Steph Gillies on figuring out resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn
What is the purpose of a resume? How can you position your career change in your cover letter? What are the best ways to connect with new people on LinkedIn?
In this episode, I absolutely pepper Steph Gillies with the most burning questions that I, and I know you, have on resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn strategy. This is for those of you who are looking for a new job OR just want to keep your professional options open.
So who is Steph Gillies?
Steph’s career story is super interesting: she held 32 jobs in 10 years, and has a Bachelor of Social Work degree which she then utilized to work in the nonprofit world. When she got laid off because of the pandemic, she looked at her career and realized that she both enjoyed and was good at writing resumes.
Fast-forward to today, Steph holds a Certified Resume Strategist and Certified Interview Strategist designation through Career Professionals of Canada, and has a thriving resume writing business.
And she is a secret weapon behind my business! Clients that I work with will get a completely revamped cover letter and resume. I have witnessed so much success with Steph’s resume writing genius; both with making it to the desk of the hiring manager, and being used as a supportive tool in the interview process.
What is the history behind the modern day job searching process (resumes, cover letters, interviews etc.)?
The first recorded resume dates back to 1482, when Leonardo da Vinci sent a letter to the Duke of Milan seeking employment. Though there have been some technological evolutions in the process, there are many trends that have simply not stuck around like video resumes. One reason being that it can create bias and discrimination for those who do not have the technical capabilities to submit something like that.
How long is a resume typically looked at when being considered?
6 seconds. BUT that’s just in the first pass. Steph reassured us that not all of our blood, sweat and tears are wasted when crafting our resumes and cover letters, because hiring managers would be the ones who do a much deeper dive.
The Job Application Process
Generally speaking, if a company uses an applicant tracking system to manage all of the resume and application submissions, the system will spit out the resumes they don’t like, and keep the ones that they do like. That is why keywords are so important to consider in your application, resume and cover letter.
Steph also shared that it’s incredibly important to ensure that the applicant tracking system can actually read the job application documents you’re submitting. Anything created outside of a word processor (like Word, GoogleDocs or Pages) makes it harder for the system to read. And beyond that, even if you’re using Word, you need to avoid tables or any templates that include elements like tables, because the tracking systems can scan what is inside the table.
Talk about MIND BLOWING.
Next: the applications selected by the applicant tracking system will get to the in-house or external recruiter. They will sift through and determine who they want to invite for a screening interview. And from there, if you pass their generic fit test, you will meet the hiring manager (someone who would be your supervisor or manager, likely the person who is actually hiring for the job itself).
You might move on to meeting other members of the team, senior leaders who you would be working with etc.
Resumes Strategies
Know your worth:
What do you offer to the company that is unique or different? Steph uses the example of people putting “attended meetings” on their resume. That, she says, is not unique or interesting. But did you dramatically increase sales leads? Or help to achieve beyond target revenue?
Back yourself up with numbers and facts:
We all know this, but it needs to be said again: include numbers. Though not every job is quantifiable, do your best to really back up what you have achieved or contributed. If you know you’re a great teacher, what does that look like for you? Class engagement?
Including career breaks:
Option 1 - Maintain the gap in your resume (like a maternity leave) and address it in the cover letter. She recommends always addressing any “red flags” in the cover letter to provide context and to ensure you make it to the interview.
Option 2 - Put into your resume what it is you were doing e.g. raising kids. What skills did you sharpen during that time (a million, for sure).
Tailoring resumes:
People are giving this too much thought. Unless you are applying for drastically different jobs, in different industries, Steph reassures us that we can use a template, and just update it based on the job description and key words for each job you’re applying for. You shouldn’t be reinventing the wheel.
Cover Letter Strategies
One thing that rang clear in chatting with Steph, was that the cover letter is not just a time wasting document that we all begrudgingly create, it’s a massive opportunity to tell your story how you want to tell it.
Like the above points regarding your resume, your cover letter is the place where you can provide colour. You can explain any potential red flags, you can explain a career change that you want to make, and you can share what you learned along the way in your career journey that makes you right for this position.
Career Changes
There are so many transferable skills that come with each position or job you have held; even if you’re making a massive pivot. So get creative. If you truly have no experience, Steph says to look at your hobbies or volunteer work to tell your story. Again, leaning on that cover letter to do so.
LinkedIn Strategies
I quote, “LinkedIn is my favourite.”, Steph proclaimed. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I thought she would be more jaded at this point and have beef with LinkedIn. But alas, Steph says it’s an amazing tool that we should get behind (or at least keep up to date).
Key areas to ensure you have up to date:
Profile photo - make sure it looks like you and that you are looking a the camera
Banner photo - have one in there, and don’t overthink it
Headline - ensure it’s focused on your career goals not what you are currently doing
About section - this is the place to talk about yourself, what you are like, what your career goals are, and your career highlights to date
Experience - fill this in as much as you can because the more complete your experience is, the more you will be found in searches
Is it okay to reach out or “cold call” someone on LinkedIn to connect? Or reach out to someone you haven’t spoken with in many years?
Yes…AND make sure that your initial contact is not a request. It could be a request to chat with them about their career journey or current job, but the initial request for someone you don’t know or haven’t seen in a while should not be “will you recommend me for this job”.
Final thoughts on the idea that we need to stay in a job for 2 years
I asked Steph her opinion on this:
What if a person is in a job that they really can’t stand, but think they need to stick it out because it looks “bad on a resume”. Should they stick it out?
NO. You should never make career decisions based on what your resume looks like. Steph reiterated that you can use your cover letter and interviews to address that if it’s a concern.
More from Steph:
To connect with Steph and learn more about her Career Story Coaching Program (helping individuals determine their passions, values and next steps in their life and career) click here.
