Mike Babcock was recently hired as the Maple Leafs’ new head coach. Babcock had guided Detroit to the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of his 10 seasons with the team, and is now finishing a deal that paid him $2 million per year. Certainly an impressive accomplishment on a résumé!
Cutting corners will come back to haunt you
When most people think of job hunting, they think “résumé.” And a resume certainly is an important ingredient. But a résumé is only the result of a process. In fact, a good résumé is the result of a thorough evaluation (or assessment) in which you have identified specific job markets and learned to position yourself as the only solution to the employer’s problem.
On the other hand, you usually need a résumé just to get started with the job search process – even before you may clearly know the industries or fields you want to target.
It`s fine to take a crack at a résumé without going through the assessment – just understand you have skipped an important step that you should return to later and that there are several other steps that follow the writing of a résumé.
Follow the Process
As your targets become clearer, you’ll need to revise your résumé to create a better match between you and the industry you target. This will make a difference between finding a job that will pay your bills (in which you will be miserable) and a career job (in which you will be passionate).
Let me share with you the 3 Step Process:
Step 1: Marketing Material
This steps results in developing a résumé, a cover letter and a plan for getting interviews, according to the list of all the companies that you first target.
Find out the names of the people you should contact in the appropriate department in each of those companies. Develop your cover letter.
Develop your plan for getting many interviews in this target.
Step 2: Interviewing
Many people celebrate being called for an interview and think interviews result in job offers. Interviews should be thoroughly prepared for and only celebrated once you get a job offer. In fact, interviews usually only result in getting and giving information. You need to demonstrate to the interviewees that you are the conduit to solving their problems. And that requires pre-work.
In short, interviewing is one of the most important and yet most overlooked parts of the job-search process. It should not be overlooked if you want to be brought on board and not being by-passed by others.
Step 3: Follow-Up
Now that you’ve analyzed the interview, you can figure out how to follow-up with each person with whom you interviewed. You’ll be surprised at the positive results you can get! Keep the momentum going and you will be amazed how even in a competitive market, job hunters are able to develop multiple job offers.
Your résumé must show your uniqueness. It must show: the things you enjoy doing and also did well; what you stand for; express your brand proposition; express your accomplishments in a story telling format; It’s not enough to outline what you have done; You also have to show how you did it; Show your uniqueness through a story that will interest the interviewee; Let him/her know what to expect from you if you are hired.
Mike Babcock certainly has an impressive résumé. However, he was hired as the Maple Leafs head coach because of how he made those teams he coached memorable – he made them WIN the Stanley Cup!
