Jason Monastra

My life and thoughts out on the web

The resume we have discussed previously in its entirety however the objective has come up recently as a subject of “requirement”.  People want to know, do I need an objective?  If I do, what does it need to say?  If I do not, do I replace it with something else?  Personally, I think it is a matter of choice.  Objectives require a certain style and dictate what one is looking to do moving forward.  I find them limiting in that they tell someone what you are looking to do, and if the objective is written narrowly or does not include certain verbiage, people that review your background will pass you by for certain opportunities as they do not align with your objective.  The summary I see as a valued part of the resume and is a strong replacement for the objective.

Summary means: Presenting the substance in a condensed form; concise or; a presentation of the substance of a body of material in a condensed form or by reducing it to its main points; an abstract.  This is key in understanding the meaning behind what you are writing and how it is to be written.  Facts, bullet points written in a paragraph form that show immediate value and highlight what is being brought to the table.  This is not a section to explain or get into the detail of your background or personality.  It is to elude to the reader your importance and engage them enough to continue reading the resume.  Anything longer than 4-5 sentences will be too much for this section.

Get the attention of the reader quickly.  Lead with something that provides substance and aligns itself with the position you are applying.  Customizing resumes is a crucial part of the application process and there should be a review of the role previous to sending any resumes.  Not all positions require the same skills and the summary is a clear vision in the beginning of your resume eluding to what the reader might see next.  If that summary is poorly written or not in line with the general scope of the role, your resume will be discarded and the hiring manager will move on.  Be safe, take your time, and write to the role and the company - do not send out blanket resumes.  They are sure not to get you calls back.

If you are not sure how your resume sounds or if the wording is not coming out right - ask a friend.  Anyone reading from a non-partisan view will offer some keen advice on how to better show yourself and sound less wordy.  Stay focused, highlight your strengths, use facts and figures where you can showing concise statements of value and you will see a better response on the resumes you send out.  Remember to sell yourself, not the companies you have worked for and use facts that highlight you and not the team that was working the project.  Be inventive and show yourself through your resume.  Boring resumes are all too common, do not catch people’s attention and require little reason to head to the trash basket. 

Happy writing.

I have been commenting most recently on this article I was sent reference reasons why people do not get jobs.  The next listed reason is the No Questions reason, how people go into the interview and they have no questions to ask the potential employer.  I guess with this, as with others, seems like a common sense area however is overlooked constantly and is increasing brought up by employers as a point of contention.  Listen to what the article says:

“No, I don’t have any questions for you.”
Much like telling the interviewer that you don’t know anything about the company, saying you don’t have any questions to ask also signals a lack of interest. Perhaps the interviewer answered every question or concern you had about the position, but if you’re interested in a future with this employer, you can probably think of a few things to ask.
“Research the company before you show up,” Moran advises. “Understand the business strategy, goals and people. Having this type of knowledge will give you some questions to keep in your pocket if the conversation is not flowing naturally.”

I read this and wonder….who cannot have questions.  Most employers are set with their interview style and method, covering general questions that are asked in a meeting.  However, questions on strategy, career path, cultural environment and job challenges are hardly addressed as the norm.  The hiring manager will look for the candidate to ask and generate meaningful conversation on the subject, allowing them time to evaluate the interest level and intellectual property of the candidate.   Interest level is something people measure, however the “smarts” of someone are also tested and true during this part of the process.

If the hiring manager is a real good interviewer and you feel that he has covered most of your questions during the process, develop new ones during the interview.  Think about what he/she said and target key areas of interest for them, giving them more time to speak and an understanding of the role.  This will allow you detailed insight for follow up questions and to allow the conversation between you and he/she to be fluid.  One thing that most people do not like is what we like to call the “fire off approach”.  That is the method where someone asks a question, they get an answer and dead time ensues.  Then the process repeats itself.  This is sure fire way to not be invited back for a second meeting.

I also suggest that there are different questions for different people.  Do not empty your bag of tricks out with the first person.  Repeating yourself all the time will get redundant and if the interviewers collaborate afterwards they are sure to uncover that which makes you appear rehearsed.  Two thought provoking questions can provide enough conversation to take up the time given by most people for questions.  Think about them and if you can customize them to the position, that will be a suitable difference.  Preparation like with most of the other areas we discuss we will be the difference between you saying nothing or asking the questions that get you hired.

It never fails to amaze me about the short sightedness of people in the world.  In recruiting, it shows it’s ugly face continually from people that do not take calls from recruiters, only to rush back and contact us when things go south.  My recommendation for all people - take the call.  I am not saying to take every call so as to develop a relationship, but if there is a first call from someone you do not know - take it and find out.  There are a good deal of recruiters out there, all with different clients and different perspectives on what they do and how they do it…..find ones that work well with you and your ideals.

There is nothing more frustrating than the client managers that never call you back and then hound your voicemail with calls when they need a new job.  What a load of garbage.  Develop relationships with professional recruiters, people that take this as a career and not a job or transition phase in their life.  These people will be there during the course of your career, helping in instrumental times to bring you opportunities you might otherwise know about.  These people, the true professionals, are calls you need to take. 

I speak about burning bridges all the time…and there is nothing worse than a well connected recruiter that has a bad impression of you.  Over the years and with clients that use us continually, I have been asked what someone thinks of a certain candidate or what the market thinks of a certain employer.  Why make that a black spot on your profile.  Take calls, treat people with professionalism and decide who to work with.  I know certain people that work only with certain recruiters, people they trust and have good experiences with.  That is awesome.   Those candidates are people that have invested the time in developing a relationship with a trusted source and there will be mutual benefit when the time comes.

Be smart and take the call.   What is the worst that can happen, you take a call…it does not work and you let them know in the future not to call again due to the way they handled it.  That is fine.  But to just cut the call due to the person being a recruiter, not good business.  You never know who someone is connected with.  Keep the door open unless there is a specific reason to shut it.

There is a common misconception that professionals that work for world branded companies sometimes believe…..that their pedigree gets them hired.   People that have gone to world class educational institutions will be the first to say they graduated from Harvard, Yale, UCB, or another highly regarded institute of higher learning.  There is an inherent understanding that going to one of these schools and being exposed provides a unique sense of accomplishment and therefore will make someone a potentially better employee than say someone graduating from a community college.  In the academic realm this is true, however in the business field - this common practice does not carry the same weight.

Just because you have worked for an EMC, IBM, or BIG 4 firm does not necessarily mean that you are qualified for the position you are recruiting for.  It is nice to see large names on the resume and respectable companies that employ best practices, however if your role was not critical and provided no value - the name of the company means little.  One negative that the large companies have is that they hire ALOT of people and therefore working for them is not a elite marker.  It is quite possible that the same person who went to the junior college next to Harvard is working in the same role you are when coming to Fortune 50 or 100 company.  The size and scope of the operation dilutes the importance of your educational accomplishments and lumps you in with everyone else.

Do not get caught in the trap.  Focus on yourself and not the companies you have worked for.  Push the performance and accomplishments of your career, making clear the impact you provided to the company and not the other way around.  When describing projects, briefly tell of the overall objective but press forward with your part specifically and detail the work you did, not that of the company.  If you worked on a major software development upgrade, speak to what you did…do not settle with telling the hiring manager of your teams project only.  Let them know how you impacted the project and where the major areas of focus were for your skill set.  Speak to projects that highlight the work experience that will benefit your potential employer.

Remember, they are buying you…not your resume or the name of some former employer.  They are looking for good people, not just pedigrees.  Ensure to stay on task, speak to your strengths, and sell yourself. 

The way one accepts an offer is just as important as the offer itself.  There are several parts of the offer process.  The offer negotiation, candid communications on desire and intent, and then the decision based on the offer that is put forward.  When the final offer is made, the communication up to that point should be indicative of the decision that will come forth.  There should be no surprises of the decision.  If the needs of the candidate are being communicated and are therefore met, the offer acceptance should be the next natural step.

Well, what happens when the offer is made as requested and the offer is not accepted.  What has happened?  Has the company done something wrong?  More often than not, the candidate has not been up front with their desires and therefore the company is making an offer based on information that is not correct.  The company is working off assumptions that were prepared for them, but they are not the core reasoning in the decision making process.  To present an offer in such circumstances is a waste of everyone’s time with a sure ending of disappointment and frustration.

Candidates need to offer candid reasoning for what they are looking for.  When speaking to a recruiter or hiring manager, the candidate needs to lay out their desires for compensation, benefits, and job responsibilities.  If those are met, the role should be accepted.  To place a company in such position of exercise and then to not accept is unprofessional. 

Recently in our firm we have dealt with such a position.  The company was placed in a position where needs and expectations were expressed by the candidate, only to be turned down at the time of offer.  Confusing.  Well for the people involved, it was.  The candidate verbally accepts the position only to turn down the position via email.  A bridge that would have been open if the offer had been treated in the same manner in which it was constructed, but now burned.

If you are to accept an offer….accept it once and keep the decision you made.   Weigh all of your options before making the decision so that when you communicate the answer, there is no turning back.  This will keep the confusion and frustration from the offer process.

“As Lady Macbeth so eloquently put it…”
Scripted answers, although accurate, don’t impress interviewers. Not only do they make you sound rehearsed and stiff, they also prevent you from engaging in a dialogue.
“This is a conversation between a couple humans that are trying to get a good understanding of one another. Act accordingly,” Moran reminds.

This is one of the latest techniques of interview answers that was presented in this article about not getting a job.  Does anyone actually do this?  I have been in the business for more than 10 yrs providing people advice on the interview process and how to best ensure they get the next job.  Why would anyone actually copy what someone else said and then pinpoint who said it?

Well, as logic has probably set in, you know - NEVER do that.  However to incorporate the ideas of other people into your answers is not necessarily all bad.  If there are methods and answers that have worked for other people, customize them to fit the needs of your situation and present them.  This will assist you with using a base answer that applies and you have now made it your own.

I do like how the writer writes about creating rapport.  That this sort of communication does not offer the ability to make a break through with someone, as there is no way to identify with that person.  Rather the interviewer feels like you are not being yourself and therefore does not know who you actually are.  Be yourself, and learn from others, but do not copy them.  Make the answer your own and do not sound rehearsed or memorized.  Remember the presentation of the answer is just as important as the answer itself…..

One of the most basic things that we sometimes overlook is the location of our interview.  With growing cities and changing street names, the complexity of challenges has multiplied when considering how to and when to arrive on your interview.  Location. Location. Location.

The location of the interview should be known well in advance previous to the interview.  Research the street address and utilize the Internet to get directions.  There are numerous options that are available for directions, such as MapQuest and Google.  Place your home address into the system and see how to get there.  If you will be coming from your current job, place that address in the system and see how long it will take to get there.  Consider the traffic patterns during the time you will be traveling and allow for more congested times during lunch and more popular travel times.

Run a test drive.  If you have ample time, make the drive to the location so you know the area.   Even in a town you know well or have lived, there are roads and locations that you think you might know but do not.  Remember road construction as well, as this will delay your arrival or could mis-direct the normal directions.  Be careful and allow for plenty of time to arrive.  You will feel more comfortable and less stressed due to the additional time.  Being at the location and in the lobby 15 minutes previous is considered professional.

Never be scared to ask for directions……this is for everyone.  If you are lost, ask someone.  Better to be on-time and humble than lost and late.  There is nothing more unimpressive than being late….it tells more about who you are as a candidate than anything else and sets a first impression even before the hiring manager lays eyes on you and says hello.

Drive safe.

Dress has become a hot topic these days especially down here in the south so I wanted to recap on the basics of appropriate dress for the interview.  Business professional is the default.  You will never be seen as unprofessional for showing up in suit for the interview.  People respect professionalism and see your dress as a sign of respect for the company and the position you are interviewing for.

Summer time is a time for sun and fun….but not in the interview.  Unfortunately people tend to become looser and want to shed more clothing when the weather is hot.  In an interview, this can be disastrous.  All companies have different cultures, but the interview is not a place to adapt to what they wear.  If they wear business casual, show up in suit…period.  Do not allow the weather to dictate the attire, as the event dictates the attire.  No one goes to a formal wedding in flip flops just because it is hot outside.

Dress the part.  We are interviewing for professional level jobs with professional level pay.  Look the part.  Professionalism is more than just dress but dress is a component of the look.  It will show that you are well presented and it will leave nothing for the manager to think about.  If you show up in a polo and khakis, but the job requires presentations to the board - what are people to think?  They need to imagine what and how you might present yourself in that situation.  Leave nothing to chance and let them know up front they are dealing with someone that knows what the role requires.

As with anything there are exceptions and I want to address this.  If you have spoken to the manager or the recruiter and there is specific instructions not to dress business professional as that will cause turmoil, people will know there is an interview going on, or the environment just does not take well to suits….do not wear one.  Sometimes younger management are more liberal in their dress policy and want people that will fit well with the culture, be sure to know this previous to going in.  So short of causing a riot, go business professional.

At the worst it gives us an excuse to do a little more shopping…..