Networking Advice

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During the past week, the MOAA career transition team was fortunate to
attend three recruiter networking events that provided excellent insight
into resume development, self-marketing and negotiating strategies. Excerpts
of these discussions follow:

Resume Development

• Shorter is better. One recruiter couldn’t remember the last time she read
a summary statement. Objective statements are self-evident.
• No fancy fonts or excessive underlining, as it can interfere with key-word
scanning software.
• The standard reverse chronological listing of career positions is
preferred; strive to emphasize metrics and results; and always tailor the
resume to the specific job opportunity.

Self-Marketing

• Use LinkedIn to search for propitious connections into companies of
interest and to connect with others who can accelerate your job search. The
goal of professional networking is to turn connections into friends.
• Lateral transitions into new industries require a mentor in the new
industry and an internal sponsor to highlight your resume and transferable
skills to the hiring authority.
• Start with a list of ten to 12 companies of interest and work on expanding
your network into these organizations.
• To initiate a relationship with a recruiter, request a 30 minute meeting
with the recruiter (or one of their assistants) to discuss your experience,
core skills and employment interests.
• If a recruiter is talking to you about a position, this is a strong signal
that the company is not pleased with its internal candidates. Key question
for the candidate: What’s the problem (the company) is trying to solve?
• If working with recruiters, be sure to re-connect every six weeks to
apprise them (or their assistants) of your continued availability.
• Larger companies will require you to apply on-line to satisfy EEOC audit
requirements.

Negotiating Strategies

• You won’t meet the hiring authority (at my company) unless I know your
salary history. Clearly state the (salary) limits that you’re willing to
accept up front.
• It’s hard to move the price-point of an offer once it’s in writing. Don’t
negotiate for a higher salary than the initial acceptable range you
communicated to HR at the start of the interview process.
• You can’t negotiate over 25 factors – it’s not like buying a car. Pick two
to three high priority items. Flexibility to negotiate will generally
decrease as company size increases.
• Likeable people get hired. Don’t push so hard in negotiations that you
risk damaging the relationship with your new boss or the team.

Jim Carman, Director of MOAA’s Transition Center.

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Capitalize on Professional Organizations
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10 useless résumé words
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Calling All Veterans: Start-ups As Service - Forbes
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Beware: Potential Employers Are Watching You
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Take Your Search for a Job Offline
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This is an excellent overview of the transition challenges. Save yourself a
lot of worries and concerns; hire a professional whose... more »
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THE JOB MARKET
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RESUMES
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