Fear makes us follow the wrong experts, don't you think?

I was visiting career industry colleague, Barbara Sanfani’s blog yesterday, Break All the Rules in Resume Writing to Land the Interview where she gave an interesting example about rotary phones and then discussed the misconceptions that people have about resumes. She said,”This made me reflect on the way that most people think about resumes. Many seem to think that there is a right way and a wrong way and that if you deviate from the “rules” the resume won’t work. But the reality is that there really is no right or wrong way to craft a resume. The key is to create a document that quickly proves your value and impact to the hiring authority.”

I commented back that her points were excellent and I incorporate all those suggestions in the resumes and career marketing materials I create. I ended my comment with the headline of this blog, “fear makes us follow the wrong experts, don’t you think?’

I do think. I have been in the career industry for a long time. Throughout my career, I have heard the same things from people, like this:

1. Resumes need to be one page long.  No, they don’t. A resume needs to highlight your unique talents, gifts, and accomplishments and be filled with keywords that fit the position you are targeting. If you can do that in one page, great. If you need two pages, use two pages.
2. Don’t put much detail in resumes, just the bare facts will do. No, it won’t. You need accomplishments that attest to your ability to do the job.
   • Example: Spearhead sponsorship development, recruitment, and retention for a total budget of $412,078 which represents a 45% increase over the budget prior to March 2005.
3. You don’t need a professional profile or branding statement, just start with the employment information. That’s just filler. No, it isn’t. The professional profile should be written so that it is filled with keywords, measurable results and accomplishments.
   • Example: DEDICATED GRAZING SPECIALIST, with over five years of experience educating farmers in ways to improve their profitability and overall land use while maintaining high standards of environmental conservation and sustainability. Productive team member, with the ability to plan and conceptualize effective solutions. Resourceful professional with a track record of success writing both grants and grazing plans. Confident individual, with the ability to deliver thought-provoking presentations to large groups.
4. Or even, stick to my old format, I had a professional do it, it worked 10 years ago and it has always gotten me a job. No, it might not. Wow! I had one of those come in a few weeks ago, because he told me it was done a by a professional, I was prepared to make only small changes. No, the whole layout was old and stale and lacking in any of the components of today’s resume. He looked at my samples and decided to let me re-craft the resume for him. He called a week later to say he was headed to the interview! And to be fair, I had a client of my own come in last week, who told me when she scheduled the appointment, “I keep coming back, your resumes always get me the job!” I took one look at the last resume I wrote for her in 1999 and said, we have to revise and refocus this resume. And we did. She has some challenges to overcome and called for additional coaching in how to respond in interviews.

When you go to the wrong experts, your brother-in-law who hired some people, the teacher who hasn’t written a new resume in 15 years, the next door neighbor, or your golfing buddy because you are afraid or because those people say they know it all, you miss opportunities. You miss listening to the professionals in the career industry who continuously research, read, and learn new strategies from each other and the professional organizations like Career Directors International, Career Management Alliance, and Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Ultimately, letting the fear drive your job search may also make you miss getting the job of your dreams.

Career Industry professionals are much more visible than ever before because many of us are using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Many of us have blogs like this one, packed with free information and resources. Don’t let fear drive your job search or drive you to the wrong experts.

Thoughts? Your comments are always welcome and I love to talk with you.