This Is Not a 21st Century Resume
A 21st Century Resume must be human friendly, applicant tracking system friendly and mobile friendly.
This resume came to me yesterday. I’ve done my best to leave some of the text showing while sanitizing what I’m sharing. My intention here is to show information security professionals why the business has trouble taking you seriously sometimes.
I approached the owner of this resume to determine if he had a teachable and coachable mindset. He did not. He only wanted to know if I could place him. The answer is a resounding NO.
If what I’m sharing doesn’t apply to you, don’t take offense. If you present yourself like this, please do something about it.
You have 10-15 seconds to communicate:
- Who you are
- Where you are
- How someone can communicate with you
- What you’re great at
- How you’re educated
- How you’re credentialed
- What you do today
Ideally this is accomplished on the first ½ to 2/3 of page 1 of your resume. This is the first 2/3 of a resume that came to me yesterday. If you don’t know how to do this yourself, get help.
The Value of Learning, Embracing and Leveraging Your Unique Personal Strengths
My top strength as defined by the Clifton StrengthsFinder is called Futuristic.
“People exceptionally talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They energize others with their visions of the future”
Traits of Futuristic People
People who have this strength can see down the road. They could be accurately referred to as a Visionary. They are able to preview, predict and forecast.
If you have this strength, may I suggest that it is super-important that you find out what you have?
Example of My Futuristic in Action
As a Futuristic person, I have always been an early adopter. On LinkedIn for example, I didn’t wait until everyone around me created an account. I created my LinkedIn account in 2004 and I’m now hovering around 30,000 direct connections and I've done a significant amount of business because of LinkedIn. That’s an example of what a Futuristic person does in action.
My Latest Futuristic Project
Recently, I acquired a newly released software product that enables me to build mobile apps. Over the weekend, I build my first Android Mobile App called Jeff Snyder Coaching. It sits in the Google Play store. I’ll build the IOS version of this App this weekend.
Futuristic Excitement!
Being the Futuristic person that I am, I got excited about my new creation; so excited in fact that I built a sample mobile app for a local Realtor friend. I could see down the road in the sense that I could see the competitive advantages a mobile app could bring to my friend’s real estate agency. I sent the sample app to my friend last night and received this message this morning.
“I received your email on the app. I would really need to think about that and now is a bad time since I'm really turning off for the month of December as much as possible. I did ask my real estate friend in the springs what she thought.”
Long story short, my friend didn’t get it and my friend’s friend didn’t get it either. My first reaction was my old reaction. The reaction I would have had in the past before I understood my Futuristic gift. I suppressed my first reaction and turned on my reality testing to come up with a healthier reaction.
People Don't Think Alike
My reality is that I can see down the road and as a marketing educated and marketing minded person, I can see advantages for my real estate friend. Her reality on the other hand does not include my Futuristic abilities. Rather than asking me how a mobile app could benefit her business, she turned to a friend who didn’t have my Futuristic strength either.
There are several lessons here:
- Since I know my strengths, I was quickly able to recognize what had gone wrong in this situation and I have already changed my strategy because of what I’ve recognized.
- I’ve know this for a while but today’s experience made it crystal clear that as human beings, we do not all think the same way. Where I see competitive advantage, my friend sees her list of Christmas activities. Neither one of us is wrong. We simply aren’t seeing the same things.
- If you have the Futuristic strength near the top of your strengths list, you really should learn what it means. If you don't, you'll spend your entire life living in the future when those around you are living in either the present or the past. In other words, your audience will seldom get you.
- When you learn, embrace and discover how to leverage your personal strengths (yours are different than mine), you can make much more clear and powerful decisions.
Become a Great Listener
Reality Testing, a Really Important Emotional Intelligence Skill
Our Reality testing skill determines how clearly we discern what is actually happening in the world around us.
“Reality testing involves ‘tuning in’ to the immediate situation…it is the capacity to see things objectively, the way they are, rather than the way we wish or fear them to be.”
Black Friday
While others were shopping for presents last Friday, I took advantage of a Black Friday sale to acquire new Black Tires for one of my vehicles. I didn’t make this acquisition with joy. In fact, my mood was just the opposite.
Facts
My vehicle has 95,000 miles. This set of tires is my 4th set of tires. Here’s a little help with the math. The factory tires lasted approximately 35,000 miles. The expensive Goodyear Fortera tires I purchased with a 70,000 mile warranty lasted approximately 25,000 miles. The Hancook tires I purchased with a 60,000 mile warranty lasted approximately 34,000 miles.
My Reality
Do you see where I’m going with this warranty versus actual lifespan issue? My view of reality in this situation was that the company I have been purchasing tires from was selling me junk. In fact, this seemed like a pretty well-thought-out scam to me.
The Intelligent Conversation...New Facts
Get a tire buyer hooked on their first purchase and they have to come back to you every time their tires wear out in order to cash in on the warranty in order to buy new tires. I shared a calm discussion with the sales person at the tire dealer. He recognized that I live in the mountains just as he does. The roads we drive on are frequently curvy roads. He explained how curvy roads wear tires quickly on a heavy vehicle like a truck or an SUV.
He went further to explain that if I lived in Colorado Springs and drove on the generally straight I/25 interstate, I would get longer life out of my tires. He went a step further to explain that if I lived in a place like Arizona, the roads are generally smoother than the roads we have in Colorado based on weather conditions. In Arizona, my tires would last much longer. This all made sense. Nobody had ever shared these facts with me before.
New Information...New Reality
With this new information in my mind, I was able to shift my view of reality. Now, I assume that regardless of what the warranty from the manufacturer states, my tires will likely last in the range of 30,000 to 35,000 miles. While I’m not happy about this, it is the true reality. I can now budget more effectively in order to buy tires sooner than later and I'll no longer expect for my tires to last anywhere near as long as the warranty suggests they'll last.
I hope this real-life example helps you to better understand reality testing. If your reality testing is not accurate, your thoughts, emotions and decisions will likely not be accurate either.
That’s why this particular emotional intelligence skill is so important. It impacts every other emotional intelligence skill. The good news is that this emotional intelligence skill and 14 other emotional intelligence skills that are part of the EQi-2.0 assessment I work with can all be improved through coaching and work on the part of the person who is being coached.
Words, Actions...Trust
I Would be Honored to Be Your Personal Coach
I Am Unique and Special
I am something and I have value. Therefore my time, energy, expertise, training and entrepreneurial risk taking is worth something. I have references and references and more references from people who have achieved results with my help as their coach.
You Are Unique and Special…capable of producing Greatness
You are somebody. You are unique and special. You were created to become Great at something. I can show you what that means and how to achieve Greatness.
You should invest in yourself from time-to-time and not expect employers to take you to the next level. Assign yourself value and live up to the assignment you gave yourself with proper care and feeding.
Famous People Have Spoken
Tony Robbins suggests that it takes “Massive Action” to create change.
One of my mentors, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith suggests that achieving change in human behavior is one of the most difficult things for a human being to do.
What do You Need to Accomplish or Change?
Change is difficult. It is tough to face and even harder to create. You didn’t get to where you are overnight and you won’t get out of that situation overnight. If you're stuck, you didn't get stuck yesterday.
I have coaching clients who have sucked up their egos, eaten a slice of humble pie and taken the dive. They put their trust in me. They wanted to change, they wanted to achieve and they wanted to make their future better than their past.
I Charge Fees
I charge fees for my services because they’re backed by experience, education, training, certification and lots of entrepreneurial risk that you probably haven’t acquired or taken. I’m not here to out-do you. I’ll meet you in the middle and I'll give you the best of everything I have to give.
Invest In Yourself
You should invest in yourself when you need help because you are unique, one of a kind, worth a lot more than you probably think you are and you won’t get to where you want to go without some work and investment.
Thank you for reading.
Regards,
Jeff Snyder
Jeff Snyder Coaching, 719.686.8810
Jeff Snyder's Resume Writing Services…Coaching Security towards a Profession
The Opinion
I’ll make this quick but I seriously want to make a point. I just ran into a conflict with a CISO who suggested that my prices were too high. While he’s entitled to his opinion, so am I.
I think the CISO’s thought process is small and he isn’t thinking like a business executive.
CISOs should walk, talk and act like business executives.
I won’t do anything to identify this person but I have to guess that he is making 6 figures.
It Started In 2008
In 2008, I created resume writing services at $599.00. If you do homework, you’ll find that there are many services out there above $599.00 and they’re not worth a fraction of my services. I have results to prove my statement and loads of references to back up my statement.
The $259.00 Solution
Two years ago, I figured out a way to adjust my resume writing service so it could be delivered at a lower price point of $259.00. This service is priced to serve more people and it has been extremely successful all around the globe.
Maybe you don’t need this service right now. Maybe you’ll never need this service. I respect that.
If you ever do look for a resume writing coach, do yourself a favor and don’t be penny wise and pound foolish when you make your decision. I’ve helped many people who have hired “professional resume writers” to write their resumes but they didn’t get results. After they’ve worked with me, they’ve gotten results.
if you ever hire me, you're making an in yourself. I take that seriously. I deliver results.
What to Look For in a Resume Coach
- A coach who has experience in your field of work and doesn’t try to make you adapt to only what they understand
- A coach who has done homework with your customer to determine what your customer wants to see on a resume
- A coach who has a proprietary methodology built from the ground up based on what the customer asked for
- A coach who delivers results and has references
- A coach who will give your money back if you are not satisfied
- A coach who isn’t stuck in their 1900s way of thinking
- A coach who is always looking for ways to improve their service for the good of their clients
- A coach who is gifted to coach and has a track record of results
This kind of coach by the way should be charging far more than $259.00 or eve $599.00. The coach who matches the description above is trying to serve as many people possible to push the security skill set to a point where it is considered a security profession.
Jeff Snyder Coaching, 719.686.8810
Can You Explain What I’ll Get from Your 1 Hour Resume Coaching Service?
This question recently came to me from someone who was consider hiring a coach to help them with their resume.
Can You Explain What I’ll Get from Your 1 Hour Resume Coaching Service?
Yes I can. I have been assisting all kinds of people with resumes since 1990 when I started in the recruiting business. In 2008, after seeing tens of thousands of resumes for 18 years, I decided to turn what I had been doing on a pro-bono basis into part of my business.
When Writing Isn't Your Gift
I started out with a service that I still occasionally deliver. That service is what I call my Full Resume Writing Service found on JeffSnyderCoaching.com. This service is for a client who comes to me and tells me that writing just isn’t their gift. In this case, I teach my client how to do what they need to do and I also stick with this client until their resume is complete. I become their editor.
The Wall Street "C" Level Executive
A few years ago, a “C” level executive on Wall Street came to me and told me that he was totally comfortable with his writing skills. He had an English undergraduate degree. He told me that he had been following my articles and blogs for quite a while and that he was convinced that I was sitting on some kind of “secret sauce” as he called it.
The "Secret Sauce"
He asked me if he could pay me for an hour of my time in exchange for me exposing him to my “secret sauce”. I agreed to do this and at the end of the 1 hour phone call, my client was completely satisfied and I was energized. This experience prompted me to turn this 1 hour phone call into what I now refer to as my 1 Hour Resume Coaching service.
1 Hour Resume Coaching
This one hour call is built around a sample resume from my portfolio or 20 or so sample resumes. I use the sample resume in order to teach my client how to build their resume following the same game-changing methodology that was used to build the sample resume.
When I say game changing, I’m suggesting that my resume clients all around the globe have opened interview doors with their new resumes where in many cases, their old resume wasn’t leading them to desired result.
When I’m working with a client who is teachable and coachable, in one hour, I have figured out how to transfer over 25 years of my experience combined with the research I did in 2008 to build my proprietary resume writing methodology to my client’s mind. This means that after 1 hour, my client can build their new resume based on the methodology that has been producing results around the globe since 2008.
The Methodology
While this methodology of mine was originally built for technology professionals, I have recently coached people across a half dozen skill domains and they’ve all had success when applying my methodology to their resume. My methodology came together from information I obtained from an audience of people who commonly make decisions based on resumes. Then I mixed in my own experience and the result was a resume building approach that is based entirely on the audience of people who will receive one of my client’s resumes.
My proprietary resume writing methodology is built on the following foundational ideas:
- A resume should be built to play nicely with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
- It should be possible to visually scan a resume in 10-15 seconds in order to process a decision
- A resume should strategically communicate what the resume owner is great at during the 10-15 second visual scan
- A resume should be built in bite sized pieces to accommodate the way human beings have been conditioned to receive information in the 21st century
- A resume must be clean, clear and logically written based on the way resume reviewers logically look for information in order to process a decision.
- A resume should communicate Accomplishments, Contributions and the Value that matters to the business
- A resume should be mobile friendly
- A resume should never require someone in the resume’s audience to have to interpret what they see in the resume
Conclusion
Finally, most resumes require a mix of business writing, technical writing and a little bit of strategically leveraged creative writing. Writing in this manner is a gift that not everybody possesses. It is for these reasons that I created my 1 Hour Resume Coaching service.
There is nothing I enjoy more than when I get to help my clients win! This service represents one of the many ways in which I get to help my clients to win.
Jeff Snyder Coaching, 719.686.8810
Why You Should Hire Jeff Snyder for Coaching
“While you might hire a personal trainer for strengths coaching in the gym, you need to look no further than Jeff Snyder if you need a coach that can enlighten and stretch your mind. I would go so far as to say that Jeff’s approach to Strengths Coaching and Emotional Intelligence Coaching makes him a trainer for the mind.
He finds the right balance between listening to my needs and ideas and sharing what’s on his mind. He has helped me with my “Personal Branding” as he calls it. He taught me how to build a resume that has not only resulted in me getting interviews but the process that Jeff walked me through also built my personal confidence. He then showed me how to build my LinkedIn profile so recruiters just like him can now more easily find me among the 400,000 people who are now part of the LinkedIn network.
In addition to Jeff’s formal training and certification to coach, his unique personal strengths, his life experience, his business experience, sports experience, entrepreneurial risk-taking experience and overcoming big-time adversity experience produces what seems like a never-ending well of ideas and perspectives that has helped me more than I can put into words. If you need help to move your career forward or if you need help to determine whether or not to start your own business, call Jeff and let him coach you.” Operations Executive
Change Your Game Today
Quickly…Somebody Push the “Great” Button
A Resume Landed in my Inbox
“It was kind of you to offer to take a look at my resume…I have attached my resume to this document and would like to hear your feedback and suggestions. I appreciate your time and offer of help.”
Confession
I am a “Maximizer”. Seriously, one of my top strengths is called Maximizer. It essentially means that it is in my DNA to take “Good to Great” anytime I have the opportunity.
My Response
I let the resume owner know that his resume could be better. How do I know this resume could be better? I know because I have reviewed resumes nearly every day of my life for the past 25.5 years.
The Resume Owner's Response
"Thanks for frank assessment of my resume. Good luck with your marketing campaign."
Conclusio
If you ask others for feedback, sometimes you're going to hear what you don't want to hear. What you hear just might be worth listening to because other people's perspectives can sometimes help you to stretch and grow.
In the words of one of my mentors when I sought his advice after a defeat, Dan told me one time to put on my helmet, goggles and shoulder pads. He suggested that I should get back on my horse and ride.
I didn't like what Dan had to say at that moment but I got the point and very soon I was back on that horse so to speak. Dan was right!
Communication
A Deeply Appreciated Coaching Testimonial
Trust
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Employee Engagement and Productivity
What to Do When Your IQ Alone Will No Longer Carry You
This mattered to one technology executive so maybe it will matter to you too.
StrengthsFinder
This technology leader (I’ll call him John) had taken a Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment years ago but like most people who don’t receive coaching around their StrengthsFinder results, he put the report in a drawer and it never again saw the light of day.
Strengths
That was until someone asked John if he knew his unique personal Strengths. He dug out the report and made time to read about his unique Traits and Strengths. At this point in his life he wanted to know more. He went to Google and searched for Strengths Coaches and found Jeff Snyder.
A Colleague Suggested
It was also suggested to John that he might want to look into emotional intelligence coaching along with gaining an understanding of what his StrengthsFinder report stated. While he was in a searching mood, he searched Google for Certified Emotional Intelligence Coaches and again he found Jeff Snyder.
Jeff Snyder Coaching
When he arrived at JeffSnyderCoaching.com, he discovered that he’d found a one stop shop for everything that matters to his personal branding in addition to the other coaching he set out to find. Specifically, he found Resume Coaching and LinkedIn Coaching services. Then John explored the Leadership Coaching Services that were built for people precisely like him that include StrengthsFinder Coaching and Emotional Intelligence Coaching.
A Career Crossroads
What this means is that John had progressed to his current role pretty much based on his intelligence. We’ll call this his IQ. Now that he was working at the Director level, he discovered that the IQ that got him to where he was would not necessarily push him to the next level. He really wanted to be a “C” level technology leader and he didn't know what to do to get there.
Career Progression
It was a discussion that John shared with one of his colleagues that caused John to seek out a career coach who could help him to understand his unique strengths and his emotional intelligence. John invested in himself and he has never looked back.
He is now a “C” level executive and he has measurable and quantifiable results connected to the coaching he invested in to go along with his easy-to-see career progression. He achieved exactly what his colleague suggested he might achieve if he were to find the right coach.
Jeff Snyder Coaching found at www.jeffsnydercoaching.com
