If you think the reason you have not found a job is you have a crappy resume, think again.

OK…I will concede. If your resume does not convey what you have accomplished in a clear and concise way, you are at a disadvantage. The fact is people with lousy resumes get jobs, because they have great relationships.

Before I talk about relationships, you probably still want to know what to do about your resume. I know it is gnawing at you.

Fixing your resume is easy, especially if you use a professional resume writer, such as Cynthia K. Wade. Make the investment of $200 or less to rework your resume with a pro or you will spend endless hours on the internet trying to figure out what is wrong.

Alternatively, contacting people for their opinion on your resume only confuses you with many different points of view. The net result is creating too many resume versions and believing that you are doing something productive to improve your chances to find a job.

Personally, I think trying to fix your resume is simply a diversion from doing the more important work. Quit spending endless hours on making the perfect resume and focus on repairing or cultivating productive relationships. It will get you more results.

Is this your story?

Over the years, you have had stability in your work life. The routine was to work 40-50 hours per week and come home to the family. Your primary relationships were with work colleagues; it was often difficult to get away from the office to meet anyone outside of your company.

When a colleague left the organization, both of you commit to “staying in touch”. In reality, they were off your radar screen as soon as they walked out the door. If they called, you might call them back…if you remembered.

Now you find yourself laid off. Everyone tells you to start networking and tap into your extensive list of contacts. Where do you start?

Fear sets in as you think back to the many calls you did not return over the years. For whatever reason, you did not have time or you were afraid they wanted something from you. Will anyone want to help you now?

It depends. Look at your contacts, and ask yourself these questions for each person:

  1. Are they a personal or professional relationship?
  2. When is the last time I communicated with them -by phone, email, other, etc?
    • Six months
    • One year
    • Two – five years
    • Over 5 years
  3. Who typically initiates contact?
  4. Rate my responsiveness to their communication attempts with me.
    • Poor – did not return communication
    • Good – returned communication eventually or after they followed up again
    • Very Good – returned communication within a week
    • Excellent – returned communication within 48 hours
  5. Have I helped them in the past?
  6. Are there things I can offer to help them with now or the future?
  7. Am I committed to developing or nurturing this relationship?

Review your responses to the questions and look at the trends.

Is your approach to keeping in touch positive with the majority of the people on your list? If not, then you have an under-developed network and it will take some personal investment.

If it has been while since you have spoken with someone, make a plan on how to reintroduce yourself. Talking to someone in person or on the phone will have more impact than sending an email.

Figure out how to create a win-win communication or opportunity. Script it out. Reflect on how you would respond to it if you were the other person. Make adjustments. If you need more help, consider working with someone who can help improve your communication strategy.