CAREERS NOW 02-04-07

Get Noticed By Targeting Your Resumes

DEAR JOYCE: After sending out nearly 600 resumes and receiving no - none, zero, nada - call-backs for an interview, I'm getting depressed. What am I doing wrong that my resume is constantly blocked by the resume police? - K.K.

Resumes-gone-missing is the number one topic I receive about job search. What's happening is that employers, overrun with resumes, are using software to zero in on exact matches between job requirements and the qualifications claimed on resumes. They're weary of absorbing the time losses of dealing with engineers applying for jobs as art curators and nannies presenting themselves for accounting employment. Result: When an employer wants to hire someone with A, B, C and D qualifications and your resume doesn't spell out your qualifications for all four requirements, expect the silent treatment.

My hunch is that even if you have a terrific a resume, it's generic. If so, toss it and start targeting your self-marketing communications to the job you want. A customizing cover letter isn't enough any more. In a time when it's not uncommon for big companies to get hundreds of thousands, even millions of resumes each year, the all-purpose resume is fading fast.

That's why learning to deal with the new match-up factor is the theme of my just released book, "Resumes For Dummies, 5th Edition." (Wiley, $16.99), available at bookstores or the publisher, www.fordummies.com.

Although a revision, the book contains about 85 percent new material, covering the changing tools and intersections between jobs and job seekers - from vertical job search engines and social networks, to employee referral systems and career-specific blogs.

Recognizing that most of us have a zillion things to do every day and we don't need another project, like customizing resumes for each job opportunity or career field, I suggest that you save time by first creating a core resume (a base document showing your employment and educational past and all the hats you've worn), from which you lift out spinoff resumes that relate to a specific employment goal. Nearly 50 new resume samples by Kathryn Troutman's team at The Resume Place (resume-place.com) illustrate how the matching is done.

I cover a lot of information in the book but I missed at least one question, as the next letter shows.

DEAR JOYCE: I just bought your book, "Resumes For Dummies, 5th Edition." Thank you for your wonderful advice! I didn't see a reference to this topic, which is why I'm writing, but is it okay to put a professional "head shot" of yourself on a resume? Nothing too big, but just a small picture in the upper corner. The practice seems to work well for real estate agents who always have their picture on their business cards. Good idea? - A.R., Salt Lake City

Even when you look like a billion bucks, which you probably do or you wouldn't be thinking along these lines, hold the photo unless you're a model, actor or in another field where appearance is integral to the job.Why?

Looking only at a photograph rather than experiencing the real you, an employer could be reminded of a detested acquaintance or a cranky Aunt Millie and decide not to interview you. Moreover, smart companies, concerned about charges of discrimination followed by legal liability, don't want to see what you look like before meeting you in person.

DEAR JOYCE: How important is "branding" in a resume? - A.I.W.

Personal branding is what you are known for, fortified by the accomplishments that make you a standout. Management guru Tom Peters began using the term a decade ago, adding that it has become a matter of survival to establish your "saleable distinction." Peters advises "Be distinct or be extinct!"

Randall S. Hansen, PhD, marketing professor at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., and founder of the Web site Quintessential Careers (quintcareers.com) says this about the concept:

"Branding helps define who you are, how you are great and why you should be sought out...Branding is about building a name for yourself, showcasing what sets you apart from others and describing the added value you bring to a situation. Branding is developing an image - with results to match." Dr. Hansen's Web site offers tips on how to brand yourself. Or you can hire a Certified Personal Branding Specialist.

Branding is reminiscent of a slogan first popularized by a major advertising agency in the mid 1950s: "Define Your Unique Selling Proposition." USP advocates held that promoting one key feature and benefit of any brand again and again would cut through the clutter of advertising and build a fortress position in the consumer's mind, a theory later challenged by contemporary marketers.

You can identify your brand in a highlights summary at the top of your resume and add throughout the documenting accomplishments that back up your claim to fame.

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