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By Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter

Don’t Sell Yourself Short On Your Resume

Imagine for a moment, a marathon runner who has trained for years, only to stop short of the finish line. The runner has all but won the race, and a mere couple of inches are all that are needed to collect the trophy, applause and accolades they so richly deserve for all the hard work and self sacrifice they’ve put themselves through. But instead, the runner stands idly by, as one after another of the competitors cross the finish line.

Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

As a recent college grad, you definitely know a thing or two about hard work and self-sacrifice – not to mention the monetary investment necessary for a quality college education. Even those who receive full scholarships will still find out that college isn’t cheap.

However, keep in mind that graduation is not the finish line. Using that hard-earned degree to land your first job is. And you will have plenty of competition for that trophy.

Investing yourself into a well-written resume can be your best bet for making certain yours is the first chest to break the finish-line tape. As in our example above, not doing so could very well find you standing only a breath away from the win, as your competition runs past.

Consider these five suggestions when writing your story.

1) Remember, the resume is about you, but it must be written for the reader. It should compel them to action, that action being, calling you in for an interview.

2) Be certain to use language in your resume that is apropos to the industry and for the types of roles to which you are applying. Research target companies through Glassdoor, Google, Hoovers.com, Manta.com, local small business journals and a plethora of other resources available to identify vital information that helps YOU to articulate in your resume that you understand the target companies’ pain points and you can hit the ground running as a problem solver

3) It is imperative to not simply list coursework and degree consummated, but to vividly and pragmatically communicate the value you offered while employed in internships or part-time jobs while going to school. As well, what special university projects did you contribute to, especially within your major field of study, and which relate to your career objectives? Include those, digging deeply to describe what unique value YOU specifically offered. What ideas for process or for solutions building did you offer, and did your project team implement your ideas?

Did you participate in a sorority or fraternity? If so, beyond partying, what committees did you participate in or chair? For example, if you headed the recruiting committee, what percentage growth did the organization experience during your tenure? Quantify it on your resume.

What else are you proud of, and why? And why would it matter to your target reader? If it does meet the ‘so-what’ test, then include it, succinctly and with impact. Add a pithy story of the ‘how and why’ you did what you did, to entice the reader, you can do the same thing for them.

4) Get over the one-page college graduate resume ‘rule of thumb.’ That’s outdated. It’s not to say a one-page resume is in any way bad; it’s just not the only option. Do you really think that if a hiring decision-maker, a president of a local start-up or an HR representative at the local widget company runs across your compelling 2-page resume story that really speaks to THEIR needs, they’ll say, “Forget it – we can’t hire him; his resume is one page too long?”

5) Consider speaking with a professional writer to get you going in the right direction. This investment is normally quite small compared to what you’ve already spent so far and can be priceless in the knowledge you gain, the interviews you net, and ultimately the salary that you land. An old saying goes, “Don’t trip over a dollar to save a nickel.”

Remember, your resume is about You Inc., so don’t sell yourself short.

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Guest Blogger Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, a member of the Glassdoor Clearview Collection, is chief career writer and partner with CareerTrend. Collaborating with professionals in career transition, or those individuals who desire to ignite their existing careers, Jacqui is one of only 28 Master Resume Writers (MRW) globally and holds a BA in Writing. An intuitive researcher, she unearths clients’ compelling story details and applies an inventive approach to career positioning documents and social media profiles.In addition to being interviewed for television and radio stories, Jacqui has written for the Career Management Alliance Connection monthly newsletter and blog, ExecuNet’s Career Smart Advisor, The Kansas City Star, The Business Journal and The Wall Street Journal. As well, she and her husband, “Sailor Rob,” host a lively careers-focused blog over at http://careertrend.net/blog. In addition, Jacqui is a power Twitter user listed on several “Best People to Follow” lists for job seekers.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.

By Meghan M. Biro

Do you want more money?

What are you worth to an employer? Quick, come up with a number.  OK. Now, let’s come up with a realistic number.

Negotiating salary is, for most of us, as difficult as getting past phone screens and interviews to the job offer. It can be tough to think of yourself in dollar terms. If you’re not prepared to negotiate, you’re sure to be unhappy with almost any offer. So don’t be caught flat-footed. Especially today – when companies may not have much flexibility with money – getting to the offer, and making sure it’s fair to all, is a necessary skill.

I’ve written here at GlassDoor about questions to ask during an interview to help you understand a company’s culture,  and ways to figure the real and soft costs of commuting. Those topics also figure into a salary negotiation.

Salary,  for example, is one measure of a company’s culture. Employees should be compensated fairly, compensation should be on par with similar companies in the region and the company should have a documented performance review process. If it’s a start-up, compensation may be difficult to benchmark, but for more established companies – say, those in business for more than ten years – it’s a simple matter to check Glassdoor.com, Salary.com, The Ladders and similar sites to get an idea of pay scales.

Commuting is also a salary issue. If you are looking at a long commute, for example, there are many associated costs – read the post and check out the calculator.

In salary negotiations, research, preparation and a realistic attitude will be your best friends.  Here are a few things to think about.

• Ask, or find out, what the salary range is. This goes if you’re applying for an advertised job or interviewing for an in-house promotion. Most companies post a salary range with job descriptions. If the salary isn’t posted, do research until you find a baseline range that matches your level of experience. This should be obvious, but it may not be: if the pay range is too low, pass. In this economy, talking to a prospective (or current) employer to up the salary scale is next to impossible – and it’s not the place to start negotiating.
• Ask yourself what you need – what I call the magic number. Know what you need to live, what you need to save, and how much risk you can tolerate. This is especially important when you’re negotiating with a start-up, most of which defer a fair amount of compensation by offering stock options and other non-cash compensation. If you’re not sure, go to salarycalculator.org, plug in the lowest number on the advertised pay range and work back.
• Ask about non-salary compensation. Health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, workmen’s compensation, flexible spending accounts, on-site daycare, IRA matches (remember those?), bonuses (and those), paid training/education, vacation time and employee stock options. Most companies will offer some or all, and depending on where you are in your life, some will be worth more than others.
• Know what the market will bear. You may think you’re worth $100K but if you’ve been out of school five years, are changing careers or geographies, haven’t managed other employees or perhaps don’t have many recommendations, you won’t be in a good place to negotiate. Keep in mind the average national wage as of the 2010 index is a sobering $41,673.83.
• Know when to ask. Few of us want to talk about money, especially in an emotionally-charged setting. So stay on the front foot: ask what the salary is when you ask for the job. Ask before the interviewer makes an offer. Start the negotiation and you’ll feel more in control and better able to handle the conversation.

We haven’t talked nuts-and-bolts here. There are other pointers – rehearse with a friend or partner, do the research, don’t be defensive or aggressive if you don’t like the offer, don’t accept the offer on the spot and ask for a formal offer letter. Make sure the letter includes reference to non-cash compensation such as vacation, sick time and insurance. Find out when insurance coverage starts – COBRA adds up fast. Most important: be prepared to justify the salary you want. Come to the negotiation prepared with a summary of your accomplishments. Show your value to the interviewer. And remember: you’re not just a number on a paycheck. You’re worth more than that.

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Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a serial entrepreneur and globally recognized career expert in talent acquisition and creative personal and corporate branding. Meghan has conducted more than 300 successful career searches for clients ranging from Fortune 500s to the most innovative software start-up companies. Meghan is also a new media strategist who enjoys accelerating collaborative business and community goals. When not recruiting, blogging, and innovating, she manages a dynamic coaching practice to empower corporate leaders, mid-level managers, software technologists, and recent college graduates. Meghan is a member of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS), The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and several entrepreneurial organizations. She serves on the Alumni Council for Greens Farms Academy, acting as a career mentor to high school and college students. Founder and co-host of “#TChat, The World of Work,” a long-running, weekly Twitter chat and radio show, Meghan’s ideas have appeared on Forbes, CBS Moneywatch and she blogs regularly at Monster, The 12 Most, Ragan’s HR Communication and several additional online destinations of note.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.

By Hank Stringer

I get calls from friends with children graduating from college who ‘need some help’ finding internships or permanent employment. Two of the recent students I have helped are interesting to me because of the assistance they receive from their university’s career placement, as well as the contacts from companies that have been coming their way.

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It is interesting to me because reviewing the backgrounds of the two students would lead one to believe these two would have ‘no problem’ finding the right employer, really one would think employers should be doing all they can to pursue them, but they aren’t. I have a couple of ideas as to why the situation is what it is and more importantly, have suggestions for students looking for internships or work aligned with career desires.

One of the students I am working with is a merit scholar at a university in the southwest and is studying to graduate with degrees in economics, philosophy and Latin American Studies. The other will graduate from a top engineering school in the southwest with a degree in aeronautical engineering and has a high GPA.

So these descriptions beg a couple of questions:

1. What do students do to find the right opportunity?
2. Why are HR organizations for companies not aware of these students?

Let’s take these one at a time and we will get to suggestions, so bear with me.

What it appears students do to find work…

The answer to the first is what most people looking for work do – they review websites for job/opportunity postings and submit their resume, and then what happens? Nothing – crickets chirp louder and why? Easy, companies don’t have the resources to manage inquiries and few executives understand the need and upside for making investments in talent acquisition through great relationship management. In the late 90’s, because of the Internet the future was described as one where companies would seek out and value talent relationships ahead of need…that HR would become strategic versus reactive and all in the world would be wonderful. Based on the discussions I’ve had with these students and others, we missed and we missed badly. Not only are students not finding work easily, they hear a negative outlook on the future of work, at a time when the reality is we have positions to fill in this country and companies complain the right talent is not available. For smart people, we are not solving this problem very effectively.

Why don’t companies build relationships with talent ahead of demand?

Resources are at a premium and few companies understand the value of searching out talent ahead of need and establishing a relationship of value. In the descriptions here every company that does business in Latin America should know every merit scholar studying Latin American studies and Economics at major universities in the US and around the world. They should have already established a relationship and begun a nurturing process for future need. There are not that many and it is not that difficult. Same can be said for the Aeronautic Engineering major but rather than reach out it appears companies and students sit back, use the Internet and wait.

Students and companies alike must think about standing out in the market by doing things differently than everyone else:

Network to establish personal relationships
Students – look to Glassdoor to understand how employees think of their employer
Companies – look to Glassdoor to see how employees think of you
For both – be different by thinking and acting strategic in your search for work or talent

We as students, employees and companies must do a better job of career relationship, transition and transaction. It is past time to get this right.

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Guest Blogger Hank Stringer is a member of the Glassdoor.com, Clearview Collection and CEO of Stringer Executive Search and Chief Strategist to Novotus – a professional recruiting agency. In 2006 he co-authored Talent Force:  A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. (Prentice-Hall. 2006) with fellow Clearview contributor Rusty Rueff. Hank’s experience includes founding Hire.com, an early Internet recruitment solution acquired by Authoria in 2005. He has also served as a senior recruiter for Dell Inc. and Tandem Computers.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.