I knew a guy that was always complaining about his (current) wife. “Women,” he would say. “Can’t live with ‘em. Can’t shoot ‘em.” A bit harsh. Can’t imagine why his marriage(s) resembled a train wreck. I understand he is currently out looking for his next future ex-wife.

The funny thing is that you probably never would’ve known that he had marriage issues. Nice guy. Fun to hang out with. Behind the scenes, however, there were things going on – I don’t know what kind of things, but they were enough to keep his personal life in shambles.

The truth is you are much the same way. No, not from the negative standpoint; in fact, just the opposite. What I’m really concerned here about are the GREAT things about you that employers can’t divine from your resume. For example, how will your resume communicate that you are a positive person rather than a negative one? Or enthusiastic rather than pessimistic? Mature rather than a drama queen (or king)? How can we tell if you are a peacemaker or a polarizer? A “git-er-done” kinda guy or a “find-something-else-to-do-while-others-carry-the-load” kinda guy? See my point?

The answer is the employer has no idea. Which means your resume has serious limitations. Everybody knows that a resume is designed to put your best foot forward, but there are still many things that cannot be communicated by a sterile piece of paper. That is exactly why proactive job candidates make it a point to get in front of prospective employers. They take the initiative to make face-to-face contact with prospective employers, because sitting back, waiting on the phone to ring, is a very bad plan when there are too many applicants for too few jobs. If you are sitting at home, plugging career websites and answering newspaper ads, then you are already down in the count (hey, it’s baseball season).

Make no mistake, getting a job is exactly like making sales calls. You have to overcome call reluctance. You have to overcome the fear of rejection. You have to be willing to get back up 801 times if you get knocked down 800 times. So, if you hate salespeople, you probably need to get over it – at least for the time being. How would you like to earn your living that way?!?

I hear you screaming. “SO WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?” Here is a great start: Make a list of the top forty or fifty local companies you would like to work for. Do your homework – websites, Google, LinkIn, the whole nine yards. Get contact names, look for connections, learn everything you can – including who your potential boss would be. Then make a personal call – resume and personalized cover letter in hand. If you don’t know who your boss might be, identify the H.R. Manager and call on him/her instead.

Did I say do your homework? That bears repeating. It’s a big deal because you need to know about the company’s culture, philosophy, mission, vision, and so forth. You want to be able to have an intelligent conversation after you introduce yourself. Here is your opening: “I wanted to introduce myself and find out more about [the company] because I think it would be an excellent place to go to work.”

No matter what the outcome, you will have communicated some key traits: initiative, courage, and resourcefulness. Trust me, if you are any good at all, you won’t make it through your list before you get hired.

You don’t have the skills.

Well, that’s harsh. Maybe you do retain the basic requirements, but it’s time to bring yourself up to a level playing field with your competition.

Step One: Research

Research the skill sets the position that you’re looking for requires. Search job listings for the position you seek and take note of both requested and desired abilities. Check LinkedIn to see what sort of backgrounds and interests current and former employees of target companies have.

Step Two: Analyze

Analyze your current abilities. Be honest with yourself. Take a notepad (or open up Notepad on the computer) and list each program, language, and other asset you know. Note your competency level, as well as how many years you’ve had this knowledge and the frequency of use.

Step Three: Develop

Compare both sets of notes from steps one and two. What’s on the first sheet that’s not on the second? Circle those items. These will be the basis for your plan of action. Let’s take a look at common areas that those seeking to advance their careers with a new position need to brush up on:

• Computer Programs

  Unless you’ve been using a specific software up until very recently, likelihood is you will need to refresh, or even just learn the functions of the programs and applications used in a position you’re seeking. Thanks to the Internet, most of this learning process can be free and relatively quick.

  The majority of software suites you’ll need to have competency in are extremely expensive. This makes it very inaccessible. Luckily, there are usually freeware versions online. Freeware is essentially a generic version of more expensive software, that is (as the name would suggest) free. Check out Gimp as a replacement for Adobe Photoshop, Inkscape instead of Adobe Illustrator, Open Office in place of Microsoft Office, or Google SketchUp as a free 3D CAD program. Cnet’s Download.com provides a very thorough database of safe freeware downloads. If you need the real thing, most software companies offer a free trial period, which should offer enough time to get (re)acquainted with the newest version of the program you need to know.

• Languages

  Whether a programming/scripting or foreign language, most companies are looking for employees that ‘speak their language.’ If it’s a simple one, such as HTML or Spanish, your refresher should be pretty easy. If you’re heading into the realm of Mandarin and Python,

  For the scripting codes, you’ll be able to find plenty of good quality resources online. Webmonkey is a great place to check out cheatsheets and tutorials for HTML, CSS, User Interface Design, PHP, Python, and more. Even Wikipedia can be a good place to find help, especially if you check out the references area of their pages.  If it’s a book you’re looking for, O’Reilly Media has an overall quality selection of programming books for all levels.

  Time to learn a new foreign language? Or maybe brush up on those few things retained from high school French and Spanish? Linguanaut provides a completely free website where you’ll be able to find directories of foreign alphabets, phrases, forums, videos, tests, and translation. Keep in mind the majority of the phrases listed will be the formal version of the language, and may not be used in every region the language is spoken. For straight translation needs, Google Translate is a very useful service and offers translation in most languages. Once again, if you’re a book person, a standard phrase book from your local bookstore should suffice. If it’s more specific terminology, such as medical terms in Arabic, try looking online at Amazon.

• Experience

  With the job markets across the board being more competitive than ever in recent history, employers are seeking the ones with the most experience and schooling. Each will make for a lengthier process if you are aiming to close a large gap between what you have and what is required. However, you can step up the ladder (maybe not directly in one step) to be on your way to your dream job.

  Sign up for a class at a community college or a university extension program that specifically offers the ability to learn the skills you need for the job you want.  The junior / community college will offer a cheaper course, but the university extension may be a little more prestigious to put on your resume if it offers any kind of certification at the end of the class. If you’re already well versed in a skill, such as a programming language, but have yet to show it in your employment history, consider taking a test certifying your knowledge in said skill.

  Work experience requirements can provide a near Catch 22.  You need experience to get a job, but to get experience you need the job. If you’re currently enrolled full-time in college, this is slightly easier, as many employers are looking for interns to do more than just make coffee. If you’re not going to university, it’s time to utilize that network you’ve been building. Offer your services for free or at a severely reduced priced. If you want to get into event planning, offer to help a friend for free with the promise of references. Looking to put experience with CSS on your resume? Offer some suggestions to that entrepreneur you met at your last Meetup. You can get experience, you just may need to temporarily lower your working price to get it.

You are already serious about your job search, now it’s time to get realistic about your qualifications. Anything can be achieved, just be honest with yourself, work on what you need to be competitive, and persevere. Always remember, 360 is here to help you with professional Career Action Planning. Check it out, your dream job is closer than you think, and 360 can help get you there.

One of the strongest complaints about candidates for a job during a job interview is their lack of knowledge about the company. It amazes me that so many recruiters complain that the person being interviewed does not understand the business. A great way to be prepared is to utilize the 360 advantage by receiving one-on-one personalized job interview coaching.

I remember preparing my son, who is now a Vice President in a major financial firm, for one of his first interviews. We went into so much detail in this preparation to make sure that he understood the business the firm and the key issues. When he had the actual interview, he did so well that the firm decided to hire him for a more desirable position.

Preparation goes beyond just looking at the basic financials of the firm. It involves really understanding the key issues that the firm is challenged with. They expect you to carry on a knowledgeable conversation about the industry. They want you to be able to render an opinion about the issues. Most people are not able to do so, because they do inadequate preparation.

What are some of the sources of information? Clearly, there is plenty of public information, especially about large firms. Anything written by the company will be biased somewhat, but there are other objective sources. Read industry and news reports to round out some of the information.

Another useful tool is social networking. You should be able to find people who currently and who worked formerly at the firm through Linked In. If you do a ‘search by company’ you will get information on current and past employees of the firm. This is especially useful if the firm is private or little known in the general pubic. When you find these people ask your contacts to pass along a request to these individuals for you to have an informational interview.

By going out of your way to learn more about the industry and speak to people who are currently or formerly with the company, the recruiter will conclude that you are very interested in working for company and went out of your way and when beyond the usual approaches to research the company.

In my next entry, I will discuss what questions you should ask on an interview.