Old School vs New School Job Search Rules
I’m going to list out some of the old job search rules that I remember from the old days and list how the rules have changed.
Old: Your Resume Must Be One Page Long!
New: Your resume has to be at least one page long. If it’s less than one page, it means you have nothing to show. Your resume can be as long as you want. Most of the time, they’ll only pay attention to the first two pages and skim the rest. So the optimal length is about 1-2 pages long. So don’t worry about squeezing everything into one page. Now you can increase that font size and line-spacing so it’s easier to read. Now you can add in that additional detail that might help you get noticed.
Old: Quantify your results for your job descriptions in your resume. For example, I did X, Y, Z and saved the company billions of dollars.
New: If you really did save the company billions of dollars, you can write that because it’s impressive. But I’ve seen people get so hung up on that rule, they write things like, “increased profit 1%.” Most of the time, those quantifiers are made up and not impressive. Also, sometimes it’s hard to quantify every little thing in your daily job.
What you should be doing is filling your resume with keywords. Keywords are words either a human or a computer can easily scan. Keywords has to be relevant to the job you’re applying for. So the more relevant keywords you have, the better. To figure out what keywords to use, just read their job descriptions. Then use their same style and vocabulary to write your resume.
Instead of quantifying, you can write what you did and how you did it. You should also list specific technologies or skills you used to accomplish that. For example, “Analyzed reports in Excel and processed orders in AS/400 to ensure timely shipping of Home Depot’s product.” What she did was ensure that Home Depot’s product was shipped on time. How she did it was by analyzing reports in Excel and processing the orders in AS/400. It’s also keyword friendly if a job required Excel and AS/400.
Old: Thank You Letters: Always Write One No Matter What._
New: Most cases you don’t need them. You can read about my opinions here and here. Basically, only write one if you feel if you’re among the top candidates. That’s like extra credit to help you get the job. Otherwise, don’t waste your time. Sincerely thank them in person at the end of the interview instead.
Old: Salary Negotiations: Never say your amount first. Always get them to say the amount first.
New: I hate this advice. I feel that you shouldn’t play games like these. What happens if they low ball you when you get them to say the amount first? Say the minimum salary you’re expecting is $60k/year and they low balled you and told you $40k/year. What are you going to do? It’s going to be hard to get a salary above 60k. This is a tough position especially if you want to work for the company. Otherwise, you have to decline the offer unless you want a big pay cut.
What you should do is be proactive and say your amount first. Figure out what the average salary of your position is for that area. Then say the highest possible salary that you think you deserve that’s in that salary range. You have to honestly know how much you’re worth. You can’t low-ball or high-ball yourself. If you’re applying for a junior level graphic designer position in Alabama, you can’t ask for $90k/year. But you can’t ask for $10k/year either.
Say you’re minimum is $60k/year. You look up the salary range for your job, and it says the range is 55k- 70k a year. So during your salary negotiations say, “I would like something in the upper 60’s.” Usually, most good companies will know what the salary range of a particular position is. If you ask inside that range, they’ll most likely give it to you.
If you know you’re superstar (make sure you’re honest about yourself in this, you might not be a superstar like you think), you can ask above that range. If you demonstrated that you are indeed a superstar in your interviews, you may get it.
Stumble it!
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Has anyone tried these things and see if they help?