Steps to write a good resume

Hi! First of all, sorry for the long snooze period but I've come up with something interesting, or so i hope. :)

Was helping a friend out with his resume when it struck me. I've applied for a job and have recruited people through those endless job sites. Working with all this, I figured a lot of things. Being on the other side of the fence, I could figure out what recruiters look for and so how I can shape my resume to get more visibility on those job sites and win over a recruiter right there. The result? I started getting almost two calls every week. All relevant jobs and some awesome offers. That's how I landed the job I currently do.

Below, I've mentioned some of the tips n tricks I figured. I'll keep on adding more as and when I remember any.

• If you're posting your resume on one of those job sites, it is very important to do some keyword research before you post your resume. After all, these portals are nothing but resume search engines that show you results according to the keywords searched for. You need to find out the right keywords that HR ppl are looking at and then place them in your resume. The result? Voila, the resume shows up more when they search. 

Keyword Research: Now how do you do your keyword research? 

Go to any of those sites and type a word in search and notice the words that show in the auto-suggestion. Those indicate the popular searches done on the website to find candidates and jobs.

Example: For my profile, if I type 'Internet', I get a suggestion 'Internet Marketing' but if I type 'Web', I get web design, web architecture but do not get 'Web Marketing' so I need to add 'Internet Marketing' and not 'Web Marketing' as a keyword in my resume.

Also look at the 'Search by Category' page. This gives you an idea of the kind of classification they've given to resumes on their site. So when I add my resume, it should have the Keyword 'Online Sales' than 'AdWords' 

• Resume Summary: Most of these job sites ask you to add a Resume Summary/Resume Headline (a line with a few words describing your skill set and yr past experience). Your resume summary is your most important piece of text. It's your ticket to fame. I used to search for candidates on Naukri.com n Monster.com for my team in my previous company. The easiest way to look for the right candidate is by looking at their resume summary which outlines what they've done in the past. So when you apply, it's very important to write a crisp, shiny resume summary. Add yr company name, the more good looking designation the better, yrs of exp. and skills (if there's space)

Example: This is what my resume summary looks like: 

"Online Marketing and Product Manager at Connectfilms Media Pvt. Ltd. with 3 yrs experience at Google and YouTube" 

• Use more action verbs, timelines, numbers: Make your resume sound more action oriented. If you want to write about the fact that you were a part of the team of 3 that launched a particular tool, you should write "Launched 'The tool' along with 3 team mates and made it functional within 2 months. The tool reduced employee efficiency by 30% . When companies look for a candidate, they want to see upfront in the resume what a candidate can bring to the company. That should clearly show from your resume.

• Spelling and Grammar: This is more of a personal opinion since I used to ding resumes that had bad grammar and spelling mistakes. If a candidate can't sell themselves well, what else can they sell then? (Works bad for a sales or marketing job. Again, just my opinion)

Hope these help you to land that awesome job you've been looking for. If it does, do let me know. 

Know your team

I can't stress on this enough. I've recently changed jobs and moved from a people management role to an individual contributor's role. I'm still a manager though, but I haven't got my team yet. I still may, in the future, get a set of people to work with. However, I've got a new manager. And a gem at that. He spends most of the time with us, his reportees and tries to understand what we are all about. And I really admire him for that. He guides us but at the same time lets us be. It's best to understand each and every person characteristics in the team and the delegate work to them according to their skill set. As the word goes, you can't get an artist to write about sports. The same applies to your team. You give a person what they're best at, and voila, you've got the best results right there. I know that in some organizations, due to work pressure and the load, there might not be enough time for this exercise but I really urge all the managers out there to give some extra time for this. Take your team out for a walk, a drink or whatever you're comfortable doing. An out-of-work-realm activity won't harm and might just help in getting to know your subordinates better.

Some awesome business gyaan online

First, sorry for not updating this blog for a long time now. Now, I've decided to make it regular.

So for a new headstart, here's some awesome stuff I found online and use like a bible.

Management tips from Harvard Business Review online : http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/harvardbusiness?cm_mmc=npv-_-MANAGEMENT_TIP-_-NOV_2009-_-MTOD1113

Subscribe, visit or add it to your reader....whatever you like.

Musings from a Warrior Manager

Lee here again...

Last two posts are solid thoughts and I want to elaborate on them a bit, but first some thoughts from one of my favorite books on leadership: Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko. A precursor for you: if you don't know who this guy is, he is a former Navy SEAL and an expert in counter-terrorism and security. Here are his 10 Commandments for Special Ops:

1) I am the War Lord and the wrathful God of Combat and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear.
2) I will treat you all alike - just like s**t.
3) Thou shalt do nothing I will not do first, and thus you will be created Warriors in My deadly image.
4) I shall punish thy bodies because the more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in combat.
5) Indeed, if thou hurtest in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right.
6) Thou hast not to like it - thou hast just to do it.
7) Thou shalt Keep It Simple, Stupid.
8) Thou shalt never assume.
9) Verily, thou art not paid for thy methods, but by thy results, by which meaneth thou shalt kill thine enemy by any means available before he killeth you.

10) Thou shalt, in thy Warrior's Mind and Soul, always remember My ultimate and final commandment: There Are No Rules - Thou Shalt Win at All Cost.

Now, in this heavy-handed approach to things are some real gems for management. And these I will hit on first.
#'s 1 & 3 - Do not be afraid to get in the trenches with your people. If you understand the problem, you are better able to help find a solution. Too many managers do just that, manage. They forget that that is really only half the job. They have to lead and that means getting in and getting dirty at times. It also means helping your "troops" maximize their efforts.
#'s 4 & 5 - In a world of shortcuts that often get results, doing things the right way is a rarity. Focus yourself and your temas on doing things in alignment with the core values of your company, your department, and them selves. If their heart isn't in it, then they need to own up and say why.
#'s 6, 7, & 8 - Once a decision has been made, get it done. If it was a bad decision, new ones can be made to alter course. Eliminate wasted energy, time, and resources. Keep all communication lines open, especially the ones that have respectful disagreement with you...they are your moral compass.
#2 - The wording here is abrasive, but speaks to a fundamental principle: No favorites, no targets. Everyone based on the merits of their work and fought for based on the merit of their work. If their work is good and the politics are against them, fight for them and then coach them on the politics to improve it...don't leave them hanging.

Now that I have that off my chest, to the previous entries...

I think it's fair to say that no manager is loved by everyone.
Usually it is the people beneath them that are grumbling but not always the case. The goal as a manager is to be firm, fair, and faithful.
Firm - Be willing to stand ground when necessary and lead.
Fair - Treat everyone equally according to their role and work quality. Also give equal credence to their ideas and needs.
Faithful - An odd one, but possibly the most important. One of the quotes in the last post that caught my attention was being looked up to by those beneath you on the totem pole. That verbage denotes an innate sense of trust that you are given as a manager/leader. Those in your employ or your team believe that you are there for them, so DO NOT SQUANDER that. That faith is what will rally them to your cause when the email queues are out of control and need a weeks worth of overtime to knock down. That faith will let them speak well of you even when they disagree with you. That faith builds teams not groups of individuals.

I was occasionally likened to a zealous priest over his small flock where I used to work and I took some pride in that. My team always knew that I would lift them up, reprimand them, and always dig in with them when needed. Whenever I needed them, they had my back and were always clutch.

One last thought for this round: In my experience, your job as a leader and manager is to remove obstacles from your people's way so that they in turn can do excellent work and keep problems above you from coming down on the department. Acieve that balance and you will succeed.

Mentorship

Being bossy is one thing, but being looked upto is another ball game. Kinda makes me shaky. Maybe these are fears of a newbie or it's just me. There are a few in my team who look upto me (not boasting here!) and who ask me questions they genuinely feel I have answers to. Even if I have answers to their questions, I feel shaky giving them advise. I fear misguiding them. Here's my two bits on what I follow:

- Never give the wrong advise. If you're unsure, let them know that you don't know and you'll get back. Make sure you get back with the right info. Don't let the person's question go unanswered.

- You're the boss, doesn't mean you're right. You could be wrong. Accept it.

- Reportees are like kids. All the good experiences aside, they'll remember that one bad experience with you. That one time when you were rude, that one time when you didn't live up to your expectations. Be nice :)

What say Lee?

No matter what you do...people will still hate you coz you're their manager.

LOL...Yeah, I think this is true. As long as you assign work to people or people report to you, people will hate you for this or that. Just overheard a conversation of two of my direct reports. They had a complaint against me for a trivial thing. Well, I've learned this..let people have their share of fun bitching about their manager. Even we've done that when we were at their position and hell..we still do for our managers. It's a position of power and ridicule. Take it with a pinch of salt. Muhahaha..I'm sure most of us agree.

Self-Branding

Guest blogger again...sorry, I just keep sneaking in here when the main author is not watching to throw some ideas at you. I want to talk about branding yourself. No, this doesn't require hot iron or self-inflicted burning of any kind, it has to do with a mindset that you carry with you daily and use to help your decision making. It also is something not just for managers.

When branding is used in an advertising setting, it means creating a strong impression (hopefully positive) between the product/service and the potential buyer. Advertisers want their widget to be looked at favorably by the general public so that when buying a widget becomes important, theirs is the first to be purchased in the buyer's mind. Sounds simple, right?

When it comes to you, however, it is not that simple. What am I good at? Where do I see myself in five years? What do I want from life and work and and and...You get the idea. Our filters get in the way of being objective about us as workers and as human beings. So I'm going to offer a starter exercise to get at finding your brand.

1) What one value best describes you? (Think lofty ones like honesty, compassion, etc)
2) If you could see yourself as an animal based on your personality, what would it be?
3) Favorite thing to do with your free time.
4) What would you want your epitaph to say (headstone on your grave...morbid, I know, but work with me here people!)
5) Greatest area for improvement and what you do to improve it.

These five questions are by no means exhaustive...as a matter of fact I just thought of them now. But I think they get to the heart of some key images of ourselves that we use to describe who we are as people and therefore who we are as workers/managers. We are people first before we lead others. Now that you have answered those questions, make a billboard displaying you as a product with a catchy slogan on why you are the greatest thing since sliced bread (For those who don't know billboards, they are the giant roadside signs you pass on the highway).

When it is done, put it on your desk to remind you of why you are the product of choice for the tasks you do everyday at work. On the days when you aren't at your best, you may find it perks you up and reminds you of who you want to be and what you want to be known for in your company. If they know who you are and what you stand for, the brand of You is created in that image. So, to borrow a famous brand hook, JUST DO IT!!