There’s no question that the world of work is changing. Secure jobs with great benefits are on the decline, while white-collar workers scramble for the good positions that remain. Cracking the New Job Market, by William Holland, offers seven rules for navigating today’s unstable market. The book offers practical advice, particularly in the area of resume creation, and clears up some misconceptions that may be holding job-seekers back.
Value creation is the central theme of the book. The job-seeker awarded the coveted position will not necessarily be the one with the most education or experience, but the applicant whose skills best match the job description. Simply putting your work history down on a resume isn’t enough. You have to connect your accomplishments with the needs of the hiring organization.
The book provides instruction on how to read a job ad and how to create a resume based on a specific ad. Resume and cover letter examples are provided, breaking down each section to demonstrate value-creation. Advice is tailored to entry-level, mid-career professionals, and executives. No matter your career level, an opportunity exists to demonstrate value to potential employers.
If you hate the idea of networking, as many of us do, you’ll be pleased to learn that face-to-face networking isn’t as important as it’s made out to be. It turns out that weak ties are just as effective as strong ties, and that an infinite number of weak ties can be found online. The Internet doesn’t have to be where desperate job-seekers go to send resumes into a black hole, it can actually be a very useful tool in your job search if leveraged correctly.
In the section on helicopter parenting (which Holland actually encourages), he discourages blind trust of colleges and points out that career center personnel “desperately need to upgrade their craft but have neither the resources nor the work experience beyond the university to do so.” According to Holland, parents realize that universities cost much more but deliver less. Colleges and universities capitalize on the career goals of students, but fail to give students to tools needed to find a good job. Holland’s honesty will be much appreciated, especially by recent graduates struggling to find work among a mountain of debt. This section is a must-read for parents of college students.
Cracking the New Job Market goes beyond traditional job search advice and offers specific rules about creating a resume and cover letter, networking, and interviewing. If you’d like a copy of the book, visit the book’s website or find it on Amazon
R. William Holland, Ph.D., a veteran human resources executive, is founder and principal of R. William Holland Consulting, LLC, specializing in career management. He is also a senior vice president at BeamPines, a leadership development, assessment, and coaching firm. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.