Ask Liz: Replace boilerplate resume language?

Liz,
Can you make some suggestions on how to replace the Ten Deadliest Resume
Phrases?


Cheers,
Keith J. Robbins

Hi Keith,

Great question! Boilerplate resume phrases like "results-oriented professional"
are sitting on a shelf, ready to be inserted into your resume and 1,000,000
others. When we decide to replace them and upgrade our resume to a human-voiced
style, we've got to find specific language that talks about what we've
accomplished on the job, in context, and in as relevant a way as possible for
our next employer. It's more time-consuming to come up with these examples and
find words to convey them, but it's worth it!

Your resume-writing process begins with your job-search direction. If you don't
know what you want in your next job, your resume is going to show that (and
that's not good). It's got to be crystal clear to the reader the moment s/he
picks up your resume, what you want and why you're beautifully suited to that
sort of position.

Here's an example. Let's say you've done Customer Support, Sales and Operations
Management over the years. That's excellent. Yet, there is no job called "Mixed
Customer Support, Sales and Ops Manager." That is not a useful branding choice
for us. That's a solution in search of a problem. Perhaps a very, very small
business would have need of all three things at once, but in that case, a
stronger branding choice would be "I'm a startup COO."

We've got to pick a job-search brand that speaks to actual talent needs in the
marketplace. That may require more than one resume. The traditional "I have
Finance, IT and HR experience" is worse than useless, because we're saying that
we're neither fish nor fowl - we really don't know what we are. So, we can't
write a resume until we have a handle on our job-search brand. Once we get the
branding squared away, we can think about resume language.

Let's say that you want to be an in-house PR person for a small or medium-sized
services firm. You have been successful getting PR for services firms in the
past. Of course, you want an employer to know that you're sharp, savvy, a
self-starter, etc. However, you don't want to use those dreadful, done-to-death
words (sharp, savvy, self-starter) to get those attributes across! Let's tell a
story, instead, and cover the same ground in a human-voiced way:

=================

Ever since I began covering business stories for my college newspaper, I've been
fascinated by storytelling in business and its power to shape audience behavior.
I'm a PR manager for professional services firms whose strong suit is crafting
stories that have gotten my clients profiled in TIME, USA Today and Forbes.

================

Does this job-seeker stoop to say "Excellent communication skills?" Heck no! His
or her skills are demonstrated right there on the page. This resume summary has
five attributes its boilerplate predecessor lacked:

1) A personality! We already have a tiny feel for the person behind the
language.
2) A branding choice. This job-seeker says "I'm not all things to all people.
I'm a service-firm PR person, and I love it!"
3) Evidence of success (no murky "proven track record of success")
4) Zero 'praising adjectives' - words like strategic, multi-faceted, and
talented - that suck power out of our resumes; and
5) A story! What's more compelling than a story? We can almost see the young
reporter flying around the college campus, tape recorder in hand. Will this
branding choice appeal to all employers? No way. Some employers will be
horrified by the job-seeker's conversational tone. That's good news! This
job-seeker wouldn't be happy in those environments, in any case.

When we adopt a human-voiced resume approach, we've got some major thinking
(about direction and brand) and some writing to do, but the result - a strong,
human-voiced resume - will vault our job-search results to a new level, I
predict.

Thanks! Liz

Does Attitude Influence Job-Search Success?

Liz Ryan: Does attitude influence job-search success?
Liz Ryan, For the Camera
Monday, February 9, 2009

BOULDER, Colo. — Dear Liz,

My job search is going well so far, I guess. I joined a job-search networking group that has weekly meetings. There are several very vocal, negative people in the group who basically spoil the experience for everyone else.

They use our meeting time ranting about how the job market stinks, every employer stinks, and the world is a cesspool. (I'm not exaggerating.)

The kicker is that when I try to turn the conversation to more positive topics I get criticized for my naivete and called "Pollyanna." I briefly left last week's meeting and when I came back in the room, one man was saying "What happened to the hippie girl?" (He meant me).

I guess I'm a hippie because I believe that intention is important in a job search or anything else I'm trying to accomplish. When I talk about positive intention and attitude in this group, I get mocked. So what's the point of going? Still, I hate to quit because I feel I have a positive influence on the less cynical members of the group.

What do you advise?

Thanks, Lauren

Dear Lauren,

First, I'm happy that job-search groups exist; most of them are fantastic resources. The YWCA Career Center offers awesome job-search support, so you might check with them. I'm sorry your group is such a downer.

My advice is to bolt. You need all the positive energy you can get right now. This group sounds like an energy-sucker if there ever was one. Don't stick around just to support the less-cynical members; they can find you if they want to.

Maybe you and they could create a new group, together! Let the doom-and-gloomers rant at one another. We can have compassion for people in that state, but we don't need to spend time around them.

As for hippies: I hail from Northern New Jersey, possibly the most cynical place on earth. I have zero doubt that intention and attitude have everything to do with success on a job search, a Mt. Everest expedition or the quest for a scientific discovery.

If attitude isn't everything, it's pretty darn close. We can -- and sometimes need to -- vent. "Man, this job-search thing is hard. Listen to this awful thing that happened to me last week."

We need our supportive friends to say "What a bummer! Now, let's talk about this week." They'll help us up, and we'll dust ourselves off and confirm our commitment to see the project through -- the job search, the mountain climb or the scientific discovery.

I deal with naysayers in my work occasionally, if by "occasionally" we mean a million times per day. I get letters that say "What's the point of job-search advice? Companies stink, life stinks," etc.

The good news is that I also hear from hopeful people like you -- folks who are game to try stuff, then try it, and find that it works. I feel sorry for the ones who've thrown in the towel. I don't know how to convince them that attitude matters. They'll learn it for themselves one day. As for you: plant yourself in fertile soil, and then blossom! You'll do more good that way than by trying to swim against the cynical tide.

Best, Liz

Liz Ryan is the CEO of Ask Liz Ryan, a Boulder human-resources and career-development consulting firm. She can be reached at liz@asklizryan.com.

The Really Great Networking Conversation

The Really Great Networking Conversation

Writen by Liz Ryan


By now, you'd have to have lived in a cave in Afghanistan for the last decade not to know the importance of networking. Whether you're job-hunting, or growing your business, or just striding into the exciting world of networking, you need to know how to talk. And listen. But beyond "how did you hear about this event?" how do you start a worthwhile networking conversation? It's not so hard - you just have to focus on the OTHER person.

The first and biggest rule of making networking conversation is that it's a conversation, not an audio broadcast. Don't deliver an aural business card, in other words! What's more annoying than a conversation like this:

YOU: (Spotting the nametag that says SALLY JONES on a nearby woman's lapel) So, Sally, what do you do in your business?
SHE: Oh, we're a full-service marketing firm, delivering great results for clients across a wide range of industries. We do branding, marketing, advertising solutions, web design, collateral materials, annual reports, and full-color printing. We work closely with our clients to find breakthrough solutions to tough problems. We value every client as a friend. We...
YOU: Got it - I'm afraid I forgot to feed the meter. (Exit stage left.)

See? Just because you're face-to-face with a person at a networking event doesn't mean that you're willing to listen to a non-stop marketing spiel. You shouldn't have to. And neither should anyone else. Just like in the sales arena (and networking has something in common with sales, in that you're selling a person on the value of knowing you), you should spend more time listening than talking.

Let's try that conversation again.

YOU: Hello Sally, what does your business do?
SHE: Oh, we're a really wonderful small marketing firm. I'd love to tell you more about us. But -- let's start with you. What do YOU do?
YOU: Well, I'm a technical search consultant.
SHE: Terrific! What sorts of assignments do you specialize in?

See what's happening now? It's a conversation. No one feels the need to jump out there with an uninvited commercial message. You will each learn interesting things about the other in a two-way exchange. Now you have a base for networking, and for finding ways to help one another.

The second big rule for creating networking conversation is this: find out as much about the person behind the business card as you do about the business. After all, we are more than our professional selves. The world is full of real estate people, for example. Some of them are worldly and insightful. Some of them are pretty dull and uncreative. How can you tell who's who? Ask them!

Here are five questions for networking conversations, that get beyond the obvious "what do you do for a living?" arena. If I'm meeting you at a networking function, I want to know what drives you. I want to know what you do when you're NOT working, and why you choose to do that thing. I want to to know what you think about. Are you my kind of person? Am I yours? That's what builds relationships - mutual interests.

Let's face it, most of the people we randomly meet at networking get-togethers aren't in a position to buy our services (or find us a job, or help us with our goals) this very minute. What's important is that these folks remember you, and like you, and will stay connected to you over time. It's a person-to-person connection you're after - not a business-card-meets-business card one!

So, here are the five questions:

1) How did you wend your way into the [technical search] business?

Stories are the spice of life, and the key to a person's character. It's fascinating to hear how people make their ways through careers - much more interesting, often, than a simple description of what they do every day. Dig in to the story!

2) So, where do you think the [technical search]industry is going? What trends do you see shaping up?

Want to understand the quality of a person's thinking? Ask him or her for an analysis of the current industry scene.

3) Where are you from?

This little question is my all-time favorite. If the answer is "Pittsburgh," of course, you don't let it sit there - you find out about your new friend's early life in Pittsburgh, and where he went after that, and how he ended up here in your city. Probe! The fun of meeting new people is mostly in learning about the different choices (different from your own, that is) that people make in their lives.

4) What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?

Here again, the key is that when your new acquaintance says, "Herpetology," you don't say, "Cool." You ask questions! Think of your brief conversation as a mini-interview. Why herpetology? What is herpetology again, anyway? Lizards? What kinds of lizards do you like? Don't they get mites? Ask, and listen! That's how relationships are created.

Here's the bottom line, when it comes to networking: people do business with people they feel connected to. It's more important to make a true connection - by learning that, say, we both have sets of twins and love the opera - than to make a flimsy one, based on the fact that we're both in the printing business (and have absolutely no other shared interest or conversational 'spark'). Business, thank goodness, is populated by people. It's human connections that make things happen.

Practice asking questions and then practice something else: clapping your mouth shut and listening. For some of us, that's a new business skill. The benefit? Priceless.

Liz Ryan is a workplace expert, former Fortune 500 HR executive and founder of the global online network Ask Liz Ryan.Reach Liz at liz@asklizryan.com

Dealing with a Slow-CoWorker

Hi all,

I've recently stepped into more of a management role on my team and
the junior member is having a problem getting deliverables out in a
timely manner. I'm not sure if she is having trouble prioritizing her
duties or if she just works at a slower pace (we don't work in the
same office, so it's hard to keep tabs), but she delivers
administrative materials (reports etc. that are quite simple to pull
together) much later than I would anticipate and occasionally misses a
deadline altogether.

I want to talk to her about this without sounding like I'm harping on
her or putting her down. I've heard similar (and snarkier) comments
about her work from other colleagues, and I want to talk to her about
this before she is seriously reprimanded. Any suggestions for starting
a discussion that is helpful rather than negative?

Thanks
Jenn

(NOTE FROM LIZ: The question mark for me in your message arises from the combination of your use of the term "more of a management role" in describing your own job and your use of the subject line "dealing with a slow co-worker" [co-worker, that is, versus subordinate]. It matters a lot whether or not Miss Slow Poke works for you, or doesn't. It's the crux of the issue, in fact. Managers can give feedback that colleagues, even folks stepping into management-type roles, just can't.

There are two immediate questions: a) Does this dawdler work for you, or not? and 2) does she know whom she reports to? If it's not crystal clear to her that you are her manager, I'd talk with your manager before making any overture at all. In some organizations and cultures, it would be highly appropriate for a not-quite-manager to do so, and in others, it wouldn't. The fact that she works in a different office is certainly germane. It may be that, if she doesn't actually report to you, your manager will be the best one to address the issue.

Let's say that you are indeed this employer's manager. Before you talk with her about the issue, you'll want to establish a basic manager-and-subordinate conversational glue over several chats. Those talks could happen over the phone or in person, and might sound like "So, Jane - since we're new working together, I wanted to understand more about what's up with you and how I can help. What are you working on now? How is it going? What can I do to move things along for you? How do you like to communicate - over the phone, via email or IM?" It takes a while to establish rapport and to earn a new team member's trust. [New to your team, I mean.] Before that happens, I wouldn't touch the on-time performance issue. If the trust isn't there, she's likely to feel criticized rather than supported. Any of us might feel bad if one of our first conversations with a new boss revolves around the speed at which our work gets done.

So you'll lay the groundwork first, over a few weeks' time. That time investment is warranted since you're looking to change behavior while building an important relationship. At some point, Jane may bring up the speed issue herself. If she doesn't, you'll have your opening when she says something like "I think Sales may be vexed with me for being late on the X15 report" at which point you can interject "How can I help?" The trust is the key - more listening than talking, at first. Once Jane sees you as a mentor, you'll be able both to determine the nature of the problem and to help her solve it. This will be a great learning opportunity for both of you. Best of luck! yours -- Liz)

Members Describe Our Online Community

We asked our members to share their descriptions of our online community. Here's what they said:

Hi Liz,

Back in June I wrote a blog post about this group, called I Get By
With a Little Help From My 25,000 Friends.

I referred to ALR as: "my virtual community -- an online networking
group with 25,000+ members, run by HR guru Liz Ryan. The group,
appropriately called Ask Liz Ryan is an amazing resource that provides
a forum for both personal and professional support. No matter what
the question -- health issues, career development, travel advice,
negotiation skills -- the Ask Liz Ryan community is there to respond."

Hope this helps. The post is here: http://tinyurl.com/6gxlbu
Amrita

I'd say we're a work/life balance networking group. : )

Lori

I belong to an on-line networking group where we discuss a variety of
professional and sometimes non-professional topics. We exchange advice
on a variety of topics from job-hunting (including resume brush-ups)
to job-related issues, travel, medical, family and technical issues.
It's a virtual water-cooler moderated by an H.R. professional who
chimes in with really good advice.

How's that?

Maryan

I say that we're a caring, helpful networking community that
communicates through a yahoo message board about work, life, work/life
balance, or the intersection of work and life. Or something like that.
And I add your credentials and that you, and the members, are
fantastic!!

Vicki

Rolodex for Sale?

Dear Liz,

I had a weird situation arise in my business last week. I'm a
marketing consultant. I help companies increase traffic to their Web
sites and beef up their advertising and PR efforts. I also write a
very popular blog on marketing and public relations. I earn my money
helping clients, but, like most people, I donate a bunch of time to
people who need help with things, from getting a break in marketing
to figuring out a complicated marketing issue.

Last week I got a LinkedIn invitation from a woman I know slightly,
in California. We worked on a project years ago when she worked for a
vendor and I was an in-house marketing guy. The day after we got
connected on LinkedIn, I got a long e-mail message from her. In her
message she said she had a friend who'd been dying to meet me. Would
I take five minutes and talk to him on the phone? I wrote to say:
Sure, have him call me.

The next day the friend (we'll call him Evan) calls me. It turns out
that he's an entrepreneur, who is about to launch his product.
Throughout the call, he kept saying how grateful he was that I took
the time to talk to him.

"It's no problem," I said, "since Terry says you're a big fan and you
read my blog."

There was silence.

"Er," Evan said, "Terry is the one who told me about you. She's my
publicist. She's trying to get me interviews with a number of media
types, and she told me she'd gotten me an interview with you. Your
blog is influential and will drive a lot of people to my site."

It seems that the lady, who called herself my friend and asked me to
do a favor, is working as a publicist and basically sold her slight
relationship with me to this guy as one of her publicity services. I
didn't say anything to the guy, but I thought that move was in bad
taste. I didn't write about the guy on my blog (his product has
nothing to do with the things I write about).

What do you think I should do: Forget it? Tell the lady off?

Thanks,

Walther

* * *

Dear Walther,

Ouch! That is a bad story. It stinks to learn that someone you
thought you were helping as a friend turned out to be making a buck
on the back of your good nature (if a good nature has a back). Tacky!

I'd get the message across to the lady. I'd say: "Evan is a charming
guy, although his product isn't right for my blog. Congratulations on
your move into the publicist arena. I added you to my list of PR
people -- please send any future pitches to pitches@mywebsite.com."

The lady is going to have a short career in PR if she thinks she can
earn her keep by selling her personal contacts to her clients. It
would have been honorable for her to state her intentions up front.
Since she didn't do that, I'd put this anecdote in the Once Bitten
Twice Shy file and be grateful the lady didn't rope you into dinner
with her client.

Cheers,

Liz

Putting Your Own Stamp on LinkedIn Invitations

This is old - I wrote it in 2005 - but it might amuse you, still.

As the networking site LinkedIn takes off - with over 4.2 million members as of December, 2005 - users are starting to tire of the standard "boilerplate" invitations (the ones that members use when they want to invite their friends to "connect" on LinkedIn). So, to switch up the verbiage a bit and have some fun, here are some customized LinkedIn invitations in the Styles Of...

VALLEY GIRL

I'm like, totally using this LinkedIn thing, and it's like, everyone's doing it and if you're like, not connected, you're like, so not even ANYONE. So I'm all "let's connect," and you like only have to hit this one button and stuff, so like do it, and let's GET TO KNOW SOME PEOPLE!!

THE SOPRANOS

So boss,

You want we should connect, a what? Dis guy, behind da guy, he knows a guy and he wants we should talk to dis guy, in Jersey, so get connected over here and we'll do dis ting. Bada bing, bada boom. Click on the link. Fuhgeddaboutit.

Paulie "Links"

HAIKU

The unconnected person waits for the invite: connection. It's here. Join us!

OLD TESTAMENT

And so it came to pass that the word spread, and the blessings came down upon the people, and spread throughout the nations. And the prophet said, "Let us connect," and one unto the other they connected, they of the first degree and of the second, and lo, all the degrees thereof. And so the people connected, one to another, each according to his needs and his unique selling proposition, and it was good.

MOOD SWING

I can't tell you if you still like me. I know you're busy, so don't be mad at me for asking, but do you HATE ME or what? I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'm such a loser. What is your problem? Why are you such a jerk to me?

Do you want to CONNECT? Only if you want to. Probably you don't. It's okay. You hate me. I can tell. Do you want to connect though? Click on the link. Okay, don't. Just be your arrogant self. Die.

RISQUE

I saw your profile and I must say, it's spicy...you seem like a person who knows a lot about....life. You're so --- accomplished. You've got that smoky air of success about you. I read your profile over and over and tried to picture your resume, and believe me, I did, and I couldn't sleep afterwards. And people are attracted to you, it's obvious. You've connected with a lot of people, haven't you? There's something dangerous about you. I want to connect with you RIGHT NOW - can you feel it?

MOTHER GOOSE

Higgledy piggledy, my LinkedIn
Bring your whole address book in!
Austin, Boston, Rome, Berlin,
Globally, mobile-ly, my LinkedIn.

MOM

Oh hello dear,

Is this how you do this? Tell me if you get this. Am I doing this right? I want to invite you to - what? This is so complicated. Honey, I just can't keep you with all your fancy websites and gadgets. I have to be honest, the digital camera you bought your father for Christmas in 1999 is still in the box. You're such a bright boy. We're so proud of you, sweetheart. What about that girl you mentioned at Aunt Janet's 80th birthday party, are you still seeing her? I don't mean to pry. There was something I was supposed to ask you - oh yes, do you want to click with me? Clink? Link? Or whatever it's called. Connect. Oh yes, that's it. How silly, to connect with your mother! Do you still listen to Earth, Wind & Fire? You loved them in high school.

Love,

Mom