How to Write a Resume; How to Network

As part of my continuing job search, I attended an unusual panel session held by the Commonwealth Club of California last week. I blogged one of the four presentations a few days ago and this is my second of four posts on the panel session. The session was unusual because most people associate the Commonwealth Club with political and policy lectures, not something as mundane and practical as looking for work.

Bob LoPresto, Managing Partner of Duran Human Capital Partners, gave the first presentation. Unlike Mark Tortorici’s Web-centric talk which followed, LoPresto’s topic was more traditional and he focused on the resume. Where Tortorici pronounced the resume dead, I got the impression that LoPresto would declare Tortorici’s pronouncement somewhat premature although he apparently agreed on the long-term outlook.

Here are LoPresto’s recommendations for resume writers:

• A winning resume is the cornerstone of your job search. Recruiters are literally getting 1000s of resumes in this market. Yours needs to stand out from the rest in some way.
• Get a position description, examine it in detail, and look for the musts and wants. Express your achievements and abilities using the precise wording of these musts and wants to make it really easy for the recruiter to pass your resume up the chain.
• Clearly, a one-size-fits-all resume is not going to fit into this approach. You need to rework your resume for each job position you apply for. That means that you don’t blindly send your canned resume to any job that remotely fits. You select, tailor, target, and send.
• Express your achievement metrics as a number using numerals because numerals are visual stoppers and will attract the eye of the recruiter. So, do not write “managed a two-million-dollar departmental budget” but “managed a $2,000,000.00 budget.” (Looks a lot bigger in numerals, doesn’t it?) Don’t write “achieved a one-hundred-forty-eight percent sales increase” but “increased sales by 148%” or “cut project cycle time by 24 weeks.” You get the idea.
• Apply for positions where you are most qualified, where you have the most passion, and which are in the best industry for your experience and interests.
• Keep your resume to two pages max. One page is better. Older positions you’ve held can be relegated to one-liners, but have backup material on hand if asked.
• Recruiters prefer reverse-chronological order for your list of previous jobs.
• Have a list of pre-screened references at the ready, but don’t hand it over until asked and only if you’re really interested in the position and you sense that they’re interested in you.

Networking is the most important thing you can do, said LoPresto. About 80-90% of the jobs people get, they find through networking—not the online jobs boards. That means you need to attend as many meetings and functions in the fields/industries of interest as you can and you need to meet new people. Always have a business card ready to hand someone. Not a resume; a business card. If you don’t have one, get one immediately. Go to an office supply store and have simple ones made up (name, address, phone number, email address) or get some laser-printer business-card blanks and print them yourself. Don’t delay to perfect the look of your card. As Ken McCarthy said on a marketing CD I listened to a few days later: “Perfection in infinite time is worth nothing.” Get it done today.

Networking is a lot of work. Keep at it. It’s a numbers game. Make as many contacts as you can. There’s no way to guess which contact will be the winner. Just keep meeting people.