Career Lessons from Behind the Grill

Status is a funny thing. The entertainment industry tells us that success is posing for magazine covers, driving the highest, most ridiculously priced vehicles, and encrusting our iPods with diamonds. The reality is, worldwide, only a handful of our population actually reaches that level of celebrity. Perhaps perception then is an even funnier thing?

When we get ready to enter the workforce, more often than not peer pressure pushes us towards feeling the need to be part of the white collar, corner office career. Therefore, as we create our resumes we feel we have to hide a job that isn’t sexy enough in status or name alone to get us recognized. But like the old saying goes, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Like many college graduates, I didn’t go right into a job in my major (in fact, of all my friends from school only a few did, so take heart if you’re in this same situation). For the better part of two years after I graduated I was a cook, and I loved it. It was tough – long nights in high-temperature, unrelenting settings – but to this day I maintain that through those strenuous shifts I learned many skills that carry over to whatever job I may hold. And you don’t need to have a degree to realize this for yourself.

My station was short order, where I made sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, etc. Our staff included a cashier, a salad bar attendant, a dishwasher, and myself and every hour the four of us would turn out over 100 items on the menu. On top of that pace we had to get orders out quickly, make sure we weren’t contaminating other dishes after working with nuts or shellfish, ensure food was cooked to the proper temperatures, and maintain health and safety standards. We were always thinking two or three steps ahead of what we were working on while not losing focus and that’s where we excelled.

On my resume, I could say: “Worked as a cook creating dishes for customers.” Or I could say: “Worked in a high-capacity lead role, which included, but was not limited to:

• Collaboratively ensured all items ordered met customer and health and safety standards;
• Trained staff on properly recreating menu items;
• Maintained a high level of communication with staff throughout service, delivering an average of two items per minute to our customers;
• Addressed customer concerns to encourage repeat business; and
• Managed orders and staff to effectively deliver high quality food in a timely manner and avoid bottlenecking of service.”

Taking a step back and looking at these bullet points from a birds-eye view, they say that through being a cook I learned:

• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Training
• Communication skills
• Working effectively, under pressure, in a deadline-driven environment

What employers are looking for nowadays is a candidate who can most help their business. Don’t be afraid to take a birds-eye view at the elephant-in-the-room in your own work history. I have yet to be in the weeds in any job I’ve held since I was a cook, and being in the kitchen is the reason why I am able to handle similar situations now.

Re: Your Online Resume

You know how when you search for a job online you can select various categories, locations and keywords? Well, employers registered with a job board can do the same when searching the site's resume database.

Why is this important? Over the last year at MyJobWave.com, we’ve seen many resumes registered job seekers have added to our database that miss the mark on being search friendly. Here are some tips to help you enhance the quality of your resume for our online database.

1. Use Current Software or Create Your Resume
At MyJobWave.com you can either create a resume or attach a Word document or PDF. Either format will be keyword-search friendly. Which one is right for you? That depends. If you’re on an older computer you’ll want to create a resume directly to the database. Outdated word processing software like Wordpad from Windows 95 more than likely can’t be opened by a majority of employers who are using a more current office suite. If your software is fairly new, feel free to upload your document.

2. Typos: Bad for Search Results
By now we’re all well aware that typos can give a bad impression. However, with online resumes, a typo could mean you don’t show in search results. If my resume had “coko” instead of “cook,” I would not show in a keyword search for a cook. Therefore the same information suggested for proofing traditional resumes still applies: proof, spell-check and have another person read it over before you post.

3. Summary/Headline
Many resume databases offer the job seeker an opportunity to add a summary or a headline. Think of this section as your online summary or objective statement. Most resume-database search results list the resumes just like you see a job-search result – title/person/location vs. job title/company/location – so you want to make sure any summary statement is attractive to the employer. Would you be interested in a job title that said, “Will Take Anybody?” No? Then how confident would an employer be to see a resume titled, “Will do Whatever?”

4. Customize Your Resume(s)
MyJobWave.com gives registered job seekers the opportunity to create multiple resumes. Why is this important? Well, there are a variety of reasons. We feel that you should customize your resume for the position in which you intend to apply. Now this philosophy doesn’t hold true when you're adding your resume to an online resume database. If you have experience in multiple fields, or have worked in many positions, adding multiple resumes will give you the opportunity to both increase your listing in search results and craft a resume that won’t be overloaded with information irrelevant to the job.

5. Keep it Fresh
Online job postings can grow old, and you have to wonder whether the job is still open when you see it listed four months ago. The same can be said about your online resume. Update your resume at least monthly, even if it’s just making a punctuation adjustment. This will keep your resume fresh in a resume database and tell employers you are available.

Online resumes serve the same purpose as traditional resumes, yet you have to take a different, more proactive approach. But the payoff – an employer calling for an interview by finding you online – is worth the effort. Therefore it’s very important to you that you take the time to properly list and style your online resume so that you are an attractive candidate.

The Economy's Turning Around, But Where're the Jobs?

Pundits and analysts are writing the national economy is starting to turn around. But how does that affect the job seeker? Jobs are still a hard to find in our region, however there is sign of life.

For us, you can tell how things are going by what the manufacturers are doing. Yes, we've lost a lot of manufacturing jobs and companies over the last couple years, and we may lose more, but recently we've seen in the Employment Times that a couple manufacturers are hiring.

Titan Machine Products is a "full service, high quality contract manufacturing company. Titan provides its defense and commercial customers with precision products, assemblies, services and components." They are currently hiring CNC Machinists in their Westbrook, Maine location.

If you're not skilled in machine trades, what does this mean for you? Manufacturing jobs, no matter their focus, are in and of themselves a butterfly effect that creates ripples throughout various industries. Manufacturing products leads to wholesale trade, which leads to distribution, which leads to retail, which leads to customer service, etc. When the manufacturers are hiring it means they have orders to fill from these other industries, and in turn said industries will need to hire to keep up with their product's demand.

Sure, it's only a couple manufacturers hiring now. But in your job search, keep an eye out on, or an ear to the ground for, the manufacturing industry and what they produce. This will be your gauge as to opportunities in other areas. When you start to see an uptick in manufacturing jobs, you'll know warehouses, transportation, retail stores, and call centers will be hiring more, too.

Look Deeper When Skimming Healthcare Jobs

For the last five years - even before the economic down turn - we've always heard the comment: all there is are healthcare jobs. In the newspaper industry there's a number of 2.5 seconds as to the amount of time you have to capture a reader's attention. Online it's probably even less, especially when it comes to lists and search results.

It's true, many jobs out there are healthcare related. That's not a bad thing. Healthcare and human services jobs are necessities in our society and they are "economy" shielded for the most part. But the next time you see a list of healthcare jobs, read deeper.

Don't just read the job title, read the hospital name, too. Chances are if they are hiring for nurses and lab techs they're hiring administrative and general positions. Hospital staff also includes laundry, housekeeping, maintenance, office, grounds, engineers and more. Sometimes hospitals will contract out for certain areas such as dining.

So the next time you see a hospital is hiring online or in the paper, check out the company profile or read the ad through. You may just find they have just what you're looking for.

So What Exactly is a Best Place to Work?

The SHRM Maine State Council's Best Places to Work in Maine awards dinner was held Oct 13 and 31 companies were award the designation. There were some familiar faces - Androscoggin Savings Bank, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems & Oxford Networks – and some new ones – Barclaycard US, Garrand, and Burgess Advertising and Marketing. Congratulations to all those companies who not only won the award but also took part in the process.

The Best Places to Work in Maine award is not giving to companies based on their annual revenue or financial contributions to cities or organizations. To find a Best Place to Work, you ask the workers. You see, Best Places to Work in Maine is a program that companies partake in every year that helps gauge their employee's feel for their employer. Each company is given a survey to provide to their employees that addresses benefits, management, training and development, etc. These anonymous surveys are then tabulated by an objective third-party – the Best Companies Group – and the results are provided to the employer in the form of a report. Awards are given based on how the companies rank with each other in terms of survey results.

While it's a tribute to the employee engagement of these companies who are honored with the award, the survey report is the most beneficial part of the program all participants. This report provides detailed information on where organizations are succeeding with their employees and where they are not—items vital to the business success no matter what their product.

Job seekers that see the Best Places 2009 logo in a company's marketing material should know that it is the employees of those organizations who determined this designation.

For more information on the Best Places to Work in Maine program visit www.bestplacestoworkinme.com.

You can also find a list and rankings for 2009 here.

It's October, Time for the Holiday Season

I ran over to K-Mart the other day and saw/heard something frightful. No it wasn't ghosts, ghouls and scary sounds. I saw twinkling lights encircling many a tree while an instrumental of "Do You Hear What I hear?" played over head in their "seasonal" department. See? Scary—We're roughly four weeks from Halloween.

On a brighter note this means more opportunities for work. While the recently-released unemployment rate is 9.5 nationwide for Sept 2009, companies are starting to spend more money on expanding their business, which includes seasonal hiring. The holiday season is the busiest shopping time of the year and many companies are hiring starting now. If you're currently unemployed or are running out of unemployment checks, seasonal hiring can help you get through the next few months.

Seasonal jobs are great opportunities to not only make some extra cash but to also get your foot in the door for potential long-term employment. Think of it as networking that you get paid for: you meet new people, show the company and managers what you can do, and when it's over they have a real sense of who you are and what you can offer.

Many of these openings are part-time or full-time temporary, so you should check with your local unemployment office to see how this could affect any future unemployment down the road.

Unemployed? Shout it from the Rooftops!

By Tim Sardano, Employment Times LLC

I had the opportunity to take in some advice from representatives at the Augusta CareerCenter at our last Job Expo. I was stationed next to their booth, offering tips on Internet job seeking to those who were interested, and listened as they gave excellent advice on resumes, job seeking and free resources around the state for aid. But what really grabbed my attention were the job seekers who just walked by or avoided eye contact with these reps hoping they wouldn't be noticed.

A few of these job seekers stopped by my booth and after I gave my presentation I would encourage them to visit the CareerCenter's booth for some more advice. They politely declined saying they didn't need help or were happy with their resume. I asked if their resume was providing results and they said no, that the market is tough and they aren't expecting much. So their resume wasn't resulting in phone calls or interviews, but they were happy with their resume? Was this a classic case of our pride getting in the way of progress or are we too embarrassed to ask for help?

You need to let everyone know you are looking for work. Speak it, type it, write it, text it, Tweet it, Facebook it, MySpace it, LinkedIn it, blog it. And after you've done that, ask for help. State career centers in Maine (Maine CareerCenters) and New Hampshire (NH Employment Security) provide FREE RESOURCES for job seekers. Their programs are federally funded and cover a wide diversity of needs for specific audiences. They also hold workshops on everything from resume writing and Internet job seeking, to going back to school and interviewing.

Being unemployed is a humbling experience, one that brings forth inner emotions we don't want to share with others. But the truth is we're only hurting ourselves if we're not taking advantage of the resources available to us. If you've been unemployed for a while now, contact your local career center and ask for help. Their job is to help you.