From the CEO

One of the fun parts of my job is being able to participate on all the webinars. Today's webinar was with resume experts Dawn & Melissa from Relaunch Career Associates and focused on how to be hired as a part-time professional. As we discussed the current trends for an individual to find a job and how to organize his or her resume, I realized that some of my perceptions about a resume were stuck in the 80s. For example a one page resume is not necessarily the best length - the length of a resume is determined by years of experience, industry, and position. In addition the resume must demonstrate how the candidate fits into the company... it is the primary sales piece to be hired.

In order for the candidate to convey the message that the hiring manager hopes to read, the company must provide the right job description. So what does a job ad say about your company? Is it part of the sales tool to get the "right people on the bus*." Large companies often have a section on their websites which try to share what is like to work at the company and the company culture. My guess is that many smaller companies don't have that information on their website. I remember the first time I was asked what our company culture was. I think I rambled trying to explain it.  How an individual will fit into the company culture is important for both the employer and the employee. Realizing how much job seekers are being encouraged to research a company and tailor both their resume and cover letter, makes me think of the job ad differently.

I recently traveled with a group of people for a meeting. At dinner one night, someone posed the question “if there were an ad in the paper (or online) and it was your ideal job, what would it be?” Money is not a consideration. The answers in this group ranged from living in the North End of Boston and cooking/learning from the chefs in the restaurants to being a commercial photographer to volunteering at Children’s Hospital. Two people said that they were in that job.

It was interesting to hear each person’s answer to the question and how similar or different it was to their current job. It is a good exercise to do to see if you are in the right field or type of job. If you are in a job search, it should be a starting point for your job search. What are you passionate about? Does it lend itself to a career (either full time or part-time)? What skills does it take? Is it industry specific? If you liked your previous position, was anything missing?

If you have managed people for any length of time, then you have had a resignation. There are times when this might b e a good thing. You and the employee both know at some level that the relationship isn’t working for either and this is the right next step. Hopefully this is the exception, not the rule. Too often the resignation is from a reliable, high performing individual and comes at a busy time for the company.

If you run a small business like I do, then it is tough to be without an employee for long. The temptation is to post a position and spread the word that you need a person who can do the same tasks as the person who left. But is that the best course of action? Are your services and customers the same? Are you using exactly the same technology? What current employees are ready for a new challenge?