Include the Cover Letter!

What's a good comparison?

How about, "A resume without a cover letter is like a brownie without ice cream."  It's nice, but it could be a lot better with very little effort.

Colleges and career counselors focus a lot on why you should have a great resume, but they rarely even hint that without a cover letter, the resume has very little impact.

Maybe they take that approach because so many jobs that are advertised online simply ask candidates to upload their resumes, with no provision for a cover letter.  However, as a recruiter, I can tell you that at least 80% of all jobs are never advertised, online or otherwise.  Companies just do not want to deal with the onslaught of resumes from candidates who are not qualified and do not meet the basic job requirements.  In many cases, finding great candidates for those jobs is contracted out to a recruiter. Whether you are working with a recruiter or dealing directly with the hiring authority, you will do yourself a huge favor if you include a great cover letter with your resume.

Why is it so important?  There are several reasons.  First, it allows a bit of your personality to show through your writing.  People who read these resumes are no different than anyone else in that they like to get at least some idea of how the person represented by the resume connects with other people. A cover letter lets a little bit of your personality come through, and that is always an advantage.

Second, it gives you the opportunity to do a little pre-selling.  A good cover letter inspires the reader to continue on and to read the resume.  It allows you to express why you are interested in the job, whereas the resume itself expresses how you are qualified.

Third...and especially important if you are pursuing a job that will require you to communicate effectively within and perhaps outside the organization...it shows that you know how to write a letter and that you have basic communication skills.  The more "unknowns" you can answer with your resume and cover letter, the greater your advantage in getting the interview you want.

If you are not skilled in writing and do not feel comfortable creating the cover letter (and if the job you are seeking does not require this skill), hire a professional or get someone you know who is a good writer to help you with the cover letter.

It does not take much time to write a good one, and the payoff can be considerable.

Ken Murdock is the owner of Murdock and Associates Recruiters and New Wave Resumes, and the author of Your Completed Guide to Job Search and Career Change. He recruits top talent in sales, project management, accounting/finance, manufacturing operations, and engineering for the manufacturing sector, oil & gas, and construction industries. New Wave Résumés offers professional résumés and interview coaching for executives, mid-level professionals, recent graduates, and anyone seeking to take their skills and talents to a higher level.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE FIT

The cover story of Time magazine for the June 22, 2015 issue is all about how companies today are using personality testing in their hiring decisions.  What these companies have discovered is that no matter how well qualified someone is on the technical side, if they cannot work well with others, they are a liability rather than an asset.

My guess is that your elementary school experience was somewhat like my own.  We would get report cards every six weeks (on actual paper!) that had our academic grades on the left side of the page.  We pretty much knew how we were doing by seeing letter grades that showed our mastery of the subject.  On the other side of the page however, was where our social skills were assessed.  That side of the page measured things like "Pays Attention in Class," "Arrives on Time," and a few other components of functioning well in the classroom.  The letters that appeared on that side of the page were "S" (Satisfactory), "I" (Needs Improvement), or "U" (Unsatisfactory).

Of all the social skills measured, the biggest one then and the biggest one now are the same: "Works and Plays Well with Others."  When companies ask applicants to go through one the many assessments that are available, they want to know how well that person will be able to work with others who are already there and how well they will interact with those outside the organization (vendors, customers, stakeholders).   The term most often used to describe this capacity is "Culture Fit."

Why are companies suddenly putting such importance on culture fit?  Because they can.  We are in a strong buyer's market now in the employment arena.  That means that there are more great candidates than great jobs, so companies can afford to be very selective...and they are.  The cost of a bad hire can run into the tens of thousands of dollars (or more) when you consider what a company will spend training the individual, the time it takes for the new employee to actually become productive, and the opportunity cost incurred when a few months down the road it becomes apparent that they hired the wrong person and now they have to go through the whole process again.   The time spent with the wrong person in the position can never be made up.

In most cases, a bad hire has an impact significantly beyond their own responsibilities.  If that person, for example, causes others to have to fix things they messed up, or causes other employees productivity to decline by having to wait on the offender's job to be done before they can do their own, the negative impact of the bad hire can spread outward immeasurably.

This can be particularly harmful in the sales side of the business.  One of the oldest and time-tested phrases in business is that "People buy from people they like."  It really is true.  Product knowledge is certainly important, but it pales next to the "likeability" factor.  If customers do not like the person who is calling on them, they will find a reason to do business somewhere else.  A reasonably intelligent person can get the product knowledge and the industry knowledge usually in a few months at most, but if that person does not get along well with others, the impact on sales can be devastating.

Why is this important in the job market today?  It's very simple...if your resume looks pretty and is well-formatted but does not have anything that give the hiring authority any knowledge about your character, creativity, work ethic, resilience, attention to detail (or whatever is critical to success in the position you are seeking), you are at a decided disadvantage compared to those who do share that information on their resumes.

Interviewing and hiring is time-consuming and expensive.  Managers want to eliminate as much risk as possible when choosing the candidates they will interview.  If you take some of the guess-work out of process, you have a much better chance of being one of those that they want to speak with about the job.  They will most likely do their own assessments on you as well in some point in the process, but you have to be one of the chosen few to get to that point.

The takeaway here?  If you are preparing your resume, or if you are hiring a professional to do it for you, be sure to include what companies want to see today.  Ask yourself, "What qualities are common to those who are outstanding at this job?'  Then, ask yourself how many of those qualities you have.  Where you see a match, put it on your resume.

Ken Murdock is the owner of Murdock and Associates Recruiters and New Wave Resumes, and the author of Your Completed Guide to Job Search and Career Change. He recruits top talent in sales, project management, accounting/finance, manufacturing operations, and engineering for the manufacturing sector, oil & gas, and construction industries. New Wave Résumés offers professional résumés and interview coaching for executives, mid-level professionals, recent graduates, and anyone seeking to take their skills and talents to a higher level.

How to Make Yourself Attractive to Recruiters on Linkedin

LinkedIn is one of several tools that most recruiters use when searching for talent for their clients.  Contrary to what most people think, for many recruiters LinkedIn is as much of a secondary or confirmation tool as it is a primary tool for some who are in the recruiting business.  By that I mean that when a recruiter finds someone through another source, that recruiter will often look at that person’s profile on LinkedIn to gain more knowledge or to confirm what he or she already learned through his or her primary source.

Whether LinkedIn is the primary or secondary source for candidate information, there are several key points of information that a recruiter looks for in evaluating candidates.  If you are an actively looking for a career change or if you are not actively looking but are receptive to hearing about outstanding opportunities, these key elements of your LinkedIn profile will often determine whether recruiters and/or hiring managers put you on their contact list or skip your profile altogether.  The first group of “rules” is all about your photo:

11.     Have one.  Various surveys have consistently revealed that your profile is five to seven times more likely to be viewed and examined if you have a photo than if you do not have one. I very rarely look at profiles that do not have photos. However, if you do have one, keep these guidelines in mind?

A.   Have a good headshot photo...you from the shoulders up. The purpose of the photo is not to determine how attractive you are, but rather to see if you have a professional appearance, that you cared enough to do it right, and that you are not sporting blue hair and a nose ring.  There are jobs where blue hair and a nose ring might be assets, but those positions are rarely assigned to recruiters.

B.   Your photo should be just you and no one else…not even anyone else’s hand or arm on your shoulder.  A photo that has clearly been cropped to show just you out of a group tells the viewer that you did not care enough to do it right, and that is never a good way to advertise yourself.

C.   No tuxedos, bridesmaid dresses, motorcycles, children, party scenes, dogs, or graduation photos.  Again, anything other than an intentional headshot makes it appear that you put the photo in as an afterthought rather than as an intentional, professional statement.

2.2.   Put your email address in the “Contact Information” portion of your profile, and make sure it is a personal email address…not your email address through your employer.  No recruiter wants to do anything that would jeopardize your current employment.  Many company email servers are set up to scan all emails for inappropriate content, and for a lot of companies, that includes recruiters or anyone else contacting you about other career opportunities.  Remember, your company email address belongs to your employer, not to you, and they can read anything they choose that is on their server.  Most recruiters will tell you that they have a much higher response/reply rate from emails than they do from LinkedIn in-mails, and that email is the much-preferred contact option.  There is a section in your profile called “Contact Info”.  Use it to add your personal email.

33.  If you provide information about a former position, do not provide it in the present tense.  You are not there anymore, and a description that sounds like you are there is, once again, a sign that you are not about doing things the right way.

44. No deceptive degrees.  Many times I have seen profiles that list the person’s name followed “MBA” or “BS in Electrical Engineering then later in the profile it will state something like “expected completion May 2016.”  That is simply another way of saying that you do not have the degree.  Recruiters and hiring managers are interested in now, not a year and a half in the future.

55.     Most of the better recruiters know their clients’ preferences very well.  They know what they like, what they do not like, and the specific skills, experience, or character qualities that will be a good fit for that client.  So, in addition to listing where you have worked and what your responsibilities were, also add the specific, transferable skills that you learned and applied in that job.  Nobody cares where you worked or what you did there unless you can tell them how your experience in that position gave you valuable skills that you can bring with you to a new position.

66.  No spelling, punctuation, word use, or grammar errors.  Incomplete phrases that are clearly part of a part of a pattern of similar phrases for the sake of brevity are fine, but be sure to use the correct form of all the words.  The most common errors I see are “too  -- to” and “there  -- their.”  Often even spell checking programs will not catch those errors.  The spelling may be correct, but the form of the word is not.

77. If you are open to receiving inquiries from recruiters, include “Career Opportunities” in the “Contact for” section of your profile.

88.  Keep your profile current.  If you receive a promotion, change jobs, or relocate, update your information.

99.  No information about your nationality, family, or marital status. Questions about those areas are illegal to ask about in an interview, and there is no benefit to you gained by volunteering this information.

1110. Get some recommendations from those you have worked with in the past. That includes associates and supervisors, customers and clients, vendors, or anyone else who can provide a personal insight into what you do well, how you work with others, or any specific skills that set you apart from others.

We are in a strong buyer’s market now.  That means that employers can be, and are, very selective in considering prospective employees.  The better your profile, the greater your chances of being contacted about that position that may be the right job for you.

So, You Want to Start Your Own Business?

Entrepreneurial spirit has never been as robust and widespread as it is today. Older workers who have been laid off, or retired, as well as young newbies to the business world are starting businesses in every conceivable niche one can imagine.
For those who have already taken that leap as well as anyone who is thinking about it, here is what I call the Thirteen Commandments (a baker’s dozen) for entrepreneurial success. Most of them I have learned by doing them wrong at one time or another.

1. Play to your strengths. Don’t jump into a business just because you see someone else having success at it. If it is not something that enables and requires you to do the things you are really good at doing, it is not for you. Maybe you are good a selling something, or fixing something, or creating something. Whatever it is, if you are going to start a business, be sure that it is one that involves you doing what you are exceptionally good at doing.
2. Do something that makes you feel good for having done it. Knowing that what you do has created a positive impact for others as well as for yourself will give you an ongoing tool for perseverance in challenging times.
3. Do what you say you will do when you say you will do it. Customers, whether they are consumers or other businesses, want to know that if they do business with you, they can count on you to provide them with what they want, when they want it. If you can do that one simple thing, you will separate yourself from the great majority of your competition. This action also applies to your dealings with vendors. If your business relies on others who provide you with essential products or services, they will (more often than not) run through a brick wall for you if you treat them right.
4. Make a list…every day. Decide at the end of every day what you intend to accomplish the next day, and don’t stop until you complete everything on that list. Not only will it increase your productivity by keeping you focused, it will give you a sense of accomplishment that is critical in reaching your objectives.
5. Be resilient. There are going to be setbacks, things that do not work out as you planned, and others that you deal with who will fail to perform. Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Just resolve to find another way to accomplish the task at hand. Some of your best discoveries of what works will come from “Plan B.” Some of my greatest efforts have resulted in nothing, but some of my greatest successes have come out of nowhere. Those things even out over time.
6. Know your market. One of the biggest sins a new business can make involves trying to sell something to people who cannot buy. Another is trying to sell something to someone just to get the sale. If what you have to sell does not make your customer better off, back off. Focus your energies on someone who will benefit from what you do. You will also sleep better.
7. Understand that you cannot be everything to everybody. If your customer needs something that you do not have or cannot do, you are much better off by referring them to someone who can provide what they need than you are by falling short in your own efforts when you step out of your area of competence.
8. Do not spend ten-dollar time on ten-cent tasks. This may very well be one of the most common causes of business mediocrity or failure. If for example, you determine that your efforts produce a return of $200 per hour by calling on customers, you do not save money by doing tasks yourself that you can pay someone else $10 per hour to accomplish. Do not remove yourself from what generates your revenue to take care of menial, time-consuming tasks that others can do.
9. Talk to people. When I first started my recruiting business, I called an old friend that I had worked with in another company when I had just finished school. He had been in the recruiting business for a few years and had done very well. I asked him what he thought was the most important element of success, and he simply said, “Talk to people.” You have to let people know what you do. At least twenty five percent of my business has come from people who do not need my services, but who referred others to me who do need what I do.
10. Do not accept marginal business. Most businesses learn this the hard way, as I did. If getting an order or a new customer requires you to compromise on quality in your product or how you perform your service, it is a losing proposition. Sometimes you will have to walk away from business. However, marginal business will hurt you in one of two ways…maybe both. You will either have to lower your price to a point where you cannot make any money, or you will have to cut expenses by eliminating essential elements of quality and therefore deliver an inferior product or performance. Either way, you lose, and so does your customer in the long run. You cannot maintain that manner of business. The most effective way to learn this lesson is to have your time and resources tied up in marginal business when good business presents itself and you cannot accept it, but it’s a lot less painful if you just take my word for it.
11. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Without even looking for them, you will see all kinds of statistics about how many businesses fail within five years. I think those statistics are probably true, but I also think that most (not all) of them got into business for all the wrong reasons or, more commonly, without a plan. If you start just to make money but do not enjoy it, you will fail. If you think you will succeed just by working hard, but without a clear sense of direction, you will fail. However, I have always believed and have seen it more times than I can count, that in any business, there is always room for a good one. There will be a lot of well-meaning people who will tell you all the reasons why you should not start your own business, but if you like what you do, you do it very, very well, and you do not let setbacks derail you, you will succeed, no matter how many others are doing it besides you.
12. Remember that almost all businesses run in cycles. There will be great times when you think you have it all figured out, and lean times when you will ask, “What the hell was I thinking???” Neither of them will last forever. Put something away in the good times to get you through the lean times. You will pick up business during recoveries that was abandoned by those who do not make it.
13. Have a diversion that helps you think about something else and relax. Exercise, reading, a hobby…whatever works for you. You need a break from thinking about business all the time. Truthfully, when you’re in your own business, it’s always simmering in the furthest recesses of your mind, but you will operate a lot better when you can come back to it with a fresh head after some activity that takes you away from it.

When people ask me what it’s like to be in your own business, I tell them that is a lot like being an animal in the forest. You know there is food out there, somewhere. You just have to find it. Some days you may run across it easily...maybe it even comes to you...and some days no matter what you do, you cannot find anything. Remember that it’s a numbers game. If you do the right things, the right way, enough times, you will be one of those who defies the statistics.
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Ken Murdock is the owner of Murdock and Associates Recruiters and New Wave Resumes. He recruits top talent in sales, project management, accounting/finance, manufacturing operations, and engineering for the manufacturing sector, oil & gas, construction, and the packaging industry. New Wave Résumés offers professional résumés and interview coaching for executives, mid-level professionals, recent graduates, and anyone seeking to take their skills and talents to a higher level.