What the Helvetica part II! Seriously why is everyone so worried about resume fonts?

Quick post here.  Apparently this whole resume font thing is a pretty big deal.  I just read another article that talks about how boring fonts can really hurt you:

Using a boring font can make your resume terrible...

Here’s the deal, I have a hard time that an employer cares if you used Times New Roman or not.  Comic Sans… that’s a different story.  While we are at it, here are a couple of other things that potential employers don’t care about:

• Your GPA
• Your college awards – sorry Dean’s list
• Your college activities – I’ve never seen someone hired for being on intramurals
• Your interests – if you like dogs and walks on the beach and share it you might get a date..

What the Helvetica!  - You can read my original blog post here

As always I can be reached at sthompson@csgrecruiting.com or by commenting below!

Does your resume font really matter? Is Times New Roman all that bad?

Hi there Blogosphere!  This week there was an article in Bloomberg discussing the best and worst font for your resume.  The article went on and on about how using Times New Roman is the equivalent of wearing sweatpants to an interview.  You can read the article here:

Times New Roman = Sloppy Sweatpants

Obviously font trumps experience in every situation...

I've read this article a couple of times and I've got to tell you.  I think that the article is really wrong.   Full disclosure here, I read resumes for a living.  As a recruiter I look at probably 30 a day and I can tell you that I have never looked at a resume with a reasonable font and thought ill of them for using Times New Roman.  Instead, I can tell you that I have seen fonts that border on the ridiculous.  For instance, you should never use:

Comic Sans

Freestyle Script

Hurry UP

Old English Text

All of these make you look silly.  Instead of focusing on Times New Roman vs. Helvetica, you need to focus on content and presentation.  Below are some thoughts I’ve put together over the years that will help your resume way more than switching away from Times New Roman.  In my opinion a good resume consists of three parts:

Be action oriented

Your resume needs to show more than your duties.  Use verbs to start your bullet and describe how you did it, not what you did.  Facts and figures are really helpful!  Use strong words like developed, created, and achieved. 

Here is a bad example:

Justice League                                                                                                             Metropolis, USA

Superhero                                                                                                                     1938 – Present

• Leaps tall buildings in single bound
• More powerful than a locomotive
• Faster than a speeding bullet 

Here is a good example:

Justice League                                                                                                             Metropolis, USA

Superhero                                                                                                                    1938 – Present

• Saved city seventeen times in 2015
• Recognized as 2012 Metropolis Citizen of the year
• Apprehended Lex Luthor four times in 2011
• Successfully reduced supervillain attacks by 17% in 2014 

Make your resume easy to read and scan

A successful resume is formatted in an eye-pleasing, regular manner.  You want to follow typical formatting by using similar fonts and bold facing similar things.  Essentially, if you bold face one thing then you should bold face everything else that is similar.  Formatting should be eye catching but should not take away from the actual meat of the resume – your accomplishments.

Be relevant and concise

The goal of your resume is create interest with the potential employer so that they want to ask additional questions about.   In short it’s a one page advertisement for how awesome you are.   I don’t prescribe to the belief that a resume must be a certain length (that said – you need a ton of relevant information to go over one page) instead I follow these rules.  A resume is as long as it needs to be.  A resume should only contain relevant information.

Read the second part of the blog here!

So there you go!  What are your thoughts?  As always please leave comments below or feel free to email me at sthompson@csgrecruiting.com .  

Is it time to sell your insurance agency?

As a consultant to the insurance industry, I work in many facets of the industry.  One my favorites is in the mergers and acquisitions field.  Over the past several years I’ve worked closely with many agency owners that were considering a sale.  I’ve found that lots of owners have thought about selling.  However, the ones that move from thinking to acting have one thing in common – they know why they want to sell.  Below are some of the top reasons people decide to sell their organization

Have you been thinking about selling your agency?

You are tired of the “burden of ownership”

This one is by far the most common.  What is the “burden of ownership?”  It’s writing checks.  It’s waking up at 2:00 in the morning in a cold sweat.  It’s making the hard decisions where it feels like nobody wins.  For many people, the burden starts to weigh on you getting heavier and heavier each year.  If this is happening to you – you may want to look at selling.

You don’t have a perpetuation plan

This is the second most common one I see out there.  Here’s the deal – hiring young talent is difficult.  Training young talent – especially producers – is even more difficult.  Retaining them is even worse.  Because of this I see a lot of companies where the owner is ready to retire and there is no one to hand the agency to.  If you don’t have a perpetuation plan and you are planning on retiring in the next five years you should start making one right now.   If you are planning on retiring sooner and don’t have one you may have to look at other options. 

Your agency needs cash

This is one of the more delicate situations we encounter.  It’s embarrassing to many people but it’s important to know that good and valuable businesses sometimes run into problems.  Losing one big account can change the whole picture.  Sometimes you just need an exit strategy that pays the piper.

You need more resources to grow

This last one is one that I wish more people considered.  When I talk to agency owners there are two common barriers to growth.  The first is resources.  Resources make you more competitive and make you money.  However, resources cost money and don’t always yield a strong return in the beginning.  The second barrier is overhead.  Wal-Mart doesn’t have lower prices because they have lower profits – they have lower prices because they have the power of volume.  Sometimes merging with the right organization can solve these problems.

So that’s the first step – you need to know why you might sell.  This is so important because now you have the ability to listen to suitors and see if they can offer a solution to your problems.  This is also important because it allows you to explore alternatives to selling as well.  If you have a perpetuation problem, maybe you just need a good recruiter to help you with a couple of key hires…  I know a good one that specializes in the industry if you need a referral.  The next step is to identify potential suitors – I’ll cover that in another blog. 

So there you go!  What do you think – you can leave comments below or as always you can email me directly at sthompson@insurance-csg.com  

5 Most Important things Insurance Account Managers Need to Know When Interviewing

Hi blogosphere!  I hope you are all doing well!  Spring has sprung here in Iowa and we are finally getting some wonderful weather.  The best part of this for me is that my kids are constantly wanting to be outside.  Last night we had  our first family bike ride of the year and my boy Kai loved it!!!!

He's got it made!!!!

A good portion of my day is focused on interviewing  and helping account managers get jobs.  Often times it is really frustrating as I will ask specific questions and get general answers.  Many times it goes like this:

Me:  What industry segments do you work with?

AM:  I’m a generalist – I do everything.

This isn't helpful.  Not at all.  Most companies are looking for specific experience and because of this it is important that you are prepared to give specific examples.   A good practice when interviewing is to prepare by coming up with specific examples and specific information that you are ready share beforehand.  You can do this by practicing telling the story or just by writing it down on a piece of paper.  Doing this will help you seamlessly share the information when asked about it.  If you are an account manager and preparing for an interview I suggest you be ready to cover the following things:

1.  Industry Segments Covered

I hinted at this part earlier in the blog.  Often times I ask about this and people say a little bit of everything.  I get it, you have a broad book that isn’t bound by a common denominator.  However, I’m sure that you work with several clients in the same industry.  Instead of making someone pull teeth to get the information.  You can say things like – it’s a generalist book but our top four industries are construction, c-stores, monster truck dealers, and donut factories. 

2.  Specific Information about the book

This one is key!  You must be able to describe the book of business you work on.  Typically you should be able to answer the following:

·         Revenue size of book

·         Average size of account

·         Largest account size

·         Typical account size

·         Number of accounts

Sometimes you don’t have all of this information.  This is OK.  You still need to be prepared to give an educated guess.  People aren't asking because they want to steal a book.  They want to get a sense of your workflow and what you can handle.  Not knowing this makes you look like a button pusher that doesn't really manage the book.

3.  Markets

This one is pretty simple.  You need to be prepared to list out at least your top three markets from a carrier standpoint.  A common mistake here is overkill – don’t offer up more than your top 5-6.

4.  Coverage

This is another place where people bomb.  What coverage do you specialize in? A lot of times I hear property and casualty.  This doesn’t work.  People are looking for you to share your strengths.  You might write everything but I’m sure you’re better at something.  You need to be able to say 

something like:

I write a ton of property with an emphasis on wind or I write a ton of professional lines and do a ton of E&O.

You can make yourself look well rounded by adding to it but you need to be able to point out what you are good at.

5.  Your Actual Duties

Account Managers do different things in every agency in the world.  You need to talk about your specific responsibilities.  Make sure to point out the duties that most companies are looking for.  Make sure that you can account for all of your client facing activities and your marketing skills.  Most importantly, don’t assume that your interviewer knows your job – be prepared to tell them exactly what you do. 

So there you go!  What do you think?  Feel free to comment below or as always email me at sthompson@csgrecruiting.com.

Lying in your Career Search

I just read a good article from Monster via Yahoo called - What Really Happens When you Lie on Your Resume.  It’s a good read and is something that I feel pretty passionate about.  As you can see below it’s something that I've written about extensively:

The Five White Lies People Tell in the Interview Process

Lying on Your Resume - A Perfect Example

Lying by Omission - Another Interview Killer

So… I think that we have established that lying is a cardinal sin in a career search.  So instead of asking what will happen if I lie in my career search?  Instead, the better question is, how do I bring up difficult and embarrassing subjects in the interview process?  Below are three common situations and how to handle them.

You have a record

There is no easy way around this. If you have a criminal record you are better suited to bring it up earlier rather than later.  What kind of criminal offenses can hurt you?  Here are the big ones – theft, assault, drunk driving (if the job requires driving) and other felonies. (Bonus tip – Google your name and see what pops up – if it is one the first page you should bring it up…)  A lot of people  take the approach of waiting until the last minute to bring up a deal breaker like this – their thinking is that if you make the employer fall in love with you then they might overlook it.  This is like proposing to someone and then telling them that you are still married…  Instead, you should look to discuss it in the first interview.  You might end things prematurely but at least you aren't going to waste your time with further interviews. 

You got fired

I've written about this extensively as well.  If your boss comes in and says things aren’t working out and you say I agree, I quit.  You were still fired.  People say that it was a mutual decision all of the time and it sounds stupid.  Instead of skirting the truth you should dive in and say that he position didn't work out.  Share why it didn't work out and what you have learned from it.  Tell them how it made you a better person and future employee.

You can read more about this here:

So You Got Fired - What  to say in an Interview

You have gaps in employment

  People have gaps in employment for a variety of reasons.  Some people feel the need to fudge dates on a resume to hide them.  Bad idea!  Instead you need to craft a narrative about what you have been doing or were doing during your time off.    It’s pretty easy but sometimes people are worried about how it looks.  If you took your time because you wanted the summer off – then say it.  The right company for you will like this.

Over the years I've found one truism about lying in the interview process.  People  do it to try and preserve a chance at jobs that won’t happen anyway.  Telling the truth might stop some interviews dead in their tracks, but I honestly believe that they probably wouldn't have worked out anyway.  So tell the truth and focus your efforts  on the opportunities that will work for you!

That’s all I've got for today.  Have a great week and as always please feel free to leave comments below or email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Forward Emails:  The Silent Killer

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Job Hunting Myths Exposed

How Account Managers can Improve their Resumes

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Six Interview Tips Part I

Five Things Employers Do In the Interview Process

Things you Should be Doing Right Now For the New Job you Don't Need

When should you pull the plug on an interview?

One of the biggest challenges I see out there for candidates is deciding when to cancel an interview.  The interview process is long and arduous. It can drag on months on end and often times I encounter candidates get frustrated and pull out of the process.  Sometimes they are making the right move, other times it is an emotional reaction that limits their opportunity.  With that in mind I thought I would share reasons why you should or shouldn’t cancel an interview.

Don’t you dare cancel it!

Before I jump into specific reasons I want to share the overall reason why you shouldn’t cancel  This is all about positioning.  Sometimes job interviews don’t lead to immediate jobs.  Instead they lead to another job down the road or a business relationship.  How you handle yourself when you decide to not work for a company can have long term ramifications. 

You assume they can’t pay you enough money

This is one that I encounter all the time.  However, please understand that there is a difference between assuming and knowing.  If a company flat out tells you that they can’t pay you what you need. Then you should end it.  But if you are just making an assumption, then you should either speak directly with the company about it or wait for the offer and negotiate. 

Before the 1^st interview

If you have accepted a first interview it is in your best interests to follow through with it, unless you have a compelling reason like unreasonable commute, money or your have accepted another job.  The reason here is because the company will feel like you didn’t give them a chance.   This could potentially burn a bridge and you never want to do that. 

You are cancelling at the last minute

This one is about courtesy.  Unless you have accepted another job, you shouldn’t cancel at the last minute.  It looks really poor and you start running into the bridge burning thing again. 

You are making broad assumptions

First of all, you know what they say about assumptions…  I will have people cancel interviews all the time and then later find out it was because they thought that their wasn’t enough growth, or the company couldn’t meet their scheduling needs.  The common thread is that the candidate never asked me or the company.  A good first interview that goes nowhere can mean a fast track in the future when you need it.

You have heard bad things about a company

This is one of my biggest pet peeves.  When I worked in the restaurant industry, a wise man once told me that bad experiences are shared something like 10 – 30 times more than good ones.  The same applies here.  You are much more likely to hear feedback from a disgruntled ex-employee than you will from a happy former employee.  Please understand I’m not saying that the disgruntled ex-employee can’t be right.  Instead, I’m saying that you should take the info with a grain of salt and make your own determination in an interview. 

You are really far along in the process

If you have invested a ton of time and energy and you are frustrated because it hasn’t paid off yet I think you owe it to yourself to see it through.  You might not get what you want but there will be finality to the situation and you won’t be thinking what if.

Cancel it!

You’ve Accepted your #1 Job

In this case you should totally cancel it.  The only caveat I would add is that you still shouldn’t cancel at the last minute for positioning purposes.  In this case, take the meeting and then notify the company later in the day or the next that you

You have a significant life occurrence that changes the equation

If something changes in your life (pregnancy, illness, death, divorce, moving) and you can’t make a change then you should feel free to cancel the interview.  Here positioning is key again as how you handle it will preserve future opportunities.  Depending on the severity of the event you can choose to call or email.  However, in this event just give specific information (you don’t need to share a ton here – just enough to not be cryptic) and thank them for their time. 

A dealbreaker presents itself

If you have concrete evidence (not an assumption) that something won’t work then cut your losses and move on.  These could be things like salary, schedule or commute.  However, if you knew about these things before scheduling an interview, you are better suited to have the interview and then end the process afterwards as there is an emotional difference between declining to move forward and cancelling. 

So there you have it!  What do you think?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.  As always I can be reached at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.

Can Changing One Letter on Your Resume Really Make That Big of a Difference?

A lot has been made recently about a story where a man named Jose changed his name to Joe on his resume and suddenly the interview requests started pouring in.  This article, which you can find here:

  He changed just one letter...

This got me to thinking about other little changes people could make to improve their chances in a job search.  Below are my thoughts:

1.  Omitting things on your resume

The road to unemployment is paved with well-intentioned bad advice.  One of the most egregious is the suggestion that you omit things from your resume.  Now, you can play semantics and say that omission isn’t really lying and you would be correct.  However, it doesn't change the fact that a hiring manager feels that they are being lied to.  It’s about perception not whether something is technically a lie.  Now, I do think that your resume should only go back about 15 years unless the previous experience is relevant and necessary.  However, not sharing your first job out of college 18 years ago is not the problem. Instead, the problem is when people do silly things like combine two jobs into one or just decide not to put any dates into a resume.  Omitting dates makes a hiring manager assume that there is something really big being hidden.

What should you do instead?

Emphasize your recent successes by only having bullet points highlighting your most recent jobs.  Put your education at the bottom of the resume.  Your resume should be an advertisement for you as an employee.  Customers get mad when they are bait and switched and employers are the same way.  Instead, make things like previous irrelevant jobs and your graduation date the equivalent of the fine print. 

2. I can do anything

This is a major problem.  There are a lot of people who interview for jobs and say – “I was really successful doing X, therefore I can do any job that you might be offering.”  First of all, let me say that I believe people can and should make moves outside of their industry and grow.  It is absolutely possible and probable.  However, you can’t use the above logic as you value proposition  Why?  Because it makes you sound condescending.  Because you are essentially saying “Because what I was doing was so important/difficult/prestigious ,you pick  the adjective, that I can easily step in and do whatever job you are offering in your lowly company.” You also sound uninformed because you are essentially saying that even though you have done no research, you are pretty sure you can do the job. 

What should you do instead?

Look for common denominators between the two jobs.  Focus on them and why this would make it a smooth transition.  Then acknowledge what you need to learn and share how you would overcome it.  Essentially, you need to come up with a value proposition that is stronger than “I’m so awesome, I can do anything, you should hire me.”

3.  I did that 15 years ago, therefore I can do it today

This one is pretty cut and dry.  If the best value proposition you can come up with is “It’s just like riding a bike,” then you are screwed.  The fact is that jobs change over time and the skills needed for said jobs change.  To assume that you can seamlessly step back in makes you seem arrogant. 

What should you do instead?

Does this mean that if your most recent relevant experience is fifteen years ago you can never do the job?  Again, you need to support your argument with data.   Something like this:

“ I know I haven’t  worked as a burger flipper for years, however, I think that I can do this.  You see, because it was my favorite job ever I have kept up with the industry by reading Burger Flipping Quarterly – do you subscribe to this?  I've also done some research and I understand that you guys are working with the most state of the art spatula.  It looks like a pretty nice piece of steel.  I haven’t used one but I think with a little work I can get the hang of it.  “

4.  Not giving a good reason for relocation

So… your kids are all grown, you don’t own a home, you hate the snow.  Bottom line.  You can move anywhere for a job.  That’s great!  Here’s the problem, being a nomad isn't a major selling point.   When a potential employer asks -  Why do you want to move to my hometown? – the answer can’t be because that’s where the job is.   It may be the god’s honest truth, but you have to give more.   Here’s why.  Employers are irrational, just like the rest of the world.  If the only reason you are moving to their hometown, a community that they know and love, even  cherish, is because there is a job then they will make the leap that you will probably leave for someone else’s hometown at some point in the near future. 

What should you do instead?

Come up with a reason to be somewhere.  First of all look for the obvious.  If your sister, brother, cousin, uncle lives there it’s a slam dunk.  If you've visited there before and love it its easy enough.  But what if you are being asked to move to Ames, IA for the job of your dreams and you’ve never been there, let alone heard of it.  You research the city and find a good reason to be there besides the job.  For instance, you could do some research and find out that Ames has the highest quality water in the United States (true fact you should Google the song – City of Ames) and say:

Besides the fact that there is a great job here?  Water quality is  really important to me and my research shows that Ames has the best.  Additionally, I’m a big fan of below average college football.  This just seems like the right place for me!

What do you guys thing?  What are some other little things you could change in your search to make a big difference?