Author Archives: bryandilts

Resumes and elephant guns

Posted on January 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the world.  (Archimedes)

 In the old Tarzan movies a “great white hunter” is walking through the African plains followed by a couple of trusty gun bearers.  Suddenly, out of the trees, an elephant charges.  He reaches back and his huge elephant gun is placed in his hands.  He takes aim and waits.  When the elephant is a mere 30 yards away he fires.  The elephant falls to the ground at his feet.

What would happen if the hunter reached back and a bow and arrow were placed in his hands?   Well, there wouldn’t be enough left of the hunter to have a funeral.

For every job there are a few key experiences that will get you an interview.  They are the elephant guns or levers in your job hunt.  If you have those experiences, you will get an interview.

Before you submit your resume for any job you have to ask yourself, “What is the elephant gun for this job?  Is there one?”  You may have to read the job description two or three times before you know.  If you are still confused, call up the company and find out.  Ask for the person in charge of that job.  Whether you get HR (Human Resources) or the hiring manager, ask what the most difficult to find skills for that job are.

We submitted one resume for a job using an elephant gun.  The candidate did not have the college degree necessary.  He was not a CPA and had never been an auditor.   Still, the company phoned back immediately.  They were excited that we had found a candidate with the one skill they absolutely had to have.  He had several years of experience collecting the data to fill out a particular set of government forms.

We knew what the elephant gun for the job was.  The candidate got the interview.

Are you using a bow and arrow resume when you could be using an elephant gun?  You need a lever and a place to stand to move the world.

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Something To Do Today

Find an ad that is picky, an ad that asks for 10 different skills and a lot of experience.  Find out what the elephant gun is for that ad.  Call the company and ask what the most important skill sets are and which are not essential. Find out where the lever can be placed.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Resumes

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That pesky resume. Is it working?

Posted on January 27, 2010 | Leave a comment

If it moves and it shouldn’t, use duct tape.  If it should move and doesn’t, use WD-40.     You can fix anything if you can figure out why it isn’t working.

In college there was a 1930’s Rolls Royce in our apartment’s garage.  It was gorgeous.  It didn’t run.  It was useless for transportation.  Is your resume like that Rolls Royce?  Is it beautiful, but not doing what you need it to do?

Resumes are only supposed to do one thing….get you an interview.  No matter how pretty it is, how hard you worked on it or how much you paid to get it written, it is not working unless it gets you an interview.

 6.3 reasons why resumes don’t get interviews

  1. You are not qualified.
  2. The resume doesn’t address the job requirements
  3. Your qualifications are hidden or camouflaged
  4. Only responsibilities are mentioned, not accomplishments
  5. There is nothing memorable

6.3            You don’t send it out

If you are not qualified, don’t cry because no one calls you back.  You are relying on luck and luck is fickle.

If you don’t send out any resumes, no one will answer you either. (Duhhh!)

The other four points will take longer to go over.  We’ll do that in the next few days.

That Rolls Royce was a collector’s item.  It was for looking at.  Your resume is not a collector’s item.  It is not a job application.  It is not a due diligence audit.  It is not your life history.  It has one job to get you an interview.  If you are not getting interviews, let’s fix the resume.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Resumes

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Can I make my job skills more attractive?

Posted on January 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Perception is everything when you have 30 seconds to make a sale.   Most resumes are deleted in 12 seconds.  You don’t even have 30 seconds to sell yourself.

If you were going to hire an audit manager which of these two skill sets sounds better:

  1. Managed large audit department for 3 years.
  2. Managed 18 person audit department.  As many as 7 audits occurred simultaneously in 9 locations in 3 countries. $18M recovered over a period of 3 years.

Not a hard choice is it? 

Grab your 30 second commercial you wrote last week and your resume.  Look at the first skill set you describe.  How deep is the description?  Can the hiring manager tell the depth of your experience.  Do you give any numbers, sizes, concrete examples or project sizes?  Do you mention the number of people involved in a project.

Can you go any deeper?  For example both of the following are better than average skill accomplishment descriptions, but one is superior:

  1. Top two salesperson for the last 3 years.
  2. Top two salesperson out of 30 for the last 3 years for both highest total sales volume and largest average profit margin.

If you are keeping a job journal, you are tracking detailed information about your accomplishments.  For now, look back at what you’ve done and make some best guesses at numbers.  The more detailed you are, the more you stand out.

Read those examples above again.  Who would you bring in for an interview if you were short of time?  Do you need to change your resume and 30 second commercial?

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Something To Do Today

Copy your 30 second commercial and resume to new files.  Go over every skill set description and accomplishment and expand it.  Add all the details you can. Make every description too long.  Save it.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Resumes

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My 30 second commercial

Posted on January 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

The greatest tool for your job search is an enthusiastic desire to help.

I was talking to a local TV station manager.  He asked, “How would you like to stand in the middle of the biggest stadium in Pennsylvania and tell everyone there about your product?  That’s what a 30 second ad on my station is like.”  Later he added, “You’d plan your speech well, wouldn’t you?”

Have you been telling a lot of people how good you are and getting no response?  Maybe you need to work on your speech.  Turn it into your 30 second commercial.

The biggest mistake most job seekers make is they start by saying, “I really need a job.  Can you help me?”  Why would that make a manager want to hire you?  You just asked him to give you money he needs for other things.

He’ll hire you if you can solve his problems, make his life easier, or earn him money.

He’ll hire you even if he doesn’t have an opening right now.

Sit down with a piece of paper and write each job type you are applying for.  Leave lots of space between jobs.  Under each job write what problems you can solve for the hiring manager.  Next write how you can make his job easier. Finally put down how much money you can make him in new income or save him in expenses. Would you pay someone to do those things?  Give examples of what you did in the past.  Real examples.

Did you only write what duties you want?  I hope not.   If you wrote, “I can take care of the computers,” that isn’t enough.  Add, “I cut computer downtime in half at my last job.”  In addition to, “Do help desk duties,” write, “As second level help desk technician I cleared up all incoming calls in an average of 20 minutes per call.”

Can you write down accomplishments instead of duties?  What have you done?  How have you helped in the past?  Where have you saved money at your last job?  Did you figure out how to save time for 20 other people?  Did you bring in 20 new customers?  Were you better than anyone else?  Prove it with concrete examples.

For each job you need to write a 30 second personal commercial.  It should not say what you want.  It should say how you can help.  It should show your enthusiasm and your “can do” attitude.  Prove you can do it with examples.  Use that commercial when you are talking to people about your job search.  You’ll get a much better response.

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Something To Do Today

Make that list of jobs you are applying for.  List what you can do for the hiring manager.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Networking

The right sources of job leads

Posted on January 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Knowledge is power and enthusiasm pulls the switch.  (Droke)

Only 6 2 % of workers found their current jobs on the internet according to a 2005 survey. That may be up to 10% in 2009.  The 4 biggest internet job boards only filled 2 2 % of the jobs says the Wall Street Journal.  That means that company websites, Monster, CareerBuilder and Google should only be the start of your job search.

About 17% of jobs are filled by recruiters in agencies.  Better than the internet, but where else can you look?  A whopping 70% of jobs are filled by networking.  The rest are filled by newspaper ads, radio, TV, schools, etc.

The internet is a great place to find companies that may want to hire you.  But, don’t just look for perfect jobs already listed.  Look for companies that could use your skills.  Then network your way in to the 70% of jobs that never make it to a company website or internet job board.

If you were a manager, would you like to hire someone recommended to you by your top engineer?  Sure!  So make a list of companies that could use your skills.  Then put your networking list beside it.  Your networking list should include agency recruiters you trust to help you with their 17% of the jobs.  Who in your network knows someone in those companies? 

Now, call up those people and ask them what they know about XYZ company.  What have they heard?  Do they know someone working there?  Does that person like it there?  Can you call the person at that company to see what they have to say?  Can they forward your resume?

One other way to talk to the right person at a company is to call in and ask.  Ask the receptionist, “Who is in charge of programming?”  Sometimes you’ll get that manager.  Often you’ll be put through to Human Resources (HR).  That’s fine.  Send them your resume.  Just remember, HR is the last to know when there is an opening.  So ask for the manager of the area you want to talk to first.  You may get lucky.

Use your 30 second commercial when you talk to HR or a hiring manager.  What’s a 30 second commercial?  I guess we had better cover that tomorrow.

The other thing you can do is to network for information, giving and getting.  That will have to be another day.

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Something To Do Today

Remember that networking list?  Better take a look at that again.  Contact three people you want to network with.  Do it today.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Networking

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Giving 30 seconds away can get you a job too

Posted on January 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Seize the day in 30 seconds.

One college fundraising drive was also an experiment.  The fundraisers went into the dormitory common area where there were students.  Half the time they just asked for donations.  The other times they came and handed out soft drinks as they asked for donations.  The trips with the soft drinks raised several times more money.  The secret is giving something away before you ask for help.

Your time and attention are your most valuable possessions.  Give 30 seconds away.

The greatest secret of top salesmen is: establish a relationship before you sell yourself.  Break your target person out of their rut before you sell. Start by spending 30 seconds talking about them.  Few people can resist trying to help someone who has given them 30 seconds of rapt attention.

Ask a question and then listen.   “How is your day going so far?  How many of these interviews do you do in a day?  You must be worn out by now, how do you keep a fresh attitude?  Is that a picture of your dog?  My kids were crazy this morning, do you think it was just the weather?  How did you learn to do this job?”

It takes practice.  Get the book, How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.  Read and apply one chapter a day. It  will make people smile when you enter the room.  You’ll be memorable.  You will also enjoy meeting other people more than you ever have before.

Want a job?  You have to stand out from the crowd.  Give your most important possession away.  Give 30 seconds of your time and attention.  You will be fondly remembered by everyone you meet.  They will also really want to help you because you are a nice person.

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Something To Do Today

Practice giving away 30 seconds with everyone you meet.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Interviews

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Job advice I just gave my 2 kids

Posted on January 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

Here’s the advice I gave my kids.  The same email.  I must admit, I am a religious guy, so I also included that   Your choice.

Here are the most important instructions for finding a job.

Fast and Pray.

Get a Priesthood Blessing.

Put your name on the prayer rolls of the temple.

Think.  Get a few sheets of paper or your journal and a pen.  Sit down for 1 hour each day and do the following in a quiet spot and time.

            Write your goal at the top of the sheet of paper

            The goal may be “Find a job” or “Make $200/week in Provo” or whatever.

            Say a prayer

            Spend the hour writing down ideas of how you can reach that goal.  Make lists.  Get sidetracked on good ideas.  Concentrate.

            If you write down 30 ideas a day and only find one good one after a week, that’s more than enough, isn’t it?

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Giving your way into a job

Posted on December 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can. (Kaye)

Do you know how hard it is to get an administrative job with a symphony orchestra? 

A symphony administrator told me how to do it.  A woman called him and asked for a job.  He said, “I can’t hire you, there is no budget.”

That’s not the end of the story.  She said, “I’ll work for you for free.”  It was a wage he could afford.  She did a great job for 3 months and went back to school.  What do you think will happen when she applies for her next job and has experience and great references? 

You can’t afford to work for free.  Not forever, anyway.  Can you do it for a few hours or days?  Over the weekend?  Helping people out of a bind is a great way to network your way into a job.  They will feel compelled to let others know how much you helped them.  In the programming and computer networking field it is a very common way to work yourself into a company.

I can point to specific examples where this worked for accountants, secretaries, company presidents, salespeople, office managers and more.  These were jobs worth anywhere from $6/hour to $250,000/year. These people all helped someone who mentioned they were snowed under with work.  After a few hours they offered to come in the next day.  After 2 days they said they would help out the next weekend.  The boss, owner or chairman of the board heard about it and hired the person.

If you are unemployed, what’s the damage?  If you have a job, why not spend some of your evening and weekend time helping out with something you don’t normally do?  I know people who got promoted because they came in a few extra hours to their regular job to help their boss out on the boss’s project.

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Something To Do Today

Do you know someone who needs help?  Seize the opportunity.  Go on in and see if you can help.

Tomorrow:      Giving 30 seconds away can get you a job too

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Posted in Attitude, Networking, Perseverance

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Two ways to Robo-Network

Posted on December 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

Do you want to be known as the person who can solve any problem?

Then go to where people with problems are: online.  I assume you are an expert at your profession.  Go online and find an online forum where you can contribute.  You can ask your co-workers and teachers what online forums they suggest.  I just did a Google search on “Sarbanes Oxley audit forums” and got a very specialized list of forums.  Spend a few hours getting to know your forum and its tone, then hop right in and offer some help. 

Did you know there are recruiters and researchers that specialize in finding smart people in online forums?  They do it for accountants, programmers, truckers, pilots and a lot more occupations.  More important, the people who rely on the forum often let others know where jobs are.  Generally they take the conversation offline, where others are not involved.  That’s why you don’t see it. 

So let’s say you let slip that you are from Harrisburg, PA.  Someone else says they are from York, PA.  You send an email outside the system to that person and place each other in your network.

Want to extend this?  Add people who give you their business card at a class.  For all the people you have in your network, keep two email address lists.  One for the occasional, “How are you doing,” contact.  Send an email every few months with a little personal update.  Have another email list for the folks you want in your close network.  Find a reason to email them more often.  It could be with a note about something you saw in an online forum you want to make sure they noticed.  Make sure both lists know when you are looking for a job.

Two ways to Robo-network:  Contribute to online forums and make email lists to keep people in your network.   

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Something To Do Today

Find an online forum about your expertise.  Help someone there with an answer they need.

Tomorrow:      Giving your way into a job.  It’s beginning to sound like Christmas.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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Forget lunch. Other ways to network

Posted on December 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

Most of the people you see every day you will not invite to lunch.  I know that.  So now what do you do?

At the office lunchroom, at church, at association meetings, before and after business meetings, at classes, waiting for the bus, at technology events, business fairs and anywhere else people are doing what you are doing, network.  Talk to teachers especially.  They have contacts with people in every business and class they teach.  Search out salespeople.  They spend their whole day getting to know decision makers.  Give a salesperson a lead and they will do their best to help you.   

Everyone you meet knows someone else.  Get in the habit of talking to people.  It is always a little frightening.  One of the most outgoing people I know told me, “People say they wish they could be like me and just say hello to strangers.  What they don’t realize is that it is also hard for me to do it.  I just force myself to say hello and a conversation usually follows.”

Back to the old formula, talk with a person about their successes, then ask them for advice.  The absolute greatest book ever written on the subject of engaging people in conversation is How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  It is written in small segments so you can read and apply one lesson a day.  I have re-read the book several times. 

If you are going to be meeting with people you may never see again, bring business cards.  You can make them on your computer and there are a lot of places on the internet that will make them inexpensively.  Don’t forget your email address as well as phone numbers.

Why business cards? If you are networking with people who have no way to contact you later, you haven’t built much of a network.  Understand that most of your cards will be thrown away within a week, but some will be kept.  My best success has been with magnetic business cards, but they are expensive. 

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Something To Do Today

Get a copy of How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  Libraries and bookstores all have copies.  Start reading one chapter a day and applying it.

If you don’t have business cards, get them or make them.

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Posted in Networking, Uncategorized

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