Show personality and charisma on paper

Dear Sam: I am a parent trying to understand my daughter's job search. It has been 42 years since I sought my first job, so things have changed. She passed the nursing board exam two months ago. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology (pre-med) a year ago. She had three years as an LPN in a Cleveland hospital. In two months, she has had only one interview. I am concerned. I asked her why she does not go door-to-door, get in people’s faces, and let them see her. She tells me that there are no longer any doors, just e-mail addresses. She tells me there are no longer faces, but services that process résumés, and that there is no one to personally impress. She tells me that appearance, personality, charisma, and attitude are not factors in the résumé process, and it is more a matter of what you have in the résumé and what "matches" with what the search engine is looking for! Help me out with the above. Is the process this impersonal? I am beginning to doubt how serious her search is, or who knows what. I am confused. Could you please inform a frustrated parent what the job market is like and how does someone break into this job market? Thanks – One Confused Parent

Dear Confused Parent: Your daughter is correct in that there are very few ways to sell yourself in person before you have secured an interview. Her résumé does have to market her credentials and experiences in a manner that it produces the most “keyword hits” based on the relevancy of her background to the position in question. To do this well, she needs to understand what types of positions she is pursuing and what language consistently appears in those job postings, and then tailor her résumé toward that goal to prompt action from that target audience.

Her résumé, however, can, and should, be infused with personality, something that can help differentiate her from other candidates. To do this, be sure the résumé uses engaging words, a format that is aesthetically pleasing, and possibly even incorporates an image, color, or testimonials (excerpts from recommendation letters or performance reviews) to engage the reader further. An effective résumé is truly a marriage of great content and design infused with a little personality! She can use her cover letter to add additional personality to her job search portfolio, communicate her charisma and attitude, and, of course, her passion for the medical field. She may also want to make sure she is being diligent in not only applying online, but also sending printed copies of her résumé to gain additional much-needed exposure in front of the hiring authority. This is often a strategy that is overlooked; but with as little as 7 seconds to grab the attention of a hiring manager, doubling your exposure for the price of a stamp (by emailing and mailing) can be very valuable. Going a step further, by packaging your résumé in a nice paper folder and mailing with coordinated business cards and mailing labels, can go a long way toward differentiating her as a self-starter who really wants the job. I wish you both much success during this stage of her career. Click here to see an example of a resume with personality and charisma.

Dear Sam: After 27 years with a major company that went into bankruptcy recently, I have to take an early retirement. I am only 53 years old and not ready to retire. A lot of the jobs I am applying for ask for at least an associate’s degree. I was told years ago that a four-year apprenticeship program was equal to an associate’s degree. I have also had a lot of training in the past 27+ years. What is your opinion on this? I do plan on pursuing a degree, but I will need a job in the meantime. Thank you - Dilemma

Dear Dilemma: I’ve never heard of a steadfast rule that an apprenticeship equals a degree, but you could present your apprenticeship program in an education section to help the hiring manager make that same judgment. A lot of how a hiring manager will see your education and past training will be determined by how you present it, so be sure you present it as you would a degree, making note of the program name, sponsoring organization, and possibly even some key focuses of the program. Also use the education section to present your other training that is related to your current career objective(s). Be sure to focus on only those programs that are relevant and still current in today’s business environment. Presenting only recent and/or relevant content in this section will yield stronger results when a hiring manager is comparing your training to that of a degree program.

Samantha Nolan is a certified professional résumé writer and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service résumé writing firm. Reach Samantha at dearsam@ladybug-design.com, www.ladybug-design.com, or 1‑888-9-LADYBUG (1-888-952-3928).