Job Seeker's Handbook: Don't Advertise What You're Not Selling

Education, family, the workplace, the Internet - there's a lot of information out there about how to be a good employee, but did anyone ever teach you how to be unemployed? This is another installment of an ongoing series of advice from people who have been there.

A resume when done properly is a marketing document, a story written to show a potential employer the triumphs and outstanding career feats that have brought you to the logical conclusion that the job you're applying for is the obvious next step for you and the solution to that company's problems.

Employers don't like to sift through the entirety of a person's years of experience trying to figure out how they might be a fit for their company. If you don't spell out clearly what you can - and want to! - do for them, they will pass you by.

Tip #2

Don't advertise what you're not selling.

Just because you do something well, and have been successful with it in the past, doesn't mean that you should highlight it in your resume. For example, if you worked in a call center but disliked the one-on-one customer service aspect, don't play up the customer compliment awards you received but do highlight how you streamlined a computer process or were lauded for the accuracy of your documentation. If you want to be seen for your managerial skills, don't talk about how the office counted on you to make coffee and fill the copier with paper, detail how you took on a project or organized a meeting. If your background is in show biz, but you want to make a change to a more office-oriented environment, think about how you can highlight the skills you gained in the context of the business world, and leave out the industry jargon.

If you're not sure whether your resume aligns with the types of jobs you aspire to, have someone who doesn't know you look at the resume and tell you what type of job they think you'd be applying for. You might be surprised to learn what pitch your marketing document is making.

Sodexo Visits LA Fellows

On Wednesday, March 25, The LA Fellows were invited to a meeting with a senior recruiter from Sodexo, a major employer that provides quality of life services to a range of companies and organizations around the world.

Having heard about the LA Fellows program from contacts at the Department of Labor, company representatives realized that the experience and management skills of the individuals who are drawn to a program like LA Fellows, which also supports the efforts of nonprofits in the community, could be a good match for their needs and corporate philosophy. Sodexo's vision is about improving the Quality of Life of all those they serve while contributing to the economic, social and environmental development of the cities, regions and countries where they operate.

Adriana Gonzalez, Senior Recruiter - Talent Acquisition for Sodexo, met with a select group of interested Fellows in the Library of the LAVC campus. The Fellows went around the room and introduced themselves, giving her an idea of their backgrounds and the types of positions they were targeting, which ranged from IT to Hospitality Management to Training and Development to Public Relations and Marketing. When they finished, Adriana confirmed that Sodexo employs people to cover all the skillsets they described.

Sodexo is a company built around Quality of Life services. Many people are familiar with their janitorial or food services for large institutions but they are so much broader than that: they do corporate concierge services, senior living management, security, IT, wellness, training, event management – too many services to list here. Adriana explained that Sodexo is the kind of company where people transition to new roles internally and stay on for many years, it emphasizes work-life balance, encourages community involvement (even pays employees for their time on some volunteer projects!) and has many opportunities to work from home. The Fellows were very impressed with the presentation and the company.

The LA Fellows program welcomes partnerships with employers who would like to target a range of prospective employees who are skilled professionals that are trained and ready to get to work. For more information about Sodexo, you can go to their website: http://sodexousa.com.