Surviving Your Career Crisis: Update Your Hiring Qualifications Today

Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for his calling, never fails of employment. - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

Your qualifications are a key component of your career identity. Have you thought about your hiring qualifications recently? No matter your current employment status, are your qualifications still current in the career marketplace? Credentials, skills and experience are how you qualify yourself in the eyes of a prospective employer prior to the phone screen and personal interview. Ensure your qualifications are relevant and listed to an appropriate level of detail. There is no need to list your kindergarden! You should also observe local laws with regard to the listing of personal details.

1. If you are still employed - have you updated your resume to reflect your current role and most recent accomplishments? While this is the resume that you used to get the job you have now, is it the right resume to get you promoted or hired up your career ladder in the current job market?

2. If you have been terminated or have any break in employment for any reason, does your resume tell that story in an honest, positive way? Yes, you can make lemonade out of lemons. Getting terminated has many lessons learned for you. Which lessons will you use to make you a stronger job candidate in the future? Experience counts, even adverse experience. It is how well we respond to these adverse experiences that is judged, since there are no perfect employees.

For either category above, searching for a job requires your qualifications to be validated. You should be able to produce evidence about your credentials such as education transcripts and diplomas, technical and professional certifications, and active membership, honor society organizations, and any other affiliations that pertain to the best presentation of your resume to a prospective employer. Ensure your credentialing organizations are aware of your search. If possible keep copies available for informat presentation, while official credentials are sought by the company making you an offer.

Do not wait into the hiring process to check availabilty of your own credentials and references. This will slow down the presentation of an offer to you. You do not want to be surprised at this point in the process, and neither should your prospective employer be surprised by adverse information about your qualifications. This also applies to the reference checking process. Always alert your references that you are undertaking a new job search. If possible tell them the job you are seeking, and the name of the company that will be contacting them. Use references sparingly these days, as they are busy too.

NOTE 1 : A good rule of thumb is to hold reference information for only those interviews moving to the offer stage. References have let me know their contact details have been misused the past few years, so please be mindful of your references right to privacy. Placing a note on formal applications to that effect is appropriate.

NOTE 2: I recently interviewed a few people for an important role and 2 out of 4 candidates had spurious information on their resumes. Once I discovered this it was not long before additional details of the resume were found to also not be true. One candidate listed a certification which I myself have earned. We have a code of ethics for the certifying organization which would now bar that individual from holding the certification. Yes, honesty is still very, very important. Reputation is everything in life and business!