, there are questions both sides should ask.  Standard questions to establish rapport and build knowledge.  Standard company questions about why you would want to work for this company, why the job is vacant, or the career path to which this job leads.

In a social setting, asking questions that you have typed on a written agenda would not seem appropriate. However, in a job interview, asking questions from a typed agenda is the best way to stay organized, on balance, or regain your balance.

I often find that the person who does the better job of preparing typed written material before an interview comes out way ahead of applicants who interview without a typed up agenda.

The Power of an Agenda

Comically, an applicant of mine actually went into an interview without any prepared material except for questions that he had written on a cocktail napkin.  The company had two applicants and one job.  This guy finished second.

If you are interview with several people in the same day, should you ask the same questions more than once?  I would say that you should definitely ask the same question more than once.  You may learn a lot about a company and its people by comparing their answers.

What do you do if you want a job but do not have any questions?  You should ask questions that enable you to know that the reasons you want the job are in fact true.  For example, you want a job because you see the company is in a safe convenient location or that the company has an excellent benefit program or wonderful work environment.  Ask about the location, the benefit program, or the work environment.  I have had hiring managers tell me that they already know if they are going to hire a person within five minutes of the person walking in the door and that they spend the next hour asking question to confirm what they believe to be true.

Related Articles
Creative Ways to Manage Any Process
Going to an Interview? Got an Agenda?
Hey, Catch! Interview Preparation

The Worlds Noblest Headhunter!

The Home Gym: Why Doing Things Yourself is Good for Your Self-Esteem, Your Confidence, and Your Health.

Going through a career change or any life change can bring feelings of uncertainty, inadequacy, and uselessness. You may also feel that have less energy and less interest in life in general.

Home projects during these periods can be hard to start. All the feelings and loss of energy during challenging life changes can reduce your motivation and make you feel physically restrained from taking physical action on anything.

Yet finishing a home project provides immediate, visual results.  You can see what you have you have accomplished.  These visual results can create energy and rebuild your self-esteem,

If you have not seen the movie Karate Kid, the following discussion will be a bit of a movie spoiler.

Kesuke Miyagi, a martial arts master,  agrees to help a bullied kid learn karate. When the student shows up for his first day of martial arts training, the student is surprised that, instead of doing martial arts moves, the karate master assigns the kid a long list of exhausting chores at the home of the karate master: sanding floors, painting a fence, waxing cars, painting the house. After days of long hours of chores, the frustrated student rebels against the karate master’s use of the kid’s time to work on for free instead of following through on the commitment to teach the student karate.

As you may recall if you saw the movie, Mr. Miyagi was using do-it-yourself projects (cleaning, painting, waxing cars, hand sanding) to train karate techniques to the kid, build strength, and develop muscles memory to prepare the kid for competition.

Fitness training offers many benefits: cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, strength building, and body shaping.

However, for an understanding of how exercising for fitness compares to plan old DIY, I did a comparison of calories burned for an hour of various activities.  Here are the estimates.

Washing a car – 300 Calories
Painting/carpentry – 350 Calories
Yardwork – 500 Calories
Mopping floors – 330 Calories
Pool cleaning – 400 Calories
Playing with kids  – 330
Walking – 330 Calories
Weight lifting – 400 Calories
Stationary Bike – 330 Calories
Spinning – 400 Calories

I enjoy being a do-it-yourself kind of guy.  I had installed my own sprinkler systems in the front and backyard.  I had built the wooden deck in my backyard.  When my wife and I had a pool built in the backyard, I reinstalled the sprinklers in the backyard.

As my business grew and my kids got older, I felt challenged but not overwhelmed to continue the do-it-yourself projects.

Not because of affluence, but because of the type of development in the area where I live, there are gardeners in this area every week.  The monthly costs are negligible, especially in light of the fact that employing a gardner eliminates the cost of gas to drive to a gas station to buy gas for my own equipment.

So for years, I had a gardener for my yard and eventually added pool attendant to service my pool.  I took my car to the drive-thru car wash.  I often ate meals purchased at the drive-thru restaurant and ate them in my car:  Eyes on the road, left hand on the wheel, and hamburger in the righthand.  Cup holders were designed for people who eat while driving, right?

The following figures are disappointing to realize. During this time, I drove to a health club, where I burned 300-400 calories per session for a total of 1500 to 2000 calories per week.

A few years ago, I reduced the number of services I used.  My kids were grown.  I was no longer involved in coaching their sports teams, participating in parent organizations, and hanging out with them in public or around the house.

I realized that in using the gardener I had lost sight of the condition of my yard.  The shrubs had become trees and the once beautiful blue grass was full of crab grass.  The deck I built had built had begun to crumble with aging.

One afternoon, I decided to wash the family SUV that my wife and I had used to for years to haul kids to college and family trips through the Sierra snow.

I had to find the sponges and solutions I had used years before.  As I washed the car, I became aware that I was not as fit as I thought I was.  In reeling out the hose, I discovered that the 100-foot rubber hose was not that easy to handle in the tight spaces along the walkway to the car.  During the squatting and the standing,  the bending and the reaching, and the physical aspects washing the car with the sponge, I began to realize that washing a car can take a bit of exertion.

I brought out a ladder and washed the top of the car.  Once I had washed the car and toweled it dry, I realized that I had been through every bit of a good workout at the gym.

I looked at the car and I felt good.   I had rediscovered what I had lost through the years of drive-thru service.  There is a sense of pride, a sense of the accomplishment, in doing things yourself.

Somewhat sadly I released the gardner.  He usually arrived early and had become a person I greeted for years.  Less personally I released the pool service that simply dumped chemicals in my pool and left the cleaning to the pool sweep.

I rebuilt my deck.  My fantastic wife and I garden again.  I wash my own car, which in California is not necessary very often.

So if you are going through a career transition or any other stressful change in your life and have perhaps become a drive-thru addict, you might find that DIY can be terrific therapy and excellent source of physical conditioning.

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