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References for Your Job Search

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The following rules are important when considering references for your job search:

  1. Always ask a person for permission before you use them as a reference. You want to be sure the person you ask is not surprised by a call and that they are willing to give you a positive report. According to a survey by Accountemps, 34% of job candidates are removed from consideration for a job after their references are checked.
  2. Do not list your references (or “references by request”) on your resume. You want to shield your references from being bothered by every potential employer—they should receive a call only from employers who consider you a strong candidate.
  3. If a former or current boss is not a good reference for you, look for options: a different manager or supervisor in the company who is familiar with your work; a coworker; a vendor or customer with whom you worked closely; or someone who provided a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile. If you made a significant contribution as a volunteer in a nonprofit, you should be able to find someone there willing to act as a reference for your job search.
  4. Hiring managers and recruiters might ask your references about your strengths and weaknesses (38% of managers according to the Accountemps survey), so make sure your resume is accurate and that your references have a copy to refer to. You do not want to be caught in a lie or put your references in an awkward position at this stage of the process.
  5. Your resume can be used to provide “recommendations” in two ways. First, you can include information gathered from your reviews at work. For example, a reviewer might score you particularly high on collaboration with colleagues, a fact you can add to your resume. Second, you should list relevant awards, speaking engagements, and publications which show that you are respected by your peers and industry.

If you are concerned about any aspect of gathering and using references for your job search, please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help.

When Verbs Lead Your Resume Astray

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Verbs are a very important part of a resume.

Interesting, strong verbs emphasize your accomplishments: manage a team of 10 professionals; drive revenue; created new procedures; ranked #2 out of 150 sales reps. Weak verbs (is responsible for, was engaged in the process of) weaken your accomplishments and generally take up valuable space. See the difference here:

Responsible for the reorganization of two departments.

Reorganized two departments.

Past and present verb tense can easily become a problem. The only place for the present tense is in the job you hold now (“mentor three team members”). Descriptions for all previous jobs must be in the past tense (“mentored three team members”). So when you update your resume with a new job, move all descriptions of old jobs into the past tense. One verb that always causes problems is “lead.” The past tense of “lead” is “led.”

The future tense almost never appears on a resume, although you can address the future (for example, “on track to reach $3M in new revenue”). Just make sure that references to the future are still relevant. For example, if you were on track to reach new revenue three jobs ago, that goal was either met or not met—it is no longer in the future.

Verbs in complex sentences can also cause problems. For examples, “reduced customer complaints, number of returns, and satisfaction scores.” Right now, the sentence states that you reduced satisfaction scores. It should read, “reduced customer complaints and number of returns and raised satisfaction scores.”

Verb and noun forms of the same word are often spelled differently. For example, the noun is “startup,” but the verb is “start up.” So you start up a startup company. You also counsel a council and give advice when you advise them.

Many verbs sound similar to other words that have quite different meanings. The classic examples are compliment and complement, affect and effect, lead (the mineral) and led. Make sure you are using the right verb.

Robin’s Resumes® has decades of experience in making sure that every detail of your resume—including the verbs—is grammatically and factually correct and delivers a strong message.  Contact us today.

Resume Q&A: How Do I Handle Many Short-Term Jobs?

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Q. I have bounced around a lot from job to job during my career, and now I am looking again. Part of the problem is that I get bored easily, sometimes I got laid off, but also I am in a career where people just do not stay long at any one company. How do I write my resume so that I do not come off as a flake or someone who gets fired from one company after another?

A. Four ways are available to you to turn your short-term jobs into an asset rather than a drawback.

First, if short-term jobs are common in your field, then you truly do not have a problem. In fact, you might have a problem if you did not move from job to job. Being laid off is not an issue, especially if you were able to find another job in your field fairly quickly, demonstrating your value.

Second, your job changes may have given you experience in industries and positions that other job applicants might not have. You may also have developed contacts, learned software programs, or acquired other knowledge and skills that your next employer would appreciate. Review your resume from that perspective: what have you gained during your frequent job changes and how would that benefit the next company you work for?

Third, if your job changes are the result of a career in consulting, consider grouping them under a “Consulting” headline that spans a greater period of time. That way, each company represents a new client, not a change in career.

Finally, if you are so bored with every job that you cannot wait to leave it, consider career coaching. You may have a lot of transferable skills now that can carry you into a career path that you will truly enjoy.

For help in making an asset of your short-term jobs or transitioning your career, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Resumes for Sales Reps

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In some ways, sales representatives have an easier job quantifying their skills than many people in other positions. If you come in at or over sales goals; if you bring in hundreds or thousands of dollars of new business; if you have a high closing rate, you are already well on the way to convincing a company to hire you in a sales position.

If your measurable skills are confidential, give percentages or ranges (for example, “reached 130% over sales goal by closing a multimillion-dollar deal”).  You should be sure to mention any awards you have received. Awards testify to your ability without requiring specific numbers.

You may be expected to have familiarity with a particular product or service (for example, new or legacy software, pharmaceuticals, or financial packages) or familiarity with a territory, industry, and specific type of client. You may need skill in certain software programs such as Salesforce.com.

But good numbers and experience in preferred areas are not the only accomplishments that recruiters and hiring managers expect in a stellar sales representative. They are also interested in soft skills such as:

  • Your ability to communicate the customers
  • The depth and speed of your understanding of products and services
  • Your ability to adapt to the company culture
  • Your networking and pipeline development skills
  • Your ability to work with a team (remember: if your successes occurred as part of a team, they are still your successes)
  • Your negotiation and closing skills.

For sales reps, these soft skills—especially the ability to connect with current and potential customers—are just as important as measurable skills. Sales reps need to be good representatives of the company’s products, services, and culture at every interaction.

As always, customize your resume for the position you want by carefully reading job postings and advertisements for the keywords and key accomplishments that should find a place in your resume. That way your resume covers both the measurable skills and the soft skills that companies are demanding.

I have written resumes for sales representatives in many fields, including technology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and finance/insurance. Please contact me if you need help positioning yourself as the sales rep that any company would be happy to hire.

Resume Advice 101 for College Graduates

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Most college graduates have already begun to send out resumes, and a few may even have job offers pending. If your resume is not drawing in interviews and seems to have vanished into a deep well, here are a few strategies for re-energizing your job search.

  1. Get a second opinion. Do you know anyone in the field you are trying to enter? Ask if they would take a look at your resume. Often, college graduates send out a resume that is suitable for handing to companies who visit the campus but is not suitable for responding to job postings. Or the resume will overlook information vital to the industry and position the college graduate is interested in. If you do not have a knowledgeable source willing to review your resume, consider hiring Robin’s Resumes®. I have resume writing experience in many fields in many industries: I know what hiring managers and recruiters—and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)—are looking for.
  2. Read, read, read. First, read your resume to make sure it is consistent and correct in format, grammar, and spelling. Never rely solely on online spell checkers and grammar checkers. Spell checkers will overlook words that are spelled correctly but are still wrong (for example, manger instead of manager or fiancé instead of finance), and grammar checkers will always lead you astray. Second, read job postings carefully to make sure your resume includes the key (and truthful) skills, experience, and accomplishments that employers are asking for. Again, if you are not confident about your grammar, spelling, formatting, or resume strategy, consider talking to me at Robin’s Resumes®.
  3. Focus your search. Determine what you really want to do. Applying for everything — and taking the first job offered, without consideration may not be the right path for you. If you first determine what you want to do, and then write a resume that highlights those skills for an employer, you are most likely to find the job you want. Even though it may seem that writing a “general” resume would offer the most opportunities to you, I have found the folks who focus land jobs they want faster. Companies and people tend to hire folks they know want the job they are offering. If you need help in determining your career field, consider hiring Robin’s Resumes® for your career coaching needs.
  4. Investigate other ways to apply. If you rely on your resume alone, you are overlooking networking, social media, and personal contacts as sources for information on jobs and ways to promote yourself. Based on numerous studies, you can increase your chances to get a job at least 80% if you network to it first. If you need advice on how to jump-start your search, I can help.
  5. Take a different path. Sometimes you simply do not have the education, skills, and experience that employees want. You can rectify that by taking courses; volunteering for positions at nonprofits that will hone your skills; and accumulating experience that is transferrable to the field or industry that truly interests you. Your rise to the top of the resume pile may be slower, but it will happen.

Robin’s Resumes® is dedicated to helping college graduates survive and thrive in the marketplace. Let me know how I can help you.

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