How can you get your resume to the top of the stack when you’ve taken a break from your career to care for children or aging parents?

You’re punctual, smart, determined, qualified. You’ve had great experience and have at least 3 years of tenure in every position you’ve held. You’re a hard-worker, a fast learner and above all, you excel at anything you put your mind to. Oh, I almost forgot, you interview fantastically too. Wow, you sound great! You’re currently job hunting, so if all this is true, why haven’t you received any job offers?

Did I mention you left the workforce six years ago to be a stay-at-home mother?

The Problem

Employers want candidates that are relevant and up-to-date on information regarding the industry and position niche related to their experience. And nothing says “You’re not relevant” more than a long break from working. Danielle Bell, Human Resource Manager for Belin McCormick Law Firm, explains, “When reviewing work history on resumes, I always look closely for gaps in employment.  Gaps in employment can sometimes indicate that an individual left an employer on bad terms, so I am always sure to question the reasoning for the break in employment during an interview.”

While commendable that someone would give up their career to care for their children or support a loved one that needed assistance, it doesn’t change the fact that a red flag is immediately created when this gap in employment is shown on your resume – even more so if it isn’t explained. Even with an explanation, by leaving the workforce, you are basically telling an employer that your skills aren’t honed on the latest methods used to do your job and that you’re probably not aware of any changes that have occurred during your time away. What do you do now?

The Solution

First of all, if you are as smart as you say you are, hopefully you were proactive in thinking about your eventual return to work. If so, you’ve been keeping up on changes and have stayed in “practice” whether by reading pertinent articles, keeping certifications current or taking a few classes. Anything that you’ve done since relinquishing your title of Working Professional should be highlighted on your resume. If you haven’t taken your leave yet and you are preparing, all of those things I mentioned above: do them. Even if it’s a free tutorial of changes in a software program you use – anything that shows you’ve kept your knowledge processes engaged and your brain exercised. It will only increase your chances of getting an interview. If you aren’t in either of these boats then grab a life preserver and star preparing yourself immediately. Get as much education and knowledge as you can before you start applying for jobs. This will show that you are serious about returning to your career.

Second, explain, explain and explain some more. Bell suggests, “For individuals that are trying to reenter the workforce or that have a break somewhere in their past employment due to caring for a child or parent, I would suggest addressing the break in employment in the cover letter without going into too much detail.  Another idea is to ask for letters of recommendation from past employers so that you can submit them to employers with your resume.  Either of these ideas will go a long way in easing concerns the person reviewing your resume may have.”

When screening resumes, some reviewers take the time to look into why someone has a gap in employment. I have personally taken a leave and know what it’s like to try and reenter the workforce. It’s not easy. I may have a sympathetic ear for those with this plight, but many recruiters don’t. As a recruiter, it’s nothing personal. You screen resumes based on what is best for your organization, filtering through to find individuals with the highest probability of success in certain positions.

If another candidate has an identical resume to you, except no gaps in employment, it’s no surprise who will win out. This is especially true if, when your resume is screened, you don’t provide any details about your leave.

ANY time there is a “problem” area in your resume, take the opportunity to make clear the circumstances surrounding the issue or the reasons behind your decision. Most recruiters don’t have time to research this, so if you haven’t done explained yourself already, you might be receiving a declination letter any day now. Jobsearch.com recommends leaving off the month and year of employment dates as well to try and close the gaps a little bit more as well as other ideas (like utilizing that cover letter!) to make your resume vague while remaining mostly relevant. Though it may be annoying to a recruiter when candidates use these tactics, it might just keep the resume from the “no” pile.

Make the explanation short and sweet. Depending on the level of the position and how formal your resume needs to be, you may be able to include a small blurb on the resume itself. If this will potentially be a turnoff to employers, which is possible if you are vying for high level role, utilize the cover letter to plead your case.

The Society for Human Resource Management published the article Never Underestimate the Power of a Cover Letter citing in it Abby Locke, president of Premier Writing Solutions LLC. Locke advises, “The cover letter is an ideal place to mention or explain any unusual circumstances, like a move to a new town or a change of careers.” Whichever avenue you choose, being up front with your explanation will improve the chance that an employment gap will not be an immediate disqualifier.

Lastly, utilize the job search tips that are standard for everyone – be persistent and confident, sell yourself without looking desperate, research the company before you go in for the interview and for heaven’s sake, wear a suit.

To recap:

• Highlight recently attained certifications, classes taken, and other job development outside of the workforce.
  Provide explanations for any gaps in employment by adding this information directly to your resume or including it in the cover letter.
• Remember the basics. Exude confidence; look and act professional; emphasize how you’d be an asset to the organization.
• Just remember, it may take longer than it normally would, but an employer out there will see your potential and hire you.

Last week I wrote about the two main factors that every resume needs – authenticity and specificity.  Specificity (i.e., tailoring a resume to the employer/ industry/ function you are targeting), is particularly important because it enables your resume to be found when recruiters search and noticed when recruiters screen.

Recruiters search for resumes on job boards, social networks such as LinkedIn, articles and white papers (especially at senior levels), and their own database.  When a search kicks off recruiters filter through the resumes from these sources by keywords and criteria.  If you don’t have those keywords or criteria in your resume, you may not get picked.

However, the variety and number of keywords and criteria changes per search.  Sometimes it is very specific:  for example, when I did a search for an animator who knew Aftereffects (as well as other things), I searched only for Aftereffects as a keyword.  It was specific enough that I knew I could rule out many people and then do a more careful search with just the resumes that had Aftereffects.  Sometimes searches are more criteria-based:  for example, a single job might require several years in the range of experience, good financial analysis skills, and experience in turnaround situations.  It is hard to adequately filter for these with just keywords so in this case, I would be likely to do a broader keyword search, such as finance, and review resumes from there.  The end result?  When you have a very specific skills (e.g., software, languages, etc) definitely list them.  But remember that keywords are just a guide for the beginning of the screening process. 

After the broad resume search, the resumes are screened further to look for the rest of the job requirements.  This is the more subjective process because invariable we weigh the overall package.  Most candidates have some but not all of the requirements.  It is not just who has the most requirements matched.  It is more important to have the dealbreakers matched.  So in the case of the animator, Aftereffects was a dealbreaker.  It wouldn’t matter if you had everything else in the job description if you didn’t have that.  Some with Aftereffects and a few of the other requirements had a better chance than someone with all of the other requirements but no Aftereffects.

So now that you know that keywords and the subsequent screening vary widely search by search, how do you as the jobseeker increase your chances?  You can’t change your resume for every job lead – it’s unrealistic and unnecessary.  Your best approach, as I write in many of my other columns, is to get as close to the decision-maker as possible whether this means via a resume submission or not.  When you are close to the decision-maker, you can learn what the keywords and the dealbreakers are.  When you are close to the decision-maker you can make your pitch and have the resume become your supporting document, not your primary form of communication.  When you are close to the decision-maker, you control more of the search and therefore more of your chances.  So, spend time on your resume but more time on your networking.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide and others.  Email Caroline at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

If flexibility, versatility and cross-training are all the rage these days, why do recruiters seem to hold so firmly to the belief that a candidate must “fit the profile” exactly?

The above question is valid, and it demonstrates why boilerplate qualities with no substance or tangible metrics attached are meaningless.In the above example, flexibility, versatility and cross-training are the boilerplate qualities. Many job descriptions ask for these. Therefore, these are not going to be the deciding factors; they’re a given. Instead you need to find what makes that job unique, how that will be measured and appeal specifically to that. When you do that, you fit the profile, and that’s what employers and recruiters want.

How does the position contribute to the bottom line?

Focus on that responsibility and give specific examples of when you did just that. If these examples are in a different industry or functional context, explain explicitly how you would handle this in the industry/ function for which you are interviewing.

What are the management and reporting requirements of the position?

If you need to manage direct reports, give examples of when you managed direct reports. If you need to report into different areas, give examples of when you worked cross-functionally.

What is the success culture of this company?

Do your homework to identify what personality traits are specifically valued for this company. Then showcase how you have these traits, not the traits that every company says they want (work ethic, team spirit, flexibility, versatility, blah, blah, blah).

Many jobseekers position themselves so generically that they seem to be saying, “I fit any job.” You want to demonstrate that you fit a specific job. Specificity is the key to a successful job search.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide and others. Email her at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

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One of my coaching clients should have wrapped up her search months ago. But with budgets tightening, the job that she seemed poised to get may not be filled after all. This happened now in her search. The first time, she had other companies in play but slowed down the pace on those leads and then had to rebuild. Now she knows to keep searches going simultaneously even when one seems promising. When the second imminent offer fell through, she barely missed a beat. Welcome to the age of the 24/7 job search.

In investing, you shouldn’t try to time the market because you may pull out on the handful of days when the market makes its big returns. Similarly, in the job search, persistent and regular action is critical to getting in front of the right opportunities at the right time. If you put yourself out there day in and day out, you are more likely to be front and center when that ideal job opens up. In today’s volatile hiring market, right place and right time could be anywhere, anytime, hence the 24/7 job search.

If interviews are going well, don’t stop looking elsewhere. The budget may disappear, another candidate may appear, the chemistry may be off with a key decision-maker that only gets involved at the end of the interview process. Even if the offer does come through and you do accept it, the other interviews will serve as building blocks for your network, data points for your negotiations, and springboards for your next search.

After all, in the era of 24/7 job search, your next search starts as soon as you finish this one. I don’t mean that you send out resumes and schedule job interviews on or before your first day of the new job or even shortly thereafter. But I do mean that you don’t ever stop managing your career — keeping an updated resume, maintaining your network, being aware of opportunities (even if that means referring other people instead of yourself). Work your job but also work your career. There is a difference: the person who works a job has things happen to them; and the person who works a career is ready at a moment’s notice to deal with an unexpected restructuring, layoff, or golden opportunity elsewhere.

The 24/7 job search isn’t bad, then, because it means that you take control over your career. It takes work and a shift in mindset, but once you do it and experience the power of having choices, you will never go back to the way things were. Besides, given this tight market, I’m not sure anyone can be successful with the old job searches techniques.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide and others. Email me at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

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I am planning to accept a job that pays below market because everything else about it is ideal, and I expect to move in two to three years anyway. How much impact will the lower salary have on my future negotiations?

This was a question from one of our last coaching telecalls. I commend the caller for considering other factors than salary in her job decision (she had really done her research but I didn’t include all the details for space reasons and to preserve her confidentiality). At the same time, salary history carries a lot of weight in future salary negotiations so the decision to take a lower salary now will require extra work in the future:

Better negotiation skills. Your past salary is a very strong anchor in the minds of prospective employers. I once conducted a search for a leading Fortune 500 company who finally found their ideal candidate after almost two years into the search. Their prospective hire had been grossly underpaid so to bring him to market, the company would effectively have doubled his salary. But in their minds that suddenly seemed like a lot, so instead, they offered him slightly below market but still an enormous increase over his former salary. The candidate eventually negotiated for market value, and everything worked out, but the negotiation took much longer than it should have (and the candidate needed to be a much better negotiator than he needed to be) because of his original salary discrepancy.

Better positioning. Your past salary signals to employers your level, title, and responsibilities. Once you accept a lower salary to start, you then have to convince successive employers that you belong at the level/ title/ responsibility that in their minds commands a higher salary. You will need to position yourself so that future employers don’t have to think, “if she’s so good, why isn’t she paid accordingly?”

Better personal financial management. Employers aside, your decision to take a lower salary is something that affects your personal bottom line. You will have less money to save, invest, and cushion you from bad markets like this one.

Is there ever a scenario where taking the lower salary makes sense? Of course, there is. Career planning is a highly individualized process, so exceptions abound. However, rather than asking whether to accept a lower salary, I challenge you (women especially!) to explore as many other creative solutions as possible to get what you want without having to “pay for it” in a lower salary.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Time Inc, TV Guide and others. Email Caroline at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

A popular excuse for not making a big change is money. You don’t have enough money – training for new skills, career coaching, whatever support you need for the big change cost more than you have. You need the income you have – you don’t have any left over to save for the big change and you certainly don’t have the option of quitting to focus more time on the big change. However, although money is a legitimate consideration, it is not an obstacle you can’t overcome. It comes down to the math: how much do you need and where will you get it.

Think Robin Hood. Take from one place to give to another. Look at your discretionary income after the fixed bills are paid. Where can you shave off dollars to allocate towards your career change?

Raise your income. Can you start a side consulting business and use the proceeds for the big change? The graphic designer can create websites, the financial planner can give Quicken tutorials. I know a marketing director who did a brand strategy for a start-up to pay for her kids’ new swing set. However, remember that you need your energy for the big change — this job is just for money so pick something you know you can do in which you won’t get too invested.

Challenge your assumptions. Still don’t have enough? Have you really separated out discretionary income or are non-essentials still in there? (Cable TV is not an essential when you are questioning all expenses.) Are you sure you need this money? (Can you take a workshop instead of getting a long-term class?) Are you sure you have itemized all expenses? (When you are trying to find the wasted dollars, you need to take a microscope to your spending.) There are always gaps between what you actually spend and what you think you spend, so be willing to challenge your memory and actually look.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart, a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, and others. Email me at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

How does a person make themselves known to recruiters?

This question was posed during last month’s SixFigureStart Ask-A-Recruiter call. The caller worked as in-house counsel so did not get the same attention from recruiters as her attorney colleagues in law firms.

Refer. Build long-term relationships with recruiters by being helpful. Take recruiter calls, even when you’re not actively looking, and help them find people by referring quality leads. Remember that your referrals are a reflection on you, so only refer people who fit what they are working on and who will represent you well.

Get referred. Recruiters like to find you. They don’t typically see unsolicited candidates. So maintain a robust network, find out from your colleagues who the good recruiters are for your sector, and have your colleagues introduce you.

Be prominent. Again, recruiters like to find you, so appear in the places they will look. Be active in your professional association, speak at conferences, publish white papers, and update your LinkedIn profile. Speaking and publishing are great ways to establish your expertise, and recruiters like people at the top of their game. This is also a great way for someone with a less traditional background (e.g., in-house counsel) to get known amongst the more traditional colleagues (e.g., at the brand name law firms).

Manage your own career. Recruiters are great for getting a sense of the market, including compensation, demand for your skills, and hiring trends. Recruiters do have access to plum positions, especially the big retained firms and especially for C-suite spots. However, you should already be networking with people in a position to hire you and refer you. In this way, you are the best person to position yourself and keep yourself in front of mind of the right people.

You are the best manager of your career. This should include recruiter relationships, but not exclusively so. Recruiter relationships are helpful but not necessary.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart (http://www.sixfigurestart.com/), a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide and others. Email me at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

Last week, my coaching firm hosted our monthly free coaching call, where we answered questions from jobseekers about the hiring process. Not one, but two questions were submitted about phantom job postings: Why do recruiters post listings for jobs that don’t exist? Why do companies consistently list job openings, bring in interviewees, extend offers, and go far in the hiring process, only to put positions on hold and sometimes close the positions?

Sometimes recruiters don’t know these jobs don’t exist. They may not have been told the job has been filled or has changed. So the posting stays up, jobseekers apply, and then the recruiter has to back-track and pull the posting. Recruiting doesn’t start with the recruiter (unless the department that is hiring is HR). Recruiting needs, process and timetable are determined by the hiring department, and sometimes the ultimate hiring department and HR do not communicate as well as they should.

Sometimes recruiters post jobs for general types of candidates that they need. For example, when I recruited for a major media company, they often hired for similar jobs – edit assistant, sales coordinator, etc. Jobs like these would open frequently but not on a regular basis, and when they did, we needed to fill them fast. So we would post the jobs on a regular basis to develop pipelines of candidates that we could draw from when a job would officially open.

Sometimes the job parameters change. When firms go so far as to screen resumes and interview people, they do so with a specific job in mind. But sometimes the firm decides to hire a finance person instead of operations. Sometimes the budget changes (or disappears) so the search has to change (or disappear). Sometimes the position gets filled internally. There are many reasons why a search may start but stop.

There are many reasons why a job that is posted is other than what it seems so don’t rely on job postings exclusively. Identify the decision makers for the areas that you want and target them directly. Network into your dream company so you can confirm what the open jobs are and keep abreast of changes. Have multiple leads to pursue so that you are not overly disappointed, frustrated, or reliant on any one job posting. This is an extraordinary market so you need extraordinary job search techniques.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart (www.sixfigurestart.com), a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Time Inc, TV Guide and others. Email me at caroline@sixfigurestart.com and ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

As a career coach and recruiter, I have followed many careers. I have also seen many examples of networking success: A PhD in molecular biology makes key venture capital contacts (and eventually lands a VC job) after tracking down a fellow PhD in molecular biology who is now a senior banker;

An art assistant lands an art director position at a national magazine, after regular contact with her former boss (now editor of the magazine) puts her in the right place at the right time; A management consultant transitions into recruiting after a former colleague hires her into her search firm; A little league basketball coach gets a job interview at one of his dream firms because it turns out he is coaching the son of a top executive there.

Many people make introductions, get promoted, or jumpstart career transitions because of networking – having the courage to meet new people and having the discipline to maintain familiar contacts. In most examples, however, the payoff is in the future. You can’t expect your first phone call to lead to a job. Often, networking leads to more and more networking, which eventually yields a success story. It takes persistence, commitment, and an upbeat attitude.

But it does work. So, keep in mind, wherever you are, you are surrounded by a potential network. Your classmates, your colleagues, your friends’ friends at that party could be your next employer, funder, client, mentor, or best friend. Keep yourself open to the possibilities of networking success.

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart (http://www.sixfigurestart.com/), a career coaching firm comprised exclusively of former Fortune 500 recruiters. Prior to launching SixFigureStart, Caroline recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Time Inc, and others. Email me at caroline@sixfigurestart.comand ask how you can attend a free SixFigureStart group coaching teleclass.