If you are like many sales professionals you may be looking for a new position for any number of reasons.  If so, you undoubtedly recognize that the resume’ is the window to your qualifications, and even though it has it’s good and bad points as a tool, it is necessary.

That brings us to the notion that the resume is the ‘crow bar’ that opens a crack in the door to give you consideration and, hopefully an interview. Without the resume’ a hiring manager or human resource representative will have no idea of your talents, or your ability to display them.  Which prompts the question ‘du jour’, should your resume’ be ‘race neutral’?

What is Race Neutral?

‘Race neutral’ is a term used frequently in education to describe the basis for educational policy that supposedly ignores race as a determining factor.  In this case, I am going to use ‘race neutral’ to indicate that your race is not disclosed or detectable.  This might mean the ‘scrubbing’ the resume’ or other correspondence of determinants of race.

I know you are not going to ask why ‘race neutral’, but for those who might wonder I point again to the primary objective: Getting in front of the manager for an interview.  Once there you will at least be able to begin to showcase your values, your abilities, and the fact that you can work in the employer’s workplace, or any other environment.

I believe that the having a race neutral resume was something that helped me early in my career and has helped many a Black professional.  Assuring racial anonymity by means of avoiding references to race, racial affiliations of non-work groups, or activities, was the norm for many professionals of color, but… the world has changed to a large degree.  The primary catalyst for this change is the business-networking site LinkedIn.

The “LinkedIn” Effect

LinkedIn is a major force in the job theater globally boasting over 259 million users in more than 200 countries, as of the end of 2014.  The networking site has grown exponentially over the last ten years, although it is might be pressed to make money, its impact on the job scene for members is undeniable.  Also, once y0u have your coveted sales job, its use as a tool to help you gather information to build relationships is undeniable.

A well-constructed LinkedIn profile is a basic necessity in the sales world, and maybe in most of the business world now.  You can find out pertinent information about your future employer, your coveted clients, as well as your competition.  You can use it to apply for professional jobs as well as take advantage of its reach to keep in touch with colleagues, follow companies that you admire, and be involved in business interest groups.

The pertinent question is whether you should elect to put a picture in your profile to be viewed by associates, potential customers, potential employers, and anyone else curious about “what the heck” you look like.

If you don’t have a picture in LinkedIn, you stir the question of “why not”?  Is it a fair question?  No!  Fair or not, this question that is probable!  Here is why:  As with social media, even though LinkedIn is not considered social media, there are always people out there who don’t mean others well.  When someone withholds a “simple” picture there may be something amiss.  In LinkedIn, without a picture, if you ever ask someone to “link” with you and they are not totally familiar with your name, they may avoid approval, as they may believe you not to be who you are.  Should you build a profile on this wonderful tool if you are going to generate suspicion and potential credibility issues by not including a picture?  You will have to answer that.

I believe in the power of a properly constructed LinkedIn profile, and in the usefulness of this tool.  Racial anonymity can play in your favor, or can play against you if they are looking for a Black sales professional.  I think LinkedIn as a tool provides enough benefit and exposure that your will still be an ultimate beneficiary.

As a matter of fact, for many technical, technical sales, as well as other selected professional positions, Black professionals (especially Black females) who have solid credentials are sought out, and even coveted.  In those situations, the pictures are “appetizers”.  As you guess, this situation is controversial, but deserves discussion.  The next couple of topics will show you why.

The Applicant Selection Process – A, B, C, and D (Discard)

Let’s revisit the hiring process. A hiring manager or human resource representative potentially sees hundreds of resume’s to fill one position.  Remember the first goal, which is to get in for a personal face-to-face interview.  Your charm, skills, and ability to respond to questions and situations will be your tools, but you have to be able to showcase them.

If you follow some simple logic, many of these resumes are going into the ‘D’ stack, as they lack the basic qualifications that were advertised.  Some are going into the ‘B’ and ‘C’ stack as they have many of the qualifications, but are unlikely to be contacted, as there appears to be better candidates available.

Then there is the ‘A’ stack.  This stack has candidates who meet the basic qualifications, and have some points that create attraction to the reviewer.  As a reviewer you start at the top of the ‘A’ Stack and work downward.

Remember, the process of separating into stacks (A, B, C, and D) includes personal input on the part of the manager or HR representative.  This area of discretion is a “wild card” for the manager or HR rep.  You must end up in the ‘A’ stack, and hopefully at the top of it to get a strong opportunity to be interviewed.  I hope you recognize that almost anything can put you in the wrong stack, so don’t give anyone the excuse to put you there.

Something that might influence the stack your resume ends up populating might be affected by some things that are out of your control.

Don’t Miss Part II –  Your Resume and Racial Perceptions, Racial Preference, and Racial Prejudice!

Thursday we will examine the effects of the 3Ps, racial perceptions, racial preference, and racial prejudice on the acceptance of your resume.  This post will give you valuable information about your resume and how it is accepted. Don’t miss it.

Your comments are always welcome. Feel free to write me at michael.parker@blacksalesjournal.com.

If you are a job applicant, there are things that  you need to do, and this is one of them.  Information on you in the public domain may be true, or it may be false, but it should not be a surprise to you.  Know what exist about you as you should always “be the expert on yourself”.  This post from 2011 spells it out in good detail.  Read it, and do your research!

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We took a little time to discuss the effects of social media sites (Black Sales Journal – 3/10/2011, Social Media, know the Pitfalls) and what it could do to your employment, as well as your job search.  It can be devastating if you release the wrong information at the wrong time.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, and if you are not judicious in your attempts to show your great vacation, night out with the girls, or guy’s trip to a local gentleman’s club, you could damn your next job.

These are self-inflicted wounds that you can do to yourself, and regret for the rest of your life.  They are definitely avoidable so the more private you lessen the chance of this happening.

As you will see there are other wounds, and these are not necessarily self-inflicted, yet they can have a similar, or more striking effect.

Investigate Yourself

You owe it to yourself to know everything that others can glean about you.  It is a process I call “investigating yourself.”

Here are some ways to go about it:

“Googling” is good when you need an answer to almost any question.  A very simple act now is going to the keyboard and getting hundreds of results.  Quite frankly, we do it without thinking, and usually get the information that we want.  Search engines are imperfect devices that string together the characters of the alphabet and primary numbers to peruse the lexicons of all sorts of databases in order to find like strings of information.  Prospective employers use this tool as well.  What they find can be amazing.  What they find can be menacing as well.

You can be left without any recourse other than to try to explain the product of this search as you may have major difficulty changing it.  With that in mind, it is best to know what is there in its entirety.

Suggestion: “Google”, “Bing”, and “Yahoo” your name and all of its’ variations to determine what information a prospective employer will see when they look you up.  There may be some things you can change; yet you will be armed with a view of what they are going to see.  If you are Milton Jones, and you also see that a Milton Jones from the same city and state was convicted of embezzlement, you have an opportunity to explain that he may be a distant relative, but he is not you.

Credit reporting can be your worst enemy or your best friend.  Are you aware that it is commonplace for a prospective employer to check your credit?  It is explained for you, although in fine print on the packet of information that is completed on line, or physically, as you must give them a signature or approval, and your social security number.  Remember, a terrible credit score might not keep you from getting a job, yet it can be a potential strike against you.  If you are going to have company credit cards, a company vehicle, or need to be bonded, this may present a problem.

Suggestion: Know your score from the three credit reporting agencies (Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian) and have your explanations ready regarding why it is impaired.  If a company is going to trust you with their assets, your story may need to be very solid.  If there are situations like identity theft, you may want to bring information to prove that there was a problem.

Public Information sources carry strong credibility.  The following records can sink you if you don’t have good explanations:

• Police and Arrest Records
• Personal Debt
• Bankruptcy
• Judgments
• Liens

There are things in the above list that comes from circumstances we could not control, and things that, as our grandmother’s used to say, came from trifling behavior.  No matter how they got there, they are potentially on your record, and they may be irremovable, unless they are a mistake.

If they come from disputes that have not been properly adjudicated, you may have some hope, yet search engines as well as public record can find this information.

Suggestion: These are your records so don’t take it lightly.  Find out why, and how these items might be removed.  Review search engines for this as well as the credit records for debt.  You should know if there are any judgments or liens in the public record.  Of course you will know if you have filed bankruptcy.  Know your story, and your circumstances.  You are the expert on you, so reduce it to writing.  I suggest you don’t fabricate some lengthy story, but be able to explain what went wrong.

A Practical Example

While I was a sales manager, I received a call from a local basketball coach who suggested that I consider a basketball star from one of the public universities in Wisconsin.  He was Black, and from the same community I was from, and was supposedly a premier student from the standpoint of grades.

We went through the interview process and I not only thought this individual gave a great interview; he also had a list of references that was exemplary.  Everyone from college professors to past employers thought he had the personality and deportment to be a great employee and to sell.

I completed checking a representative number of his references, and proceeded to gather the rest of the requisite information.  Then came a possible roadblock.  The school would not release to the transcript to me.  We were at a crucial time in the process as I had done a significant amount of work already and I could not check his grades.

I figured that he might have a “past due” that was from not having settled up, so I contacted the candidate and advised that if he wanted to have the opportunity that I presented, he needed to act fast.  It turned out a little different in the end.

The candidate “fessed” up to me under time pressure that he had some library books that were not returned, and that they were holding his transcript until he settled up.  My response was, “if you want this chance, you need to get it solved within the next two days.”  Then it got more involved, and we determined that there were parking fines…numerous parking fines.

This marked the end of this issue, as I removed the candidate from consideration.  This one, more than anything else was an example of ‘trifling’ behavior.  Not returning of a couple of reference books and not making good on some university parking tickets cost this individual a chance at a good opportunity in outside sales with a reputable company, including a car and expense reimbursement.  It was the height of irresponsibility.

Your Access Vs. The Employers Access – A New Age

There was a day that your access to information was limited, and corporate access to information was supreme and penetrating.  Now, there has been a leveling of the field.  Your access to information is penetrating as well.  Business will pay someone to do it, yet you should have enough energy to “be the expert on yourself.”

Do not think for one minute that you are not going to be checked out!

Your comments are welcome.