hchiam blog: Have No Skills? How to Build a Resume for a Job You Actually Want + How to Get $10,000 from Magnet

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Prelude

Big thanks to Mark Patterson from Magnet. I have his permission to make this blog post remix of his workshop at the 2015 OCE Discovery Conference: "But I Have no Skills: How to Present Academic Experience in a Business Environment".

Here's my visual summary of Mark Patterson's workshop:

Have you read my post about How Drawing Can Help You Not Get Lost In Lectures?

Well, you can use the same principle of drawing during talks, including when you really are sincerely interested in the topic (and in my case, signed yourself up for it): not only does drawing help your brain more deeply process what you're hearing, it also can make the next action steps easier to see---literally.

Pictures have proven themselves to be swifter communicators than, well, words by themselves, and is part of the reason why road signs are sometimes life-savers.

I applied the same technique I used when I was reading lengthy course reading materials, to keep myself engaged when a large group of graduate students and PhD's flocked to the evidently popular workshop.

I just really wanted to remember and act on what I learned, so I visualized the "bigger picture" and afterwards I asked Mark for permission to post a summary reflection of his workshop.

So here goes!

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Step 1: Recognize Some Problems

Take time to reflect and build more self-awareness.

What is a resume, basically? It's all about your past, or at least what you do now and did before.

And your future job? Well, of course it's "in the future", but do you know which exact job and which exact company you want to work in? Probably not, if you're reading this, or if you went to that workshop at the Conference.

"Look forward." - Mark Patterson, 2015 OCE Discovery Conference, heavily reduced citation.

According to Mark Patterson, most people spend somewhere around 100,000 to 120,000 hours over an entire career working, but only a measly 22 hours reflecting on whether they actually like their work in the first place.

So he made the point that we need to take some time to think. What do you really want to do in your life? Come up with 3 career focus areas. These areas/ideas may not be how it'll look like at the end, but just ideas that help point you towards your passion.
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Step 2: Find the Job(s) You'd Actually Want

So you've got 3 career focus areas. Now what? How do I know I'll like any of these three?

DO YOUR RESEARCH.

How? There's a couple ways.

You could set up informational interviews.

Now, you can Google the details of how to set up an informational interview, but basically the idea is to ask someone already in your potential "dream job" to give you a feel for how the job is like, and whether you'd enjoy the job without having to spend years in it yourself. It should be treated with the mindset of a conversation. Plus it can be a foot-in-the-door if from that conversation you build a professional relationship.

But there's another secret sauce tip that's a little less intimidating:

Find the most common key ingredients for your 3 "dream" jobs.

You can do this from home, with internet. Search a few job descriptions, and take the time to find and write down common requirements (maybe even use Excel). And/or search LinkedIn for job description profiles of people already in that job. And/or keep track of all the jobs you've ever applied to and look for repeating requirements. Basically, keep track of things to find patterns and distill to what is key for each of your 3 job ideas.

Your 3 ideas may even share the same key repeated requirements, but in different orders of importance.

Get the keys, then tailor the resume.
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Step 3: Make the Resume Fit What They Need

Ever tried and tired of customizing each and every cover letter and resume? (Try reading that out loud 10 times fast.) The nice thing is, once you identify your target jobs, you don't have to completely customize your resume for every job posting.

You can just fill the same few key requirements identified in step 2 as your selling points in your resume. Maybe in different orders. But then you can just tailor the details for each specific job posting.

Now, don't make stuff up. It still has to be what you've actually done, otherwise you'll eventually be found out as a liar without the actual experience you said you had (or gave the impression of having).

And if one of the three "dream" jobs don't fit or "resonate", or simply don't make you passionate about the job, then consider another job idea. If you find yourself stretching the truth or scrambling to make your resume fit a job you might not like, reconsider. Go back to step 1.

But you can highlight specific experiences that match up to the employer's needs. Don't think of it as "how can I get the job", but more like "how can I help them".

Know what they really need, and place those important things they need where they'll see it first. They only spend about 10 seconds reading the resume for the first time, before deciding whether to throw it out, or have it read in detail.
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Step 4: Repeat

Sorry. Even if you do the right things, you prolly won't get it perfect the first time. The point is you get yourself closer to a satisfying job in a systematic way. Hopefully this process will help you do that.
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Key Take-Aways

Here's the original version of my visual summary I drew in my notebook during Mark's workshop:

Nevertheless, for "verbal learners", there are a few simple ways to summarize all this in words. Choose what works best for you---or rather, what gets you working best:

Reflect.
Research.
Résumé.
(Repeat.)

"I (really) LIKE _____." Start with what you (really) like to do, your passion(s). Find out why you actually want it.
"They NEED _____." Then find out what it takes to do the jobs that involve your passions, and whether you have them.
"I can GIVE _____." Finally, show them what you got that fills their need.

"Look forward and track what you're doing." (i.e. Job descriptions applied to and resumes sent.) - Mark Patterson, OCE Discovery Conference 2015

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BONUS: How to Get $10,000 from Magnet to Pay Off Your Tuition

Simple. Join the competition!

Fill out your resume/profile on the Magnet website before May 31st, 2015, and you're entered to win $10,000.

I figure there's nothing to lose. It's like networking on LinkedIn, except Magnet allegedly specializes in matching jobs to your profile and makes the way you control your profile helps to ensure proper matches.

I entered my own profile, and it's actually pretty easy if you already have a resume in word format or a LinkedIn profile. Just make sure all the details are filled in properly, and you're good to go! Good lucksies. :)

Here's my referral link:
*** DISCLAIMER BEFORE YOU CLICK: I earn extra entries in the competition for each person who uses my unique referral link to sign up and enter. If for some reason you'd prefer not to use that link---no worries---just use the other link below it. ***
https://www.whoplusyou.com/s/k78DXsaA

The other link:
http://whoplusyou.com/contest/Magnet10K

I hope you find this post helpful, as I found the workshop and conference helpful.

Best,
- Howard

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EXTERNAL LINKS TO OTHER STUFF:

Here are some links I found helped me get employers at the conference to talk to me about internships. Thomas Frankly's blog posts and videos also provided some insight that really resonated with tips in the workshop.

Quick Youtube tips on elevator speech how-to:

Brian Walter Verbal Ping Pong elevator speech sample
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqS7OEzd0ng

Thomas Frankly's College Info Geek Posts:

Impress Recruiters and Get Hired
http://collegeinfogeek.com/get-an-awesome-job/

The Overwhelming Value Of Being Specific
http://collegeinfogeek.com/being-specific/

The Student Success Triangle
http://collegeinfogeek.com/student-success-triangle/

More OCE and Magnet:

OCE Discovery
http://www.ocediscovery.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2015-networking-at-discovery.pptx?sfvrsn=2 (Lucy Keating's networking tips, etc.)
www.ocediscovery.com
#ocediscovery
@OCEInnovation

Magnet
#Magnet10K

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hchiam blog

Monday, May 4, 2015

Have No Skills? How to Build a Resume for a Job You Actually Want + How to Get $10,000 from Magnet