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Cultural Fit: What Does It Mean for Your Resume

The words “cultural fit” have had a checkered past, sometimes being used to bar groups of people (women, minorities, anyone not Ivy League educated, anyone of a certain age). At its best, cultural fit refers to a company’s values and the way a job applicant matches up with those values. In fact, a JobVite survey found that 60% of recruiters look for cultural fit on a resume, right after experience.

How can you figure out the culture of a company? Look for the words a company uses, especially the adjectives, to describe itself. Often, those words will appear on the website in a mission or values statement. Sometimes job descriptions will include words like “transparency” or “customer-centric.” Articles in the company newsletter or profiles on LinkedIn may reveal what the company finds valuable in long-term employees and managers. Sometimes company photos posted on social media will offer the biggest clue to the culture.

What can you do to make yourself a better cultural fit? When you finish reading about the company, you should know if you are a cultural fit in the best sense—you volunteer in the community, and the company believes in volunteering; you like to work independently, and the company values independence; you want  continuing education, and the company has a strong training program. Make sure that any of your own social media posts and photographs put you in a positive light.

How can you write your resume for cultural fit? Try to use the company’s cultural keywords, like volunteer, lifetime learner, creative thinker, and so on, appropriately—and honestly—in your resume. Search in your career for examples that illustrate those qualities: when you volunteered for a community project or met with community leaders, when you explored a new country or got certification in a new subject, or when you innovated or recommended a change—whatever that quality is.

How do you know when you’ve found a cultural fit? You will want to look for companies that come close to having the same values that you do. However, what you discover during your job search and interview may be more revealing than anything the company writes about itself. If you are told you are a candidate and then are ignored for weeks, that says something about the company culture. If you go for the interview and everyone you meet is friendly and outgoing, that says something about the company culture.

Cultural fit is an elusive quality, but it may make the difference between loving and hating a job. It is worth taking a look at your resume to see if it projects cultural values that you hold dear, whether that’s cooperation or independence, a fun atmosphere or a clear organizational structure, a commitment to meeting quotas or a commitment to giving back.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we try to make every word in a resume count. Let us help you figure out your cultural fit.

Resumes for Jobs with Flexible Hours

As we wind down from the Independence Day weekend, let’s celebrate freedom of choice! Recent surveys have found that 80% of U.S. workers would turn down a job that does not offer flexibility with hours and location of work.

Choosing a Job and Career with Flexibility

If you want a job with flexible hours and/or location, the best way to start is by choosing a career and industry where flexibility is the norm. Jobs in that category include freelance and consulting jobs, jobs in the trades (plumber, electrician), many medical jobs (psychologist, private speech pathologist), and personal services (personal trainer, massage therapist, interior decorator, and photographer).

The second best way of obtaining flexibility is by staying in your current position long enough to gain credibility. If your company has a flexible hours/location policy—or would be open to creating one—you can ask your manager for permission to try that arrangement.

In any case, avoid applying for jobs where the job posting clearly state that you are expected to work the hours listed at the location listed. Trust the job posting; it means what it says.

Writing a Resume That Emphasizes Flexibility

If you are already working in flexible jobs, either through a temporary staffing agency, independent contracts, or simply a penchant for moving on, here are ways to strengthen your resume for the next job:

  • On your resume, use a heading like “On-Call Secretary” or “Software Consultant,” then list your premier projects and clients under that title, to avoid confusion over multiple engagements that might overlap.
  • Provide details about your accomplishments so that hiring managers and recruiters can trust that you will bring value (not just a breathing body) to their business.
  • Make sure your accomplishments show your reliability and commitment to deadlines, quotas, and other metrics that the company expects you to meet regardless of your schedule or location.
  • Are you prone to working for a while, then taking time off? That can be a benefit if you use your time off to acquire skills, knowledge of the world, or connections. But never lie.
  • State in your resume or cover letter—wherever it makes the most sense—that you are willing to travel if flexibility of location is a big plus for you.
  • Make sure you define what “flexible” means to you and to the company during your job interview. For example, some companies define it as “no overtime” and others as “set your own hours as long as you meet deadlines/quotas.”

If you are struggling to put together a resume that lands you a position with flexible hours and location, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. We can help.

References for Your Job Search

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

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?

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.

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