Resume Help Blog

Let’s stipulate, for the millionth time, that the economy is failing like Jessica Simpson at a Mensa tryout. One piece of advice: Don’t take it personally. Update your resume. Network. With that in mind, we asked a panel of experts for the one nugget of advice they’d give an out-of-work job hunter.  

* Don’t Screw Around

Absolutely No. 1 is to treat the job search as you would your full-time job. So whatever your morning ritual is – having your breakfast, taking your kids to school – get back to your desk and, 9-to-5, you’re looking for a job.

- Jack Otter, deputy editor, Best Life magazine

* Stand Tall

Don’t apologize for being out of work. I don’t mean to be over-the-top abrasive, like a Donald Trump. But if you go around being apologetic, the first thing it’s going to do is make you more insecure about your prospects. You’re going to be so busy being embarrassed that you probably won’t present your best face. You have to really take ownership of it and say, “You know what? Sure, I’m out of work right now, but I have exceptional skills.”

- Rachel Weingarten, business etiquette expert and author of “Career and Corporate Cool”

* Get Educated

Folks should be thinking about getting credentialing. Not just bachelor’s degrees, but certificates. Even within six months, you can get yourself onto a good career track.

There are sectors that are facing critical shortages. For example, there are a whole range of technician jobs related to health care. There are information-technology-related jobs, and when the (proposed federal) stimulus package comes down, there’s going to be a tremendous need for skilled talent. You can get yourself into a decent job that will pay a family a sustaining wage.

- Julian Alssid, executive director, Workforce Strategy Center in Manhattan

* Form An (Uag) “Unemployed Anonymous Group”

Get together with a group of people who can be a support group. Meet weekly or every other week to compare notes on what you’re doing, what’s working, where the action is and what the general sense of the market is. Select a diverse group of people who have insights from different directions. You go around the table and everyone gives an update. Then you ask questions.

- Bill Ellermeyer, outplacement consultant

* Get Organized

It’s important to be organized, because when you’re in a structured environment, you’re going to be more productive. Keep a daily to-do list, so you make sure at the beginning of the day you say to yourself, “What do I want to get accomplished?”

If you start doing your list, you can reflect on it at the end of the week and say, “Geez, I’m spending all my time on job boards and no time on networking. I need to adjust.”

- Will Robinson, founder of Virtualjobcoach.com

* Prepare To Pitch

Develop a 10-second verbal pitch that says what you’re looking for, where you’re willing to do it and what you’re open to considering. Many job seekers aren’t able to quickly articulate what they’re in the market for, and they miss opportunities.

An example: “I’m a very strong financial analyst. You’ll see from my resume that my last positions have been in the financial services industry and that I’ve spent time in other industries.” Then list those. “So I’m open to considering other industries. My compensation in my last role is this. This is what I’m willing to consider. And I’m open to commuting.”

- Kimberly Bishop, executive recruiter, Slayton Search Partners

* Hug A Librarian

Business librarians know an awful lot about different fields and resources and databases and technologies, much of which can be very useful to job seekers. So from a networking standpoint, it makes a lot of sense to include them.

It’s much easier to find a business librarian than a lot of people expect. First, librarians by their nature are helpful people, so it’s very easy to approach them. Second, they’re all over the place. It doesn’t take too much research to find one.

- Rick Hearin, director of MBA career services, Miami University

* Draw A Map

You need to begin assessing and strategizing your options. Sit down and create a document or a journal, whether it’s online or on paper, and map out various career paths you could take.

First, do an assessment of your skills and your assets. And think as much outside the box as possible. Not so much skills that are connected to your job, but those that could be translated everywhere.

Then there are three paths you could take. One is, Where could I go in my current industry? The next is, What other industries could I transfer my skills to? The third is, What about being in business for yourself? What have you always dreamed about? How would you develop that?

- Julie Morgenstern, time-management expert and author of “Never Check E-mail in the Morning”

* Get With It

“One of the things women over 40 have to do is make sure you look relevant. If there are pictures accompanying your resume or anything that’s online, make sure it marries up to modern life. Make sure you’ve got a current haircut and current clothes. You don’t have to be a fashion statement, but you should definitely look like you know what’s going on and you’re with it.

- Lesley Jane Seymour, editor-in-chief, More magazine

By BRIAN MOORE, NY Post