Should the education go on the 1^st or 2^nd page of the resume?  I recently got my master’s in May 09 and will be getting my MBA soon.

It really depends on how much relevant work experience you have.  If you have less than three years of professional-level experience or if you have changed your career objective and you are now pursuing a field that matches your education but not your work experience, I’d recommend you insert your educational credentials on the first page right beneath the Professional Objective & Profile.  If you have been in the workplace longer than three years, it’s generally best to reference your education at the end of the resume.  Just be sure your work experience truly complements your education and doesn’t detract from your overall qualifications.  For instance, if you are seeking management positions but your jobs have all been at hourly jobs, your soon-to-be-earned MBA should get top billing.

How do you handle putting temp jobs on the resume?  I have had six temp jobs since being laid off.

Treat them all as one experience under the job title of  Contracting Assignments and use one time reference to capture them all (e.g., 2008 to Present).  Depending on your actual responsibilities, begin the “job” description with something like, “Delivered critical project management support in various contract and temporary assignments.  Responsibilities included . . .” In interviews, be prepared to provide a list of the six temporary assignments and the durations of each assignment.  Chances are, however, you will only need to verbally summarize who they were.

What is the strategy when an online application asks minimum salary requirements? The box has to be filled and you do not know the range of the role applying for. You risk the chance of putting in a salary that’s too high or too low.

Use a conservative number that is less than what you really want but not so low you’d never consider accepting it.  For instance, if you are used to making $60,000 and that’s the figure you really want, you may want to enter $45,000.  It’s still in the ballpark and may help you get an interview – which is precisely what you want.  That’s because if you do well in the interviewing process, most employers are willing to negotiate a higher salary for the right candidate (I once received an offer with a salary that was 33% more than what the headhunter told me the employer was willing to pay for the position).  If you disqualify yourself too soon by inserting a salary requirement that is too high, however, you’ll never get that chance.   

If you end up receiving an offer for the salary amount you submitted, don’t feel like you are under any obligation to accept it.  If the employer questions why you are asking for a higher salary, simply and politely explain that through the interviewing process you learned the role and the responsibilities are greater than what you understood from the online job posting.

Even if you reply with a low minimum salary and it turns out to be non-negotiable, there may be other things that will make the position attractive such as the benefits, bonuses, commissions, working conditions, commute, hours, etc.  Unless you first get an interview, you may never find out about these things.

How can I make my resume more attractive if I am trying to relocate to Orlando?

If you are concerned employers may not want to hire someone from outside the area, you may want to ask any friends or family living in Orlando if you can use their home address on your resume (if necessary, you can always explain that it’s your temporary residence).  If you feel that’s stretching the truth, on the cover letter mention you are in the process of relocating to Orlando.  Either way, prospective employers will know you don’t expect relocation assistance – which few employers are willing to offer in this economy, anyway.

The more you can convey you are already established in Orlando (or soon will be), the less likely your actual location will prompt employers to disqualify you as a job candidate.

Does it make a difference to apply through a Web site like Hcareers as opposed to applying through a company’s Web site?

It shouldn’t make a difference, but the best bet is to apply on both Web sites. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

When I was looking to fill positions in my corporate jobs, I generally had job openings first posted on my employer’s Web site and then on job boards if I didn’t get a sufficient supply of qualified candidates.  Not only did I never “penalize” anyone for posting their resume on both sites, but sometimes the same resume would end up on my desk from one source but not the other.  What that implies is one of their two submissions had been rejected and had it not been for their decision to post their resume on both sites, I would have never seen it.

Do people really look at executive resumes submitted online (i.e. Monster, CareerBuilder, etc.)?

Actually, they do.  In today’s economy, many hiring managers and HR departments are sourcing executive job candidates through job boards and their employer’s Web sites versus through executive search firms.  While search firms are popular when the labor market is tight, there’s such a tremendous supply of unemployed executive talent that many cost-conscious employers are opting to conduct the searches themselves rather than pay placement fees that can easily run into six-figures for a single executive job opening.  In addition, many search firms routinely post job openings on CareerBuilder and Monster when sourcing job candidates for their clients. 

While CareerBuilder and Monster are the two biggest job boards based on the number of postings, The Ladders (www.theladders.com) specializes in executive job postings.  Unlike the other two, you must pay a fee to apply for the jobs they have listed.  Another job board worth checking out is www.indeed.com.  Indeed conveniently pulls the job openings listed on other job boards as well as from employer Web sites so that you don’t have to go to multiple sites in search of a job that may be of interest to you.

I worked in two positions at one company; the older one was longer and more impressive. Can I put this first?

It really depends on how much more impressive the former job was and how long you were in the most recent position.  Generally, you want to stay with the chronological order unless you were in a position for a very short time and it was more transitional in nature (for instance, a project or temporary role).  If the less impressive position was clearly a demotion, consider not listing the job title in the same place as the former role and instead reference in the text section where you cite your experience, responsibilities and accomplishments.  For instance, if you were the President of a division and subsequently moved into a Vice President of Sales role, the very last line or bullet point in that section may read something like, “Assigned to sales leadership role responsible for driving revenue growth by 18% in new product category.”

The challenge here is you need to be truthful so you will need to reference your last job somewhere in the space where you are describing your duties with the employer.  At the same time, you don’t want to draw unnecessary attention to a position you’d rather not spend much time talking about.  An exception is if you were in the position for a very short period of time (e.g., less than three or four months).  For instance, in my upcoming book, Job Search Skills from the Reluctant Expert, I share how I referenced events after a re-organization prompted me to leave one company where I was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for a smaller role as the Global Vice President of Talent Management for another.  After working 20 days with my new employer, a worldwide restructuring resulted in the elimination of my job and the entire global team.

Rather than include such a short stint on my resume and risk it diverting valuable interviewing time away from more relevant experiences, I would mention the job in interviews by simply saying, “I didn’t even bother putting it on my resume as I was there such a short time.”  By always bringing up the job in the interviews and including it on the application, I was able to focus the interviewer on what was important (i.e., my previous positions) while protecting myself from potential claims the omission was somehow dishonest.

How long should you wait until you follow up after submitting your resume for a posting?  And what’s the best way?

Don’t wait!  If the posting reveals the identity of the employer, submit your resume and then immediately call the hiring department and ask to speak to the person the job reports to.  Have your 30-second elevator speech ready and ask if you can meet with the person – even if it’s just to drop off your resume and introduce yourself.  If you get the run around, try to get the hiring manager’s name and e-mail address and follow-up electronically.

Networking can be particularly helpful in this situation.  Leverage networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, college alumni associations and your own contacts to find someone who will forward your resume directly to the hiring manager or to someone elsewhere in the organization who will do it for you.  As this approach means your resume won’t be electronically screened out, you stand a much greater chance of being considered for the job.  If your efforts at networking aren’t successful, then consider making a personal visit to the employer’s facility, if at all possible, and ask to see the head of the department or his or her administrative assistant. 

How does one with 30+ years of experience highlight career without disqualifying himself for being too old?

Chances are that whatever career experiences you had over 30 years ago will mean little to the employer.  So rather than offer a bunch of detail about what you were doing when President Obama was still in grade school, summarize the earlier jobs and experiences under the sub-heading of Previous Experience at the bottom of the Experience & Qualifications section.  For example, “Prior to 1989, I gained valuable computer experience and was promoted to various roles of responsibility including system analyst, programmer and billing coordinator.”  In this manner, you are submitting a factual resume without revealing too much about your age.

If my resume is supposed to promote me, would it be okay if I put the position on top of the company I worked for in a chronological resume?

Absolutely.  If your position or level is more impressive than the brand power of your employer, give it top billing.  This is particularly true if your employer is relatively unknown to the general public or within the industry you are applying.  Just be consistent and don’t flip-flop the position and employer throughout the Experience & Qualifications section of your resume.

Is it a good idea to have a photo on a hard copy of your resume?

While Europeans often include photos and personal information such as nationality, age, marital status, children and place of birth on their resumes (commonly referred to as a curriculum vitae or CV), it’s generally not a good idea to do so in the U.S.  There are, of course, exceptions such as positions in the entertainment industry or wherever one’s looks are a bona fide job requirement.  Otherwise, a photo risks making you appear insecure and superficial and not someone whose candidacy should be taken seriously (not to mention human resources departments may conclude your resume is nothing more than the spearhead of a calculated ploy to file a discrimination claim against the employer).

What is the best format for a resume?  Word or PDF?

Your call.  As the sender of resumes, I always used the Word format just because it requires less memory and I’m comfortable with it.  As the recipient of resumes, it has never mattered to me.  I will say some people strongly prefer the PDF format because it’s essentially tamper-proof.

While using your work phone is okay provided it’s a secure line and you don’t have to worry about someone else screening your calls, I’d stay away from using your work e-mail for your job search.  There are a number of reasons for this including the risk your employer will see your e-mails and possibly terminate your employment before you are ready.  Plus you will lose all of your job search-related correspondence once your employment ends (realize this could be potentially valuable information for future searches).  You are better off creating an e-mail address for your job search activities that is separate from both your work and personal correspondences.

While I’ve seen that done, I’m not a fan of it.  I think it adds clutter to the resume and you want to make your resume as easy as possible for the recruiter to scan what’s most important – your career interests and a brief summary of your qualifications and job skills.  If you really believe your LinkedIn profile will enhance your candidacy (perhaps because of the quality of your recommendations), you may want to place the address at the end of the resume.

Prolonged unemployment can be embarrassing, but there are ways to mitigate the impact it could have on your continued job search.  First of all, candidly assess why you haven’t found another job.  In particular, I encourage you to evaluate every aspect of the job search process and try to find out where the problem lies.  For instance, if you haven’t had many interviews, you should take another look at your resume, how you’ve been networking, and where you have been looking for another job.  If you’ve had interviews but no offers, that’s an indication you may not be saying the right things in the interviews or that you are not projecting an image that is professional or compatible with the employer’s culture.  Secondly, you need to be prepared to explain what you have been doing for the last two plus years.  If you say you have spent that time looking for work, you may raise some red flags about why no other employer has hired you.  Instead, consider any professional or personal activities you have been involved with such as contract work, consulting assignments, helping a spouse or friend with their business, volunteering at school or at a charity, etc.  Not only will that make you appear less desperate and unemployable, but it offers the opportunity to showcase other characteristics that may be attractive to employers such as confidence and personal values.

Networking is by far the best approach.  Not only does networking help you find out if a particular employer is looking for someone with your qualifications, but it greatly increases the chances search firm executives will reach out to you based on recommendations from individuals they have contacted.  For instance, I once landed a Vice President position with Centex Homes after a friend in the same profession was first contacted about the job.  After deciding he wasn’t interested in the position for himself, he suggested the headhunter contact me.  Had I not been networking with my friend, there’s a good chance I may not have even known about the job opening.

Depending on the job posting, recruiters can expect hundreds if not thousands of responses to an online job posting.  So that they won’t have to review every one, online posting systems enable them to more efficiently manage the search for the resumes that best match the opening by utilizing keywords to help sort through the supply.  Depending on the job requirements, for instance, a recruiter for Pepsi may request the system to identify resumes that contain keywords such as “Coke” “Beverage” “Convenience Stores” “Fountain” “Publix” and a host of industry-specific acronyms and terminology.  Resumes that don’t contain a sufficient amount of keywords will likely not even be seen by the recruiter.

People sometimes tell me they are disappointed that they are not getting many job leads from their networking efforts.  In response, I generally ask them how often they keep their network updated on their job search activities.  My point is that once you have created your list of contacts and reached out to them, don’t think that’s all you have to do.  In order to stay fresh in their minds for any potential job opportunities they may hear of, it’s essential you periodically follow up by keeping them in the loop on your progress (e.g., job leads, interviews, etc.).  Otherwise, they could very easily get distracted by their own responsibilities and forget about your job search altogether.  To avoid becoming a nuisance by over-communicating to your contacts, however, I generally recommend you limit your correspondence to every 4 weeks. 

If you have done that and you are still not getting any leads, you should expand your network (which you should already be doing) and consider broadening your search to include jobs where your experience, skills and interests are easily transferable. 

My clients frequently share their frustration when they apply for a job they think they’re perfect for on an internet job board and then they don’t hear anything back (“But I have everything they are looking for!” they tell me).  

When applying for jobs online, it may be helpful to know you are essentially dealing with a numbers game.  What I mean is hundreds, if not thousands, of other candidates may have applied for the same job.  With that kind of response rate, there’s a very good chance that despite your interests, qualifications and experience, there may be 10 or 25 other applicants who are even more qualified than you are.  While that may sound discouraging, people do find jobs on internet job boards so don’t give up on them entirely.  

If the employer is identified in the job posting, this is where networking can come in handy.  In addition to submitting your application online, try finding someone inside the organization who will forward your resume directly to the hiring manager.  As this usually prevents your resume from being electronically screened out, you stand a much greater chance of being considered for the job.  Networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and ZoomInfo are great places to search for insiders in virtually any company.  Another approach is to simply call the employer and ask for the department head for the posted position.  While you may get a “gatekeeper” instead (e.g., receptionist, administrative assistant, etc.), ask them for the name and contact information of the hiring manager and try reaching the person directly either before or after regular working hours when there’s less chance someone else will intercept your call.

I’m often asked by my clients when it’s appropriate to discuss their salary expectations in the interview process.  This can be especially tricky if you are out of work and do not have another job offer to use as leverage.  In particular, many job candidates are afraid of leaving too much money on the table by not asking for enough pay or, conversely, being disqualified because they are asking for too much.   

While the best time to discuss your pay requirements is when you have determined the prospective employer is truly serious about preparing an offer, you may not have that option.  For instance, if you are asked early in the interviewing process what you are expecting to earn, you may want to try to reverse the inquiry by asking, “Would you mind giving me an idea of the range for the position?”  Unless the range is significantly below what you would accept, you should let them know it seems fair given what you know about the job so far.  If the attempt to reverse the question is unsuccessful, offer a range spanning from your bare minimum to what you really hope to get and add, “It really depends on the responsibilities and scope of the position.”  You can get a sense for what represents a competitive range for your job and profession by going to websites such as monster.salary.com, cbsalary.com and payscale.com. 

However, never refuse to provide specific details about your current or previous compensation plan!  Doing so risks coming across as arrogant or combative and it could result in the abrupt end of your candidacy.  I have literally ended interviews on the spot when candidates refused to answer this question.  Why?  I simply wasn’t going to risk wasting my time or others in the organization unless I thought we had a good chance of ultimately making an offer the candidate would accept.