Job Seekers and the Vague Resume

**ATTENTION NEW GRADS** I wanted to write this blog especially for the new grads who have shared their frustration with finding a job after graduate school. It took me about 4 months to get a job after the Columbia MSW program (Class of 2001)- YES 4 months to find what I was looking for. So my first word of advice is be PATIENT (we do not like this word but it comes in handy). My second message comes from the heart but also it comes from being a hiring manager and I felt the need to address this today and hopefully you all will pay attention and consider my suggestions. I love what I do and this is why I am offering this advice here to you. I work for NYC government but my passion is to help people advance their social work career and so I started a business concept (I am not here to sell the product- I am here to give free advice because that's what SW do (shrugs).... A few social workers have sent me their resume for review and I have offered feedback but I am feeling like a broken record (repeating the same mistakes), so here I am posting it here to help others avoid these common mistakes: Bold your Name at the TOP (your presentation and presence is needed)- STAND UP AND OUT! Where's your phone number? I am not emailing you (this is what a hiring manager is saying- That's just too much work- NEXT!) Check your spelling and grammar PLEASE! OK you have an MSW and? What are you selling me- what's your product or services? What makes you different than the other 25 resumes I have? Do not abbreviate the months- Mar. (NO) it is MARCH 2020 or 3/2020 Be specific about your skill sets- what is "I conducted groups"- first of all, what kind of groups, with who (population), how often, did you document the sessions and if so, in which database, who supervised you (LMSW or LCSW), did you have to assess client or conduct intakes for the group- TALK TO ME PLEASE! Did you use specific assessment tools, screening tools, software- name those tools please... If you are on committees- name who you are sitting at the table with (government partners, external stakeholders). Hiring managers love these words- you know why? Hmm, because they want those connections too and so if you can bring this skill to the agency- you can potentially make my life easier. Again, what are your skills?

• advocacy

• case management

• crisis intervention

• public speaking

• screening and needs assessment

• biopsychosocial

• training new employees

Be specific!

As hiring managers read- yes, they could be a Social Worker but do not assume they know what certain titles entail or what your abbreviated HASA means- what is that? The moral of the story is that YOUR RESUME MIGHT BE TOOOOOOO VAGUE- an MSW is cute and all but what skills do you bring? Why should I hire you? I have a corny comparison but bear with me here- when you walk in a store there is always a store brand and then there is that expensive brand, right? Well, consider your vague resume that store brand and you are trying to become that exclusive brand all the way on the top shelf. No disrespect to the store brand but I am sure none of us here want to be just average- we want to STAND OUT! Oh wait and after you organize all of this and you land the interview- now we have to come up with TALKING POINTS for the interview..... wishing you all the best on your job hunt. Business info: OnBoarding Solutions, LLC Website: www.onboardingstaff.com IG:@onboardingstaff Email:onboardingstaff@gmail.com