A Very Odd Duck

This article was originally published on the author's LinkedIn profile

Today, I wanted to share something that seldom happens to me. I got a resume that contained a couple of crazy screw-ups that I have never seen before.

In the last few weeks I have been working to fill several roles in my current project team. That means I have, once again, been looking at lots of resumes, doing some phone interviews, and doing even fewer face-to-face interviews (most of those using video conferencing software).

In case you aren't aware of my background, you should understand that I have literally seen thousands of resumes. So, when I tell you that this is a first for me, you will hopefully understand how startling that really is.

Any decent interviewing coach will tell you, never trash-talk a former employer. When you say bad things about a former employer, the prospective employer immediately is put on guard, wondering what you will say about them when you move on to your next position.

Still, sometimes a job candidate will screw up, letting the mouth get ahead of the brain, and say negative things about a former employer.

However, I have never heard of a job seeker putting negative things about a former employer in their resume, until today. 

I started reading this poorly formatted resume (I could waste a whole column on the bad formatting in this resume), wading through it diligently until I hit this phrase, "... groups had open turf wars...". This was followed by another loaded phrase, "... continue without ruining the testing of others...". This last part was embedded in the candidate's accomplishments. I also found the word "harmony" in the situational objectives mentioned in the resume.

For just one former employer, this candidate effectively delivered a message that the company had a dysfunctional team that had to bring in this candidate to get everyone to behave like adults working for a common enterprise. The assertion begs the question, now that the candidate is moving on, will the inner-bad-children come out once more and cause the dysfunctional behavior to flourish again?
If you aren't getting my point on this, consider what I am saying from another perspective.

What would happen to you if you wrote on your FaceBook or LinkedIn page that your current employer had a dysfunctional environment where turf wars were raging? If you don't know what would happen, let me help you out. As soon as your employer found out about your post, they would be very likely to fire you.

Some will ask, "why would they fire me if it is a known fact within the company?" The answer is simple. Loyalty. You don't air the family dirty-laundry in public.

I know that loyalty has a bit of a bad name right now. And for those who are looking for a job, the word may make you uneasy. But loyalty is as indispensable today as it ever has been, even if its limits are more constrained now than ever before.

In the past, loyalty was a two-way street. Employees gave their best to their employer and employers offered decent pay and benefits that may even include a job for life.

Now, it's more of a one way street, or at least a much shorter two-way street than it used to be. Today, employees give their best to their employer while they keep looking for the employer and job that they really want, and employers offer what benefits they feel they must to attract employees, while they stand ready to cut benefits and jobs at a moment's notice if it will boost their quarterly returns and keep the shareholders happy.

Still, there is a dimension to loyalty that persists and is a two-way street. You don't want your former employer to share all your warts with anyone who will listen, and your employer doesn't want you to share their warts with others.

We all know that in private conversations, once trust has been established, warts will get shared. But, we don't expect to see them appear in writing.

When this candidate tried to highlight his wart-removal skills, what he actually did was manage to point out the warts of his former employer, and betray their trust. If he had done this in the confidential setting of a job interview, it might have been forgivable. This wart was outed in writing in a resume that could be read by anyone, forwarded to anyone, and possibly seen by thousands.
If this resume is posted on a site like Monster.com, the candidate is at risk of being sued for libel by the former employer.

In comparison with the total faux pas of outing an employer's warts, the second never-before-seen feature of this candidate's resume pales to almost insignificance. Before this resume, I have never seen a candidate insert in their resume a "personal challenge." 

Right along with all the experience and accomplishments, the candidate posted a phrase, "Personal Challenge", and then proceeded to list the challenge that this employment opportunity presented to the candidate. It was presented as a question, such as, "Can I ...?"

Do you see the insanity of questioning your abilities in the text of your own resume or job interview? Instead of presenting an image of accomplishment in the resume, this personal challenge inserts a question of the candidate's abilities.

When a prospective employer reads your resume, they always ask themselves, "can the candidate really deliver this kind of performance for me and my company?" It is a sure way to kill your job prospects for you to question your own abilities in your resume.

This job seeker showed he is disloyal and questions his own abilities. Why would anyone want to hire a duplicitous incompetent?

Remember, your resume gets the first interview. If it doesn't interview well, you won't get a chance to speak for yourself.

This candidate never even got an interview because his resume didn't interview well. 

(C) Copyright 2016 Thomas K Sheppard and A+ Results LLC.

Tom Sheppard is the author of several self-help books for job seekers. His bookTips for Effective Resumes is available as an ebook through Amazon. His bookTips for Effective Interviews is in its second edition and is now available in paperback as well as ebook formats. You can learn more about his help for job seekers at his blog www.ResumesByTom.com and from his Amazon Author Page.

Why NOW! is the Best Time To Look for a Job!

I have some goods news for you and some bad news for you.

The good news is that right now, unemployment is the lowest it has been in 10 years.  And, that means it is a great time to get a better job - one with better pay or perks, or both.

     In a recent article in MSN Money, Caroline Baum asks, "Have Businesses Really Run Out of People to Hire?"  And Rich Miller of Bloomberg News notes that "It's becoming harder and harder to attract people to do those entry level jobs..."

      The Labor Department reported on June 8 that job openings rose to 5.8 million in April from 5.7 million in March. That tied last July’s results as the highest since records began in 2000. Hires, meanwhile, fell to 5.1 million, from 5.3 million.

      To put this very simply, it means you have 5.1 million people hired out of 5.8 million job openings.  And, although 700,000 job openings isn't huge when you spread it all over the country, it still portends a problem for businesses. 

      The bad news is that right now, unemployment is low, and that means that there are other folks out there looking to get a better job.  They are competing with you to get the attention of hiring managers so they can get interviewed and to get job offers.

      Now, you may look at all that I just said, and reply, "So how is now different than any other time I have been looking for a job?"

      That is an excellent question.  And I have some very good answers.

      First, because unemployment is low, it means that there are more jobs than job seekers.  Although this may not be true in a specific industry, it is a reality of the broader market.

Getting a job is the first step toward getting the job you want.

      Having unfilled jobs tends to make hiring managers cranky, and sometimes a bit desperate.  One of them might take a chance on you even if you're not the ideal candidate for their job.  This means you should feel more confident about applying for jobs where your qualifications may be a bit marginal.  Be bold and swing for the fences.

Taking a less than ideal job can be the best thing to do for your career.

      Just because you take a job that isn't really the one you want, it doesn't lock you into that for the rest of your life (or even for a year).  If you are currently unemployed, or underemployed, don't be afraid to take a job while you are looking for the job you want. 

      When your ideal employer asks about your current employment situation (which may not even be on your resume), tell them (the truth), "I have temporary employment while I am looking for the sort of role where I can make a greater contribution."

      If the job you take while looking for the job you want relates to your chosen field, then, by all means, put it on your resume and explain to your prospective employer that you are "exploring areas related to your main area of expertise so that you can broaden your knowledge and experience base in your field."

      If the current job in no way relates to the job you want, then don't worry about putting it on your resume, although it will end up on any job application you fill out.

Not having a job makes it harder to get a job.

      When a hiring manager interviews you and finds out that you are unemployed, especially in a candidate-scarce job market, the first thing they ask themselves is, "if no one else wants this guy/gal, why should I?"  The second thing they ask themselves is, "what is wrong with this candidate if they cannot get a job right now when candidates are scarce and jobs are plenty?"

      Neither of those are questions you want them asking themselves or anyone else.

      So, broaden your definition of an acceptable job and take one. Ideally, the job you take will relate to your chosen field.  If not, don't despair.

      Regardless of whether the job you take is unrelated or related to the job you want, being employed lets a prospective employer know that you are employable.  That way, they don't ask themselves those two pesky questions I mentioned above.

      Also, because you already have a job, they assume you aren't desperate.  Meaning they cannot safely give you a "take it or leave it" job offer.  Because, since you aren't desperate, you can "leave it" and they will still have an unfilled role and the lower productivity that goes along with that.

      Instead, they want to know what will it take to lure you away from your current position.

      The lack of desperation on your part gives you more leverage to negotiate.  Ask for everything you want, full-time work, benefits, pay, etc.  The worst that will happen is they will say "No" and drop you as a candidate.  In which case you are no worse off than when you came in the door.  The best that will happen is they will give you all or part of what you ask.  And that will leave you much better off than when you walked in their door.

      PS: If you need help on your resume or job search, drop a line to me at Info@ResumesByTom.com.  I will be happy to help you.  The first consultation is free.

      Tom Sheppard has helped hundreds of people to get and keep the job they want.  If you would like personal help from Tom in your job search needs go to http://www.resumesbytom.com/p/products-and-services.html

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(C) copyright 2016 A+ Results, LLC. All rights reserved.