Who's Hiring Who

As a retired HR exec I frequently assist friends and relatives with their resumes and the job hunting process. This book has been a staple for me and those I help for many years. I first found it when my own company was bought out and I was laid off. It helped me and is full of wonderful advice that is useful for any job hunter. Absolutely the first book I recommend to people who are looking for job hunting help. I bought this copy because I wanted to make sure I had a spare copy in case the one that I lend out all the time fails to come home someday!

I bought this book a few years ago, right before I moved to a new city. I have to say it is one of the BEST books, if not THE best book available for writing that all-important resume. Contrary to the individual who said it needed updated due to resumes being entered and searched via a database, I think the book is just fine as it is. This book does NOT tell you how to write a traditional resume, which is probably why the reviewer didn't think it worked and needed updated for database search...it isn't formatted like the online resume searches. However, it does instruct the reader on how to write something even better: a Qualifications Brief. A resume and a qualifications brief are similar and are meant to do the same things, but whereas a resume describes a persons past positions and his or her responsibilities, a QB describes the actual QUALIFICATIONS the person has that makes him or her the right candidate for the specific job for which he or she is applying. That makes all the difference to the employer, who gathers his or her important first impression of the applicant from the submitted dull resume or uniquely different QB. I know from personal experience: I sent out two QBs after I moved and I got call-backs for BOTH submissions. I'm currently in my 5th year of employment for one of them. I also wrote a QB up for a friend of mine and she too got hired within days of sending it out. Neither of us have ever had such prompt responses when sending out a normal, traditional resume. My advice: buy this book; it's definitely worth every penny!

When I was out of work, and wanting to make a career change, I went to the library and, literally, checked out a three foot stack of resume and cover letter books.I sat them next to my couch, got a glass of iced tea and went to work perusing the pages. Right away it was evident that, for the most part, the only thing different about these how to tomes was their cover. Inside was the same tired advice and the same over used examples of resumes and cover letters.Guess what? As an employee candidate your job is to stand out from the crowd, not blend in with it.I had just about given up on my reading (and was getting more depressed by the minute) when I came across "Who's Hiring Who?" I could tell right away that it was different, the question was, would I have the guts to run free, as the book encouraged, or would I continue to run with the herd?When I read "Who's Hiring Who" I was three months into a job search. After this much time spent looking for work (and I was at it 12 hours a day!) I told myself that my resume, which took form based upon a lot of the ancient advice in the mainstream resume books, wasn't working and I wasn't going to lose anything by trying the advice in "Who's Hiring Who?"It took me a week to read the book, really think about the suggestions it made, and then distill it's principles into my new QUALIFICAITONS BRIEF. No more resumes! Other no mores? No more worrying about a spotty work history. No more worrying about an incomplete (that means little or no college) education. The book tells you the best ways to accentuate the positive and marginalize the negative.Within two weeks I had several job offers on the table. Within a month I had done more than get a job, I had successfully changed careers and was working for a hot software company with benefits out the wazoo and a pay rate higher than I'd hoped for!(Since then I've read Tom Peter's book, "Circle of Innovation" (I think that was the book), which, when talking about resumes says who cares about education, companies want to know what you've done. What have your successes been? This is one thing "Who's Hiring Who?" focuses on.)My advice to you? Buy the book, follow its advice and have the guts to change!

Mr. Lathrop shows you how to write a resume that highlights your accomplishments, attributes and skills. He changes the term "resume" to Qualifications Brief and provides many examples from a variety of employment fields. Using dynamic words, these Q-briefs are intended to illustrate a concise description of your "qualifications" as well as keep the document interesting to read. A well written Q-brief will, at a minimum, get you a phone call of interest from a perspective employer. Once you've made contact you can sell yourself from there! For my last job search 7 years ago, I mailed out 11 Q-briefs, received 6 responses that turned into interviews and from those 6 interviews received 2 job offers! Both offers were paying at least $5k per year than my current job at the time. Many others in my family have used this tool as well and received similiar responses. This book is especially helpful to those without a college degree because of its focus on "accomplishments" in past positions and/or in life - but I think the content is applicable to anyone. There are also many good cover letter examples as well as tips on making yourself promotable or more valuable in your current job. It puts a real person on the page and not just a employment stat sheet.