Overcome job search hurdles and win interviews

Dear Sam: My son will be completing a three year incarceration (drug charges) next month. He has some positives; prior to incarceration he completed a residential treatment program, remained drug free for nine months, and maintained employment. He has 10 years as an ironworker (union card should be reinstated) and general construction and equipment operator skills. He has no post-release sanctions. His incarceration was a rehabilitation process, it was without incident, and he was the Warden’s office runner for last two years. He has matured and seems to have appropriate focus and realization that employment will be difficult. He wishes to remain in the skilled trade arena. What and how should he answer the “past criminal” background question on applications and in an interview? – Bill

Dear Bill: Honesty in a job search is always the best policy. Let me just mention that if he creates a résumé, it does not need to disclose his criminal background, but does need to do a great job of communicating his most notable qualifications for his current career interests. His résumé (when required) will play a key role in overcoming the challenge of returning to the workforce after a conviction. If he can present his value as a candidate (proven through past work experience, related training, and transferable skills) he will stand a better chance of the hiring manager understanding what he can bring to the table and not holding his record against him.

When asked in a job application if he has a criminal history, he has to be honest. While some companies may not perform a pre-employment background check, they may adopt this policy mid-employment, and if caught in a lie, this would jeopardize his job. I spoke with a local human resources manager to gain additional insight from the other side of the table. She told me that honesty is definitely the best policy, and even if a background check is not performed, typically there is a 'certification of honesty' statement at the end of an employment application. If you check 'yes' to being honest in your application, yet have checked 'no' to the question regarding any convictions, that would be grounds for immediate dismissal if and when the employer found out the truth. She also conveyed to me that non-violent offenses typically do not disqualify you for a position as you do not present the same risk to the organization and its employees as a violent offender. Additionally, the weight your conviction holds depends on the opportunities you are pursuing. Acts of dishonesty may be held to a higher threshold if you are handling sensitive information, whereby they probably won't disqualify you when working in other settings.

When completing the application and the "Have you been convicted of a felony?" question, have him make a note on the form that he will be glad to discuss this during an interview. This gives him the opportunity to fully present his situation, explaining how his conviction provided a rehabilitation opportunity, that he learned from his mistakes (demonstrated through experiences and achievements while incarcerated), and that he is committed to making a contribution to his next employer. The key in handling this effectively is to remain positive, communicate what he has learned, and convey the value in his related training and skills.

If you both have specific questions regarding the legalities involved in a job search when dealing with a criminal record, you could contact the U.S. Department of Labor who will give you guidance on Federal regulations governing hiring practices and allowable interview questions within the Federal, State, and Private sectors. I wish him a successful transition back into the workforce.

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Dear Sam: I have a quick question, but I think it requires a background explanation. I had a 28-year impeccable career, begun as clerical support, worked through promotions, bettered my education via bachelors and masters degrees and was laid off 18 months short of full pension as a mid-level manager without any recourse and at a relatively young age (46). I survived 18 months on severance, an additional 18 months on retirement savings but was unable to find re-employment. So I tried my hand at restaurant/bar ownership. The bar is successful but could not sustain my debts created by the big corporate job and I was forced into bankruptcy. I am now looking to re-enter the business world at any level suitable to my experience and background. My problem is I cannot get so much as a call back, even though my qualifications sometimes match to a tee. I feel confident that if I could get a face-to-face interview I could explain my difficult situation and I could be a real asset.

My quick question is, does the fact that I filed for bankruptcy immediately flag me as unemployable? I hear various opinions that hiring managers are relying heavily on credit rating. The irony is for 20 years I had an exceptional credit rating (mid 700s), but coinciding with my layoff, the housing market fell out, I was unable to sell my home and I could not find a new position. I had no choice but to file bankruptcy. – Jack

Dear Jack: According to the Society for Human Resource Management approximately 35% of employers pull the credit of potential and current employees. Bad credit does not make you unemployable; in fact under Title 11 of the U.S. Code, employers are prohibited from discriminating against someone who has filed for bankruptcy. Of course the employer can cite a negative credit history that existed before the bankruptcy as the reason for not offering you a position, but if you can justify your credit actions, this may help your case with the prospective employer.

Based on your current objective, I would imagine a credit check would be conducted after you received an interview (I’d take steps to make sure your résumé is really the best it can be as I’d guess that your credit it not impacting the screening / pre-interview process) which would provide you with an opportunity to explain your situation. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you have to give the employer permission to run a credit report, so you will not need to disclose this information unless you know it will be a factor in the decision making process. When it will be a consideration, you could say something like, “When processing my background / credit check you will notice that after being laid off after an exceptionally successful 28-year career, I had to take the unfortunate step of filing bankruptcy. It was a decision I did not take lightly nor was it born out of irresponsibility, in fact what my report does not note is that I maintained a very high credit score my entire life until this point. What I can offer your team however is a proven track record of accomplishment and solid academic preparation, not to mention references that will attest to my experience and character.” The key is to refocus the interview on the positive aspects of your candidacy, make a brief mention of the reasons for your action, and also provide additional character references that can back-up your explanation while providing a strong professional reference.

Strike a Balance: Present Experience While Remaining Competitive

Dear Sam: I'm in trouble and cannot figure out a way to prepare my résumé to show 50+ years’ experience without scaring potential employers. Is there any way to make this more palatable? I MUST work to supplement my income. My immediate concern is that I want to apply for a legal job and my legal experience is the first job I held back in 1958. HELP! – Marie

Dear Marie: I have never presented 50 years of experience on a résumé for any client…that’s just not a wise choice. Doing so would present you as overqualified, potentially too expensive, and of course, would have employers wondering how much longer you really wanted to or could work. When deciding how much experience to present, take your cue from the job postings you are interested in. Do any of them call for 50 years of experience? As this will never be the case, I’d recommend presenting the standard 10-15 years of experience with highlights from your early positions in the legal field placed in the summary and a career highlights section. I start to really question placing experience on a résumé when I get back to the 1980’s. As you don’t want to unnecessarily age your candidacy, you have to make sure including experience past that 15-year benchmark is actually adding value to your candidacy. There are a number of strategies you can employ as a seasoned professional to avoid aging your candidacy, while minimizing potentially disqualifying factors that you may or may not have considered.

Include only the relevant amount of experience - When reviewing your career, remember hiring managers are much more interested in what you have done recently, so including information from 20 or 30 years ago will likely do more harm than good. Be sure to focus on the last 10 or so years of your career, particularly if you are applying for a position that does not necessitate more experience. There are always exceptions of course. If you are a senior executive it is likely the hiring manager will be looking for a seasoned candidate expected to have 20+ years of experience. The key is to present the amount of experience that is relevant to your current career interests and pursuits.

Organize your information carefully - Prioritize your content according to what information adds the most value to your candidacy, ensuring the most important information is placed on the top half of page one, leaving supporting details to fill the remainder of your résumé. If, as you mentioned, you have related experience from 50 years ago; remember that this will likely not benefit your candidacy as much as you would think as it is just too dated. In this case, present only highlights of that experience upfront, and then in the professional experience section, add a byline simply stating you have additional experience in the legal field with ABC Employer. The key to a byline is typically not to date that experience, the fact you have broken the format is a good way to hide that certain information isn’t included.

Don't date your education if it ages you - As for your education, which can immediately date a candidate when listed with the year of graduation, try omitting the year to again avoid aging your candidacy. While some feel omitting the year of graduation can be seen as a red flag indicating the information may be false, it is often a chance worth taking to curtail aging your candidacy. I work with a lot of clients that do not have a degree and make the mistake of placing high school information or partially completed degree programs on their résumé. Typically this information does nothing but detract from someone's candidacy while reinforcing the lack of a degree; if this is the case, omit the education section entirely.

Include training and current skills - Another vitally important component of a résumé for a seasoned professional is a training section. This tells the hiring manager that despite being in the workforce and possibly the same type of position for 20 or 30 years, you have continued to develop yourself professionally. Include any relevant / recent classes, workshops, or seminars you have attended, this tells the hiring manager you have continued to learn new and current skills. Pay particular attention to communicating you have current technical skills.

Update jargon and outdated job titles - You will also want to make sure the jargon used within your résumé is up-to-date with today's vernacular. Antiquated terms and even job titles can serve to immediately age a candidate. Take some time to review job descriptions to be sure your résumé speaks the language of today's hiring manager, being sure to eliminate terms that have become obsolete in today's job market. Review your job titles to be sure they are not detracting from your candidacy, possible modifying your titles to ensure use of today's vocabulary.

Create an engaging design – Just as important as your content, is the design of your résumé. To better engage your target market, update the design of your résumé. Be sure you are not using a standard template which will blend into the crowd of competitors who also chose to use a template. Remember, a unique, appropriate design can extend the length of the 7-10 second screening process.

Communicate your compensation requirements - Another problem for senior professionals is hiring managers often assume you are going to be seeking higher compensation than less seasoned professionals. If this is not the case you may want to address this in your cover letter to attempt to thwart this assumption. Whether in written or verbal communication, focus the hiring manager's attention on what you now want to make instead of what you have made in the past.

Try to secure a face to face meeting - If possible, push for a face to face meeting in addition to submitting your résumé. Résumés for seniors have a way of ruling them out rather than opening up the possibility of an interview. Use your résumé and your face to face meeting to sell your strengths, your work ethic, and interpersonal relationship skills. These are likely areas that you have proven during your career and are values shared by most employers.

Highlight transferable skills when changing careers

Dear Sam: At the end of 2007 I sold an insurance business I owned and worked in for a little more than 10 years. I now want to re-enter the workforce as an event planner or writer. I am unsure how to address my previous experience. I received my bachelor's degree in 1982. I would appreciate any advice and suggestions you may have. – Dee

Dear Dee: I’d first ask what you did in the 15 years between graduation and launching your own business. Is that experience in line with your current objective? If so, you would want to highlight that experience prominently on page one of your résumé in a career highlights section, presenting the high points of your writing/event planning experience, pushing the day-to-day functions and dates of employment to page two of your résumé in the professional experience section.

If however you do not have hands-on experience in those fields, then you are going to really have to package your experience carefully. First, go through your background with your business and identify your transferable skills. Review postings of interest and write down the required qualifications and cross reference with your background. The list you derive will be what you need to highlight prominently on your résumé. I’d suggest using a combination format, meaning you would have a qualifications summary followed by a career highlights section, and in your case organize by functional area, followed by a professional experience section. Using this strategy will satisfy your desire to focus on related experience and transferable skills, while still satisfying the reader’s desire to know what you did when and where. In the career highlights section, present experiences by functional area and create two versions of your résumé, one for writing and the other for event planning. For each, present subheadings that would pique the interest of the reader. For example, for your event planning résumé you could present headings such as Marketing & Promotions, Relationship Cultivation, and Project Management. I am certain in your background you have touched all these areas. The key is to relate what you have done to what you now want to do; hitting the key areas hiring mangers will be looking for in a competitive candidate. You can also be very creative in your formatting. Doing so will reinforce your creativity and position you as a creative and not a business manager. I hope this helps get you on the right track to your new career.

Dear Sam: I am trying to figure out how to write an objective statement but am struggling as I don’t want to close the door to opportunities based on what I state in the opening of my résumé. On the flip side, I don’t want to be so broad as to not really sell myself to anyone. What should I do with this part of my résumé? – Stanley

Dear Stanley: One word…delete! You have just explained how ineffective objectives statements tend to be. An objective statement generally serves only the candidate, not the employer, by presenting what one wants in his/her next position. They are typically so self-serving and vague that they serve no purpose. Additionally, objectives statements waste valuable real estate. The only time I use an objective statement is when I have an entry-level client who really has no experience or transferable skills and we need to make their goal/desired career path quite clear. The vast majority, 99%+, of today’s “value-based” résumés should instead open with a qualifications summary. Quite the contrast, qualifications summaries tell the hiring manager what you can do for them, rather than an objective statement which only tells the reader what you want to do. I urge you to omit your objective statement and spend time exploring your “value,” the key experiences, qualifications, skills, and credentials you offer that are aligned with the positions you are seeking. This will yield a much stronger résumé and a more successful job search.

Dear Sam: I am re-entering full-time teaching after 8 years in a part-time position. I haven't interviewed for a job in 23 years! I have lots of experience and a good reputation in the community, but I'm not familiar with changes to résumés for teachers. Help! – Mary

Dear Mary: The most common fault I find with teaching résumés is that the candidate assumes that hiring managers know what they do in the classroom. Additionally, I hear from my clients that they feel most in the teaching profession all do the same thing, so why explain the obvious on a résumé. While it is true that there are common elements in most teaching positions, there are also other responsibilities and/or achievements that differentiate teachers from one another, and this is what your résumé has to focus on. Teaching résumés should showcase a blend of both what the candidate did on a daily basis, in addition to where they went above-and-beyond. For example, your achievements could include committees or initiatives you supported, after-school activities you led or participated in, or times when you worked one-on-one with a student with a specific need.

As a teacher, you can also be a little more creative on your résumé. As you will see from the samples on my website, I often use images on teaching résumés, excerpts from performance reviews, or even comments from handwritten notes teachers have received from their students. These elements add a tremendous amount of interest to a teaching résumé and really differentiate you from the competition.

ASCII résumé vital to your online search

Dear Sam: I’m completely confused over something that happens when I copy and paste my résumé into an online form. I think my Word résumé looks great but when I copy it into a job board’s or employer’s online form it looks atrocious! I try to go through the form and fix it but it ends up looking even worse. I don’t know what to do, I’m scared employers are seeing a very poorly designed version of my résumé when it really does look good when in my Word document. Help! – Cindy

Dear Cindy: The problem is that you are cutting and pasting from a formatted document when you need to use a plain text or ASCII (“askee”) file. If you don't, as you have noticed, the formatting of your résumé will change considerably and there will likely be some strange characters that appear in the place of special characters or formatting techniques you used in your Word version. Every job seeker should enter the market with their résumé in three formats: Word, PDF, and ASCII, with the latter being what you will use most when conducting your online search.

Let me explain what an ASCII résumé is. ASCII text is the simplest form of text, meaning there is no formatting within the document, and the text is not platform or application specific – therefore any hiring manager can retrieve and read your résumé via the Internet or email no matter what system they are using. This is also referred to as plain text so creating an ASCII résumé provides you with the plain text version you need for the online job boards. Remember, it doesn’t look pretty, nor is it supposed to!

To create a plain text résumé, simply open your formatted résumé and save it as a plain text document (called MS-DOS text or text only in previous versions of Word). Next open the new plain text file in the Notepad application. This program can be found by going through the following menus: Start / Programs / Accessories / Notepad. You’ll notice that within your plain text file everything is left justified, sentences do not wrap, and boldface, italics, and various sizes of fonts do not appear as in your formatted résumé.

There are now several things you should review within your new résumé to be sure it is in proper plain text format. If you had any hard tabs within your formatted résumé you will need to remove those also. For example, if your right justified your dates of employment with a right tab, you will notice that the date now appears a few spaces over from the other information on that line. To ensure this hidden formatting doesn't change into a hieroglyphic-looking character when copied onto the online job board, remove the tab by taking out the spaces and placing a comma between the other information on that line and the dates of employment. Also, look at the bullet points within your plain text résumé and be sure they all appear as an asterix (*). Sometimes depending on what type of symbol you use for your bullet points, they can change to squares or even question marks. Be sure to change these to the asterix symbol as this is one of the few formatting characters a plain text résumé can support. Lastly, if you have any smart quotes, mathematical symbols, or accented letters, review to be sure they are still in tact. For example, if you had the word México on your résumé with the accent over the 'e', this letter would not even appear on your new plain text file. Instead, when you open your text file you will see that the word is now spelled as "M‚xico" with a comma in place of the accented 'e'. This is why it is so important to review these special characters to be sure your résumé is void of any potential errors.

Next, place a line of equal signs (=) between each of the sections. This provides for a visual break and helps differentiate each section. Lastly, save your file before you close Notepad as otherwise your changes may be lost. Be sure your formatted version is closed beforehand, or you will have trouble saving the plain text version with the same file name as your formatted résumé.

Now when asked to copy and paste your plain text résumé you will simply need to open Notepad and your plain text file. Next press Control A (Ctrl+A) or choose "Select All" from the Edit menu, press Control C (Ctrl+C) or "Copy" from the Edit menu, and when your cursor is in the online box that you want to copy your résumé into, press Control V (Ctrl+V) or "Paste" from the Edit menu. You should now see your plain text résumé in the online box!

Let's review the main steps:

1) Open your formatted Résumé

2) Save as a "Plain Text" or "MS-DOS Text" file

3) Open new plain text file in Notepad

4) Remove any formatting or special characters

5) Place equal signs between each section

5) Save your new plain text file

When you are ready to copy and paste:

1) Open ASCII/plain text résumé in Notepad

2) Press Ctrl+A to Select All

3) Press Ctrl+C to Copy text

4) Press Ctrl+V in the online job board box to paste résumé

This process sounds a little daunting when written in-depth, but it is very simple and should only take a few minutes. Happy job hunting!

Diversifying your search tactics sure to yield stronger response

Dear Sam: I'm one of those 50 something Dads who has slowly warmed up to the internet wave. I am also a father of a 25 year old daughter who seems to pursue opportunities EXCLUSIVELY via the internet! I have casually nudged her toward the concept of looking for a new job through networking, hand written/typed letters, business journal classified advertisements, personal letters "mailed" to specific companies inquiring about possible openings etc. She assures me "today, no one goes about recruiting any other way except via the internet. That is where any openings would be posted!" Can you offer some advice as to which approaches are most used and, better yet, most successful today! - Old Fashioned Dad

Dear Old Fashioned Dad: Your daughter is limiting her search, and depleting its effectiveness by solely using the Internet. She, along with hundreds of others, will apply online for the same job, hoping their résumé is enough to differentiate their candidacy. Unfortunately sometimes that isn’t enough and is where using offline methods such as networking, referrals, cold contact letters, job fairs, custom portfolios, etc. can play a key role in increasing a candidate’s exposure, prompting interest, securing interviews, and possibly even landing that dream job. I don’t suggest avoiding the Internet, but DO NOT underestimate the power more “old fashioned” tactics can play in the success of your search. A recent survey by a leading placement agency found while the Internet was most popular with job seekers with 32% of candidates finding jobs online, the majority actually found work via other offline methods such as the newspaper, word of mouth, direct recruiter / employer contact, etc. With stats like that it would only be prudent to diversify ones search methods. In today’s job market the most successful searches stem from a combination of a great résumé and cover letter and a well executed job search plan exhausting all possible approaches to get your candidacy in front of hiring managers.

Dear Sam: My husband was laid off from a career position in capital equipment sales last year. I was in the middle of a small business startup (a licensed childcare facility). He helped me a great deal with site selection, setup, licensing, and all the things we do when we start a business. Should he leave a gap from his layoff to present, or should he include his work in the family business on his résumé? What specifically should he say as he continues his search for a new position in his own field? – Maria

Dear Maria: In this situation strategy is key in opening versus closing doors. I would rather he present the most related highlights from his time assisting in new business launch instead of having a gap in his employment. Positioning is vital in this situation, so even though I suggest he present his time with your business, I want him to present achievements in his field first. To do this, develop a strong summary serving as an overview of his career in capital equipment sales. Next, present a Career Highlights section, organized by employer, with select achievements from his sales career. By doing this you will likely drop his most recent experience with your business to page two, which in turn, will make it play a lesser role in the screening process. In the Professional Experience section present only those most related skills/experiences from your family business. You don’t even have to mention what type of business it was, just present the experience researching, negotiating, and selecting the site; establishing a compliant organizational infrastructure; and developing new business through strategic sales and marketing efforts. While the experience is not directly aligned with his former positions, there are many related aspects that can be highlighted as complementary. By executing this strategy your husband will position himself as a capital equipment sales professional while minimizing the impact of his recent absence from the field. All the best.

Dear Sam: Due to downsizing, I have recently found myself back in the market searching for a job. I have not had issues getting my resume noticed in the past. I have more than seven years experience in outside sales and have my resume organized in chronological order. Do you think I would get noticed by choice employers more quickly if I used a functional resume format as opposed to chronological? Thanks - Lauren

Dear Lauren: Absolutely not! In fact, functional resumes are rarely effective because they leave the reader wondering what you did where and when. Functional formats should be resorted to only in situations where you have no chance of getting past the screening process if you use the traditional, and much more widely accepted, reverse chronological format. These situations could include frequent job hops, limited related experience, large employment gaps, and more. Now, you can certainly pull out some career highlights and organize those by functional area, creating a combination or hybrid format, but be sure to note where each was achieved. Your qualifications summary should serve as the overview of your related and/or transferable skills and experiences, and in that summary, you can pull out keywords which will focus attention on the areas you would likely highlight in a functional format. There is no need to resort to the functional format. Instead, use great content, organization, formatting, achievements, and a strong qualifications summary to grab the reader's attention.

Dear Sam: I have been laid off from four straight employers and none of them have been my fault. How can I get across the fact that I have been laid off, not fired or terminated, instead of appearing that I have jumped from one job to another and had gaps of employment. Is there a good way to put the information in the résumé and cover letter that brings attention to it, but won't make it sound like I am "making excuses?" Thanks for your time. I appreciate any suggestions you have. - Brett

Dear Brett: In today's market most people have been victim of a downsizing or two, so it will not come as a shock to the hiring manager that you have been laid off multiple times. Only include months of employment and not years, which only highlight gaps in employment. There are few reasons you would note the reason for leaving an employer on your résumé, but on your cover letter you could make a statement that you were seeking a career opportunity with a stable and growing organization. By making a positive statement as to what you want, rather than a negative statement about what you don't want, you are letting the hiring manager in on the fact that your career moves were not by choice. In your résumé, be sure you are focusing on areas in which you contributed value to the organization. By doing this you negate assumptions that you may have been terminated due to lack of performance, and further reinforce the value you can offer the potential employer. In addition, just be sure to remain positive about your past employers regardless of any negative feelings you may have. It is important that you are able to make your experience shine on your résumé and in an interview, despite having been through several trying and unfortunate experiences. I wish you the best of luck in finding a long-term opportunity.

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).