Your resume is only one part of your toolkit. A vital component but it can’t do all of the work. That means if your job search is lacking in these areas, your resume won’t be able to cover:
- Sad LinkedIn profile
- Stale skills, especially technology
- Poor interview performance – phone, video or in person onsite
- Unrealistic compensation expectations
- Proclivity towards oversharing
Yes, your resume is really important. If it sucks, ok, it’s game over. That means it’s too general, or doesn’t really nail your target job, and leaves the reader confused and tired.
But if you eat it in your interviews, then who cares how good your resume is? I can’t tell you the number of candidates who completely blow it in interviews. If you are a weak interviewee, it’s time to get coaching. Hiring Managers tends to over react to perceived negatives.
Perceived negatives that cause candidates to get dropped fast are:
- Low energy
- Unclear verbal communication skills
- Lack of warm positive non verbal skills in a video or in person interview- appropriate smiling, eye contact etc..
- Rambling
- Rambling….it’s a curse.
- Oversharing – Don’t talk about your ex!
- Bashing and slamming last manager or former employer
- Long ass stories about downsizing – no one case
- Inability to prove level of competence in software skills required by job – Think Excel
- Unrealistic salary demands – Don’t ask for a 30% raise. I’d like to get one too. It’s not going to happen. You just look crazy.
Finally, you can’t ignore the blatant age discrimination that is unchecked in America. Candidates over 40 can optimize their resume, but if they don’t optimize themselves for job search, they can be dramatically affected. What does this mean? Read and weep but this is the unspoken reality of job search in America and can’t be fixed by a fabulous resume:
- Being perceived as having stale skills
- Not looking the part – remember “self starter go getter?”
If you are over 40, no one should be able to guess your age. That means you could be 40. You could be 60. How do you that? Get super healthy, update your look and have great hair and glasses. Sorry, this is reality time. Your resume can’t fix that you are 45, look 55 and you aren’t getting job offers.
I have a client who is 47, looks 40 and works with all 20 and 30 somethings. She looks fun. Great hair and glasses. She told me, “No one know how old I am. I keep it that way.”
California is a brutal job market for people over 40. Many candidates report that their salary peaks at 40 and then starts a steady slide down from 40-60 if they can stay employed. I call it the “California Age Discrimination Haircut.”
Want to avoid the haircut? Make your look as ageless as your resume.