We continue to Part Two of four in our newsletter series.  In Part One, we identified how to fine tune the type of work you are targeting and formulate the right approach towards your job search.  Part Two will focus on one of the tools in selling yourself; the resume.  I hope you will continue to keep Pearl Interactive Network, Inc. in mind as a referral source for your candidates search for home based and client site employment.  If you have candidates that may be a fit for us, please point them to:  http://pearlinteractivenetworkinc.appone.com/.

3 Types of Resumes – The type of resume you choose will be dictated by your level of experience.

The Chronological Resume – this resume gives a candidate’s chronological job history. This format may work best for people who have had an extensive employment history.

The Skills Resume – this format lists skills an employer is looking for.  This is an ideal format for someone without a lot of work experience.

The Chrono-Skills Resume – the Chrono-Skills Resume format combines the best of both worlds.

If you possess Military experience, military training is an invaluable asset to the civilian market place.  There are websites that will assist you with translating your military skills into a resume attractive to civilian employers.  The following are sites that assist you with transforming your military resume to a civilian work place.

VA for VETS Military Skills Translator – this military skills translator translates your military skills, experience, and helps to explore career options.

Mil2FedJobs Federal Jobs Crosswalk – this site translates military occupations to federal jobs.

Department of Labor (DOL) Military to Civilian Occupation Translator – this site matches military skills and experience to civilian occupations.

Resume Tips
When creating your resume be concrete and use numbers as proof of what you’ve done.  For example: “Increased sales by 35 percent.“ The more you can quantify your efforts with actual numbers the better.  Cover letters are back so tailor your cover letter to address why you want the specific job at that specific company and why your skills would benefit the organization.  Keywords are your friend so pay attention to the keywords in the job posting.  Be sure to use them in your résumé and cover letter.  Applicant tracking systems are based on keyword searches.  Resumes can be formatted to put your best foot forward.  Your level of experience and training may determine if a chronological, skills or combination format is best for you.  Your opportunity for a positive interview is enhanced by researching the company you want to work for, the person you are interviewing with and the job before the interview.

Always check your resume over several times for spelling and formatting errors before using it in your job search.  Enlisting in the help of one, even two others to proof it is a good idea.  Once your resume is complete you are ready to move to the job search and networking phase of this process!

Interesting article from USA Today “Army suicide rate in July hits highest one-month tally” by Gregg Zoroya:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-08-09/army-suicides/57096238/1

When Merry Korn started her company in 2004, little did she know she’d be providing well-paying jobs  to dozens of people with disabilities, especially veterans. From the start, as a former social worker and rehab counselor she was passionate in her goal to help people with disabilities find work and that passion continues today.

Yet the company, Pearl Interactive Network (PIN), had somewhat humble beginnings. It launched with one employee: Linda, a former preschool teacher with multiple sclerosis, who could not use her arms or legs and hadn’t worked in 10 years. An office was set up for Linda in her home and she started working using speech-to-text software selling contracts to associations. “She was a resounding success,” says company owner Korn, MSW, CEO of PIN headquartered in Columbus, OH.

That experience set the precedent. As more contracts came in, Korn was able to hire more people with disabilities who could work from home. Another employee, Tom, a veteran with quadriplegia who hadn’t worked in 29 years, was able to conduct market research and appointment setting with speech-to-text technology. Tom’s enthusiasm inspired Korn and his family. “I got an 8-page handwritten letter from his wife thanking me for giving him a chance, and said it was the first time in 29 years that we would come home [from work] and Tom would talk about his day,” she says.

Soon Korn’s company didn’t just employ people with disabilities as staffers, but also used them to recruit for jobs employing people with disabilities. And the company keeps on growing.

“I hired people with disabilities, initially, because I needed them to stay in their jobs and [needed] people I could rely on,” she says.

What PIN Does

Right now, 100 percent of the company’s direct service providers are people with disabilities, with about 65 percent of those being veterans with disabilities. PIN provides training programs for integrating veterans with disabilities back into the workforce. The company also specializes in inbound and outbound call center services, administrative services, help desk and staffing services. Some of the assistive software used by the workers includes JAWS ® (text to speech), Dragon (speech to text), ZoomText (enlarges text for people with visual disabilities) and Braille Writer (creates braille text).

Most of the jobs that PIN has available are home-based but some of the government jobs are on site. Overall, PIN employees with disabilities come from 14 states with between 30 and 40 employees working at any given time on various contracts. Korn hopes by year’s end to have about 70 workers as a result of the growing interest in hiring veterans with disabilities.

With these PIN employees, services are provided to a variety of clients including Pfizer Inc., the Ohio Manufacturers Association, the Ohio Association of Health Plans, End Truancy, Pennsylvania Medicaid, and the National Association of Social Workers.

Achieving Success

The company’s growth and many accomplishments over the past 12 years are a direct result of its quality of employees. “Our formula for success is hiring people who already have the skills,” says Korn. “We get contracts and keep them because of the quality of the service we deliver.” In fact, in a recent survey conducted by Dun and Bradstreet, PIN demonstrated a 95 percent client satisfaction rating.

Over the years, PIN has also positioned itself as a leader in staffing and recruiting veterans with disabilities. In addition, an increasing number of contracts are coming through requesting veterans with disabilities as workers. In fact, Pfizer’s contract states to exclusively hire veterans with disabilities. “Pfizer is really dedicated to helping service-disabled vets,” adds Korn. As a result, PIN workers provide administrative services accessing veterans with disabilities nationwide for Pfizer.

Likewise, the Pennsylvania Medicaid contract mandates that because its clientele has disabilities, only people with disabilities should handle the call center work, which Korn adds, “is really enlightened.”

No matter the client or service, PIN sets itself apart because its business model is flexible to the needs of the employees with disabilities. “We have to be sensitive to the fact that our people have medical issues. They need time off. They need flexibility and they don’t’ feel well some days. So as an employer you have to be really forgiving and work with that,” says Korn. “We are happy to do that.”

Because of that fact, PIN prides itself on its minimal attrition, strong motivation and employees with a high skill level.

Skills are so high that Korn says she’s perplexed why many PIN employees couldn’t get jobs for several years. “No one wanted to give them a chance, which blows me away… They talk about how grateful they are to me but I’m grateful to them,” says Korn. “I keep coming back to the fact that we’re a business first and foremost and we need to deliver quality and consistent service. Because they’re so good, they help me achieve that. I am really proud of that fact.”