Last week I covered the issue of Facebook privacy in my article Facebook Privacy? What’s that?  While Facebook raises many privacy issues, your online footprint as a job seeker extends far beyond your Facebook profile. Even if you have avoided Facebook altogether, chances are you have not completely avoided the internet; and this means that you have an online reputation that can be explored—and exploited—by potential employers.

The Harvard Business Review published an article on April 3, 2012 by Michael Fertik entitled, “Your Future Employer is Watching You Online. You Should be Too.”  Before I read this article, I had not fully considered all the different ways employers might be researching candidates. I had seen statistics, which  Fertik also shares, that more than 75% of employers actively research candidates online (note this was a December 2009 statistic from Microsoft and is probably higher now), and that more than 70% of employers have decided not to hire a candidate based on what they have found online. I assumed that recruiters were looking at major social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn; but according to this HBS article, recruiters dig much more deeply, looking through “shopping profiles, online gaming sites, classifieds and auction sites (think eBay and craigslist) – and even in virtual worlds like SecondLife!”

You are always a shopper – and you are always the shopped

Are you as amazed as I am at the extent of targeted advertising on the web? I get Facebook ads put in front of me for services relating to yoga, healthy diet and personal growth, probably because of the yoga videos, green drinks and books I search for and/or purchase on Amazon. Google has made it spookily easy for advertisers to discover my personal preferences. Clearly, if advertisers can do it, employers can too. There is basically nothing to stop employers from profiling their ideal candidate based on qualities like political inclinations, preferred leisure activities, diet, languages, etc. Of course job history and skills are still the primary considerations, but to narrow down the field, screening for other traits seems a natural extension of what advertisers do every day.

Employers can search for you almost like they would for a pair of shoes. What Fertik drives home is that in today’s world, you are really always a job seeker whether you want to be or not. You *are* being researched. Whether you are found is another story. But if you are, you’ll want to look good when the right company finds you.

Steps to take

In addition to shopping only for items that do not cast doubt on your character, and of course ensuring that your Facebook and LinkedIn profile are professionally presented, there are additional steps you can take to manage your online reputation. Here are three important ones mentioned by Fertik:

1. Check your own Google results. The first five results should make you look good. If they don’t, it’s time for an overhaul of your online reputation. Maybe it’s even time to create a website with the URL firstnamelastname.com or as close as you can get. Does an unsavory character share your first and last name? In that case, address it up front with employers whenever possible so they know to look beyond those initial results.
2. Establish yourself as a skilled professional online. Participate in reputable forums, LinkedIn groups, and anywhere else where you can establish thought leadership online.
3. Don’t assume anything is private. There is always a chance that emails, e-photos, etc. will somehow be discovered or appropriated by a spammer. Privacy settings do not protect you the way you might like.

Have you Googled yourself lately? What did you find? Are you active in online forums? Do you think you would be chosen by an employer for the job you want? Please share your thoughts below.

“I can’t even see it.”

In a Facebook chat with a friend of mine, we were discussing his college-aged daughter’s posts to her Facebook profile. I won’t share the details, but let’s say what she was writing could easily prevent her from being hired if a prospective employer were to see it. I commented to my friend that if his daughter ever wanted to look for a job, she had better delete all those postings. “But her profile is private,” he replied. “I can’t even see it.”

As many people are aware, it has become common practice for hiring companies to view candidates’ LinkedIn and Facebook pages if they are available. This fact causes little concern for most people, since they believe they can keep their profiles, especially on Facebook, private. A private profile is safe from public scrutiny, right?

Wrong. According to a Mesh Report article entitled Job Seekers Getting Asked for Facebook Passwords, nothing could be farther from the truth. In actuality, if you are a job seeker you have essentially given up your right to privacy.

How employers mess with your privacy

First of all, a company might use a third party application such as BeKnown that can often gain access to your profile. You would be surprised how often companies use this tactic. And job seekers might not be aware that when they log in to a company’s website using their Facebook profile, they are likely giving that company full permission to snoop.

Additionally, not long ago both private companies and government agencies began requesting Facebook login information from candidates. Receiving quite a bit of pushback, some of these organizations have modified their requirement, now demanding during interviews that candidates log in to their own Facebook accounts in order to reveal what they contain. Other organizations require candidates to “friend” the hiring manager or other company figurehead so that their profile can be viewed.

One job seeker interviewed by Mesh withdrew his application when asked for his login information. But as requests for social media access become more and more common, many candidates feel that they can’t afford to refuse.

Privacy rights anyone?

One George Washington University law professor says this practice is “an egregious privacy violation.” I tend to agree, and I am encouraged that Illinois and Maryland have legislation in the works that would make it illegal for public agencies to demand access to candidate’s social media profiles. (Police departments are some of the most active seekers of Facebook login information.)

Whether or not this practice is made illegal for public agencies, it seems private companies will be able to invade candidates’ privacy all they want. If you feel strongly enough that this practice violates your rights, and if you can afford to refuse the request, go ahead. But as the practice becomes more widespread, it might become impractical to do so.

Interestingly, it is against the terms of service at Facebook to share login information. But according to the Mesh Report, the Department of Justice will not be prosecuting any employers for their practices despite the fact that it is a federal crime to enter a social networking site in violation of the terms of service.

What will you do about it?

Perhaps the best thing job seekers can do for now is to make sure to rid their profile of any risqué, drunken or other unprofessional pictures; keep their posts clean and sane; and refrain from making disparaging online remarks about anyone, especially past employers.

It seems the practice of coercing job applicants to reveal their social media profiles, albeit masquerading as encouraging them to “volunteer” this information, is not going away without a fight. If you are a job seeker, prepare to be asked to share—or if you can afford it, perhaps you can fight back!

How do you plan to respond if a prospective employer asks you for access to your social media profiles? I’d love to hear your comments below.

Reasons.

We have so many of them. Reasons to do things, reasons not to do things. Reasons why something is possible, and reasons why it’s not. Reasons to spend money, and reasons not to spend money. Reasons to give up, and reasons to take action.

Pretty much every decision we make is based on a reason of some sort or another.

Sometimes reasons conflict with each other. For instance, when I look at discounted mocha brownies in the day-old bin at my food coop, my brain comes up with many reasons to buy (and eat) the brownies. They are on sale! They will taste so good! I deserve it! Yet on most days, I do not buy them, because my reasons for not eating them far outweigh my reasons for indulging. I feel better. I look better. Kale will serve me so much better in the long run. Who cares if it costs twice as much and takes five times as much work to prepare?

Reasons at work in your job search

If you are a job seeker, you probably have lots of reasons to explain why you chose to apply or not apply for a particular job; why someone will or won’t hire you; and even why you are or are not going to hire a resume writer. You can choose to take the easy road, perhaps your default action (buying the mocha brownies), or you can choose to do something a little more difficult that will serve your career in the long term (invest in the kale).

Annabelle’s story

Two weeks ago I got a call from a woman (I will call her Annabelle) who was referred to me for resume assistance. Annabelle had just found out about a position that was available at a national non-profit in Washington, D.C., and she believed she was perfect for the job. The problem: Through her connections, Annabelle had discovered that the hiring process was quickly coming to a close, interviews were done, and the organization was making a final decision on the person they wanted to hire.

Annabelle had also been told by a friend at the organization, who also happens to be a friend of mine, that the language in her resume was confusing and that she should hire me to get it into shape.

Not giving up

Many people would have given up as soon as they heard the words, “We are too far along in the hiring process.” Others would have given up at the prospect of spending hundreds of dollars unexpectedly to overhaul their resume.

Annabelle could have listened to all the multitude of reasons against applying for this position. But she listened to the reasons to give it a shot.

After all, this was a job she wanted more than anything, and no one had actually confirmed that anyone been offered the job yet. Also, there would be more positions open in the future, so it couldn’t hurt to send in her resume.

Annabelle jumped into action. She hired The Essay Expert for two hours at our RUSH rate, reformatted her resume on her own, and, despite having a family emergency intervene in the midst of the process, managed to submit her materials to the organization the next day.

Was it worth it?

The day after sending in her application, Annabelle got an email: the organization wanted to talk to her. She was put through an expedited interview process, and during one of the interviews she could hear one of the managers there going through her resume line by line. He was impressed.

Annabelle moved forward with confidence, incredibly well-prepared for her interviews after having talked to me about every bullet on her resume.

Yesterday I received a call from Annabelle, who told me with great excitement that she had received an offer last Monday for her dream job. A job, you will remember, that was not available until the hiring manager saw Annabelle’s resume.

Annabelle’s job search, beginning to end, for a job at a national non-profit in Washington, D.C.: 4 days. Wow.

Annabelle did have a leg up because she had met the hiring manager at a prior event; her network played a crucial role in opening up this opportunity, as it does for many job seekers. She also believes, and I agree, that “a network can only take you so far; the resume is the only way others can justify your consideration to those who might not know you; it’s your only real voice in the matter.”

She continues (and I promise I did not write this), “No matter how well you think you fit the position, no matter how well you have your contacts lined up, if your resume does not accurately reflect your level of professionalism or capability, hiring managers will never see the true candidate that you are. Having an ill-prepared resume should be the last reason why you don’t go after or get considered for a job. There’s no reason you can’t have a great resume to represent yourself!”

Where are you stopped?

If you are a job seeker, where are you getting stopped? Are you letting reasons keep you from applying to jobs you are qualified for? Are you using a mediocre resume in applications for your dream job because you don’t want to hire someone to bring it up a level or two?

Do you believe that you can find a job in 4 days or do you think such a thing is impossible?

What reasons are you listening to? The ones that have you give up (the equivalent for me of eating mocha brownies) or the ones that will move you forward in your career?

I encourage you to believe that you can turn impossibilities into possibilities if you put your mind to it. Please use Annabelle’s story as an inspiration. And if you have a voice in your head saying, “That could never happen to me,” don’t give up. There is always a different set of reasons you can listen to, if only you are willing.

Last week I introduced you to Loft Resumes, a service that provides custom-designed resumes to job seekers in a variety of industries. I also provided sample formats from some of The Essay Expert’s successful resumes. I then asked you to vote on which you preferred.
Here’s what the survey looked like for those of you who missed it…  I’d still love your input!

Thank you to the 25 people who responded to my survey! Here’s the tally:

“Do you prefer the designs of Loft’s designs or The Essay Expert’s?”

1 person preferred Loft Resume’s designs. [This person was in the insurance industry]

17 people (68%) preferred The Essay Expert’s designs.

1 person liked both equally. [This person was in the IT industry. Note that The Essay Expert has some  other formats you might like better!]

1 person did not like either one. [This response came from an attorney. I agree none of the formats presented would be appropriate for an attorney. For attorneys we use much more straightforward designs.]

5 people chose “Other” and provided the following feedback:

ATS Concerns - Essay Expert’s designs are better, but I fear the inserted box and other graphics might skew an Applicant Tracking System preventing the information from being read and stored, costing an applicant the job by not registering properly within its system. If physically scanned, the Essay Expert is more professional and provides information employers want. [from a career professional/resume writer]

My response: It is true that text boxes and graphics can skew an ATS system. Please rest assured that before a client submits a resume through an online system, we test the resume to make sure it is being parsed correctly by the ATS systems. We do this using Preptel, an online program that mimics the three major ATS programs widely used by large companies to screen resumes.

After posting my article, I was contacted by a representative of Loft Resumes who stated that their resumes do well in Applicant Tracking Systems as well. I would have to test a resume myself to know if that is an accurate statement (Loft does not advertise that their resumes are ATS-friendly).

Keep in mind that every job seeker must have TWO resumes: one for the computer robots and one for humans. Hiring managers, in my experience, really love The Essay Expert’s resumes. I do not have any information on their response to Loft’s designs.

Too Dense - I don’t like either one, they are both too dense with info, the eye doesn’t know where to go to quickly pick up the pertinent details. [from someone in the High Tech industry]

My response: Thanks for your feedback. Thankfully the hiring managers who looked at The Essay Expert’s resumes appreciated something in the resumes, since both of these candidates got job offers for their targeted positions! Neither was in High Tech, and we would certainly use a different format for a high-tech position.

Industry-Dependent Design - It greatly depends on the industry/position. If in creative industry would prefer LOFT.  AND…
- I think Loft’s resumes are a little too designy — the design has more impact than the information contained within it. But Loft’s could be very good for people in the arts, film production, etc.

My response: In fields like marketing and sales, you might be right that LOFT resumes could be viewed more favorably. In a field like graphic design, of course, it would be preferable for the candidate him or herself to design the resume!

- It’s position AND audience specific.

My response: I couldn’t agree more. We use different looks and feels for every industry we work with.

As stated above, if the audience is a hiring manager a highly formatted resume is generally viewed favorably; recruiters hate them.

Even The Essay Expert’s samples here might be too “fancy” for an accountant, although two responders in Accounting and Finance stated they were very likely to purchase an Essay Expert resume and very unlikely to purchase a LOFT resume.

One responder whose industry is aerospace/defense wrote, “The Loft’s [formats] would never work in my industry.”

And I received one response from a person in “consulting” who stated he or she would be very likely to purchase from The Essay Expert and very unlikely to purchase from Loft.

- I like LOFT designs for their uniqueness. They are probably appropriate for someone in more in a creative field versus an executive position. I like Essay Expert’s designs for their clean, uncluttered appearance. They are easy to read and probably more scannable than the LOFT design.

My response: Thank you! I believe I addressed this comment above.

“How likely would you be to purchase a resume design by Loft Resumes, The Essay Expert, or Another Service?”

Overall, my readers (who I admit might be predisposed toward resumes by The Essay Expert) are much more likely to purchase a resume designed by The Essay Expert than they are to purchase a resume from Loft or another service. It was also striking to me that 50% were very likely or somewhat likely to purchase a resume from The Essay Expert.

A gift to you!

Thank you for your support, and if you responded to this survey and are considering purchasing a resume package from The Essay Expert, I will be happy to offer you a 20% discount on any package (maximum discount $100), offer good through April 30, 2012. Note you must complete the survey to qualify for this offer! This is your reward for being a loyal reader and participant in my interactive media opportunities – and for reading to the end of this lengthy article!

Resume format is a personal preference, and also a way to make an impression on hiring managers. A poorly formatted resume might be overlooked regardless of its content, and a beautifully designed resume might get positive attention because of its strong marketing value. If your design is bland, your resume could be met with a yawn; yet if you go overboard with graphics, you could turn off the very people you’re wanting to impress.

How do you want your resume format to stand out from the crowd?

On-Line Formatting Services

I was recently offered an opportunity to refer clients to Loft Resumes, a website specializing in professionally formatted resumes. I am honestly hesitant to recommend this service for many reasons, but I thought I would get your opinion before passing final judgment. Do you think this design service would be valuable for The Essay Expert’s clients?

Let’s go to the website for Loft Resumes to check out their offered formats.  Here’s what I found (please click to explore):

LOFT Resume’s formats are visually more complex than those provided by The Essay Expert. But are they better?

Resumes designed by  The Essay Expert

(Click to view full resume samples)

Which do you prefer between Loft Resumes’ formats and The Essay Expert’s?

Your opinion is requested…

To make this fun, I designed a survey! Please check the boxes below to share your opinion. Thank you!

Thank you for answering this survey! I’ll let you know when the results come in!!

In February 2012, the Career Thought Leaders Consortium published their Findings of the 2011 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New & the Next in Careers.

My particular interest lies in resume trends, and you as my readers expect me to be up to date on these matters!  Here are the Top 12 findings in the resume category from the best of the best in the career industry:

1. Resumes are not dead!

Every job seeker still needs one to present to employers, recruiters and network contacts. That said, the LinkedIn profile is becoming as important if not more important as an entry point and must be crafted to complement, NOT duplicate, the information in the resume.

2. Brevity Reigns

The 3-page resume, however, is going extinct. Keep your resume succinct and preferably to one or two pages, even if you are a high-level executive. This means concise writing, short paragraphs, brief lists of bullet points, and good organization and branding to assist the reader in quickly assessing your strengths. The top third of the first page is prime real estate.

3. Extra Extra! Leverage Addenda

Addenda are welcome attachments to short resumes when you have additional accomplishments to convey that did not make it onto the two-pager.

4. Keep it Chronological

Stay away from functional resumes. Hybrids are okay but reverse-chronological resumes are still the preferred format for recruiters and hiring managers.

5. Smart-phone Savvy

Keep in mind that some people will be reading your resume on their phones. This means you need good headlines and a compelling top third to half of the resume to encourage scrolling down.

6. RoboResumes

Keep ATS systems in mind. Preptel is a good way to make sure your resume is formatted properly to make it through the system.

7. Retro Resumes

Resume paper is still in style for when you present your resume in person! And it’s “retro” – you can send your resume in an actual envelope and perhaps get some positive attention for taking the time to do so in this email-centric world.

8. Hyperlink it!

Put links on your resume. QR codes are becoming popular, as well as other URLs that link to additional material about the job seeker.

9. Be human

Don’t skip the community service, continuing education, civic background, etc. Your character is being evaluated more than ever! And you are encouraged to put a testimonial on your resume. Why say it yourself when you can have someone else say it for you?

10. There’s no one-size fits all.

You need a different resume for each position you apply for, and then you need separate versions for the recruiter, the hiring manager, and the ATS software. How overwhelming can that be? That’s what career professionals and resume writers are here for. Hopefully we can make the process just a bit less overwhelming.

11. Vital Stats

You don’t need to include your street address in your resume header anymore! DO include your LinkedIn URL, web address if you have one, your city and state, ONE phone number and ONE email address.

12. Ever heard of Twitrez?

If you are media-savvy, you may have used the Twitrez tool to communicate your value proposition in a series of 10 tweets, 140 characters each. The idea is that each message can stand on its own and the combined 1400 characters “create a cohesive overview of a candidate’s core qualifications and value.” Or maybe you’ve tweeted your twesume?

I can see what’s next for The Essay Expert – it’s writing Twitter resumes!  Stay tuned…

“I’m boooorrrrrrrrrrred!”

Early on a Saturday evening, I admitted to a friend that I had watched a Netflix movie the night before and was likely going to watch another one that night. For many people, watching videos two nights in a row would not be a remarkable occurrence. But for me, it was an anomaly—a rare sign of boredom. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that before,” said my friend.

Indeed, it is not unusual for me to go a month without finding a single 2-hour block of time to sit and watch a video. What did it mean that I had two such blocks of time to fill in one weekend? Had I failed in some way by not scheduling something more “important”?

In fact, I think my unexpectedly empty time meant that I had gotten enough done and was sufficiently on top of my schedule that I felt unpressured to fill that time with productive activities. A success, not a failure! Yet my inner voice was saying, “Brenda, you’re bored. You had better do something to occupy your brain.”

I considered my options. Should I watch my Netflix video, The Blind Side? Or find something on my business task list to tackle on this Saturday night? Surely there must be something for me to write or edit! I let the wheels in my brain spin for a while. And, after a few minutes of “boredom,” I settled on a new idea: a blog article about this very topic. I wondered if other people had identified boredom as a positive emotion or event, and if so, what factors were at work in our bored brains?

The Value of Boredom

Not long ago, I heard someone complain of being bored and explained to him that I celebrate boredom despite the discomfort it may entail. I see boredom as an opportunity to rest my brain—an empty place that is necessary for the spark of creativity to take hold.

I discovered quite a bit of interesting material that supported my opinion. First was a TED talk by Genevieve Bell.

Ms. Bell explained that the experience of boredom is a moment when, neurochemically, the brain lights up. The bored brain is almost as active as the engaged brain! Boredom is an opportunity for the brain to reset itself, and this reset is apparently a very active process.

Ms. Bell also referenced Heidegger, who argued in 1929 that being bored is a fundamental state of being human—and that we should spend less time putting it at bay and more time embracing it.

The Quest for Boredom

Nowadays, it’s hard to be bored. A text message or facebook update awaits us at every moment. If we don’t like one thing, we move on to the next. We are more likely to be overloaded than bored. For me, this overload shows up as the inability during most months to find time to watch the Netflix video sitting on my desk. Yet those times of disconnection, when the brain gets a rest, are often the most pleasurable times in life. As Peter Bregman stated in his Harvard Business School blog article, Why I Returned My iPad:

Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that’s where creativity arises.

My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These “wasted” moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital.

They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They’re the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen.

To lose those moments, to replace them with tasks and efficiency, is a mistake. What’s worse is that we don’t just lose them. We actively throw them away.

An Astonishing Feat!!

Finally, I discovered a June 13, 2011  “On Point” episode with Tom Ashbrook, featuring guest Peter To0hey who wrote an entire book about boredom (Boredom: A Lively History). Callers largely agreed that boredom is the key to creativity. And neuroscientist Jonah Lehrer jumped on to share that boredom is the precursor to daydreaming, an “astonishing mental feat” wherein, he confirmed, just as much brain activity occurs as when we are focused on something. I suppose the daydreaming phenomenon occurs whether boredom comes from having “nothing” to do or from disinterest in whatever we are doing.

From my cursory research, I found that there is a clear connection between boredom and the birth of new ideas. Reportedly, many of the best ideas arise when we can untether ourselves from the constant stream of information that bombards us in every minute.

I’m glad I chose not to put that DVD in my computer. It’s still there when I want it, and I found a friend who asked to watch it with me. In the end, by allowing boredom to set in for just a few short minutes, I created a fascinating, brain-lit-up Saturday evening.

My e-book, LinkedIn Power Tune-Up, has been very popular for a long time in its current pdf format.  It has now been renamed and repackaged as How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile…  and 18 Common Mistakes to Avoid — now available in Kindle format from Amazon.com!

I would be thrilled if you would purchase the book and encourage your friends to do so as well!  And I have an even more pressing request.  Many of you have already read my book. I would be most appreciative if you would take five minutes to write a review and post it on Amazon.  Post a Review Here.

In exchange for writing a review by March 15, 2012, you will be entered into a drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card!  There will be 3 lucky winners!!

You might be thinking, “But I haven’t read the new book, only the old LinkedIn Power Tune-Up Book.” Not to worry.  The book is almost exactly the same, except it has a cool new cover and an interactive table of contents.  If you write a review of the book you already read, it will be completely appropriate for the Amazon version.

My publishers tell me that good reviews are the key to success when it comes to selling e-books on Amazon.  So I’m hoping you will jump in and add your voice to the community of people who have found value in what I offer.  I want as many people as possible to have access to the essential information in How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile so that they, like you, can find success in their LinkedIn networking efforts.

If you haven’t read my book yet, please consider purchasing it on Amazon…  or just sign up for my e-list to get the pdf version for FREE!

Questions or comments on my book?  Please post in the comments!  And thanks in advance for spreading the word about the value of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile.

About a year ago, I decided it was time to create a customer service survey. So I went on line, found a surveying program and created some questions. I even went so far as to show it to my business coach, Susan Thomson, to get her feedback. She made some suggestions which I incorporated.

Then I did what so many of us do mid-project, which was to sit on my butt. The survey sat there, all dressed up and nowhere to go. I didn’t send it to a single soul.

Things go that way sometimes. I have a flip camera, for instance, that I bought two years ago and used for the first time… ummm… a month ago. Even then, I did not post the video I took with the camera. There are also certain collections of notes and papers – the ones I’m not sure what to do with – that gather dust in piles. And my new printer sat in its box on the floor of my office for a week before I finally pulled it out and set it up.

All these tasks, and more, live in the realm of “Important, not Urgent,” one of the four quadrants identified by Steven Covey in his best-selling business management book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Often, until something happens to make one of these items urgent (such as I need to print something and I can’t get my old printer to work), I am likely to procrastinate completing the task.

Letting “Important, not Urgent” tasks fall by the wayside leads to a high-pressure life. If I wait until an item is urgent before doing it, then I set myself up for stress. Everything is always urgent! Plus I never get things done that would make a huge difference for me or my business, even though they might be high-priority tasks. Surveying my customers is one of those items that is highly important for my business, but not urgent. It will never get done if I wait for it to become urgent.

I have found a few tricks that help me break through the wall of resistance that keeps “Important, not Urgent” things from getting done.

1. Take stock. Identify what’s important.

Every quarter, I attend a meeting of small businesses through a business coaching organization, ActionCOACH. During these quarterly workdays, we go through exercises that are hugely valuable in getting perspective on our business priorities. This past January, client contact and assessment came up as a high priority for The Essay Expert. When I created my calendar of tasks to complete over the quarter, my stagnating client survey came up high on the list of things to do.

2. Break it down.

Important tasks often seem overwhelming because they are multi-faceted. If I can break the tasks down into small, attackable pieces, then I stop feeling overwhelmed. I know I can do something like “Call virtual assistant to talk about survey options.” It’s so much less intimidating than “Survey all my past clients.”

3. Put it on the calendar.

If my calendar tells me to “Prepare survey” or “create list of emails for survey recipients” at a certain date and time, I will either do it at that date and time or reschedule it so it gets done. I am a slave to my calendar — and that’s a good thing. After my quarterly workday in January, survey-related tasks went onto my calendar. They started to get done. [This calendaring system is how I get my blog written every week as well. It’s on my calendar, so I do it!]

4. Make promises to other people. Create accountability!

In my January blog article, The Essay Expert’s New Year’s “Ressaylutions”- Completing 2011 and Creating 2012, I promised you that I would be sending out a client survey. Suddenly I became accountable to someone else. Since I wanted to announce at the end of 2012 that I did what I promised, I got into action!

5. Get help.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I was not going to do this survey thing on my own. So I got help. My new virtual assistant, Jeanne, handled some of the logistical pieces of getting the survey finalized and sent out. I asked my web designer to take care of creating a new email address, clientsurvey@theessayexpert.com, for purposes of administering the survey. Getting the support I needed accelerated the project tremendously.

6. Know the tools at your disposal.

If you’re sending out a survey, it helps to use Survey Monkey. If you want to get piles of notes and papers off your desk, it helps to use a scanner and the brilliant cloud-based note-organizing program Evernote (www.evernote.com). If you draw on your resources, you will almost always find an easier and/or alternative way to do what you’ve been putting off. Ask around. Be on the lookout for new tools and techniques. Those overwhelming tasks might not be as complicated as you had imagined.

7. Take action.

It always comes down to just doing it. If I don’t take action, then regardless of how many action items are on my calendar, I won’t get results. If I take action, especially well-considered action (see #1-6), I have a fighting chance!

8. Keep taking action.

This item might sound a lot like #7. But it’s different. Someone very smart said that the secret to getting results in life is to keep taking action until you get them. You might take initial action, not get the result you want, and promptly give up. The key to getting important stuff done is to stay in action even when things look like they’re not working or not going fast enough. If you give up on taking action, you give up on your results.

9. Take responsibility.

Whether your important tasks are getting done or not, you are the one who is responsible for the situation. Blaming outside circumstances (“The survey program wouldn’t let me ask the questions I wanted to ask!” or “I don’t have time!”) will stall you out. In the survey project, many things interrupted me and presented obstacles. I chose to find a way around them.

10. Celebrate!

I am going to celebrate getting my survey out. Sure, there will be a whole set of new tasks to conquer when this one is complete. But first it’s time to acknowledge what got done.

And it IS going out!! Step by step, with lots of support along the way, I completed this important task. If you are a past client, you probably got an email yesterday requesting that you complete The Essay Expert’s client survey. If not, please take some time to respond now. TEE Client Survey.

I look forward to being able to report on the results!

I’d love to hear what tasks you are putting off that might get done if you put the eight items above into action. What progress will you be able to celebrate three months from now?

“Resume Oblivion” has been a hot topic in the news. The Wall Street Journal published an article, Your Resume vs. Oblivion, reporting that the percentage of large companies using computerized Applicant Tracking Systems to screen candidates is in the high 90%; almost all Fortune 500 companies rely on these programs.

The article points out that “the systems, which can cost from $5,000 to millions of dollars, are efficient, but not foolproof.”  Specifically, “Tracking software …  may miss the most-qualified applicant if that person doesn’t game the system by larding [sic - I think they mean loading] his or her résumé with keywords from the job description.”

The article offers advice, which I recommend reading, on “How to Beat the ‘Black Hole.’” However, the advice is not comprehensive.  The first item, for instance, instructs job seekers to “mimic the keywords in the job description as closely as possible. If you’re applying to be a sales manager, make sure your résumé includes the words ‘sales’ and ‘manage’ (assuming you’ve done both!).”

Pardon me for saying so, but the above advice is 1) rudimentary, 2) a no-brainer and 3) limited in its value. The problem is that 99% of the people applying for a sales manager job are going to have the words “sales” and “manage”  in their resumes! Therefore, you will not get higher on any list by including these keywords. The same goes for most of the keywords in the job description, since many job seekers are getting savvy about matching their resumes to the posting.

The Wall Street Journal is not the only major news provider who delivered misleading or incomplete information on this topic. Take NPR’s 16-minute segment entitled Keeping Your Resume Out of Online Oblivion, where callers related stories of how they got interviews despite the reign of Applicant Tracking Systems.  View it here:

You will hear some creative solutions in this spot on how to make it past the computers. You will also hear something misleading:  that hiring managers (i.e., human beings) program the ATS software to screen for certain terms.

Do you really think that a company like Google or Starbucks is going to have a human being sit there and punch keywords into a computer for each of the thousands of jobs they post every day? Think again.

No, human beings do not program these systems — the systems program themselves! The keywords the computers are looking for are determined by the computers. And this is why qualified candidates are so often overlooked.

In my estimation, to beat a computer you need a computer. That’s why I make sure that every one of my clients who applies to a mid- to large-sized company puts his or her resume through a computerized system, Preptel’s Resumeter. I have written about this program before (see How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers), and I keep becoming a bigger and bigger fan. Preptel gives an actual view of how your resume is read by the computers, and, starting later this week, will coach you step by step through the process of fixing the formatting. Isn’t that better than the vague advice given in the WSJ article to “keep the formatting on your résumé simple and streamlined”?

Preptel will also tell you what keywords the computers have deemed important. Trust me, you won’t figure these out on your own. Here’s a sample:

adding creative input
bim publishing software
or ad tags
the bim publishing
widgets pages content
with station contacts

If you include even one or two of these wacky strings of words in addition to the ones in the job description, your resume will move up in the pile. Add three of the strings and you will have a great chance of success, especially if you also meet the other qualifications in the job description. If you’re not sure how to incorporate the keywords you need, and don’t want to register for Preptel yourself, The Essay Expert will be glad to work with you and give you a free report on how your resume is stacking up.

If you’re a do-it-yourself-er, sign up for Preptel’s Free Trial and get a reduced subscription price of $19.99/month. I can’t think of a better investment to make in your job search.