Tag: Joe Arrigo

How to Fix My Resume

In 90% of cases, a resume does not need to be re-written. It simply needs a couple tweaks and additions that make it look reinvigorated. The only time a full overhaul is needed is when the formatting and design are unreadable and convoluted. For someone needing resume help, not requiring a complete revamp brings them tremendous emotional relief.

The first thing I always ask is, “What do you think is wrong with your resume?” The answers I get start with, “I just feel like…

A) I’m not getting as many hits as I used to…”

B) I could add something more…”

C) I keep getting passed over because of it…”

What it comes down to is making the proper adjustments in regards to keywords, job titles, format, spacing, reduction of fluff, addition of specific tools, and clarity throughout.

I worked with a sales rep recently who needed resume advice. After talking through the resume, we concluded he needed three changes: Adding his sales achievements, adding specific CRM and software skills, and adding an additional page. (I will be discussing the myth of the 1 page resume in an upcoming video/article.)

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Some minor formatting tweaks and page rearrangement for the finishing touch, and that was it. After this, any manager or recruiter viewing his resumes could see he was a top 10% sales rep and well-versed with enterprise CRM tools.

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Most often, a resume needs to be shorter, not longer. It needs to be more concise when listing bullet points, and focused on reducing ambiguous character statements. I would delete the “Objective” statement as well. At least on the staffing side of the business, this is something you can remove without suffering any damage.

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Unless you are a graphic designer, artist, or game developer, you do not need to spruce up your resume with graphics or flashy designs. Both the ATS and the hiring manager are searching for content and competence, not creativity. If you cannot resist an intricate resume with graphics and multi-colored font, my recommendation is you better have substance and content behind all the glitz or the manager/recruiter will reject your resume because its all smoke and mirrors.

There’s more debate to be had about such topics like: cover letters, references, whether or not to add short contracts, how to address job gaps, etc etc. I encourage your deliberation and input surrounding everything I’ve written here.

To message me directly, find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-arrigo/

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What Managers Get Wrong – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for Great Teams

What managers get wrong about developing and using talent correctly, is not utilizing the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to bring out the absolute best in each individual. Educators, HR managers, and corporate recruiters have moved away from evaluating people’s innate nature and DNA-level talents in favor of surface-level assessments like the DiSC profile and StrengthsFinder (now called CliftonStrengths).

Speaking with certified MBTI individuals has shed some light on what’s happened in the last decade. MBTI is deemed too complex and requires a deeper discussion about psychology, temperament, and sometimes abstract concepts to fully wrap your head around its application to the business world. Thus, management has implemented broader assessments to get a general consensus about individuals. I would argue most assessments today are simply MBTI-lite and have poached the best concepts of it to make it more digestible to the masses.

Understanding MBTI was a radical shift in my understanding of team dynamics, communication, and individual values. I realized that the reason we have conflict in our work environments can be traced back to PERSONALITY TYPE, rather than our current go-to’s which are blaming intelligence, work ethic, or motivation. This does not address the underlying problem, thus managers are unable to solve inter-office disputes.

Undeniably, people have different innate abilities that make them better suited for certain roles and careers. They also have different ways of communicating and interpreting information. In previous articles I discussed how communication, the centerpiece for all workplace conflict, is largely based on MBTI type over anything else. In subsequent videos and articles, I will address in further detail the ways managers can use “typing” to get the absolute best out of their team.

Please do take a look at some of these YT channels that truly influenced me and my understanding of myself and others. You will find something here that you like.

Love Who

Lijo

Frank James

IDRLabs

To message me directly, find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-arrigo/

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The Concept of the Resume

A resume is designed to capture the attention of 2 different people; the Skimmer and the Scrutinizer. The perfect resume will cater to both their review styles and satisfy their internal check-boxes.

The Skimmer is somebody who is looking for keywords to judge whether or not you deserve an interview. This type is the person you want if you are a word salad writer and want to pass this filter. Specifically when a role has a must-have qualification, this is the resume reviewer that you want. The Skimmer’s downside can be quite embarrassing to you as the candidate. Say you get to the interview based on having the right keywords jammed in your resume. You are asked during the interview to explain your experience with, let’s say, Adobe Illustrator. Yes, you’ve used it, but it was one time, and it was really just Adobe Photoshop, but really it was MS Paint. And now you are backtracking and looking like a clown. This is an instant fail; much like driving on the sidewalk during your Driving Exam.

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The Scrutinizer is the guy who nitpicks your resume line-by-line just looking for a reason to reject you. The benefit of this type is that if you do manager to pass their filter, you are likely already a top candidate for the position. The downside is that this type will often reject those who are very qualified, but missed 1 or 2 crucial bullet points that would have sealed the deal.

You can make a resume that satisfies both types without exaggerating, stretching, or adding fancy graphics. Here is what is needed:

  • Include the specifics of the tool, project, application, or the final result ($$$ saved, quota achieved etc) to each bullet point. Don’t say something like, “Administered database to ensure data continuity.” Tell us it was SQL or Mongo or whatever, but make it clear what the tool was. Too many candidates get rejected by The Scrutinizer when they leave these small details out.
  • Make it obvious that your job title is in line with the standard duties of that role. If you are a Project Manager, you need direct reports, budgets specifics, and clients if applicable. The most common mistake I see is people label themselves a manager without actually having direct reports. This is where you can pass the filter of the Skimmer, and lose bigly in the interview.
  • Keep in mind that words mean things. But some words don’t have value because they are too vague or, even worse, misrepresent you. Instead of words that can be left up to interpretation like, “helped, assisted, and managed”, words like “architected, designed, and implemented” are more concrete.

At the heart of the resume is the 3 C’s: Clear, Concise, and Cnot Lying. If you stick to these, you will get more interviews and offers than you know what to do with.

To message me directly, find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-arrigo/

Job Market Then and Now: Candidate’s Market vs Employer’s Market

From the end of 2018 until February 2020, we were in a “candidate’s market.” This means that there were many job openings, yet the candidate pool was very shallow. What this meant for the candidate was they were highly prized possessions in their respective fields, and thus could negotiate for a higher salary knowing they were greatly sought-after. From a recruiting point of view, this is a tough process to negotiate. Your client’s are not budging on their salary range, and the candidates are fielding many offers. Candidate’s in this market generally have little loyalty to anything other than who will pay them more. This irrational exuberance has been seen many times before (e.g. Dot-com bubble, 2008 Financial Crisis.) The good times will never end! I’ll never die!

Now – during COVID-19 – we are seeing what happens when its an “employer’s market.” This means we have a small amount of job openings, with a deep reservoir of candidates available. This is great for employers as the leverage and power has completely shifted. You can now “low-ball” the salary with confidence that they aren’t going to be getting a counter-offer from other employers. Often heard during these interviews is, “At this point, I just need a job.” This is music to a company’s ears; and an awful sales pitch for yourself.

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Adjusting to this shift is abrupt for those who were riding the candidate market wave through ’18 and ’19. The grim reality is you can’t make $75/hr anymore–you have to take a pay cut. A Utopian career trajectory is one where you are always getting a better position with better pay. In reality, there comes a point where you can’t make what you made previously. This can be a harsh, ego-smashing moment for job seekers.

Unfortunately, what needs to be done at this point, isn’t. The path taken is that of “holding out” for a job that pays the same or better, falsely believing that the same market exists back when you landed your last gig.

The solution is to take a step back in order to take a step forward. Consider that a slight decrease in pay for a job that starts Monday, is better than no job offer that starts never. Though, that is a popular employer for many. I assume ego and status get in the way, thus clouding their logic. I will expand on that thought in future articles.

Point is, you might just be able to squeak by in America at $70/hr. Those that thrive in either market understand this phenomenon and the future of their careers in a way that does not solely focus on title and income, but that of the proper job fit and job enthusiasm.

To message me directly, find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-arrigo/

Job Search during COVID-19. Hiring, Firing and Furlough.

Nobody knows what is going on, and there is no strategy in place for both corporations and candidates alike.

Many candidates are getting furloughed, which I’m skeptical is actually a real word. What furloughed means is that you are still an employee but you don’t get all the perks of being employed, like getting paid. You might get to keep your health benefits, but that is usually it. This is much better than getting laid off, as the intent with being furloughed is to bring you back after a certain period of time. Its a huge cost-saving measure for the company, and they get to save face with their employee.

For those that were laid off, the market is purgatory. The image below is what it’s like to search for jobs on Indeed.

20 Creepy Pieces Of Purgatory Art
Welcome to the job market!

You don’t know if the job you applied for is truly hiring (heaven), or if it’s going to be “put on hold” indefinitely (hell). Likewise, the recruiter is talking to candidates as if the job is moving forward, with the nagging feeling that it could all be for naught. This is not a great location to reside.

The companies that are adapting quickly are going to to be the winners after we come out the other side of this. They are going to snatch up all the former on-site workers who have tasted the remote life, and take all the best talent across the US. Mentioned earlier, larger corporations are going to struggle with this transition. The small-to-medium size businesses will see the vision and thrive moving forward.

Economy and Corporations

The issue that big corporations have during this time is their inability to see past a small snapshot in time. Because the ultimate concept of the corporation is to deliver return to your shareholders, there is no flexibility when it comes to adjusting to a crisis like we have with COVID-19. There is no such thing as maintaining profits or holding steady — there most always be growth eternally. And with this mindset, its tough to be agile when its most needed. The instant reaction is to panic, slash spending and staff, and essentially hibernate until things blow over.

What I am not seeing at all while cruising around news blogs and LinkedIn, is a mention about the fragility of the economy. Imagine being a massive corporation with vaults full of money, huge dividends, and a positive cash-flow. A little 1-month slump can bring you to your knees? That’s not a strong economy built on a sound foundation. That’s a house made of sand that is praying the tide doesn’t rise too high.

Working with a recruiter or staffing firm

Working with a staffing firm?

Working with a staffing firm or a recruiter is an added advantage for a job seeker in ANY market. There will always be those who choose to apply directly to a company’s careers page, and those that leverage their internal network to find a new job.

However, there shouldn’t be any hesitancy to also using a staffing firm or executive recruiter in your job search.

Staffing firms all operate pretty much the same way, and cover nearly every possible job sector you can imagine (government, IT, marketing, accounting, defense, sales, law, etc). A firm will reach an agreement with a company to use them to fill all or some of their open positions. Typically this is because they are currently either too busy to work on a particular role, or struggling to fill on their own. The added advantage for a company is that they can make use of contractors this way, instead of hiring them directly.

A good agency will have a wide variety of clients within a certain city or market, giving them access to more jobs in which they are tasked to fill. For a candidate, this is exactly who you want to be working with to find a job.

Staffing firms typically have a relationship with the hiring manager– that is– the person who MAKES ALL THE HIRING DECISIONS. If you could work with someone who would get your resume in front of their face, wouldn’t you want that? That’s the advantage of working with a recruiter or a staffing firm. No longer does your resume have to sit in a huge dusty pile of LinkedIn or Indeed applicants and go overlooked. It goes right TO the manager.

At the same time, you are doing your own search and talking to your network to aid in the search. I always tell my candidates to cast a wide net for yourself when you are in the job hunt. An agency is just another tool to use so you aren’t alone in your job search.