Know Your Buyer

At a start-up firm all of the processes, formalities, etc. simply don’t exist yet, so your sole focus is on finding and convincing clients to pay you something (also, you need the money!).

To do this, you identify the clients’s need, what gets them to act and where to tell them. You also must understand how the same product can be used by different types of clients.

Take the mobile phone: Adults talk. Teens text. Listen to the ads sometime, same device, very different messages about what the mobile phone does for each group.

Take the CFO position: No two companies define the role exactly the same (different boards, CEO, philosophy, etc.). This is true for all positions: Same skill set, just applied differently for each company.
That said most of us miss the opportunity to differentiate ourselves because of the resume submitted.

I used the same resume for every role until I realized that someone else was translating how my accomplishments and experiences would fit their company needs. It just was not happening, so I needed to.

The best person does not always get the job. It’s the person who can best tell their story who gets the job. This is not a parlor trick, but comes from someone taking the time to review the company needs and matching up their experience. This enables them to write and talk in depth about both sides.

GOOD IDEA #1: Create different resumes for different roles.

IMPLEMENTATION ROADBLOCK FOR GOOD IDEA #1: Too many edits. A common risk of continuous rewrites is that new ideas get edited in after application. So your resume loses clarity.

SOLUTION FOR ROADBLOCK FOR GOOD IDEA #1: Write a resume for each role you seek. Start by writing down the company needs each role fulfills. Then write down the duties of the role. Lastly, write down what skills needed to perform those duties.

I have four resumes: Mid-size private (CFO), Family-owned (CFO), Large public firm (Divisional VP) and start-up firm (CFO).

The benefit of having the four versions is that I’ve identified the majority of what’s important to each company. It is much easier to create a version that matches what the company is seeking.

You will get in a situation where you don’t know what the company is seeking, so pick the version you feel best matches.

Good luck this week.

Mark

www.candidateschair.com – Tools and Advice from a Candidate’s viewpoint to help get past job search roadblocks and keep your spirit strong. Please take a visit.

http://TwitJobs.net The Career Community

What I Believe, What I Need to Believe - After Reading Your Resume

As a CFO/Finance executive, I’ve looked at and/or produced a couple hundred business cases. To determine the validity of a business case, I’ve developed a simple system to figure out where to ask more questions. I ask myself “What do I believe and what do I need to believe”.

For example, if our company was expanding an existing product line. I would believe they can do that. If they are going to sell it to an entirely new customer set. I would say I need to believe it. So I would spend trying to determine if we understood the new customers’ needs, if the product fit, etc.

Now take your resume and ask the same questions of believe and need to believe, but from a prospective recruiter, HR, or hiring manager viewpoint (or chair).

Most people who read a resume can figure out by a title and company size if the bullet points generally fit the role a person had. They can establish the ‘what they believe’ based on your resume and knowledge of the industry, profession and role.

Generally, what they ‘need to believe’ are the results claimed (e.g. ‘Saved $5 million annually from ….), because unless they were at the same firm, it is tough to validate. But just imagine the power those statements would have if they were validated.

So whether through your referrals, non-confidential copies of past work, 3rd party references, awards, etc. try to line up as much of what needs to be believed as possible. Actions do speak louder than words, so help prove it!

A quick author aside, I have been tremendously humbled by the success of the Candidates Chair site – with over 20,000 visitors from 75 countries, as it has been fellow candidates sharing with one another that have been a major part of the success. So please know you have my thanks and keeping the sharing.

Good luck this week!

Mark Richards

www.candidateschair.com – Tools and Advice from a Candidate’s viewpoint to help get past job search roadblocks and keep your spirit strong. Please take a visit.


http://TwitJobs.net Share ('’)

Winston Churchill and My Resume – A Lesson in Differentiation

I have run a job transition group since April 2007, in that time I’ve probably read 200 resumes or marketing plans. More often than not the point of differences between these documents is very little. Even across professions, they tend to read the same.

I wondered about my own resume. So I read it. Damn, not much different. It was easy to see the cause of the problem – I read the same blogs, websites, and books as everyone else.

Plan B: I decided to find a new source of inspiration that could help me think differently in how I described myself and my experience. To use language that would interest the reader. So after browsing in the book store, I bought a book of speeches by Winston Churchill. (So I guess it was Plan C).

Besides being a fascinating read, Mr. Churchill’s speeches took my resume in a new direction. I kept all of the required points of interest for a potential employer, but how I put it together was completely different from before. It was fun re-writing my resume, which I know is a bit like saying it’s fun getting dental work, but it’s true.

For my own blog, I found loads of inspiration from the writing style of author Jeffrey Fox and Guy Kawasaki’s, which write to the point and tongue in cheek, respectively. So look around and find what inspires you – and then set yourself apart.

Good luck today!

Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com

Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268

http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life

Using TwitJobs to Improve Your Resume

One of the beauties of TwitJobs is the volume of positions to review. Use the numerous postings of interest to help improve your resume. Here are a few items to look for to see how you present them in your resume:

What is the presentation order of expected duties: Usually the most important duties are first on the list. If you see several postings with similar order of duties, then your resume should present your experiences in the same order.

What duties cannot be learned on the job: These are ‘must have’ items and will likely be part of a keyword search of a resume as the company knows the candidate needs that experience. Be sure you present those skills where experience matters the most.

Commonly used phrases/terms: Make your resume easiest to read, by using terms that companies will recognize and have assigned a meaning internally. I know this may sound a bit like a parlor trick, but it’s simply using a firm’s own language.

Cultural expectations: Look for the words used to describe the environment – some of the terms may be throw-away (‘progressive’, ‘forward-looking’, etc.) – but others may reveal insight of the culture. If you are changing industries, these cultural elements may be important to highlight within your experience.

Again take advantage of the volume of the job postings to look for common information – then see how your resume reflects that information.

Good luck today!

Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking


http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life