Double Journey

So there is definitely one positive thing happening because of this financial crisis.  People are talking about it.

I love talking about financial matters.  It is one of the reasons this blog exists.  My ears perk up whenever someone around work starts talking about saving, investing, and the stock market.  I love sharing the wisdom I have learned over the years with people just starting out.  It is one of the reasons I keep this blog up even though my original goal has gone out the window.

Because of the financial crisis, I have talked more about finance, money, and the economy at work than I ever have before.  People are interested in what is going on and don’t always understand what is really happening.  I don’t expect anyone to be as into it as I am, so I try and explain my perspective as much as I can so I can educate others.  The benefit of this is that often times, I can get someone interested enough that they start seriously thinking about their future.  I believe I have convinced more than one person to at least start putting away some money in their 401K.  I think I may have even convinced someone to dabble a little bit in the stock market.

At the very least, I hope this crisis gets people talking and interested in money and the economy.  I believe we are probably in for some rough times ahead, and the more people who take an active interest in their own financial matters, the better off I think we will all be.

My girlfriend was reading a book called The World’s Greatest Resumes by Robert WM. Meier. In it he talks a lot about having the perfect corporate pedigree and how his book can help those that don’t have a perfect corporate pedigree. It tells you how to emphasize certain aspects of your resume, and how to work your way around some of your weaknesses. Overall, I think she would recommend the book, as her resume looks pretty good now.

I write about this because when I asked about the book, she told me I didn’t need it, because I have the perfect corporate pedigree. I laughed when she said this, except she was serious. I’ve never really thought of myself this way despite the fact that I’ve always seem to be able to find a job, and a good job, when I want one. So just what does make a perfect corporate pedigree? While not coming out and explicitly saying it, Meier seems to suggest that a great pedigree involves

• Having an Ivy League Degree
• Working for a big Fortune 500 Company
• Having a continuous work history that shows good career progression

I fit the bill because I graduated from Princeton University, I have worked for two Fortune 500 Companies, Accenture and Microsoft, and I have no large gaps in my resume. I believe I took a small step backwards with my move to Microsoft, but I can easily explain the move and to outsiders it looks like a smart career move. So having these “qualifications” supposedly makes me more desirable to potential employers. Is it true?

Hard to say. I would say there is no doubt that many doors have been opened to me because the Princeton and Microsoft name carry some clout. I have a pretty high success rate of responses to people who I sent my resume to. I would say that of all the resumes I sent out in my latest job search, I had about a 40% response rate. This is a phenomenal number. But I want to stress this. I think this allowed me to get a call back, I don’t think it helped me all that much to actually get the job. But considering the fact that getting the call back might be the hardest part, then this may indeed be a key success factor.

HR and hiring managers might look through hundreds of resumes to fill an important position. Lots of times, they will only scan your resume and look at your eduction, job history, and previous titles. It is important to have something on your resume that will let you stand out from the crowd in this case, and having the above criteria certainly won’t hurt you.

The point of me writing this post is that you need to understand what many employers are looking for in order to prepare for it accordingly. If you have the above pedigree, great, you are set. Just make sure your resume looks decent and that you use the advantage that you have wisely. If you don’t, you need to be sure that you are showing off your qualifications in some other way to stand out. Further, if you have the opportunity to enhance your resume in some way, like going to get your MBA at a top-tier school, or to go work for a Fortune 500 company, you need to seriously consider it.

That’s my admittedly bias perspective. What do you think? How important is having a good “corporate pedigree”?