I found an article written by Lisa Vass from the Ladders, How to Follow Up a Resume Submission, that gives from great tips for following up after you’ve submitted a resume. Although the article isn’t targeted specifically for reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals, it is still has some great tips for your job hunt and resume strategies.

The article highlights the importance of staying on top of your resume and application during your job hunt – and specifically this applies to highly competitive positions in the reliability engineering and predictive maintenance fields. A phone call following up puts your name out there for the employer to remember.

There is a fine line between being pesky and being persistent. The article highlights the following tips to strike the right balance for your follow-up actions after you’ve submitted a resume.

1.)    Keep an eye on the “close date” of the job search. Most likely the individual filling the position has a ton of resumes coming in so don’t call before the close date. Rather than reaching for the phone immediately, wait about a week after the close date to let the dust settle. Five business days is the minimum you should wait before placing a phone call to follow up on your resume.

2.)    When you do follow up, know what questions to ask. Your questions shouldn’t be intrusive but could include: Have any decision been made yet? Is it OK to follow up again? What’s the time frame for the hiring process?

3.)    Don’t be annoying! If the job posting asks for no phone calls, then don’t call. The article also recommends that you don’t make more than one phone call – although you may be tempted to.

We blog often on resume tips for reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals. Check out this blog entry on tips to refresh your resume.

Staying connected is great. I started wondering though, how far back does this monolithic stockpile of information go on the internet? The answer is pretty far. You may have forgotten the pictures you posted from your years in college, the scathing article you wrote on healthcare reform, or the off-color joke you posted on your friend’s Facebook wall, but the internet hasn’t. The internet is not only a great tool for job searching – it’s a great tool for employers do to a little digging on you.

On our sister company, Hire EQ, there is a blog post regarding employers who are adding background checking via social networking sites to their recruitment process for open jobs.

If your web trail is expansive it’s a good idea to do some cleaning up before applying for highly-sought after positions. When competition is stiff employers use all resources available to them, including social networking sites, to weed out applicants. Although the practice of digging up information on prospective employees is ethically questionable (and often frowned upon) it’s still done.

It’s simple to do some light clean-up of your history and presence on the web. Before you delve into researching yourself get into the mindset of a recruiter or an employer and ask yourself what they would want to see on the internet about a prospective employee.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Go ahead – Google yourself.

OK. So no one wants to admit they have ‘Googled’ themselves but it’s an important step in cleaning up your web trail. You never know what could turn up. For example, photo hosting sites such as Flicker and Photobucket keep images on file for an eternity, even if an account isn’t active.  Flicker, Photobucket, and YouTube make it easy to search for names in tags of photos so do a little research. Blogs also offer a wealth of information and are littered with name dropping. Your search may not turn up something you posted, you could find something someone else posted about you.  If you have a Twitter account you’d be amazed at how easily you can find old tweets and photos, so be sure you check all privacy settings.  Lastly, don’t be slack in your sleuthing. Be sure that you go beyond just the first few pages of Google results to find any information listed about you.  

1. Ensure that your LinkedIn Profile is up-to-date and accurate.

LinkedIn is a wonderful place for employers to find well qualified individuals like you who are in the preventative maintenance and reliability engineering fields. Part of making yourself available to prospective employers is ensuring that you’ve selected “Contact Me” in your options settings. If you aren’t available to be contacted recruiters will pass you by. Also, it’s important to list all of your work history, achievements, and accolades including keywords that will make your profile appear in more search engines. Accuracy is also important – be sure that all of your previous work history is represented accurately and fairly.

1. Separate your personal and professional life on Facebook

Having a personal Facebook page is fine, but be sure to set your privacy settings correctly.  This includes not only who can view your profile, but who can view your photos, friend lists, and wall posts. It is possible for a prospective employee to view pictures tagged of you in an album that hasn’t been properly protected for privacy. Keeping this in mind, weed out any images you are tagged in that are unflattening and keep your wall posts in good taste. Also, be sure that if your Facebook page is personal and that you keep it personal. Avoid accepting friend invitations from people you may not know, coworkers, bosses, etc.

 If you clean up your web trail you will make the available information about you more accurate. Making yourself more appealing to an employer is key, so check your web presence often. And remember, anything you put on the internet will most likely be seen.

Don’t be discouraged by the gaps in your resume. Look at them holes to mend and blanks to fill in. As a highly talented individual you have an arsenal of skills at your disposal. Put them to work!

 A rising trend for those who are unemployed is volunteering. A report released in June by Volunteering In America found that 2009 was the largest single-year increase in the number of volunteers since 2003.  The increase equates to 8.1 billion hours of volunteered service with an estimated value of $196 billion.

Not only does volunteering help your local community and serve others, it fills out areas of your resume that may need a little substance.

Find a volunteer group or position that allows you to use the skills you already have. The following websites are great resources for finding a volunteer position:

volunteeringinamerica.gov

serve.gov

networkforgood.org

dosomething.org

volunteermatch.org

If you’re having trouble finding a volunteer position that matches your specific talents reach out to your network of colleagues and friends. Your network is a great place to turn to when looking for the right place to volunteer. Colleagues and friends will be able to recommend places they have volunteered and get you connected with the right contacts.

Some perks of volunteering are:

• Giving back to your community and helping those in need
• Setting a good example for others to follow
• Enhancing your resume and variety experiences
• Learning new skills
• Combatting the unemployment blues
• Making contacts and creating relationships

While your resume may still have holes from being unemployed, your volunteer work will be a great topic of conversation for your next interview. Volunteering helps dodge the unwanted questions about gaps in employment and opens the doors for you to speak about your values and character.

Firstly, don’t beat yourself up asking “What’s wrong with me?”  Instead of drowning your sorrows with day-time reruns and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, try reflecting on the interview while it’s still fresh in your mind.

The down-time after an interview is the perfect time to sit back and reflect on the interview and brainstorm a list of the highs and lows of the interview. First, visualize the whole interview, from handshake to exiting the building, in your mind. Write out distinct pros and cons in a list format and focus on prioritizing the list with the items of greatest importance first.

Step back. Read your list. Most likely they areas you felt you didn’t do so well on fall within one of these areas:

1.)    Poor Point of Contact – Did you arrive late to your interview, give a dead fish handshake or forget names of those interviewing you?

 A poor point of contact can leave a bad taste in any employer’s mouth so make sure you are comfortable with this first step to a good interview. Your handshake is your first impression. Tip: If you’re uncomfortable with handshakes or introductions then practice beforehand.

 It’s also important to review the names of those interviewing you. If you’re like any driven job seeker, you’ve probably had several interviews within weeks of each other and names can easily be mixed up. Tip: To avoid this go online to the prospective employer’s website and look up staff pictures to match faces to names before you meet them.

2.)    Appearance- Did you look the part?

We’ve blogged about appearance before, it’s crucial in an interview to look the part Remember you should look put together, well rested, and alert, have great posture, and most of all – appropriate dressed.  Tip:  Do a preflight check before you leave the house for your interview to make sure you’re looking sharp

3.)     Language- Did you use confusing language, colloquialisms, jargon or slang?

When you have great momentum going in an interview the tone can easily slip from professional to relaxed but don’t be fooled, it’s still an interview. It’s of upmost importance that you don’t use colloquialisms, jargon or slang. If your interviewer doesn’t understand the jargon or slang you are using you may unintentionally be talking over their head.  Tip: Even though you may find the words “chillax” and “defriended” in the dictionary doesn’t mean you have to use them.

4.)    Listening- Did you really listen to what they had to say?

Some employers like to use a more conversational interview technique than question and answer. This means you need to be on your toes at all times and listen to possible hidden questions.  If you incorrectly answer a question with an answer that is unrelated, it will show that you didn’t hear the question. Tip: Pay attention at all times and don’t allow your mind to wander.

5.)    Speaking- Did you talk too much, too little, too fast?

If you’re like 99% of job seekers, you probably get a little nervous before an interview. Be sure to moderate your pace and cadence of speech if you’re nervous so you don’t end up speaking too quickly. Also, be sure not to talk too much. You want to let your prospective employer get in all the questions they may have for you in the time allotted for your interview. Tip: When you answer a question try pausing for a second before answering. Doing this shows you’ve given the question consideration before responding.

6.)    Attitude – Did your attitude say you were engaged, energetic and interested?

Any astute interviewer can read an attitude. Be sure you are engaged, alert and energetic. If you’re having any problems before the interview be sure to leave them at the door. The last thing you want is for the interviewer to remember you as less than enthused. Show interest and be genuine in your answers.  Tip: Leave plenty of time to get to your destination and take five minutes before the interview to simply find a good mindset.

Keep a log of your post-interview pro/con lists for review. After each job interview it’s a good idea to reflect upon areas of weakness to track your improvement.

Once you’ve identified the areas that may be on your “con” list from your interview it’s easier to improve on areas to work on for your next interview. Instead of wondering why you didn’t get the job and wishing you got a call back–do something!

I listened to this great interview that aired on NPR’s Marketplaceon August 19 with CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh. Hsieh discusses how he defined his company’s culture and then used that culture to create core values. With these core values in place, Hsieh determined the dynamic of his workforce and increased his employees’ overall happiness and productivity.

Although companies may have core value and principals, Hsieh argues that many don’t have committable core values. Once the principals are written and etched onto a plaque, Hsieh argues they are never instilled in employees. So, what are committable core values? Hsieh defines committable core values as values companies are willing to hire or fire an employee based upon, independent of their job performance.

Hsieh argues that soon after corporations and companies write their values they forget them. What Hsieh wanted for Zappos was a list of core values that employees could be held responsible for.  These core values created goals to aspire to and in return drove performance and productivity.

Listen to this interview and determine if your current or future employer has committable core values. If so, it is important to familiarize yourself with them. In the instance of Hsieg, who takes them very seriously, it can determine whether someone is hired or fired.

I asked, “Post-interview thank-you note? Of course, why hadn’t I thought of that?”

When you receive a gift you send a thank-you card. When you attend a dinner party you send a thank-you card. So why wouldn’t you send a thank-you card after an interview? Writing a thank-you card shows your prospective employer that you have appreciation, gratitude, and most importantly: good people skills!

Often times it’s easy to overlook the time and energy spent on interviewing. It’s an arduous task for both the interviewer and the interviewee. There may have been 100 people who applied for the position, ten who got an initial phone interview, and four who received a face-to-face interview. So, make yourself stand out! It’s also a great opportunity to set yourself apart from the rest of the pact.

There are a few very important points to remember about writing a post-interview thank-you letter:

1.)    Don’t send an e-mail. E-mails are impersonal and don’t convey that you are truly appreciative of the time allotted for your interview. Writing a card takes time and thoughtfulness. The recipient will respect your extra effort.

2.)    Choose your card wisely. Send something generic and universal. You don’t want an overly feminine or masculine card and you also don’t want it to be too formal or informal. Choose a card that is blank on the inside so you can hand craft your thank-you message.

3.)    Think about the tone of your writing.  When you write your card keep it light and ensure you are being genuine. You don’t need to grovel in your message, but be sincere in your thanks.

4.)    Make it tailored for where you interviewed. You could mention the great location of their office, a question you really enjoyed answering in the interview, or drop in the names of those who interviewed you. Make sure your message doesn’t sound generic.

5.)    Incorporate your contact information in a subdued way. Yes, they already have your information, but offer it again. By providing your cell phone and the best time to you are giving your prospective employer an additional invitation to contact you.

6.)    Read it out loud! The most important step before you address and lick the envelope is to read the card beforehand! You may have thought that a particular sentence sounded nice, but when read out loud it may seem out of place. Read and reread.

7.)    Be timely! Don’t wait days before writing your card. The sooner you get the card in the mail the better. Write the card the day of your interview and pop it in the mail the same day. By writing the card after your interview you’ve had time to reflect and the information is still fresh.  

If you follow these simple steps you can craft a stellar thank-you card. If you think that the card will just end up the trash, think again. I ended up accepting the position I was offered and didn’t give the thank-you card I sent another thought. When I started my first day of work I smiled when I saw, perched on my boss’ desk, the thank-you card I wrote.

In addition to taking a look at our post and checking our our services, I strongly suggest those cynical about the benefits of employment branding to check out this post by Dr. John Sullivan that identifies a wicked lot of reasons why maintenance departments should focus some of their resources on employment branding.

This will be a reoccurring theme for us, so we would love to know what you are doing on your employee branding efforts.

If you don’t want to read the whole post, here are the questions that they identify as being illegal:

• Someone’s age or birth date
• Religious affiliation
• Sexual orientation
• Gender (remember Pat from Saturday Night Live)
• Marital status
• Political affiliation and political views
• Nationality & ethnicity
• Whether a female is married/getting married
• Pregnancy status (just for the ladies)

In addition to having more detail about each of these questions, the original post outlines what to do if you are asked these questions during your interview for that plant manager or PdM technician position. If you are interested, I would suggest checking it.

To which I answer “Why would you even try?”

The one page résumé, (I’m still trying to find the origin of this horrid mythical rule), is really almost ridiculous!

To have a candidate resort to restricting their résumé to only one page means that probably they’ve cut so much content out that you’ll never really see the quality of the candidate, particularly if they are a senior manager or executive OR they have tried to cram so much content onto one page that the font is nearly illegible or the margins and formatting are so crazy that any potential employer would likely just dismiss it out of hand rather than reach for the handy magnifying glass.

I have seen candidates take it to a new level with the 8+page approach. This is not really good either because it is likely that much of your content is redundant and un-necessary.

In the final analysis, your content really rules just how long your résumé should be. If you are concerned that you cannot be frugal with your use of content and MUST include more than the customary 2-3 pages nowadays, then consider adding it in a nicely formatted addendum. This is also the place where you might want to add your publications and editorials, workshop/presentations and keynote appearances etc… In most cases, an unbiased reader will point out some content that you should not include because it just isn’t that relevant.

So, don’t be frustrated when you sit to come up with a several pages if you’re only just getting into the job market and don’t try to eliminate valuable content in hopes of getting down to a “one-pager” if you’ve been in the job market a while. You will find that if you let your content dictate the length of your résumé (within reason), you will have just the right one for you.

Happy Job Hunting
The Resume Lady

Social networking websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the main platforms for personal branding. You can simply create an account, join your friends online and interact with them. You can use these websites to connect with other industry professionals from the field of reliability engineering. Join pages, communities or forums dedicated to reliability engineering or predictive maintenance. These websites are the best to build your general profile. To get started, we suggest using our link directory to find Facebook pages and LinkedIn Groups dedicated to reliability engineering, predictive maintenance and industrial maintenance.

In addition to these well-known sites, reliability and predictive maintenance professionals can get actively involved in a site like Maintenance.org, which is dedicated to our industry. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Maintenance.org can be used to develop professional relations with maintenance and reliability professionals. This site provides access to subject experts, entrepreneurs and authors related to the reliability industry. For job seekers, it’s a great place to meet and network with other professionals.

Use these steps to build your professional brand on Maintenance.org.

• Create your account and complete the profile with full details about your education and experience.
• Expand your network by sending friend requests to other maintenance professionals.
• Use your status as your sales tagline. Write thought provoking status messages.
• Join events or discussions initiated by other reliability engineers or professionals.
• Develop your branding strategy in terms of your long-term career objectives.
• Go a step ahead and use your writing skills to expand your network. You can create your own blog or if you have an existing blog, link to it from your profile. We do.

Your profile on Maintenance.org can truly become another tool during your job hunt and one we suggest getting on board with.