Welcome to the NextGen Leaders Career Accelerator. This tool is designed to help advance your career by putting you in front of recruiters, especially those concerned with diversity and inclusion, from the private sector, the public sector and civil society.
Going forward, our plans for the Career Accelerator include a space for job listings that our sponsors and other partners can use in hopes of gaining your attention, While we can’t guarantee that your next job will materialize overnight just because you posted your resumé in the Career Accelerator, over time, as we grow our roster of corporate sponsors and alumni and this space becomes more vibrant, we hope it becomes one of the most powerful and efficient places on the web to promote LGBTQ+ professionals’ careers.
Completing the Online Resumé Submission Form.
- The key input we need from you is your up to date resumé. If your resumé needs a tune up and you aren’t sure where to start, explore these hints and resources:
- Consider using a resumé builder. These programs take the information you feed them and fit it into a template and format that you preselect. All the sections of your resumé will be in the right order, spacing, capitalization, bold fonts, etc. will be standardized and consistent throughout, and you will tend to produce a more polished final product in a fraction of the time it would take you to perfect your resumé from scratch.
- Although not an issue here, it’s good practice to save your resumé in some format other than a .pdf file. While some applicant tracking systems can adequately scan .pdf files, many of them see the document as one big picture and the distinct pieces of information on it aren’t captured.
- LinkedIn has some excellent video tutorials and articles.
- ResumeGenius provides a thorough yet accessible review of the various types of resumés, when to use each kind, as well as many examples and templates. ResuméGenius also has a useful section devoted to your LinkedIn profile and how to best coordinate that with your resumé. Finally, ResumeGenius has its own resume builder
Your university or Business School will also likely have useful resources.
- The Career Accelerator asks you to enter separately in the on-line form some information that will already on your resumé. This will make your file easier for recruiters to search. Required information is marked with a red asterisk; otherwise, you may consider the request optional.
- This is a good time to do a scrub of your social media accounts. Remember, by posting your resumé you are establishing and marketing your professional brand. You want to make it easy for the recruiter to think, “this person seems like they would be a good fit culturally.”
- You are given the option to provide a photo of yourself and we encourage you to do so. If you do, please follow the guidelines concerning file type and size. And choose an appropriate photo of yourself in a professional setting.
- Providing a video can also work in your favor. Keep your video short—between 90 and 180 seconds is a good general target. Build on the elevator pitch you developed in class. The default dress code is business or business casual. Focus on one or two points that you feel should really help you stand out from the crowd (perfect qualifications, your most prominent strengths and how those show up, shared values with the company, a personal mission that aligns with the company’s objectives etc.). Demonstrate pride in your most meaningful professional successes. References to key life events, including coming out, transitioning, getting married, etc., especially if you explain how they were formative to you as a professional can be compelling. Be friendly and approachable. Don’t show negative emotions such as anger, passion, or frustration. Have someone help you with lighting and have several people whom you respect and trust provide feedback while you practice and before pressing the record button.
- When you click in the “Resumé Category” box, it immediately pops down with a menu of choices. If you don’t see your industry or area of specialization, please choose “Other” for the time being and let us know via email (info@leadnextgen.org) to expand the menu options.
- If you enter education information separately where given the opportunity, note that educational “qualifications” are equivalent to “degree certification achieved” or “level of education” (high school, college, graduate degree).
- If you request it, an appropriate executive or faculty member of NextGen Leaders can provide a reference letter based largely (though not necessarily exclusively) on their experience with you in the NextGen program.