JobTabs Job Search & Resume

Is this straight, baby?

When my wife and I got married, we moved out of our respective domiciles and into our new home.  It was a bear of a move.  I remember saying to myself, “I never knew I owned this much stuff!”

And so it is with your career.  It is absolutely amazing how much experience you can accumulate in a short amount of time.  If you were to look back on the last twelve months of your employment,

· How many different projects did you work on?
· How many audits/reviews did you prepare for?
· How many working relationships did you have to coddle?
· How many glitches did you have to delve into just to get things moving again?
· How many new people were you introduced to?
· What were your victories?  What were your defeats?

In the course of a year, it is amazing how much we have done.  Now do it for the last X years of your career.  You have done a lot more than you think you have.

All of this experience can be extremely valuable when you are job searching.  As I have told so many job seekers, the likelihood of any job seeker getting a job that exactly mirrors their experience to date is near zero.  It is highly likely that you will have to draw on the peripheral work you have done to get under the wire.  In this economy, this is doubly important yet, all too often, job seekers under sell themselves.  They have a few resumes and share the resume which most closely matches the position they are pursuing.  Here at JobTabs we call this, The Highway to Hell.

Taking a written inventory of your accomplishments is extremely important.  The best way to do this is to develop a master resume.  A master resume isn’t a resume that you would actually send to anybody.  It is used only to list everything you have ever done at any company.  It is your personal checklist to jog your memory to see what you can come up with to be as close of a fit as possible for any job listing in which you have an interest.  A master resume has no facilities you would use in a Functional Resume.  It is purely chronological and used purely for your reference.  There is no page limit; the longer the better.  Ultimately, you want to use your master resume to copy specific accomplishments for pasting into resumes you are tailoring for a specific job.  Remember, there is rarely – if ever – any job you are going to be applying to that mirrors exactly what you have been doing, so you have to be able to draw on all of your experience.

Describe each accomplishment in your master resume much as you would a regular resume.  You want to be able to copy and paste from your master resume into a resume that you would send to the employer.  If you do not put everything on your master resume, it is likely that you will forget what you accomplished and that hard earned work experience will be lost forever.

In addition to listing all all of your accomplishments, you may want to do the following.

Add tags.

If you have enough bullet points, it will be easier to add a tag to them to make them easier to find.  Consider adding tags for leadership skills, financial skills, team building skills, managerial, helping skills, technical skills, etc.  These could help you find specific experience more easily.

Add notes to yourself.

Add extra details about the specific accomplishment to include anything an interviewer might ask you.  If an interviewer asks you how you quantified a certain accomplishment you want to be confident as to how you came up with those figures.  Again, you are not going to include the calculations on the resume you send to the employer, but if asked in the interview you don’t want to appear unsure as to how you arrived at those figures.    Add notes about people involved in the project.  If there is someone who would be happy to attest to what you did, you could add their name and contact info if you need to use them as a reference.  Put these notes in a different font or color so that they stand out from the body of your resume.  You don’t want to risk pasting them into your real resume accidentally.

The experience that you have garnered over the course of your career is important.  To let your accomplishments slip into the ether because you didn’t remember doing it is foolhardy.  It can make the difference between getting the interview or getting passed over.  Take inventory of your career and you will be prepared for life.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

Who's the boss?

There is a steady undercurrent in the job search space about age discrimination.  I believe it.  However, what I don’t believe is that it cannot be overcome. People, it is all about packaging.

Think about it for a moment.  Let’s say someone is 50 years old and has been in the workforce in varying capacities for roughly 30 years.  This person has 30 years from which to draw accomplishments which are relevant to any job posting he applies to.  Take someone who has only been in the workforce for 5 years.  That person only has 5 years from which they can reference relevant accomplishments when applying for a job.  This gives experienced job seekers a huge advantage over less experienced hires.

The key word here is relevant.  What many job seekers fail to grasp is that the likelihood of their next job being an exact match of what they have been doing up to this point is nearly zero.  When applying to a new job, there is invariably going to be some nuance of the job posting that the applicant is going to have to correlate to his experience to date.  Examples could include,

• Managing other people.
• Setting goals and a course of action for projects.
• Working within a budget of varying sizes.
• Demonstrating some knowledge of government law such as safety, employment, environmental, etc.

Experienced job seekers, if they work hard to chronicle their career to date, would have a much easier time getting under the bar to fulfil what the employer is looking for.  Then there are a host of subjective considerations that the senior job candidate is far more likely qualified.

• Conflict resolution among individuals, teams or departments.
• Proactive problem solving.
• Identifying the chain of command and working within it to get buy in.
• Generally more likely to be looked to as a leader by subordinates than by someone closer to their own age.

A cornerstone of JobTabs Job Search & Resume success has been its ability to easily manage a large number of resumes for a wide number of job opportunities.   As the experienced job seeker applies to more and more positions, he gradually accumulates more and more supremely tailored resumes for different job descriptions.  Here is the lynch pin . . . . as the experienced job seeker creates more resumes in JobTabs, it becomes easier and easier to create even more refined dead-on resumes for each job they apply to.  The breadth and depth of their experience is pared down to only what is absolutely relevant to the immediate job posting – as it should be!  Creating a copy of a resume that meets 80%  of the requirements and bringing it over 95% becomes incredibly easy!

While the junior candiate has his own advantages, he does not have the experience pool that a 50 something job seeker has.  This is a very touchy subject among many.  If you have any enlightening comments to share with me I would readily welcome them.  Otherwise, age discrimination is over!

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

JobTabs Job Search & Resume 2011 has been officially released.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume is blockbuster job search software that has done much to tip the scales to the job seekers advantage.  In 2005 job seekers had little in the way of computer software while recruiters and employers had a slew of powerful software applications to manage their applicants.  JobTabs changed all of that with the arrival of JobTabs 2005 and has been empowering job seekers ever since.  JobTabs enables job seekers to network better, qualify for a larger number of jobs, apply for a larger number of jobs and ultimately have an edge over other applicants.  JobTabs 2011 gives job seekers an even greater advantage than its predecessor with the following new features.

Resume Personal Information Removal

Unbeknown to many job seekers, MS Word can keep a record of all the editing changes of any resume.  This includes,

• Comments.
• Previous authors and editors.
• User name.
• Personal summary information.
• Revision marks.
• Versions.
• VB Macros. Descriptions and comments are removed from the modules.
• The ID number used to identify your resume/cover letter for the purpose of merging changes back into the original document.
• Routing slips.
• E-mail headers.
• Scenario comments.

JobTabs removes all of this information from MS Word 2002 to MS Word 2010.  The built-in JobTabs word-processor does not store this personal information by design.

Powerful Calendaring

• Easily identify priorities with color assigned events encompassing every facet of the job search process.
• Minimize typing and scheduling by creating recurring events occurring over any number of time periods.
• Never forget an interview/phone call/meeting by using built-in reminders.
• Save time with one click access to a day view, 5 day view, 7 day view, Month view and a Timeline of all calendar events.
• Multi-month calendar view for quick access to any day, week or month of your choosing.
• Dual time zone facility to facilitate job searching in different countries, opposite coasts or across the globe.

Follow-up

• Look like a real detail person by following up on job applications fastidiously.  Accessible from the apply wizard, calendar or the Job Applications grid.

Resumes

• Submit resumes that are dated as if they haven’t been modified in weeks even though you just tailored it to the job requisition that morning!  JobTabs will automatically backdate the ‘Last Modified’ field for any resume emailed or uploaded from JobTabs.  This will allay any concerns by the hiring company that your resume – ideally suited to the needs of the firm – was modified to meet the job posting.
• Added full resume preview of all pages for all resumes types.  Resumes in pdf format can now be previewed inside the JobTabs application.

Licensing

• Updates were confined to the version you purchased.  Now all users get one year of free updates regardless of which version of JobTabs they purchased.
• Customers are now licensed to install as many copies of JobTabs on as many machines as they want provided they use only the db they purchased.

General Enhancements

• Rock solid stability is now even more solid.  JobTabs now runs virtually autonomously compared to its predecessor.  It has even weaned itself from many files supplied by the operating system.  Installs/uninstalls from other applications will have a near zero impact on its stability and performance.
• Added user initiated real time, online support over the web!  If you invite us to your PC we can fix problems on the fly right there in front of you.  Best of all, we can only see your PC if you explicitly invite us to do so.
• Enhanced the aesthetics of JobTabs across the board.  Color scheme is more consistent with Vista and Windows 7.
• Added additional fields for grouping activities on the All Activities report.
• Saved Jobs and Job Applications – One-click access to the original job posting!
• Closer to multi-user!  Added an “Open Data File…” to the JobTabs menu so that more than one person can use their copy of JobTabs on the same machine.
• Integrated a dedicated tab to common connections on LinkedIn for all employers.  Networking contacts are soon to follow.
• Added a number of rulers with visible tab stops to improve layout across Resources, Activities and any number of editors.
• Many, many other enhancements.

JobTabs Job Search & Resume is a free download and can be downloaded from the JobTabs, LLC  website at http://www.jobtabs.com.  It sells for $49.95.  While tax circumstances vary widely, if you can deduct the purchase of JobTabs, the real cost of purchasing JobTabs can be  as little as $20.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

So happy to get Uverse. Lots of channels with lots of bells and whistles not to mention a screaming fast internet connection. The guys installing the system were a hoot and we had the opportunity to talk while we were waiting for everything to sync-up. One of the guys was a trainee and I naturally wanted to know everything he went through to get his job. It was very insightful.

Of the 2,500 applicants, 17 were selected. That is not a typo.  There were 2,500 applicants.  Of the 17 trainees in the class about half of them knew someone at Uverse. On the surface of things that would be a testament to networking, but not entirely. How many people knew someone at Uverse, but did not get the interview or if they got the interview did not get the job? We will never know. Out of respect for their privacy I am not going to mention their real names , so if the Lead’s name was “Larry” and the “Trainee’s” name was “Tom” what did Tom do before getting the job at Uverse? He had worked as a plumber.

While I am not one to determine what would qualify someone to install high tech equipment, I would venture that his inside connection helped to pull him out of the stack for a critical review. He was pretty much able to confirm this. He said, “With 2,500 applicants who has time to scour all of those resumes? If the company can get a testimonial as to character and technical aptitude, why wouldn’t they want to save themselves time and money?” It certainly made sense. Tom had no criminal record and was drug free. He was professional, polite, knowledgeable, earnest and had all of the qualities one would want a technician to have when having their high tech equipment installed. Another insight?  Tom was living in another state when he interviewed for the Uverse job. He said, “You have to be willing to go where the work is.”

What about the other half of the applicants who knew no one at Uverse, but were able to get the job? Again, this leaves a lot of room for speculation but without knowing anybody on the inside I think it is safe to say – whatever their credentials – they were able to make the credentials they did have shine. I asked Larry about his experience in the hiring process. Larry also had a contact on the inside when he was hired. He was able to tell me that about half of the people in his training class of 25 knew someone who was already working at Uverse.

The crux of my message is networking is very helpful, but it is not the begin and end all to getting a job. If you do not know anyone on the inside, you can still get a job. While JobTabs Job Search & Resume is geared primarily at professionals, there are insightful lessons to be learned from Larry and Tom’s job search experience.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says February unemployment checks in at 8.1 percent.  That would be 651,000 jobs in the tank.

Ouch.  Breath in . . . . . breath out . . . . This is mind numbing news.  The kind of news when you just sit there in front of the tube in utter disbelief, kind of trying to drink in the impact of the news.  What have we done to ourselves? While this is hardly a 9/11, I can’t remember being immobilized in front of the TV at any point since 9/11.  On that fateful day, I sat in front of the TV in utter disbelief.  I didn’t call in to say I would be late to work.  I didn’t worry about what kind of reception I would get when I got there.  I staggered in at about 10:00 a.m. that morning and the office was deserted.  The only people there were sitting in front of their computers crying.  Again, 8.1% unemployment is no 9/11 but it is the kind of news that said things are going to be very different from now on.

As a mentor to job seekers my job is to put this news in perspective.

Competition

There are less openings to go around, but there are still lots of openings. You cannot allow this to escape you.  An 8.1% unemployment rate is not going to bring this economy to a halt.  I’m not going to get all technical on you, but full employment is roughly around 4%.  Full employment means that there would be 4 out of every 100 people looking for a job even if the economy was running at full throttle.  So now we have a little more than 8 people out of a 100 looking for a job.  This means if 92 people out of 100 are working,  then there are 92 jobs that need to get done.   This is 92 jobs that companies will pay people to do and your job is to find one or get the company to create it on your behalf because you are so good at what you do.  Again, 92 out of every 100 people have jobs that are worth being paid for.

Income

Sophomore level economics states that price is the equilibrium point where supply equals demand.  Since there is a high supply of people looking for a job, prepare to take a good deal less than what you would normally accept.  Its a downer, but it is a stark reality of the economy.  Again, bite the bullet.  To illustrate, remember when you didn’t sell any stock two months ago because the price was too low?  What is the value of those stocks now?  Again, take it on the chin.  Accept the lesser income and you will be glad you did.  If you could have got more, you can take that up with your boss once you start adding value.

Gloves Off

Take the gloves off.  In a particularly competitive job market you need to milk every advantage you can get.  It does not matter if someone is better trained or has better experience than you do.  This is a stark reality of the job market.  Your ability to sell yourself as the person the company needs the most is the sole determinant of who gets the job. If you can morph your experience on your resume more easily than the next guy – more power to you.  If you have a tool that tracks your job search activity in the background while you focus on your job search that is a feather in your cap.  If you are able to employ a resource that allows you to reach wider and dig deeper than you have an advantage and nobody would knock you for leveraging that advantage.  Look at some of these solutions and see if you can find one you can use.

In closing, once you get over the jolt it is time to roll up your sleeves and get on with the business of life.  I welcome your comments below and encourage a dialog on this very alarming news.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.