Lori Norris

1/8/2020 – Resume Mythbusters: Certified Resume Writer Panel

January 10, 2020 by Julia Churan

Your resume is the first step in your journey to an interview. You need to be able to pass through the applicant tracking system (ATS) in order to have a live person even know that you applied for a role in most companies today. That piece of paper or electronic profile is often the first impression a recruiter or hiring manager will have of you. Is your resume representing you in the best possible way and landing you the interview?

In today’s competitive job market, a professionally prepared resume may be the one thing that makes you stand out from the hundreds of strong candidates applying for the same position.

Panel

The Resume Writers Council of Arizona (RWCA) has been a long-time partner of Career Connectors. Members provide resume expertise to job seekers at all Career Connectors regular events. The members of this group are career-services professionals with special expertise and accreditation in resume writing. Three members took the spotlight on today’s panel to help break down the myths of the resume format, content, and function.

Brenda Cunningham (BC), owner of Push Career Management, author, and current president of RWCA
Lori Norris (LN), founder of Get Results Career Services and military resume specialist
Waleed Alani (WA), career management counselor, coach and Global Career Development Facilitator

The panel was led by Career Connectors’ Founder and CEO, Jessica Pierce with questions submitted by seekers prior to the event.

Q: Share the biggest mistakes you see on resumes today.
LN: Seekers try to cover too much information on one resume. Have multiple resumes for multiple roles.
BC: Seekers use too many adjectives. Example: “high-qualified, multi-faceted, detail-oriented marketing professional.” This isn’t giving actual results from your experience. You are taking up a lot of valuable space telling the hiring manager nothing about how you will perform in this role or for their company.
WA: The biggest mistake many resumes make is not being clear why you should be considered for the role. Connect the dots for the hiring company. Make it clear how your background and experience support the role you are applying for.

Q: Why should seekers listen to professional resume writers?
LN: You shouldn’t listen to a specific professional; listen to the results. Resumes are subjective and no two writers will deliver the same outcome. Pick an expert that you connect with and one that understands your background. If you aren’t getting interviews, you need to rethink what you are sending out no matter how great you think that resume might be.
BC: RWCA members study the current hiring trends, they speak to HR professionals, and they research trends in applicant tracking systems. Certified writers understand what it takes to get in front of recruiters today.
WA: The technology of getting hired is changing as the world is changing. Look at books on job seeking from 5 to 10 years ago. The styles and preferences of resumes were different. The process and systems to support hiring were different from 10 years ago. Professionals will help you stay current with the trends of today and the future.

Q: What are some of the most important things to include on your resume?
LN: Benefits and value statements. Tell the reader how you are going to help the company. The resume isn’t about you; it is how your experience will benefit them.
BC: Don’t be vague by statements like “answered phones.” Demonstrate how you performed and the conditions and measurements of that skill. Explain how you know you did a good job.
WA: Accomplishments must be quantified. Reflect it in the terms of standards or values to the hiring organization.

Q: What are the recommended mechanics of the resume?
Number of pages: 1 or 2 pages as long as your experience and background merit the words. Cut the fluff and focus the content. Avoid “orphan pages” – have 2 full pages or 1 full page. Adjust margins and font size to fill up 2 pages or reduce to 1.
Font Style: Cambria or Calibri – Avoid Times New Roman!
Font Size: 10 – 12 pt
Margins: 1/2″ to 1″

Let the eye decide. Don’t overwhelm the reader.
The book Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives helps you be focused, creative and to prioritize. These skills will allow you to manage the resume length.
Waleed Alani

Q: What type of resume should we be focused on?
LN: There are three basic types:
1. Chronological resumes – This style is unanimously recommended by the panel. It is the type you MUST use for ATS systems and should be your primary or only focus. Include not more than 10 years of work history unless you have the specific experience for the role you are applying to.
2. Functional resumes – This type highlights your skills but will not work with an ATS and often raises questions with the reader. These have no dates and raise huge red flags for employers. If you have gaps in your resume, there are ways to work around them. A resume professional can help fill those gaps.
3. Combination resume – This is a hybrid of Chronological and Functional. It may be used for a job fair or networking event but will not pass through automated systems.

Q: How do you avoid age discrimination on your resume?
BC: Age discrimination is real, so don’t give the reader an idea of your age from reading your resume – young or old. Age concerns can be overcome in an interview but you have to get there. Show you are current by taking classes or listing current technology and concept expertise.

Never use “retire” or “25 or 30 years of experience”. Use 10+ or 15+ years. Don’t use antiquated email domains like “AOL.com” or other ’80s domains.
Don’t use dates or years in your email address like JDoe1960@gmail.com.
Don’t put dates on your education, just note the Degree.
Don’t include High School information.

Reverse discrimination is also an issue. If you just graduated, this is the only time that you should use your college graduation dates. It will explain your lack of experience.

Q: Customizing resumes for specific jobs?
BC: Don’t be lazy! Never shoot the one resume out to all job applications. Spend 1-2 hours per application to customize it for the specific company and role. Use keywords from the job posting in your resume. When a specific skill is required, spell out what the skill is and how you have used it.

Don’t just rely on a great resume. Use your network to get referrals into the company.
Brenda Cunningham

Q: What is the best way to get past the ATS systems?
LN: AVOID templates! Templates in MS Word may be pretty, but they are full of formatting that an ATS may not read. Use borders and background shading if you want, never have important information in the header/footer. Never use text boxes or tables in your resume because older systems will not read the information within them.
BC: Save and upload files in MS Word format rather than a PDF or any graphic format. Some older systems won’t read PDF files. Also remember, smaller companies and government agencies may not have an ATS so a human is manually scanning them.
WA: Don’t let the ATS scare you. Keep the format simple using text and tabs. Beware of bullets. Make things stand out with font size and bolding rather that fancy document format. Waleed will post more tips on his Linked In profile for resume formatting.

Remember, the resume content should be the focus and represent you to the employer!

Hiring Companies

All About People, Karen McEnroe, Vice President
They are a professional hiring organization with services to small and large organizations in contract, direct hire, and executive search in several industries, including Accounting/Finance, Supply Chain, HR, and Medical.

Current open positions include:

Bilingual Call Center Representatives
RN’s, LPN’s and Behavioral Health Technicians
Litigation Attorney
Enrollment Representatives
SVP of Sales

U.S. Census, Cynthia Duncan, Recruiter
The U.S. Census Bureau is the Federal Government’s largest statistical agency in the U.S. Phoenix is one of two national processing centers dedicated to the 2020 Census.

Processing includes receiving and preparing decennial forms, imaging, keying, QA and forms disposal. Positions range from entry-level to supervisory, IT, HR, Health & Safety. Nearly 1000 full- and part-time federal employees will be hired for these temporary roles with excellent benefits. The processing roles will be at the I-10, I-17 and new Loop 202.

Apply at www.USAJobs.gov
Search Keyword: NPC
Location: Phoenix
Create a profile and apply directly to each job of interest.

Resources

Career Connectors Academy, Landi Carfi, VP of Corporate Training
This exciting program is brought to job seekers through a joint partnership with Brighton College. There are a number of short-term IT, Allied Health and other certification programs available at a discounted price for Career Connectors clients. No interest payment plans are also available as well as grants through WIOA and SWFI.

Closing

Jessica took the stage to thank all the attendees, partners and services for attending. She also encouraged attendees to take advantage of the free services for resume and LinkedIn assistance, professional portraits, DISC assessments and coaching that are provided at each event. She also had special gratitude to Grand Canyon University for hosting today’s event and the many staff members and volunteers who make these events happen.

7/7/17 – It’s Not All About You

July 11, 2017 by Julia Churan

Written by: Connie Huber PHR SHRM-CP

Today’s job seekers are all too familiar with “the black hole”! It poses a frustrating threat and one that job seekers have encountered at one time or another. The job hunter quickly enters the “black hole zone” when they submit a resume online to a recruiter or employer. What happens is a waiting game. Most of us wait and wait to hear back on their expressed interest. Often the waiting game turns into weeks and months; and yet a reply never comes.

US News, “How to Avoid the Job-Search Black Hole” by Robin Madell recently shared the results of a test conducted by a recruiting consulting firm that revealed “only two recruiters out of 100 companies read beyond the first three paragraphs in a fake resume they sent out. The firm also found that when submitting a fake resume through the corporate websites of companies in Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies in Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to work for list, close to two-thirds of employers did not send a notification that they were no longer a candidate for the position they applied for.”

Keynote

“It’s Not All About You: Take the Focus Off Yourself to Achieve Career Success”

Lori Norris

In the past, the best job strategy to secure a new position was to get as many resumes and applications out to prospective employers as possible. It was a numbers game! Quantity was the battle cry of many and today you will still find many job seekers pursuing the same approach.

Lori helped the group reevaluate their strategy and take the focus off themselves.

In today’s competitive job market, the job seeker needs to set themselves apart from the crowd. Efforts need to be directed and reframed to a marketing perspective. You, the job seeker, are the product, and the employer is your customer.

THE FOCUS OF THE TYPICAL JOB SEEKER

Include your ….

Skills
Experience
Needs: Benefits, Salary, etc.

Think of yourself as a marketer! You are selling “YOU” to the potential employer.

BAD NEWS

“You Are Not the Employer’s #1 Priority”!

Unfortunately, employers most often find a reason not to hire the candidate rather than why the candidate should be hired.
Therefore, it is the candidate’s objective to make it less about him/herself and all about the employer/customer.

THE FOCUS OF THE TYPICAL EMPLOYER

The two reasons companies hire are ….

ROI/Return on Investment
Cost Effective Employees

When an employer posts a position, they are expressing a need or problem that needs to be solved. Companies need to offset the money and time invested in hiring a new employee. Their goal is to find a candidate who brings the best value. Bosses want to find a new employee that will make them look good and at the same time are reliable, dependable, maintain a positive attitude; and saves/makes money for the company.

Candidates need to share how they will help the organization! They need to focus on sharing the features and benefits of hiring them.

HOW DO WE DEFINE AN EMPLOYER’S NEEDS AND PROBLEMS?

STEP 1: Conduct a S.W.O.T analysis
S=Strengths: What the employer is really good at doing?
W=Weaknesses: Where is the organization struggling?
O=Opportunities: Is there possibility for professional growth?
T=Threats: Who are the employer’s competitors? What are currently some of their competitor’s efforts?

STEP 2: Gather your research
In advance, be sure to research your target and interviewing companies. Even better do it before submitting a resume/application.

What should you look for?

Those things you should uncover are the organization’s culture, product/services, history, organization’s structure & affiliates, statistics such as number of employees & sales, competitors, and career paths.

Position specifics so that you can identify the company’s needs and problems to create a tailored resume and cover letter.

Where should you look?
Company website, Google, hoovers.com, corporateinformation.com, glassdoor.com.

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE YOUR VALUE?

Features vs. Benefits

Think of how you can help the employer with your strengths. Attitude is premier. Next what about you can the organization benefit from.

It’s like buying a car! Not every car is for every buyer. It’s true for an employer. Focus on you and your skills, attitude and experience would attract an employer to hire you!

TIME TO FLIP YOUR SCRIPT

Think of the benefits you can share with an employer. Paint a picture and statement of value. Lastly, determine those stories or what you did in the past that support your value.

INSTEAD OF: I have great customer service skills.
TRY THIS: My flexible communication skills and resourceful problem-solving style build long-term customer relationships that led to a 75% repeat and referral rate at my last employer.

INSTEAD OF: I have a project management experience.
TRY THIS: My ability to lead cross-functional project teams of up to 12 technicians and manage project budgets of up to $2M will enable me to make an immediate impact on the successful, on-time completion of your projects.

Remember who has the most to lose. It is not the job seeker but the employer.

LORI’S CHALLENGE:

50 SKILLS
Establish a list of personal traits such as good communicator and attitude. Then determine those skills that are transferable. Next what are your job specific skills. Be sure to highlight your skills in your resume/interview.

50 BENEFITS STATEMENTS
Define what value and cost-effective changes you can bring to an employer with your specific skills. Lastly, refine those stories which will validate your skills.

FINAL NOTE: WANT TO AVOID FISHING IN THE SEA AND THE BLACK HOLE — SHIFT YOUR FOCUS TO THE EMPLOYER!

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” –Steve Jobs

Hiring Companies

PAYCHEX, James Blackwood IV, Phoenix Regional Service Center Manager

Paychex was founded by B. Thomas Golisanno in 1971. Golisanno invested $3,000 to make payroll outsourcing simple and convenient for small business owners. Its mission is to be the leading provider of payroll, human resources and employee benefit services by being an essential partner with America’s businesses. Today Paychex has over 13,000 employees in 100+ locations. The company has over $2.9 million in revenues. Its mission is to be the leading provider of payroll, human resources and employee benefit services by being an essential partner with America’s businesses. Paychex is a $0 debt company and is growing rapidly. They are adding employees nationally and 300 employees in the Phoenix area. The company has received numerous accolades including Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” and “Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles”. Paychex locations and employees are consistently involved in the communities and charities they live near. Paychex has a robust benefits program and has such perks as $1,600 tuition reimbursement for each employee per year, employee stock purchase plans and retail discounts.

Current openings include customer service, payroll specialist; time and labor online service advisor; field HR generalist; 401K service representative, 401K new client set up specialist; retirement services client relationship account manager; and sales representatives. If interested, visit the Paychex website.

Staff Logic, Deanne Desautels, President

AFP/Accounting & Finance Professionals was founded in 1999 and strives to be the leader in high quality staffing of administrative, accounting and IT professionals. AFP has been in Arizona for 17 years; 63% of referrals come from clients or placed professionals; ranked #1 for 5 years in a row for direct hire placements; placed over 50K professionals in long term careers; and preferred vendor for the state of Arizona.

Staff Logic is a sister company of AFP/Accounting & Finance Professionals. Focus areas include IT; engineering; customer service-call center; software sales; medical; administrative; marketing; HR; and executive search. For information and to express your interest contact Staff Logic.

State Farm, DeAnne Prigmore, Recruiter

State Farm, a stable insurance company has been in business for 95 years. Its mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams. Opportunities are not limited to selling insurance. Additional employment offerings are accounting, financial & banking; administrative support; claim & investigation; customer service; facilities management & administrative services; legal, compliance, & risk management; human resources; marketing, design, & communications; research & analytics; sales support; technology & user experience; and underwriting& actuarial. Benefits are traditional and State Farm’s culture is “create, live, work and play environment”.

The Phoenix area now hosts the brand-new Marina Heights facility in Tempe. The location is two million square feet area, 8000 employees, with retail space including Starbucks, Matt’s Big Breakfast, Mountainside Fitness, Honor Health, Grab-n Go, with more on the way. Immediate and ongoing opportunities are claim associate-express; claim associate-auto ILR; ccc sales rep; ccc service rep; State Farm Bank; claims (property, total loss, injury); and systems/IT.

Feel free to visit the Tempe site which is open to the public. For more information or to apply, visit State Farm’s website. You may also apply online to open positions, and you may apply using LinkedIn.

Resources

New Horizons, Joe Rostowsky, Director of Site Operations

New Horizons has provided world-class training for over 30 years and over 30 million students. New Horizons recognizes that there are several learning styles and offers traditional, instructor led classroom training; online LIVE learning and online anytime learning. Learning tools are varied to meet the needs of students including hands-on labs, reference materials, practice exams, learning guides, coursework and exam preparation.

The Phoenix location is a new state-of-the-art training facility. Information Technology programs, Office Management and/or Healthcare Records Management programs, and Project/Production Management programs represent education offerings. Some of the items included in tuition are books & supplies, labs, on-going career services and 6-month re-sit option. New Horizons does provide Job Placement Assistance. The school offers top IT Certifications approved by the GI Bill. Additional funding sources are available up to $4K through the WIOA Program. New Horizons has free classes in Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Visit New Horizons online.

Closing

Jessica Pierce, Executive Director, Career Connectors, closed the meeting by thanking North Phoenix Baptist Church and the volunteers. The next Career Connectors meeting will be in Scottsdale on Thursday, July 13, 2017 and features Carole Redden as speaker for the topic “Seven Strategies for a Seamless Career Transition”. For additional information on this event and future events, please visit the Event Schedule.

Transitioning Out of the Military – 6

February 21, 2017 by Lori Norris

Step 6 – Retirement is a Four-letter Word in the Military Transition Job Search

Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

You are proud of the fact that you served your country for 20 or more years, as you have every right to be proud. However, this is not something you should broadcast when making the transition from the military. The negative effects of using the word “retired” in your job search can be detrimental to your transition success.

The “retirement” stigma.
When we hear the word retired, many images come forth. They bring to mind that a person who is done with their career – ready to play golf or travel the country in a motor home. The term retired indicates that the person is “retirement age” – even though many military retirees are only in their forties. This perception may cause involuntary age discrimination. Age discrimination can be based on fear that you lack energy, are unwilling to learn new skills and technology, or that you are so advanced in your career that you may demand a higher salary.

A perceived lack of flexibility.
Military candidates are already perceived as inflexible; calling yourself retired simply heightens this fear. If an employer hears that you have only known military life, they may doubt your ability to make a smooth transition. You must demonstrate that you are embracing the civilian work environment and prove your adaptability. Aside from avoiding the word “retired”, you can show adaptability by translating your military skills to civilian language, avoiding acronyms and military terms, and transitioning to the civilian method of stating dates and time.

Salary negotiation considerations.
Another consideration is the fact that when you retire from the military, you receive a pension. If an employer knows that you are already receiving a healthy pension check, they may be more likely to give you a low salary offer. Avoid this issue in the negotiation phase by not bringing up the fact that you are retiring.

Don’t subject yourself to these red flags and stigmas. Instead of calling yourself retired from the military, mention that you enjoyed a successful career in your particular branch of the military and you are ready to leverage the skills you gained into a new career with their organization.

Transitioning Out of the Military – 5

February 16, 2017 by Lori Norris

Step 5 – Prepare for Culture Shock

Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

The military culture is unique and very different than civilian culture. No matter how long you have served in the military, you are bound to experience a period of adjustment when leaving the military to join the civilian workforce. Keep in mind, leaving the military is much more than just changing jobs; it is a lifestyle change. Add in relocation to a new state, and you may soon find yourself overwhelmed. Here are a few areas where you may struggle:

The move from a regimented environment to one that is unstructured. In the military, you are conditioned to put military first, the team second, and yourself last. However, in the civilian workplace there is a focus on individuality. You may be surprised by the lack of teamwork and camaraderie. You may find it difficult to connect with coworkers whose work ethic differs from your standards. Be friendly, enthusiastic, and positive with your new co-workers.

Lack of a sense of community. The military is a close-knit community. A military base is often a self-contained city, much like small-town America. In the military, you are involved with and aware of the personal lives of your team. This will not be the case in the civilian world, where many people tend to keep their personal and work lives separate. Without your community or support system to rely on, you may find your sense of identity shaken. Keep in contact with friends to keep yourself grounded.

Increased personal freedom. For the duration of your military career, you have been told what to wear, how to behave, and where and when to report. The lack of direction and standard operating procedure in the civilian world can be disconcerting to a veteran. You must learn to think about yourself and focus on what you want and need to be satisfied in your career.

As a veteran transitioning into working in the civilian world, there are a whole new set of rules you must learn. Remember, a very small percentage of the population has served in the military. Chances are, your new coworkers and supervisor have no idea what military life is like. Demonstrate your willingness to adapt and be flexible to new ideas. Perhaps the most important thing for a successful military transition is something veterans do very well: keep a positive, can-do attitude, be persistent, and don’t give up.

Step 6 – Retirement is a Four-Letter Word

Transitioning Out of the Military – 4

February 16, 2017 by Lori Norris

Step 4 – Prepare for Your Job Interviews

Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

In the earlier posts, we discussed translating your military skills into a resume and preparing your job search strategy. Now it is time to prepare for the job interview phase. You may be facing your first ever job interview, or at least the first in many years. Regardless, going into an interview unprepared is a recipe for failure. Here are some critical steps for preparation:

Prepare your talking points. The job search process is an exercise in marketing yourself. Before you go into an interview, research the company, read the job posting, and determine how you can benefit the organization. The benefits you will offer become your talking points in the interview. No matter what question is asked, you always want to talk about how you, and your skills, can enhance the company. Determine how you can benefit the organization (i.e., improved productivity, enhanced quality) and offer solid examples of your military accomplishments that demonstrate these skills.

Give yourself credit. In the military, you are taught to act as part of a team. Often, ex-military members have trouble talking about themselves because they are hesitant to “brag” or they feel as though they “just did their job.” You must define the benefits you brought to the team. It is not bragging if you are simply stating the facts of how you can help an organization. Most civilians do not know what military life is like. Your goal in the interview is to ensure they understand your skills by talking about how you added value.

Practice, practice, practice. Practice the wording, tone, and general responses to the most commonly asked questions, such as “Tell me about yourself?”, “What are your strengths/weaknesses?”, and “Why should I hire you?” Your responses should be brief – not more than 2 minutes – while providing as much relevant detail as possible. Write down and memorize Situation/Task/Action/Result stories that demonstrate five to ten of your most valuable skills.

Show your personality. Remember that the interview is an opportunity for the company to determine whether or not you are a good “fit” for the position. Don’t forget to smile, don’t take yourself too seriously, ease up on the formality of “sir” and “ma’am”, and do not wear military attire to the interview.

1/8/2020 – Resume Mythbusters: Certified Resume Writer Panel

Panel

Hiring Companies

Resources

Closing