Nine Takeaways From the NRWA Conference

There were a LOT of takeaways from the 2016 NRWA conference in Annapolis. You can read some of my tweets at the #theNRWAConf2016 hashtag, but I did a Facebook Live broadcast today with my top nine takeaways. You can watch them here.

Here's part one (takeaways #1-7):




And here's the second video (takeaways #8-9)





Takeaway #1: Jean Austin: Presenting Your Clients' Talents, or Answering the Big "So What" Question?

Sometimes we forget that accomplishments do not have to include numbers -- they can be things that can't easily be measured. Here are some questions you can ask:

• Did they complete a project ahead of schedule?
• Did they satisfy an unhappy customer?
• Do they go above and beyond the scope of their job?
• What would others who worked with them say they contributed?

Takeaway #2: Thomas Powner: Cover Letters: Adding the Human Touch to Ignite an Interview

Thomas got us thinking about the reder of the cover letter. What do they want to know about the jobseeker?

He sent a cover letter survey to 190 recruiters, hiring managers, and interviewers. One-hundred sixty people participated. Some highlights of his findings:

• 63% read the cover letter
• 49% read the cover letter after the resume

Powner developed what he calls the "Human Voice Cover Letter," which includes four elements:

• Opening statements that connect the jobseeker to the company
• 3-5 "human voice" snapshots
• Answer any questions asked in the ad
• Closing statement/call to action

Takeaway #3: Colleen McKenna: "LinkedIn: It's Not Social, It's Business"

• 5.4 people are now involved in most corporate decisions -- including hiring. That means more than one person is looking at your LinkedIn profile.
• The number one activity on LinkedIn is looking at people's profiles -- everyone's sounds the same. The ones that stand out talk about the "why."
• 60% of people look at LinkedIn profiles from a mobile device -- keep it short and sweet.
• If you're using LinkedIn Publishing, experiment with Sunday morning posts. One thing McKenna said is that she thinks browsing social media has replaced the old habit of reading the newspaper on Sunday mornings.
• If you want to increase your chances of getting your LinkedIn Publishing posts picked up on LinkedIn Pulse, have great content. Publish frequently. Use hashtags. Include 5-6 images on video. And produce long content -- 750 to 1000 words.

Takeaway #4: Kimberly Schneiderman: Recruiters: Answers to Everything

I think my favorite session at the conference was Kimberly's. She took the initiative to conduct a survey of 273 recruiters and hiring managers (plus 10 one-on-one interviews) using the RiseSmart database. 

She shared the results with NRWA conference attendees -- including dozens and dozens of relevant takeaways. Some of my favorites:

• 40.7% cited LinkedIn as an online source of candidates.
• "Oneline job boards might results in an interview, but they are LESS likely to result in a job offer." Very interesting.
• 67% of recruiters actually use their Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). So it's particularly important for resume writers to make a strong tie between the client's job requirements and the position.
• Some recruiters said an unnecessarily long resume will date you.
• 84% of companies use in-person or phone interviews. Only 4% use recorded video Q&As.

NOTE: If you use any of these statistics, please credit Kimberly Schneiderman/RiseSmart

Takeaway #5: Pricing Town Hall

One of the neatest things about conferences is the opportunity to interact with other participants before and after sessions, and learn from them in the sessions. Conference chair Dawn Rasmussen added four concurrent "Town Hall" sessions this year to allow this kind of interaction among participants. I attended the one on pricing.

The content in this session was generated by participants. Here's some of my takeaways:

• Several resume writers said they have trouble quoting high prices over the phone -- so they tell clients they will email them a proposal.
• Remember that not everyone who calls you is a customer.
• Ask questions before you quote a price. (This will help you determine if you're a fit with the client's needs, and if they're a fit for your process.) You can use the "First Call Questions" special report to help identify questions to ask.
• If you're not rejected everyone once in a while (told your prices are "too high"), your prices are too low.

NOTE: If you are a Free or Bronze level member of BeAResumeWriter.com, sign in and check out the Free Level Resources page for some additional pricing research and resources!

Takeaway #6: Robin Schlinger: Applicant Tracking Systems

I always love Robin's insight into Applicant Tracking Systems -- even if the information scares me a bit. ATS software is more pervasive than ever, and is probably the number one thing that will impact the resumes we write in the next 1-5 years.

Here's what she had to say:

• Taleo ATS software is being used by 36.4% of companies -- or about 1/3 of jobs that are publicly advertised. How can you tell? The job posting may say "Powered by Taleo" or the URL of the job posting may include Taleo.
• Robin likes to give clients ONE resume (not an ATS friendly one and a non-ATS-friendly one).
• Font doesn't matter with the ATS. Standard bullets may not be read, but they don't mess up keywords if they're not read correctly, unlike text words. Robin pointed out that accented words will screw up keywords. This also applies to client names with an accent mark -- like José -- as one participant on the Facebook Live broadcast pointed out.
• Tables, graphics, and columns CAN mess up fiends in the ATS -- "like big-time mess up" -- it can put data in the wrong fields entirely. Robin pointed out, however, that it won't "kick out" the resume -- that's a scam. But you won't know if a particular company's ATS software can overcome the formatting issues. So, better safe than sorry.

Robin also shared "Known ATS requirements":

• Use standard header names to help the ATS categorize information (i.e., "Education," "Training," "Work Experience," etc.)
• Do not put titles after the client's name -- i.e., MBA, CPRW, PE. These may cause problems with data field population too.
• Here was an interesting one I'd never heard before: Did you know that Taleo has a setting that (if enabled), allows the hiring manager to reject all resumes without a physical address on it? So include the address, city, and state. Just in case.
• Repetition is encouraged in ATS-friendly resumes, even if it duplicates information from work experience to work experience. Duplicate content can strengthen keyword density.

Takeaway #7: Modernize Your Resumes: Content, Format, and Design with Wendy Enelow

Following immediately after Robin Schlinger's session on ATS resumes, the logical question (one asked by audience member Thomas Powner and deftly answered by Wendy, was: How do these beautiful resumes fit into an ATS-friendly (ugly!) world? 

Wendy's answer: She would only do these types of resumes (with images, tables, charts, and other graphics) if the client's job search was focused primarily on networking and referrals. If you're not doing an ATS resume, graphics, tables, and images can communicate information effectively and succinctly.

One thing that hasn't changed with the "modern" resume format -- the importance of the top third of the first page of the resume. Wendy advocates "Start With the Wow" -- make every word count in this area. Consider including third-party endorsements and testimonials for additional impact.

Also, Wendy says to consider fonts and design choices on the modern resume -- they need to correlate with the client's desired industry and their personality.

Takeaway #8: So, Tell Me About Yourself … Translating Personal Branding Into Powerful Resumes and Interview Skills with Elaine Lien and Lucie Yeomans

There's no more powerful testimonial for the information that Elaine and Lucie shared than the fact that right before their presentation, Lucie swept the ROAR Awards (Recognizing Outstanding Achievements in Resumes) for Experienced Resume Writers. To me, that really communicated the value of assessments that they use in their branding work. Specifically, they focused on the Reach360, DISC, and StrengthsFinder assessments.

Lucie emphasized how having this assessment information helped her overcome writer's block -- the data gives her both concrete information and a point of view for her client, which makes the resume easier to write.

With the StrengthsFinder, she buys and sends the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book to clients. Each book contains a unique code for clients to go online and take the assessment. She then asks them to send the results to her. (Individual tests can also be purchased online here.)

Again, this strategy is obviously working for Lucie, as her award-winning resumes demonstrate. Assessments like these are things that more of us resume writers probably need to be using.

Takeaway #9: "5 Steps to Creating a Million Dollar Brand" with Dr. Brandi Baldwin-Rana

"Doctor Brandi" was hilarious, and I wish more of the attendees had been able to participate in her presentation. As is usually the case, though, attendees who departed the conference early to make a flight missed this fabulous closing session.

One of the things that resonated most strongly with me is her assertion that resume writers need to work on their own branding. "Perception matters," she noted. (I always say that resume writers/career professionals are like the proverbial "shoemaker's kids" -- they're always barefoot.)

Doctor Brandi suggests creating an Ideal Client profile and using that to attract your perfect clients. (I believe strongly in that too!) She also had attendees write down "3 words that describe your brand." This was a fun exercise.

Then, she encouraged resume writers to align their ideal client profile and personal brand and articulate it -- and COMMIT to it. She said "you never want to be off brand."  

There were a LOT more takeaways from the NRWA Conference, and I'll be sharing more of them, so stay tuned!

What Is The Worst Resume Suggestion You've Ever Heard?

Robin Schlinger
@robinresumes

Resume writing colleague Robin Schlinger served up a LinkedIn post today, "The 10 Worst Resume Suggestions You Ever Received."

Unfortunately, many jobseekers seek advice from well-meaning friends and relatives. Sometimes this advice isn't just unhelpful … it's just plain wrong.

As a resume writer, this is my "favorite" of the worst suggestions:

Usually, this can be attributed to jobseeker fear. If their resume isn't "perfect," they don't want to send it out — but they're really just afraid of rejection. Instead of 20-30 of their friends and family criticizing their resume (friends and family members who are most likely unqualified to judge the resume, unfortunately), they're afraid of a hiring manager criticizing it.

YES, your clients should have a couple of friends/family members look at their resume. But these are the questions they should ask them to answer:

1. Do you see any errors or typos? (If you've been looking at any document a lot, you won't "see" errors.)
2. Does this sound like me? (The resume should be the "best" reflection of the jobseeker's skills, abilities, and qualifications — but it should SOUND like the client, not like the resume writer.)

What is the worst resume suggestion YOU'VE ever heard? Share it in the comments below.

The Changing Federal Resume

Although the first resume I wrote, at the age of 12, was technically a federal resume, I don't write federal resumes anymore (unless it's for a friend or family member).

Robin Schlinger
@robinresumes

That said, I do like to keep up on trends. And Robin Schlinger is one of the top federal resume experts in the U.S., so I recommend you read her LinkedIn column, "Federal Resumes: What Has Changed?"

I agree with her assessments -- getting hired for a federal position has become much more difficult in recent years, and her five-part assessment of "why" is right on track.

And the four questions you can ask clients to assess their likelihood of being hired is an eye-opener.

Tips for Writing IT Resumes

Robin Schlinger, CARW, CFRW, of Robin's Resumes, gave permission to share her response to another resume writer's question about writing IT resumes. Prior to becoming a resume writer, Robin was an engineer and a programmer.

I work with a lot of technical folks writing IT resumes, based on my
Engineering and Programming background. It can be difficult to write for some technical folks if you do not understand the technology — and sometimes it is better to find someone who has the experience.

However, based on my experience working with these folks, I have found the following tips that have worked for me.

The format of the resume and the amount of technical information to include depends on the level the client is targeting and the niche they are in. You need to know that before you attempt to write the resume. If the resume is for someone interested in management (a difficult transition sometimes for IT folks), I actually tone down much of the technical stuff for the managerial stuff, and the resume looks much like a traditional manager or executive resume. I will usually include a technical skills section at the end of the resume.

At a senior management or department management level, the IT manager will already have been assumed to have the technical skills and his or her soft skills are much more important. For these resumes, in many cases, I remove version numbers (from specific software applications) unless the client is selling their expertise in a particular product in a senior role (such as SAP business analysts).

If a person is at a lower level — up to the level of a Project Manager / Project Leader / Team Leader, I will concentrate on how what they did adds value. I start with a summary, then list the technical skills in great detail (very organized into sections like Hardware, Software, Programming Languages, etc. — you need to have some understanding of the technology and lingo here — the sections depend on the client's expertise) and then list each assignment the person has done. There can be some creativity here if the person has been a contractor forever. I also list achievements as in any other resume. For these folks, most are fixated on the version numbers and technical details — and you must include much of it in your resume — or they will not be happy with it.

For both managers and lower level folks, you need to highlight certifications as well in the resume. Degrees are also important.

In many cases the difficulty I find in writing IT resumes is the person is more into the details of what they do — rather than the value of what they do is to the prospective employer. I find the following questions help ascertain the value. I find most IT folks can answer these questions— and they do help in developing their resumes.

For each job answer, I ask them to answer this for the top jobs they did in the position. I ask this for most IT folks — except if they are already at the executive level).

Which job?

Name of Project:

Description of the Project:

Why was the project important:

Your challenge in doing the project:

What you did to accomplish the project:

Your results:

Your role (i.e. leader or team member):

Technologies used:

Project budget:

Dollar value of product (product sales) if applicable:

Number of users:

These are the typical questions I ask my clients, which really helps when doing IT resumes. It is very directed, which IT folks need. I have used other questionnaires for technical folks but I find the answers to the questions above get me 80-90% of the technical information I need.

Note: If the client cannot answer the dollar value questions or why the project was important, I immediately know they are not ready for management and I write a highly technical resume.