Jobs, Resumes, and just plain being professional

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Something that's been on my mind recently is my professional resume. Now, typically I come to ImDeity to ignore work entirely decompress in a healthy manner, but given the young age of much of the Deity community I thought that my recent experiences might be worthwhile to someone. Transitioning from the Navy to the civilian world is expected to be difficult, and as a veteran I have been given some increased resources that I didn't get in high school or college. I'd like to share some of that with you. And perhaps, while going over it again in order to teach, my own retention and application of the material will increase. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me - reply here, private message me, or /mail me.

Topic Outline:

1. Getting your Dream Job (or most jobs, really) is all about Who You Know
   • Establishing a People Trail
   • Using LinkedIn
2. Resumes Must Be Searchable (and Cover Letters Must Be Targeted)
   • Stand with the Standard
   • Maintain a Master Resume
   • Use STAR Statements
   • Avoid Cover Letters if Possible
3. Professional Dress implies Professional Action
   • Levels of Dress, and the kinds of interviews that require them
   • How to conduct yourself while "all dressed up"
4. Interviews of all kinds Require Preparation
   • Know Thy Enemy
   • Know Thyself
   • You are not expected to Die For your company
   • Professionally Handling Rejection Creates New Opportunities
5. Discussing the Job Offer gets you More Benefits and Incentives
   • ...like increased salary, healthcare coverage and paid moves
   • Especially in the case of Federal Jobs ("GS Class")
6. Appendices and Glossary

1. Getting your Dream Job (or most jobs, really) is all about Who You Know

Networking was a difficult concept for me. Basically, I thought it meant shaking a stranger's hand at a party and convincing him or her that you are the perfect solution to a problem they didn't even realize they had - and that is an important part of it. However, one does not simply rub elbows with the right person at the right time. The chances of you bumping into the hiring manager at your dream company in any social event under your own power, and then having them remember your face among the many they've seen that evening - microscopic. Instead, the wise way to network is to look at the people trail that leads to the hiring manager you're trying to get in good with. It's said that every person on the planet is connected by a people trail that is less than 8 relationships long. In order to make the right network connections for your future career, all you have to do is find the people trail that leads from you to that hiring manager. Start with your friends and family. Perhaps they know someone at that company. Have them introduce you, or ask your connection to recommend you, or even ask for information about that link that will make it easier to introduce yourself. Build a professional relationship with the person at the target company, and when they think that you are a person who is worth supporting and giving reference to, ask them for an introduction to the hiring manager specifically, or someone they know who would be in the hiring manager's orbit. Remember that anyone you meet at the company will be your coworker. Repeat that until you can build rapport with the hiring manager themself. Help all and sundry solve problems. Visit once or twice. When a job finally opens up, you want that hiring manager to think of you as a great fit for the company before he thinks about submitting the job request to the employment website.

Tools such as LinkedIn can assist in building strong networks. You can search for employees at specific companies, and a small number by their profile picture will indicate if they are within reach of the network you already have. If there is the number "1", that means that you have indicated that you met them personally; the number "2" indicates that they have met one of your connections; and the number "3" means that you will need to follow the steps I indicated above. The real strength of LinkedIn is that you can actually view who stands between you and your target, making meeting "the right people" simple and straightforward.

On a side note: LinkedIn has a smartphone app for its main service, and a separate app called "LinkedIn Training". The second app is a library of training videos that cover topics that might come up in interviews, at a professional level. Let's say you're quite skilled in creating game assets using Blender 3D, and you're attempting to get a job at a game design company that asks for experience using Maya. You can watch a course from this site and get enough knowledge to prove to the interviewer that Blender has the same functions as Maya, or that you have equivalent skill in both programs to accomplish any task. The app will request that you join as a premium member, but for many of the videos that is not necessary.

 

2. Resumes Must Be Searchable (and Cover Letters Must Be Targeted)

Today, most companies accept online resumes. If they offer a resume form or resume builder, USE THAT - unless directed otherwise by the contact you presumably groomed earlier. Printing and handing to a manager, or uploading a standard resume to a website, can cause some serious crashing and burning. In order to remove hiring bias, they run whatever printed or printable resume they receive through a OCR-based scanning system that searches up to 120 words for the keywords they want to see. If they don't get an 85% keyword match within that first 90-120 words, they will discard your resume, unread by human eyes. So the key things you have to remember when handing in a printed or uploaded resume are:

• use Arial or Times New Roman at 12pt consistently, with a 1" margin
• use keyword stuffing with all the terms that were in the job announcement and then add some extra industry-standard "people skills" and related "technical skills"
• Be concise and avoid any fluff (at least in the first 200 words)
• Follow the standard template provided on most job assistance websites

Have you ever thought about "bias"? Google defines bias as "prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair." However, that definition doesn't point out that most bias is unconscious. It has to be pointed out to the biased individual, usually repeatedly. How does that impact you?

• Resume layout and text formatting
• Format of name/contact information (sizing, whether the email is hyperlinked)
• Content of name/contact information (usually blocked from hiring managers for this reason)
• Amount of content (too much, too little)
• Targeting of content (too much unrelated content will cause failure)

As you can see, any portion of your resume can trigger a hiring manager's bias, an unpredictable event. Remember that they are viewing hundreds of resumes at any given time. If you're trying to cold hire, that is, get hired without networking, you are competing simply to be the last resume standing. They are literally looking for any reason to choose one resume over another in as short a time as possible. Landing an interview based on the resume (without any networking) is chancy. and requires great "on-paper" demonstration of skills. Landing an interview based on networking is much more likely, but a resume is still an important part of the process, and the process can halt very quickly if all you have is a bare-bones factsheet.

A good resume takes significant work. It's not something you can write in an hour. In fact, it's suggested that you outline your master resume over the timeframe of a couple of weeks and then flesh out more bullet points, two or three per week, until you retire. I recommend using an online storage for the most up-to-date, editable version of this master resume, such as DropBox (an industry standard) or Google Drive (controversial but reliable). When you assemble a targeted resume for submission to a specific company, or apply online using a resume builder, you can pick and choose bullet points from your master resume, making even the most specific of jobs quick and easy. Keeping track of a master resume allows for easy application to significantly different job fields, as well, especially when using non-specific, industry-standard keywords and STAR bullets.

STAR bullets are something you may not hear about in everyday conversation. The method is somewhat targeted for military veterans who are used to thinking with words such as "objective", "mission", and "tasking". We literally have to translate everything on our military "resume" to comply with the language of the civilian hiring managers.

• Skill demonstrated: The keyword at the top of your resume and in the job announcement that you are demonstrating with this STAR Bullet.
• Situation: context operating in, including challenge or opportunity faced
• Task: mission or objective given, project assigned, or idea acting on
• Action: steps taken or approach used to complete task
• Result: impact, difference made, benefits generated - before-and-after changes (including numbers when possible
• STAR Statement: short narrative combining the STAR snippets above, 2-3 sentences
• STAR Bullet: remove specifics from the STAR Statement, emphasizing keywords

An example, straight from the textbook (shhhh):

• Skill demonstrated: Training
• Situation: My unit received new portable generators
• Task: I was tasked with ensuring team members were able to follow new maintenance procedures
• Action: Conducted hands-on training
• Result: Team members achieved 95% pass rate on first proficiency test, 100% on retest.
• STAR Statement: After my unit was issued a new model of portable generators, I was given the mission of ensuring team members were able to maintain them. I trained team members on maintenance procedures. They achieved a 95% pass rate on the first proficiency test and 100% on the re-test.
• STAR Bullet: Designed and delivered generator technical training, resulting in 100% mastery of skills by trainees.

Bonus, when you use the STAR Bullets on your resumes, and the interviewer inevitably asks, "tell me a time when you actually utilized this skill you claimed on your resume," you will have a matching STAR Statement already prepared, impressively and smoothly provided. I do recommend reviewing the statements associated with that resume before entering the interview room. If you have a significant number of skills and bullet points, which rack up surprisingly fast, I recommend using a three-column table, or even an sortable spreadsheet like Google Sheets or Excel, keeping each "STAR Statement", "STAR Bullet", and their associated "Skill" easily accessible. This will allow you to pick which bullet you think will impress the company most among a series of bullets relating to each skill you have indicated for that job position.

With such a sweet resume, what's left for the cover letter? Actually, what's with the cover letter? Is it required, or isn't it? The easy answer is that some companies require it, and some don't. The advisor who gave me all of this information said with some vehemence that if the cover letter is not required, do not submit it - it's merely one more thing that will trigger bias against you in most cases. However, it is common for employers to require it - as it is one of the quickest ways to determine a candidate's foreknowledge of the company and any kind of deficiency in written English. If you really want to work at a company, network! Chances are, the hiring manager you groom by networking will either coach you through the painful letter or waive it entirely in your case. If you truly must write a cover letter, though, follow these guidelines:

• Address and conclude it professionally, as it is a business letter
• Focus the first paragraph on the company - capture the hiring manager's attention with why you are writing (as in, shared interests, ideals, and goals); name position/department you are applying for; how you heard about the organization or opening; namedrop someone who will speak highly of you, preferably someone in the company; show research in the company by talking about a recent new project, specific management philosophy, or citing something you've read about them.
• Focus the second paragraph on what you can bring to the company - connect your background to their needs. Directly related education or experience can be summarized and relevant skills and accomplishments can be mentioned as long as you link everything to the company, and be confident; however, you must not become repetitive - the same person will be reading your resume, probably holding it side-by-side, and too many repeated words will disqualify you.
• Conclude with an expression of interest in the job and an interview, and thank the reader for their time and consideration.

Further tips: Remember to get both your resume and cover letter proofread by someone skilled in English. There are job assistance websites where internet volunteers will scope your documents for you, but do remember that anything you put on the internet will stay on the internet, and resumes do contain inconvenient information such as address, phone number, and employment history. A better option is to find a local high school English teacher, or barring that, a college graduate of any kind. Remind them to limit their corrections to spelling, grammar, and understandability, but if you get asked questions like, "do you really have this skill?", look at it as a chance to practice spewing your STAR Statements, and to really rock their socks off.

 

Reserved for...

3. Professional Dress implies Professional Action

 

Reserved for...

4. Interviews of all kinds Require Preparation

 

Reserved for...

5. Discussing the Job Offer gets you More Benefits and Incentives

 

Reserved for...

6. Appendices and Glossary
Appendix 1: Printable Version of this content

Glossary