The fundamental role of your resume is to grab the attention of a prospective employer and secure an interview.  An effective way of accomplishing this is to highlight your professional certifications.

Depending on your profession, the certifications you reference on your resume have the power to generate instant credibility and showcase the necessary and key job requirements.

For instance, if an accounting firm is recruiting for a Certified Public Accountant, it would be advantageous for applicants to include their CPA designation after their name or in either the Education or Certification section of the resume.  This allows recruiters to quickly identify those applicants with the qualifications they are seeking.

In some professions such as real estate and health care, regulatory requirements will dictate the value of certifications and specialized education. In others, the value is much more subjective.

For example, several years ago the country’s largest Human Resources association introduced levels of accreditation for its membership. While they look impressive, they are more “nice to haves” rather than actual job requirements.

In the Manufacturing and Logistics industries, however, certifications in process improvement methods such as Lean or Six Sigma can represent significantly more importance, and, hence, greater value.

In most professions, however, the perceived value of a certification is entirely at the discretion of the recruiter or hiring manager.  HR recruiter Jonathan Pratchios is one who doesn’t place a high premium on certifications. During a recent meeting with a search firm specializing in the technology sector, Pratchios was screening the resumes of software engineers, looking to fill openings within his Orlando area employer.

“Certifications,” he stated, “don’t mean anything to me.  What I want to see is experience.”

Given the value of certifications can range from critical to meaningless, it is essential that you research the expectations of industries and employers and list only those that will enhance your chances for an interview.

Many individuals unfamiliar with how search firms work often are disappointed when they reach out for job search assistance and receive little encouragement, interest or empathy in return.

There’s a reason for that aloofness.

Search firms in most instances work for clients who are employers with specific jobs to fill.  They are generally paid a commission calculated as a percentage of the annual cash compensation accepted by the individual they’re recruiting.

This is significant because the search firm has no financial incentive to help you find a job unless they are reasonably certain they can place you with a client in need of your specific skills, experience and interests.  Given search firms are typically enlisted by employers sparingly and only for upper management and hard-to-fill positions, they will rarely devote much effort to serving as your de facto job search agent.

Joe Gonzalez of San Diego-based BCA Executive Search explains it this way:

“Our client relationships are extremely important to us and we will never compromise the quality of our services by recommending people who don’t represent a strong match for the job or the employer’s culture.  However, on occasion we will help candidates with their job searches but that’s only when we know for certain that they are very talented and possess the highest level of integrity.”

While search firms may not be looking for someone with your background and credentials at the time of initial contact, it is still advantageous to submit your resume to increase the likelihood you will be considered should their needs change or new opportunities arise.

Matt Durfee is the CHRO for LSQ Holdings, author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and founder of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com). Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com.

When interviewing job applicants, recruiters will consider a number of factors in determining whether the applicant should be pursued further or rejected altogether.

Although the criterion varies among professions and organizational cultures, recruiters during the preliminary interview generally delve into such areas as education, skills, experience, personality-type, compensation expectations, career interests, motivation and communication style.

Because there is much ground to cover in the limited time constraints of most scheduled interviews, applicants need to make optimum use of that time. They need to respond concisely, informatively and without over-embellishing.

Perhaps because of poor preparation or just plain nervousness, I often encounter applicants who tend to offer long, drawn-out responses to even the most basic questions.  In addition to raising serious doubts about their level of self-awareness, I often pass them over for those who afford me the time to ask more questions which, in turn, enables me to better evaluate their qualifications and determine if they are a good fit for the company.

Susan Chadick, co-Chief Executive Officer of Chadick Ellig, a premier executive search firm based in New York City, advises:

“When asked what time it is, don’t explain how to make a watch.  In anticipation of an interview, be clear on what points of information you want to focus on and remain within that plan.  Provide additional information if it is asked for, but don’t ramble and lose the primary point.”

As a general rule, anticipate the questions and rehearse your responses to keep them within 60 to 90 seconds in length.  While you may be eager to share ALL the details about some matter of great relevance or importance to you, long-winded answers risk frustrating and annoying the interviewer and derailing your job prospects.

If you’re not invited back for a subsequent interview, this could be a reason why.

Matt Durfee is the CHRO for LSQ Holdings, author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and founder of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com). Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com.

Shortly after her initial interview for a new job, I asked a friend if she was adequately prepared for the exchange of questions and answers.

After recalling her responses to a number of the recruiter’s inquiries, she mentioned that she had quickly asked how much the position paid – a common yet critical mistake that many job interviewees make.

Why?  By shifting the recruiter’s attention to her needs so early in the selection process, she failed to understand the goal of the initial interview – to sell yourself first.

In many ways, the job interview is similar to a sales presentation in that you are trying to determine what the employer wants so that you can convey why YOU offer the best solution – and the best fit – for fulfilling their needs.

This requires making an effective and persuasive “sales pitch” by “marketing” the relevance and value of your skills, education, experience and career interests to the position you are seeking.

Given interviewing processes are often progressive in that you must succeed in one interview in order to get invited to the next, I advise my clients to devote the first interview to impressing the recruiter versus seeking specific information regarding pay and benefits.  Should you get invited back for subsequent interviews, there will be ample opportunity to glean this information and determine if it’s a job you really want.

In order to increase the chances that you will be afforded further consideration, first sell yourself as a qualified candidate before placing the recruiter in the position of selling the potential employer to you.

And, even then, never quit selling yourself until you close the deal with an offer in hand.

By the way, my friend didn’t get a second interview.

Matt Durfee is author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and CEO of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com), an online job search skills program. Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com.

Because of today’s technology, many employers and search firms are conducting telephone or tele-video interviews with job candidates first before determining whether to proceed to the next step with an in-person interview.

Not only is this affordable approach easy, fast and effective, it also saves time and recruiting expenses, particularly when potential job candidates live out of state.

The importance of excelling in this format, however, cannot be overstated, because if you fail to impress the recruiter at this stage of the interview process you most likely can forget getting to Step 2, let alone landing the job.

Fortunately, there are several things you can do to improve your chances of “acing” the remote interview:

• If you’re doing a telephone interview, be prepared and have your notes handy. Spread out preparation materials such as anticipated questions and responses either on a large desk or bed so they can be easily referenced.  But be subtle – don’t let the recruiter hear you shuffling the papers!
• Dress professionally as if you are interviewing in person.  While this should be self-explanatory for tele-videos, I recommend applicants do this for telephone interviews, as well, because professional interviewing attire will put you in the proper mindset, keep you focused and on track and improve your confidence.
• Select a quiet place for the remote interview and make sure it stays that way.  Put “do not disturb” signs on the doors, disable other phones and make sure the kids and barking dog are nowhere within earshot to be a distraction.
• If you are using a cellular phone or wireless headset, make sure they are fully charged and in an area with strong signal strength. Nothing is more frustrating or embarrassing than a dropped signal at a key point in an interview.

With remote interviews continuing to grow in popularity, your path to a new job will increasingly require the ability to ace interviews well beyond the setting of a recruiter’s office.

Matt Durfee is author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and CEO of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com), an online job search skills program. Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com.

While there is simply no single right way to write a resume, some components are so basic they should always be included regardless of profession, industry or years of experience.

For instance, no reasonable person would intentionally omit from their resume things such as previous job titles or personal contact information. While perhaps not as obvious, just as critical to an effective resume is a brief overview of your career objectives and qualifications in a section just below your name and contact information.

Under the heading Professional Objective & Profile, this section serves as your personal “billboard within the billboard” because it summarizes key information in the already abbreviated format of the resume itself.

For example, after responding to a job posting in the hospitality industry, a marketing executive included the following information in this important section to underscore his career objective:

Executive-level Marketing position in an organization that will leverage my extensive direct-to-guest program experience and demonstrated ability to develop strategic brand alliances.  I am particularly interested in creating & implementing system-wide initiatives that directly support sales and operational objectives in the hotel and resort industries.

Because recruiters literally must sort through thousands of resumes, your primary goal is to get them to review as much of your resume as possible.  To entice them to do this, you must capture their attention quickly by clearly and succinctly stating what you want, what you can do and what you’ve accomplished.  The Professional Objective & Profile section – which can be easily tailored to the position you’re seeking – is the perfect place to do this.

NAVIGATING YOUR JOB SEARCH

By MATT DURFEE

I’m convinced that many in today’s unemployed workforce don’t understand that a successful job search requires a lot of time, effort and the acquisition of new skills.

A recent incident confirmed this when the spouse of my wife’s friend lost his job and asked me to assist him with his job search.  At no cost, I provided him with access to the Navigator Institute’s comprehensive online job search skills program and later offered to review his resume upon completion.

A few weeks later I received a draft of his resume and was surprised to see that many of the key recommendations outlined in the Institute’s module on resume-writing were conspicuously missing.

When he didn’t respond to my inquiry as to why, I could only conclude that the reason had to be attributed to some of the common potholes that routinely trip up many job seekers:  1) Ignorance of the multi-faceted process of the job search; 2) Complacency; 3) Giving up; and 4) Laziness.

My observations were confirmed by Vic Benoit, a highly-talented executive career transition coach in the Greater New York area and the former head of staffing for such corporate giants as Pepsi and Heineken. Vic said he frequently witnesses the same behaviors and offered a succinct analogy:  “You can hire a personal fitness trainer to help you get into shape, but there’s no escaping the fact that ultimately you must be the one lifting the weights.”

His point is on the mark. If you want to land a job in today’s tight labor market, you must make the commitment to learn the essential skills and be prepared to do some heavy lifting.

Getting your body in shape takes time, commitment and effort – as does finding a job!

Matt Durfee is author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and CEO of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com), an online job search skills program. Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com.

NAVIGATING YOUR JOB SEARCH

By MATT DURFEE

Interview Often – It’s Great Practice

As surprising as it may seem in today’s tight labor market, I frequently have clients tell me they have turned down interviews because the job didn’t seem like a good fit.

My response?

Even if a job isn’t initially appealing, the interview experience will help prepare you for those more attractive opportunities that avail themselves.  Plus, you may be surprised to discover the position is much more attractive, appealing and a better fit than you initially thought.

Like most things in life, interviewing is a skill that requires both technique and practice.

Just as professional golfers know their chances of winning a big tournament are greatly enhanced through preparation, job applicants stand a greater likelihood of doing well in interviews if they, too, get in a little practice.  And one of the best ways to do this is to interview – even for positions that appear less than ideal.

Another reason to interview often is you don’t want to dismiss an opportunity prematurely.

For example, several years ago a headhunter called me about for a position with a rapidly growing credit card company.   It was a director-level position and, because the salary was less than my current position, I almost declined.  At the very last moment, I agreed to an interview and it led to one of the most rewarding jobs in my career.  Not only was I offered the job of vice president with a nice pay increase, I also enjoyed a great culture with outstanding people and excellent benefits.

In addition to honing your interviewing skills, you may also find, as I did, serendipity.

Matt Durfee is author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and CEO of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com), an online job search skills program. Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com.

Several years ago when I was an HR executive with Frito-Lay International, my boss was fond of saying, “The devil’s in the details.”  That was his way of reminding us to not let the big tasks we were working on get derailed by the little things we take for granted.

Those words of advice also can be applied to one’s job search.

As simplistic as this may seem, I continue to be amazed at how many people submit resumes containing typographical errors or other careless mistakes.

As a recruiter, I maintain a “zero tolerance” policy with respect to resume errors.  I strictly enforce this policy by ensuring such resumes never get into the hands of the hiring manager.  Instead, they end up in my waste basket.

Sadly, this was the case last week when an otherwise seemingly qualified candidate misspelled the word “strategy” on her resume, spelling it as “stratagy”.  Despite relevant experience with a highly regarded Fortune 500 company and impressive academic credentials, her candidacy ended right then.

While this may seem harsh, it’s important to understand that a resume provides a snapshot of a person’s qualifications and potential fit.  Typos, therefore, suggest a candidate is careless, sloppy, and unconcerned about quality or accuracy.  With the marketplace overflowing with capable and qualified applicants, why would anyone consider hiring someone with those traits?

To help ensure your resume isn’t summarily dismissed due to errors, ask someone to proofread it for you.  Even though you may have already double-checked it, the perspective from a fresh pair of eyes can greatly increase the odds your resume is working for you and not against you.

Remember, don’t let careless resume errors bedevil your job candidacy!

Matt Durfee is author of “Job Search Secrets from the Reluctant Expert” and CEO of Orlando-based Navigator Institute (www.navinstitute.com), an online job search skills program. Contact him at mdurfee@navexec.com. He is also a contributing writer and thought leader for business journals in over 40 U.S. markets.