Given the recent growth of the career-coaching industry and the entry of new career counselors from nearly every field, there's a lot of poor and ill-informed job-search advice out there. With apologies to David Letterman, following are the top 10 things you don't want to hear from your career consultant. There's nothing funny about these statements. If you hear them, you might want to seek assistance elsewhere.

10. "You don't need an objective on your resume."

A survey of 100 hiring managers by the Lendman Group, a career-fair producer in Virginia Beach, Va., found that an objective is first among the six major items most look for on resumes. Your objective can be broad or narrow and should include a statement summarizing why you're qualified for the job. For example: "Position in accounting management where I can apply six years of C.P.A. experience." The reader will learn your goal and why you should be considered. Your objective becomes a "mini resume."

9. "The hardest interview question is 'Tell me about yourself.' "

It should be the easiest. Try this exercise: Write a career summary on a sheet of legal-size paper and rehearse an opening statement of about two minutes. This thumbnail statement should include your job history, major strengths and several career achievements. Even if you aren't asked this question in an interview, answer it anyway. One way to lead into it is to say: "Before I get into too much detail, I'd like to give you a brief summary of my career. Would that be all right with you?"

What better impression could you make in the first critical minutes of an interview when many decisions are made?

Preparing interview statements is a good way to get ready for other difficult-to-answer questions. Write them down, edit them and practice them aloud with a partner. When these questions are asked, your answers will flow naturally.

8. "Your resume should always be no more than one page."

If you've had three or more jobs, it may be impossible to include enough detail on a page to satisfy the curiosity of an employer. The top half of the first page is sometimes called the "hot zone," and should grab a reader's interest. If an employer sees something he or she likes, one page or two won't make any difference.

7. "The two major types of resumes are chronological and functional."

This statement is true but isn't the whole truth. In fact, the vast majority of resumes use a chronological format. Employers want to know when and where accomplishments occurred; it gives them reassurance in considering a candidate.

If you have career gaps, a better choice might be a broadcast letter. Also known as a marketing letter or a narrative resume, it contains the same information as a resume. However, you can start describing your accomplishments at any point in your career. You don't need to include precise dates or include a resume; the letter stands alone. You may be asked to follow up with a resume, but by then the broadcast letter has done its job. There's no statistical evidence about the effectiveness of broadcast letters, but a number of job seekers have made their first contacts through these letters.

6. "Never answer a blind post-office-box advertisement."

Many firms use post-office-box ads to prevent the inevitable phone calls and questions from candidates. If you contact a post-office branch, the manager or other employee will tell you the name of the company that's renting it. This is federal law under the Freedom of Information Act. He or she won't, however, tell you the names of private individuals holding box numbers.

5. "We recommend you use fine-quality, standard business-size envelopes for your resumes."

Since many firms use scanners to store resumes electronically, a fold might cause a scanner to miss or garble a line of text. Use a full-size envelope and don't fold your resume. Scanners don't always copy italics or underlining, so avoid them as well.

4. "Staple your cover letter on top of your resume."

If your documents are being scanned, human-resources employees will have to remove them and you may run the risk of one throwing out your document instead of taking the trouble.

3. "We offer a lifetime career service, so our total fee is $X,XXX."

If a firm won't itemize its fee, run, don't walk, to the exit. Some unscrupulous career-marketing firms use the word "unbundling" to describe itemizing, and they hate it. Some will try to cut you loose after five or six visits by not returning your phone calls and telling you to "work harder." The consultant may not be paid after your first four or five visits and has no incentive to continue working with you.

2. "95% of our clients obtain jobs within 90 days."

These figures may be inflated or estimated through guesswork.

1. "We have access to the hidden job market."

This statement suggests that employers frequently call career-consulting firms to inform them of jobs that aren't available through the usual sources of the Internet, classified ads or recruiters. It isn't true, was never true and will never be true.

However, you have personal access to the hidden job market through people you know and the people they know and the people they know, etc. If you know 100 people and they know 100 people, you have 10,000 contacts. Extend that to the next level and you have access to a million people, more than you can reach in a lifetime. This practice is known as networking, and a good career counselor will tell you it's the best job-search method bar none.

» posted by ITworld staff

CareerJournal.com

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