Career Hub

Who Am I, Anyway? Am I My Resume?

These lines from a song in the Broadway musical "A Chorus Line" (recently revived and showing to packed houses) struck a chord for me as I sat in the audience last week.

In the show, auditioning chorus members have made the first cut based on dance performance. Then they present their resumes - but even that's not enough. The director - almost entirely voiced from off-stage in an authoritarian, God-like manner - wants to know more, wants to get at what makes them tick, seeks to find out what passion for dance, for music, for life they'll throw into their performance. In a poignant moment, the vulnerable Paul wonders what to say when his turn comes and asks, "Am I my resume?"

While not as heart-wrenching or personal as the stage auditions in "A Chorus Line," job interviews, too, are designed to get at "what makes you tick." Your resume cannot possibly tell all there is to tell about your successes, your passions, the way you get things done, how you motivate people, how you overcome obstacles, how well you work with people different from yourself. Yet all of these things are essential to finding the right fit for a crucial leadership role.

So in your interviews, be prepared to tell your stories and give interviewers some insights into the three-dimensional person behind your resume. Don't be afraid to let them see what engages, excites, and energizes you. These "behind the resume" views just might be the key to your next starring role.

Posted by Louise Kursmark

Add Zing to Your Networking

"The more people you know and who know you in a positive way, the more likely it is that you will know the right person at the right time for the right reason to take advantage of the right opportunity." So says Brian Tracy.

Isn't this the truth? I was reminded of this quote in reading How to ZING! Your Life and Leadership (21 Insights on Maximizing Your Influence) by Nancy Hunter Denney. In fact, the quick-to-read book is a treasure-trove of techniques to juice up your professional magnetism, polish listening and speaking skills, and bring inspiration to your networking efforts.

Denney reminds that the fundamental precept of what makes networking work: letting others know how you can help them.

Also consider: Do you always carry your networking cards? Have you mastered conversation-openers? Have you honed your 30-second (or less) elevator speech? Are you consistently asking others what you can do to help them, advance their careers/contacts?

Make every opportunity the right one for networking with zing and pursuing connections with a purpose!

Get Passive to Increase Job Search Activity

No, that's not a typo...Let me elaborate. I just returned from the Kennedy Recruiting Conference and a key message I heard in several of the presentations was that recruiters are better off spending the bulk of their time sourcing passive job seekers for their open positions, because passive job seekers account for 80% of the market. What this means is that if you are an active job seeker and you are using a one-dimensional search strategy such as posting on the job boards, recruiters may be less likely to find you because they have less interest in the active market. But what if active candidates started looking like passive candidates? What if they could be found via a Google search, an on line web portfolio, a social networking tool, a Zoom Info profile, a blog, an article they wrote for a professional newsletter, etc? Then they might be easier to find because they are working the same circles as the recruiters and they are not part of the job board clutter. They would also differentiate themselves from their competition and show that they are self-starters, experts in their field, technologically savvy, great communicators, team players, and successful leaders. Sounds like a recruiter's dream to me! So get busy being passive and watch new doors and opportunities open.

Job Hunting Lessons from a Dog

I love bird dogs, especially German Shorthaired Pointers. They're really smart, excellent hunters, and wonderful family friends and companions. May sound lame, but I've picked up a life-tip or two simply by LFMGSP (Learning From My German Shorthaired Pointer).

Last week, I had a career consulting session with a recently downsized exec. He indicated that he was really struggling with losing his job -- "haven't been down this road before." Even though he had experienced plenty of change and had done his share of reducing staff, he said this was different because this time, it was about him.

Along in our conversation, he mentioned that he loved to hunt upland game birds with his German Shorthair and in fact, was scheduled to go on an out-of-state hunting trip with his buddies. He wanted to know what I thought about his going, given that he didn't have a job anymore. I shared with him that while this was certainly his decision to make, it would be wise to remember what he already knew, whether he went, or whether he stayed home.

A good bird dog instinctively hunts, retrieves, and tracks when given the chance. Bird dogs go and find. Obsessively. Consistently. Relentlessly. Bird dogs have immense energy, spirit, and stamina. Bird dogs focus. Bird dogs don't get discouraged. Bird dogs don't make excuses. Bird dogs don't give up when dense thicket, burrs, and brush loom before them. Bird dogs find a way. Bird dogs aren't deterred. Bird dogs don't quit. Bird dogs just go and get!

As my client left the office, he smiled and said, "You need to know I'm a really good bird dog -- see ya' next week."

You might suffer.

Most people would like to get ahead in their career, get paid well and have great benefits. More and more, people tell me they'd like to take time off--six months a year--while still getting ahead in their career, getting paid well and keeping their benefits. So how do you walk away from your work and come back to it with nothing changed? You don't. Something is going to give. Your career will probably suffer a bit. Just as Elizabeth Vargas said her career did when she stepped down as co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight when she was pregnant.

Here's more on how she--and you--can take a break comfortably, and more easily pick up where you left off--knowing that there's a price to pay.