Estevan 鈥� The first stop hitting the pavement on this job hunt was to see someone who specializes in human resources, a firm that can sometimes be colloquially referred to as a headhunter.
That firm was Estevan-based Tracey Fieber Business Solutions.
Among their services (see relates story Page A16) the company will screen resum茅s for their clients.
鈥淲e鈥檝e gotten 120 resum茅s for one job. That鈥檚 a big change from two years ago, or one year ago,鈥� Tracey Fieber said.
The difference between being flooded with resum茅s or getting none is all in the wording of the advertisement, she noted. Too broad an ad can lead to the flood, but too restrictive of an ad can result in a field of prospective workers that is too constrained.
In her time both in her previous career and as a business consultant, Fieber鈥檚 seen a lot of resum茅s. My goal here was to see if my resum茅 was up to snuff, and if it would be appropriate today given that it鈥檚 been 12 years since I had last handed out a resum茅.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e well connected,鈥� was her first comment, scanning the resum茅.
鈥淪ome are hiring right now. This is a great time to find people we couldn鈥檛 get before,鈥� Fieber said, referencing the long-standing labour shortage that had been prevalent in the region.
In this case, I was looking for excavator operator work primarily, or other oilfield work. However it鈥檚 been 12 years since I鈥檝e run an excavator. Would she consider that stale-dated?
Perhaps in my own mind, but not in the mind of people hiring, she replied. 鈥淵ou could still jump on,鈥� she said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 sell yourself short. Previous experience still applies.鈥�
However, she also noted it鈥檚 important not to brag, either.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the stories you tell that will tell people your expertise. Talk in a lingo that describes it.鈥�
She suggested checking in with Sask Apprenticeship to see if it is still possible to complete my pipeline equipment operator (excavator) journeyman ticket. That would involve acquiring another 1,000 hours on excavators and taking the exam.
When it comes to resum茅s, she noted it鈥檚 important to make the email address easily seen. Social media line items would not be necessary, nor had they been included.
鈥淲hat is it my industry uses?鈥� Fieber questioned. 鈥淐ellphone? You could use home phone, email. You don鈥檛 need street address, although 'Estevan' shows you鈥檙e local or if you will need to move elsewhere.
鈥淩emember you鈥檙e applying for a trade.鈥�
As for the layout, she said someone may not believe I had done it myself, but rather someone might have done it for me. This was because I actually did prepare resum茅s for other people as a sideline in university.
She picked up on a few typos that had been missed. While people hiring excavator operators may not be as picky about typos and formatting, other employers might be.
But while I thought it was somewhat fancy, Fieber said 鈥淚 would call yours plain by today's standards. But back then (15-20 years ago), it was higher quality.鈥�
She liked the presentation of education and training, as well as skills and certificates, but suggested some format changes and the inclusion of ticket expiry dates. This is important to potential employers, since a ticket that鈥檚 still good for another two years means they won鈥檛 be expected to pay for your recertification right away.
鈥淪ome people like to see a combination of union/non-union experience,鈥� she said, pointing to my work record. If a person鈥檚 experience is totally union, 鈥渋t changes the dynamic.鈥� 听Fieber also suggested replacing my 鈥渟kills and attributes鈥� section with a listing of three to five 鈥渃ompetencies,鈥� providing examples such as leadership or independent.
This is where we got into the tricky thing 鈥� this resum茅 is long 鈥� five pages including a page of references. 听It鈥檚 wordy, she noted. 鈥淭hey want quick facts.鈥�
Two pages are ideal, three if needed. My resum茅, in other words, is way too long in her eyes.
A resum茅 should include contact information, skills, work experience, education, hobbies/interests and references (as an option). You have seven seconds to catch someone鈥檚 attention, according to Fieber.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to include everything,鈥� she said.听
In the job experience, dates are important, because they show things like longevity or job hopping. For a period where I had a lot of short-term projects, she suggested explaining just that 鈥� 鈥渃ompleted three week project;鈥� 鈥渓ayoff due to weather,鈥� etc.
鈥淢any times it鈥檚 not just what鈥檚 in the resum茅, but what鈥檚 not,鈥� she noted. When reviewing resum茅s for clients, she said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to verify the assumptions people would make.鈥�
For instance, employers may ask about gaps in employment.听
She noted an example of someone who may have lost their drivers licence. Some employers may want to see a year of being clean after a DUI incident. 鈥淭hey want to see they can stay clean,鈥� Fieber said. 鈥淧eople believe we can improve, but to employ them, they need to see a track record (of improvement).
One of the more curious things about the resum茅 I presented her with was the mix of news reporting, photography and excavator experience. While photography and newspaper work are a natural link, 鈥淒irt work and newspapers are more of a stretch.鈥�
However, plenty of people change careers, she noted, and it鈥檚 not uncommon for people hitting 40 or 50 to make a big change.
This resum茅 had a number of references from different areas. Asked about the theory that some people won鈥檛 look at a resum茅 without references, Fieber responded that one third to one quarter of employers will expect references on the resum茅. 鈥淵ou want at least three,鈥� she said.
If you don鈥檛 include them on the resum茅, you should take them on a page with you into a job interview so you can provide them immediately.听
There鈥檚 also a question of how much weight references can be given, since these days negative references are rarely given for fear of legal issues. 鈥淵ou have to be honest, but you can鈥檛 negatively affect them,鈥� Fieber explained.
For instance, a person called for a reference might only provide basic facts, like the position held, and dates of employment. They may choose not to say much more than that.
If a reference is asked if the person is re-hireable, they are allowed to say 鈥測es鈥� or 鈥渘o,鈥� but may say 鈥淚 can鈥檛 comment on that.鈥�
Many companies today require pre-job drug screening. While you may have passed a drug test in the past, don鈥檛 include it on the resum茅, Fieber noted. 鈥淛ust because you passed a month ago, it doesn鈥檛 mean you will today.鈥�
Summing up, she asked, 鈥淎re you sure you want to do excavation?鈥�
听
Fieber suggested an alternate career in sales. 鈥淵ou have the relationship skills and can talk to people 鈥� a natural connector.鈥�
There are not a lot of jobs out there for excavator operators right now, she noted. For municipalities, perhaps, but oilfield-related, no.
鈥淣o one is hiring, and they鈥檙e having a tough time keeping staff,鈥� Fieber said.
For workers in general, she said, 鈥淣o matter what is happening, you need to think about your options. You can be laid off. It can be a shock.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never easy to lay someone off, yet those business decisions need to be made. A lot of people should be doing assessments if they have to change careers.鈥�
