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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Master the art of resume writing and boost your chances ofgetting hired With unemployment rates still running high, getting an edge upon the competition in your field--whatever it may be--canbe an intimidating and exhausting undertaking. Luckily, ResumesFor Dummies is here to serve as your life raft as you navigatethe murky waters of a modern-day job search. Inside, you'll findexpert guidance on writing a winning resume that will set you headand shoulders above the crowd to land that elusive interview andget the job of your dreams. There's nothing easy and breezy about looking for a newjob--whether you currently have one or not. But rather thansuccumbing to the panic that might convince you to hide under thecovers, Resumes For Dummies arms you with the confidence youneed to write a resume that will have prospective employersknocking your at your door. * Includes tips on avoiding common resume-writing mistakes * Provides updates on the latest changes in the job market thatyou'll need to take into account when writing a resume * Outlines how to approach a lay-off in a professional light * Covers how to confront privacy and reputation issues in onlinesocial job search Whether you're a recent graduate, second-timer looking for yournext job, prime-timer who hasn't job-searched in decades, or theunfortunate victim of a lay-off, Resumes For Dummies takesthe fear out of putting your skills on paper and sets you on thepath to getting your foot in the door--and landing the job ofyour dreams.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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Resumes For Dummies®, 7th Edition
Published by:John Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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ISBN 978-1-118-98260-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-98262-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-98261-7 (ebk)
Resumes For Dummies®
Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/resumes to view this book's cheat sheet.
Table of Contents
Cover
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Getting Started with Resumes
Chapter 1: Seeing How the Digital Age Is Changing the Job Chase
Resumes Are Here to Stay
Keeping Up with Resume Times
Technologies Facilitate Job Search
Chapter 2: Finding Your Next Job in the Wide World of Social Media
The Sweeping Reach of Social Networking
Eyeing the Big Three of Social Networking Job Search
Making Sure Online Profiles Capture Your Best Side
Put Your Best Face Forward
Chapter 3: Going Mobile: Resumes on Smartphones and Tablets
Earning New Rewards with Mobile Search
Knowing When to Stick to Home Computer Searches
Powering a Mobile Search
Avoiding Mobile Job Search Mistakes
Chapter 4: Familiar Search Tools That Haven’t Gone Away
Plain-Text Resumes Still on the Scene
Creating an ATS-Friendly Resume
E-Forms: Fill in the Blankety-Blanks
Online Screening Guards the Employment Door
Blogs Give a Global Brand
RSS Delivers Job Alerts on Your Time
Resume Blasting: A Really Bad Idea
Chapter 5: Do Due Diligence, Ditch Digital Dirt
Online Life Is an Open Book
Why Clean Up Your Act
Restore Your Online Reputation
Keep Watch on Your Online Reputation
Look Who’s Talking … About You
Part II: Pulling Together Your Winning Resume
Chapter 6: Selecting Your Best Resume Format
Resume Formats Make a Difference
Reverse Chronological Format
Chrono-Functional Format
Hybrid Format
Other Resume Presentations
Chapter 7: The Pieces and Parts of Your Resume
Breaking Down the Parts of Your Resume
Leading with Contact Information
Placing Your Job Target in the Objective Header
Grabbing the Reader with the Summary Section
Matching the Job Target with Key Skills
The Proof Is in the Experience
Education Makes the Grade
Gaining Extra Points
Shaping Your Content on Application Forms
Notable Content to Leave Off Your Resume
Chapter 8: Getting the Details Down and Making Them Shine
Getting Started by Gathering Data
Compiling the Content for the Basis of Your Resume
Rinse and Repeat
Your Core Resume: Turning Your Data into Dynamite
Polishing Your Core Resume to Hand Out in Person
Chapter 9: Get On Target With Your Resume!
Is Targeting Your Resume Really Necessary?
Why One-Size-Fits-All Never Works
Taking a Custom Approach
Part III: Resume Strategies That Wow ’em Every Time
Chapter 10: Wow Words Work Wonders
Wow Words Can Bring Good News
Keywords Are Recruiters’ Key to Finding You
Where to Find Keywords
How to Use Keywords
Get a Grip on Grammar
A Few Words about Spelling
Chapter 11: Refine Your Design for Great Looks
Leaving Space
Employing Basic Design Elements to Make Your Resume Readable
Tips for Printed Resumes
Chapter 12: Resumes for Life’s Changing Phases
Scoring Big with Your First Gig
Moving Beyond “Too Old” to “In Demand”
Moving from Military Work to Civilian Employment
Chapter 13: Overcoming Career Road Blocks with Your Resume
Navigating Job Gaps
Returning to the Workforce after Being a Caregiver
Job Seekers with Disabilities
When Substance Abuse Is the Problem
Ex-Offenders and the Resume
Addressing the Experience Dilemmas
Addressing Situations That You Had No Control Over
Handling Circumstances that Raise a Red Flag to a Potential Employer
Part IV: Bringing It All Together: Sample Resumes
Chapter 14: A Sampling of OnTarget Resumes by Industry and Career Field
Chapter 15: A Sampling of OnTarget Resumes by Experience Level and Age
Chapter 16: A Sampling of OnTarget Resumes for Special Circumstances
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Improve Your Resume
Match Your Resume to the Job
Use Bulleted Style for Easy Reading
Discover Art of Lost Articles
Sell, Don’t Tell
Show Off Your Assets
Make Sure Your Words Play Well Together
Reach Out with Strength
Trash a Wimpy Objective
Deliver the Right Document
Erase the “Leave-Outs”
Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Up Your Odds of Landing the Job
Sending Your Resume in the Right Tech Form
Forget Chasing Every Job
Hit the Bull’s-Eye with Your Resume
Move Fast, Follow Guidelines
Neutralize Chilling Information
Go Directly to the Decider
Find an Inside Advocate
Keep on Keepin’ On
Go Directly to Company Websites
Use Job Boards with Caution
Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Choosing Professional Resume Help
Choose a Resume Writing Service, Not a Clerical Service
Zero in on Certified Professionals
Request a Free Initial Consultation
Evaluate the Writer’s Resume Samples
Ask for References
Watch Out for Overuse of Forms
Identify Generalists and Specialists
Look for a Fair Price
Take Aim
Know That a Cheap Resume Is No Bargain
Chapter 20: Your Ten-Point Resume Checklist
Making a Match
Image and Focus
Format and Style
Accomplishments and Skills
Language and Expressions
Content and Omissions
Length and Common Sense
Social Media and Other New Things
Sticky Points and Sugarcoating
Proofreading and More Proofreading
Resume Power in the Brave New World of Job Chasing
Appendix: Directory of Resume Writers
About the Author
Cheat Sheet
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
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Introduction
In our think-fast, technology-driven world of 24/7 communication, everything is changing virtually overnight — the same goes for resume writing. The seventh edition of Resumes For Dummies includes extensive updated information on the newest trends and changes. Get ready for an innovative ride as I take you through fresh digital ideas — from social networking profiles to resume-capable mobile devices — and new techniques. I’ve presented a fresh but still user-friendly approach to making sure your resume stands up out of a virtual stack of applicants and screams, “Read me!”
Much of what worked before in resume writing still applies. But what you found in the sixth edition is no longer enough. Just as you have to keep up with the changes in your professional field, you have to keep up with changes in presenting yourself in writing, and this book helps you do exactly that.
Ready to win that interview for your dream job? Okay, let’s go! Update your resume, catch up with a wave of new stuff, and find the job you want.
About This Book
Resumes For Dummies, 7th Edition, is a playbook showing you how to write powerful and targeted resumes and how to use them with important new ideas and strategies in your search for a good job. The first five chapters spotlight the latest resume technology and innovations; the remainder of the book covers timeless resume success factors and includes samples of winning resumes.
I hope you spend some time studying the sample resumes in the book, and maybe even model your own resume on one of the dozens I’ve included. Please note that I’ve substituted a reminder to add the relevant dates in your resume with the word dates instead of actual years to keep your attention focused on key resume concepts.
You may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.
Foolish Assumptions
I assume you picked up this book for one of the following reasons:
You’ve never written a resume and want an expert, yet friendly, hand on your shoulder.
You have written a resume — it got you where you are today — and you want to do better next time.
You like where you are today but want more from life than blooming where you’re planted. To move to the next level, your experience tells you that it’s time for a resume makeover.
You need a new resume for that great job you heard about but worry that too many competitors will submit virtually the same cookie-cutter document pirated from somewhere. To stop looking like a human photocopy machine, you want to understand resume writing from the ground up.
You’ve heard about sweeping technology-based changes in the way people and jobs find each other. A realist, you know that technology can’t be uninvented. You want to be sure your resume is in sync with the latest updates.
I further assume that you are someone who likes information that cuts to the chase, sometimes with a smile. You find all that and more in the following pages.
Icons Used in This Book
For Dummies signature icons are the little round pictures you see in the margins of the book. I use them to guide your attention to key bits of information. Here’s a list of the icons and what they mean.
Some points in these pages are so useful that I hope you keep them in mind as you read. I make a big deal out of these ideas with this icon.
Advice and information that can spark a difference in the outcome of your resume-led job search are flagged with this icon.
You don’t want to go wrong when presenting yourself and your achievements on paper. This icon signals there may be trouble ahead if you don’t make a good decision.
Beyond the Book
In addition to all the great info you can find in the book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/resumes for details on how to make your resume the best it can be, how to protect your personal information, and what to leave off of your resume.
You can also go online for more information about resume-related aspects of your job search. At www.dummies.com/extras/resumes, you can read about following up with an employer after submitting your resume, applying for a federal job, putting together a curriculum vitae, and finding folks to serve as references.
Where to Go from Here
Most For Dummies books are set up so you can flip to the section of the book that meets your present needs. You can do that in this book, too. I tell you where to find the information you might need when I refer to a concept, and I define terms as they arise to enable you to feel at home no matter where you open the book.
But this book breaks new ground in resume creation and distribution. To get ahead and stay ahead, start by reading Chapters 1 through 5. In this era of tweeting and texting, they help you say hello to new ideas that offer more reach for your time investment.
Part I
Getting Started with Resumes
Visit www.dummies.com for free access to great Dummies content online.
In this part …
Find out why resumes remain relevant and get an overview of how technology plays a role in your job search.
Mine the wide world of social media for job leads, networking opportunities, and self-marketing.
Discover the ins and outs of using smartphones and tablets in your job search.
Check out how employers gather information from your resume and see how formatting can affect this process.
Understand why it’s so important to be aware of your online reputation and know how to keep it in top-notch condition.
Chapter 1
Seeing How the Digital Age Is Changing the Job Chase
In This Chapter
Growing your career with truly terrific resumes
Blending human know-how with new technology
Staying on the leading edge in job search
Are resumes outdated? Every few years an employment expert excitedly announces a “new discovery” — that resumes are old hat and unnecessary. The expert advises job seekers to forgo resumes and talk their way into an interview. This advice rarely works in real life. Very few people are eloquent enough to carry the entire weight of an employment marketing presentation without a resume.
One resume strategy depends not on oratorical talent but on technology. In some situations, recruiting professionals encourage employers who’ve grown weary of hiking over mountains of resumes to do away with them, replacing resumes with rigid application forms on the web — complete with screening questions and tests — to decide who gets offered a job interview.
Another scenario — also technology dependent — reflects the view that online profiles on social networking sites are pinch hitting for resumes as self-marketing documents. As I point out in Chapter 2, online profiles are equivalent to generic resumes. Because prospective employers are likely to hunt down your LinkedIn profile, the ideal strategy is to make it as targeted as possible to your current job target.
This book combines the details of how to create marvelous resumes and also puts a microscope on various technological delivery options in the digital age. This chapter previews what’s ahead in this comprehensive guide to resumes and how to use resumes and other career marketing communications to reach your goal in the great job chase.
Resumes Are Here to Stay
At some point in a hunt for better employment, everyone needs effective career marketing communications. That is, everyone needs a resume — or something very much like a resume — that tells the employer why
You’re an excellent match for a specific job.
The value you bring matters.
Your skills are essential to the bottom line.
You’re worth the money you hope to earn.
You’re qualified to solve the employer’s problems.
Your accomplishment claims can be believed.
Resumes that deliver on these decision points remain at the heart of the job search ecosystem.
Keeping Up with Resume Times
The ongoing need for terrific resumes doesn’t mean the job chase is frozen in time. Far from it. In this digital age — when 90 percent of young people (ages 18–34) are checking their social media updates when they first wake up, even before they go to the bathroom or brush their teeth — every job seeker needs to embrace the entire package of tools and strategies for getting a new job. The package contains new and traditional components:
Digital tools that are rapidly altering the nature of how jobs are found and filled in America and across the globe.
Timeless know-how and savvy developed by the best employment giants over decades.
Don’t think the digital age is just for the young. In fact, the number of people in the 55- to 64-year-old age bracket using social media has grown by 79 percent in the past few years with sites such as Twitter. Further, the 45–54 age group is currently the fastest growing demographic user of sites such as Facebook.
New technological ideas standing on the shoulders of historically proven smarts are a winning combination. Technology changes in a decade; human nature doesn’t.
Reset your concept of what you must know about resumes in the job chase. Writing great resumes is no longer enough. You must know how to distribute those resumes to people who can hire you, or at least can move you along in the process.
The targeted resume rules
Job seekers, brace yourselves: Navigating the job market is getting ever trickier and requires considerably more effort than the last time you baited your resume hook — even a short five years ago. The generic resume, which I refer to as a Core resume throughout this book, is at the top of the list of job search tools on the way out. (Read all about it in Chapter 8.)
You probably have an all-purpose resume lying around in a desk drawer somewhere. What legions of job seekers everywhere like about the all-purpose resume is that it casts a wide net to snag the attention of many employers — and it saves time for those of us who are too busy getting through the day to keep writing different resumes for different jobs. I appreciate that. But your one-size-fits-all work of art is obsolete, and it’s getting lost in more and more recruiting black holes.
The Core resume has been replaced by the targeted resume (which I refer to in this book as OnTarget), a customized resume tailor-made for a specific employment opportunity.
An OnTarget resume is a valuable marketing tool to convince the reader your work can benefit a specific employer and that you should make the cut of candidates invited in for a closer look. An OnTarget resume
Addresses a given opportunity, showing clearly how your qualifications are a close match to a job’s requirements.
Uses powerful words to persuade and clean design to attract interest.
Plays up strengths and downplays any factor that undermines your bid for an interview.
Of friends and resumes
“The number one way to use your OnTarget resume is to find a friend to walk it into the hiring manager’s office or recruiter’s office with the friend’s stamp of approval,” advises Mark Mehler, cofounder and principal of CareerXroads and a long-time Internet job-hunting expert. He says his firm’s annual survey of how people get hired at major corporations shows that one out of three openings is filled this way.
Unfit resumes are zapped
The word got out, slowly at first. And then — whoosh! — millions of job seekers found out how easy it is to instantly put an online resume in the hands of employers across town as well as across the country.
Post and pray became the job seeker’s mantra as everyone figured out how to manipulate online resumes and upload them into the online world with the click of a mouse.
Resume overload began in the first phase of the World Wide Web, a time frame of about 1994 to 2005. It became exponentially larger and more frustrating as commercial resume-blasting services appeared on the scene. Almost overnight, it seemed, anyone willing to pay the price could splatter resume confetti everywhere an online address could be found.
The consequences of resume spamming for employers were staggering: Despite their use of the era’s best recruiting selection software, employers were overrun with unsolicited, disorganized generic resumes containing everything but the kitchen sink.
And what about the job seekers who sent all those generic, unstructured resumes? They were left to wonder in disappointment why they never heard a peep from the recipient employer.
The answer’s in the numbers: A job advertised online by a major company creates a feeding frenzy of many thousands of resumes. Employment databases are hammered with such mismatches as sales clerks and sports trainers applying for jobs as scientists and senior managers, and vice versa.
Even when you use your OnTarget resume to apply to opportunities you find posted online, don’t hold your breath. Popular job boards can have as many as 40,000 new resumes uploaded every day. With that kind of volume, having an employer find your resume among all the applicants for a job is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Tried-and-true techniques remain
A resume that doesn’t show off the great goods you’re selling isn’t worth much. Show off your assets in effective style by making sure you follow the suggestions in this book. I show you how to
Choose the resume format that fits your goals and situation. What goes where in a resume isn’t a one-size-fits-all consideration.
Chapter 6
tells you about formatting your resume and provides outlines for popular resume designs.
Get your points across in powerful language. Make your strengths stronger by describing results in vibrant language that stands tall. I give you examples in
Chapter 10
.
Use design techniques effectively. Big chunks of text cause eye strain (and boredom). Present your information in a way that enables readers instead of inhibiting them.
Chapter 11
shows you how.
Overcome hurdles. Getting attention from potential employers is harder in certain situations.
Chapter 13
gives you suggestions for easing your transition into a new phase of life by overcoming challenges in your background.
See your resume as a reverse funnel that pulls the prospective employer into it (see Figure 1-1). Your funnel starts out very narrow to match the job you’re targeting. Then it expands with your summary to show how you stand out from the competition (which excites the prospective employer and pulls them in further). Next your resume further expands to encompass all the requisite skills you possess to fit the position. Finally, it ends with the large base of the funnel showing your relevant employment experience using those skills and producing those results.
You can use this easy system to create your resume funnel:
Objective Header Statement:
Begin with the position you are targeting.
Summary of Qualifications:
Add an overview of the strengths that make you a perfect fit for the job.
Keyword Section:
List the key skills you have for the position.
Professional Experience/Employment:
Your employment history section provides proof that supports the objective, summary, and keyword sections.
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Figure 1-1: Use the reverse funnel method to write your resume and strategically present yourself and your qualifications.
This simple strategy encourages employers to read the whole thing.
Technologies Facilitate Job Search
After the Internet caught job-search fire in the mid-1990s — instantly whisking resumes to and fro — little new technology changed the picture until the social web groundswell burst upon us in the mid-2000s. Now job seekers have the tools to
Use social networks to dramatically enlarge personal networks
Tap their networks to identify jobs and for recommendations
Go directly to hiring authorities
Market accomplishments in professional profiles
Pinpoint employment targets with position-mapping
Continue to apply for jobs with an OnTarget resume and cover letter. Classic job-search methods continue to pay off, but they’re not enough in an economy where jobs have gone missing.
Work every day on a well-rounded approach that emphasizes face-to-face networking, social networking, web tools, online identity building, and professional associations while still briefly touching on less viable elements such as job boards and print ads.
Social networking scoops jobs
Enormously popular social networking sites and social media are poised to gain even more fans in the employment process. Chapter 2 reports on the state of the industry and suggests how you can “go social.”
I expect a never-ending stream of new technical bells and whistles in social media. Location awareness is one example of what’s rapidly gaining in use. When Facebook launched its Places feature in late 2010, social media expert Charlene Li explained: “Until now, Facebook knew who you were, what you are doing, and when you did it. Now they add an even richer dimension — where you are — that completes the picture.” Facebook added Places to its posts, a smartphone app, and a mobile site.
How can a location-aware feature facilitate a job chase? Suppose you’re looking for a retail or restaurant job in a given locale. The activity stream of a location feature indicates which restaurants and retail stores are the most popular — and, thus, good prospects for employment.
For breaking news about social networking, become acquainted with the following two websites:
Mashable
(
www.mashable.com
) is a top guide to social media and a hub for those looking to make sense of the online realm.
Altimeter Group
(
www.altimetergroup.com
) focuses on all things social, including the new field of social commerce. Be sure to read the Group’s admirable disclosure policy.
Chapter 5 discusses ways to keep your online reputation in good shape for the job search.
Mobile’s on the move
Smartphones came on fast. Tablet computers are all the rage. Mobile communication is here to stay. Even when you’re not rooted to a desktop computer, you can send and receive e-mails, network online, and download apps. Chapter 3 examines the latest in mobile job chasing.
Quick-change process customizes content
In this employers’ market, you need to become 100 times more strategic and savvy in writing OnTarget resumes and getting them to the key decision makers. The generic resume has become a nonstarter, and successful seekers are writing customized resumes.
But have no fear: In Chapter 9, I take you through how to turn a one-size-fits-all Core resume into OnTarget resumes with ease.
Bios gain new importance as profiles
The short professional bio is making a comeback as a social profile (see Chapter 2). The short bio helps when you want to apply for a job, network, post on a guest blog, and so on. It tells people quickly who you are, what you do, and why they should care.
Plan on writing a bio in three lengths — a micro bio, a short bio, and a longer bio. A micro bio is a sentence you can use on your Twitter profile (140 characters). A short bio is a paragraph (about 100 words). A long bio can be up to a page.
“YourName.com” becomes vital
More people are living their lives on the Internet, and episodes of name high-jacking are rising. Realization is mushrooming that controlling the exclusive online rights to your own name makes sense, even if you’re not a business owner.
You can protect your identity in its purest web form by buying a domain for your name — YourName.com. You can also purchase a URL (web address) for your resume — YourNameresume.com. See Chapters 2 and 5 to find out why owning your own name has gained red-alert status in a digital age. Claim your name!
Chapter 2
Finding Your Next Job in the Wide World of Social Media
In This Chapter
Appreciating what social job search can do for you
Tying into top-rated social networking sites
Creating profiles you’re proud of
The familiar adage claiming the secret to landing a good job “is not what you know, but who you know” is hereby officially stamped incomplete in this era of online social connectivity. Consider this revised version: The secret to landing a good job is what you know, who you know, who knows you, and who your friends know.
All this knowing is exploding on the web’s social networking sites, a big part of social media. The terms overlap in popular usage and definitions vary widely. Here’s my take:
Social networking sites are web venues with huge online databases of information individuals have uploaded about themselves. They do it to mingle with other people in the site’s database — to put themselves “out there.” Their autobiographical information is public or semi-public and usually includes a description of who they are (a profile) and/or a short biography (a bio).
Many social networkers just want to hang around with each other. Others aim to grow their circle of acquaintances. Still others are interested in a specific subject (like dating or business). Social networking sites typically have a personal focus, but a growing number operate with a professional purpose.
Social media
is a set of technologies and channels that enable a virtual community to interact in the same space. Social media includes a wide variety of forums, ranging from social sharing sites, such as YouTube and Flickr, to social networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook.
There’s little question that two-way communication on the interactive web is dramatically changing the game for job seekers and recruiters alike. If you’re scratching your head about how social networking actually works, and are unsure how to use it to find a job and promote your career, you won’t want to miss this chapter.
The Sweeping Reach of Social Networking
Reflecting the shape of job search now and job search to come, social networking dominates Internet use. At a half-billion strong, Facebook alone claims 72 percent of the world’s Internet population as visitors. Bigger than most countries, Facebook has more users than the United States has citizens.
What’s more, the growth rate of social networking is startling: The number of people visiting social media sites keeps rising in all age brackets. Social networking is not a fad but an honest-to-goodness paradigm shift in the way people do business around the globe, including the business of finding employment.
Think about how to harness this power that offers a double rainbow of job-search help — from direct access to hiring managers and quick identification of potential allies at prospective employers, to easy look-ups on company profiles and obtaining posted endorsements from your network. Just to keep it interesting, different services offer different features. (Similarly, some charge fees, and others are free.)
But, at root, the many benefits of using social networking services for career management and job-hunting fall into two basic categories. In signing on with one or more social networking services, you are
Showing the world how hirable you are.
By filling out profiles and listing your credentials, you advertise your potential or immediate availability on an “e-billboard” that helps recruiters and employers find you.
Gathering supporters to hold open doors.
When you collect, connect, and network with friendly contacts, you gain a potential source of referrals, get updates on their employers’ hiring modes, receive insider fill-ins on company culture, and uncover other useful information.
Eyeing the Big Three of Social Networking Job Search
Of the countless social networking services available to you, three services top the charts in career-management and job-search potential: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Because the music plays on but the lyrics keep changing in online networking tools, jump on the website of each social network to obtain the service’s latest operating guides and opportunities. Here’s a starting peek at each of these industry leaders.
Google+ is another up-and-coming social media site you can use in your job search. To find out more about this platform, check out the free article at www.dummies.com/extras/resumes.
LinkedIn keeps focus on professionals
Regardless of your profession, LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is the big-league social site you want. Its 332 million worldwide members swing for the fences. Totally business focused? LinkedIn (LI) is your online chance to put a home run up on the board.
Unsurprisingly, case histories of LinkedIn members using the professional social network to find jobs keep rolling out. Here are the LI experiences of two people:
A laid-off engineer landed a promising new post paying more money at a financial services website. This happened shortly after a headhunter found the engineer’s job status on LI had been changed from “current” to “past.”
A radio station marketing manager lost his job and decided to post a forthright status note: “I’m up for grabs, who wants me?” Someone in his network saw it and referred him as a candidate for the position of programs and events manager at a city’s chamber of commerce organization. The former radio man cinched the job offer a week later.
Sampling the LinkedIn benefits buffet
LinkedIn keeps new service features coming at a brisk pace while extending its global reach around the world. Already LinkedIn overflows with free ways that job seekers can work the job market scene. The following options are the tip of the iceberg:
Posting a profile.
An LI profile contains the same information as your Core resume. (See
Chapter 6
to find out more about this overall resume format.) You include your work history, education, competencies, and skills. “Open to opportunities” means you’re unemployed or about to be, trying to move from part-time to full-time work, or just seeking greener pastures.
Expanding your network.
By “working social,” you can continue to add voices to your chorus of colleagues, creating a strong source of referrals and endorsements. You want to stand out, but you don’t have to stand alone when you need professional helping hands.
Joining groups. Much like participating in traditional professional associations and trade groups, LI affinity groups offer camaraderie according to particular occupation, career field, or industry. Getting involved in groups also helps to greatly increase your visibility and stand out with recruiters. If no existing group zeroes in on your requirements, start your own.
Each group maintains a job-posting area where recruiting and hiring managers post their openings before word gets out; as a group member, you see all the posted job openings while they’re fresh. Each LI member can join up to 50 groups.
Periscoping your future.
When you’re puzzling over how next to position yourself to reach career goals, LinkedIn Career Explorer can help. Based on its database of real-life personal and company profiles, the LinkedIn service shows what happened to others in your shoes, names companies where you might work, forecasts how much money you can make, and identifies by name the kinds of people you might meet along the way.
Allowing employers to find you.
It’s easy to personalize your profile with a custom URL. Instead of setting up and maintaining your own website, direct viewers to your LI profile with a vanity address that includes your name, like this:
www.linkedin.com/in/FirstLast
.
Using premium search tools.
If you want to rev up your search, choose the enhanced version of LinkedIn by paying between $20 and $50 a month for one of three premium levels and get benefits like these:
Top billing for your profile (comparable to a sponsored link on Google’s first page)
The ability to communicate with hiring managers, even those outside your network
Access to full profiles of hiring decision makers
LinkedIn upshot
If you feel you can devote serious job-search and career-management time to only one social network, make it LinkedIn, the recruiters’ favorite. According to a recent social-recruiting survey, 93 percent of hiring companies in the United States use LinkedIn in their recruiting process. (The same survey reports 66 percent of recruiting responders use Facebook, and 54 percent use Twitter. See later sections for more on these social sites.)
The orientation time to sharpen your skills on LinkedIn may cost you a few nights out on the town, but after you get the hang of it, you’ll be glad you’re linked in with other people who are as willing to help you as you are to help them.
Facebook hands adults important search tools
From preteens to super seniors, the age curve of the world’s Facebook users is no longer perceptible. This change in Facebook users has heralded more focus on professional-networking and job-finding opportunities.
