Writign the Perfect Resume to Reflect Your Career in Loss Prevention

by Chris O’Leary; Principal Loss Prevention Recruiters
Published in LPM Insider December 19, 2015

If you are thinking about writing your own resume to reflect the experience, accomplishments, and other critical information that has helped shape your career in loss prevention instead of using a professional career or resume writing service then you need to do your homework. Having a resume that appropriately describes all that you’ve accomplished while sending the message that you wish to portray as a professional is a critical aspect of any loss prevention job search, and it is important to get it right.

Unfortunately, many of the current tools and resume templates that are currently available through online resources are very much outdated, and finding the right tools that characterize your career in loss prevention and the opportunities that best meet your professional needs can be a daunting task.

When asked—which is quite often—my advice is that you should hire a certified professional resume writer just like you do for many professional services that you pay for currently. However, if you still prefer writing it yourself then there is a lot to consider. Here are a few areas to think about:

Objective Statements vs Qualifications Summary: Turn the typical self-serving objectives statement into a qualifications summary by showcasing your relevant experience. This will allow you to provide an executive overview of your resume which will capture the reader’s interest, maintain their desire to review the rest of your resume, and hopefully schedule an interview. Think of it as your 5-minute elevator pitch and the best way to establish your personal brand to effectively market yourself.
Using Keywords: A recent study conducted by Ladders.com revealed that recruiters will typically spend only around 6 seconds on average reviewing your resume. So how do you stand out from the crowd— and more importantly the average resume, in order to build your career in loss prevention and get the job that you’re truly looking for? One way to stand out is by using keywords that describe your actual experience within your resume in a way that is tailored to the job description of the loss prevention job that you are applying for. Using keywords appropriately will get you noticed, which should help lead to an interview. Once that is accomplished, the rest is up to you!

Resume Format: Your resume should be written in a clear and concise format with bold highlighting where appropriate including bullet points. Try to keep it to one page, but never more than two. Make sure that you check it for spelling and grammatical errors. Grammatical mistakes are an immediate turn-off because you can easily check your document yourself. Not taking this simple step shows a lack of attention to detail and your resume will likely end up on the bottom of the pile.

Be sure to include an established track record of results and go beyond what your job description states. What value did you add beyond what was expected? Create a section such as ‘Notable Accomplishments’ or ‘Key Accomplishments’. All hiring managers and recruiters are interested in seeing what you’ve accomplished during your loss prevention career, and listing them in a way that highlights your professional achievements could lead to an interview. Additionally, you should take the steps to integrate some of your key accomplishments as part of your qualifications summary.

Securing an Interview: The objective of a well-written, concise, and well-formatted resume is to get the interview that will lead to a job offer. You can increase those odds by mirroring your resume on your LinkedIn profile and other online resources. Don’t forget to add recommendations from both your current and previous employers, and include your contact information. LinkedIn is the number one source where LP industry recruiters and hiring managers will find you, so leverage this awesome resource as a way to market yourself and find the loss prevention job that you’ve been looking for. The best part is that it is free. Finally, should you decide to include a photograph as part of your LinkedIn profile then it should be a professional image and not one that you would use on Facebook.

O’Leary is the principal of Loss Prevention Recruiters, the leading and most trusted retail loss prevention recruiting solutions provider. He is a former loss prevention executive who has provided LP career guidance for over twenty years and can be reached at chriso@lprecruiters.com.

Employee Retention: It’s All About How You Treat Your People

Employee Retention: It’s all About How You Treat Your People
By Chris O’Leary; Loss Prevention Recruiters
Published May 23, 2013 LP Insider LP Magazine Newsletter

After having been encouraged to write about Employee Retention by my good friends at LPMagazine I must admit that I have been dragging my feet. Like many other topics, there are tons of opinions out there about retention and we all have read many of them. The bottom line is that it’s all about how you treat your people. Now I know that it sounds simplistic but that’s because it is. Sadly there are too many companies out there that have a ‘churn and burn them’ mentality and I can assure you that they have the highest turnover ratios in the industry. No one wants to be treated like a number. We have all worked for that micro managing autocratic desk pounding screamer at some point in our careers and the number one thing they taught us was how not to manage and treat people.

Culture; creating a culture of open communication is a great first step to retention. People like to know what is going on so let them know and stop the speculations with regular updates. Retired Costco CEO Jim Senegal was quoted as saying “Culture isn’t the most important thing, it’s the only thing.”

Developmental programs; your employees need to have positions to aspire for and know that they are being developed into those roles even if it means they will move onto other companies to reach their goals. Your support will go a long way toward building a loyal organization and it will also help you to recruit new people as you and your organization’s reputation for developing people becomes known within the LP community. Invest in your team’s professional development and take the time to find out what they want to learn individually such as the certification programs from The Loss Prevention Foundation. For those team members who need to be more challenged, add additional responsibilities, special projects or stretch assignments.

Recognition programs; don’t wait until employee annual reviews to recognize them or provide feedback. A survey released in 2012 of U.S. workers by Global Workforce found that more than one-third (39 percent) of workers don’t feel appreciated at work and more than half (52 percent) aren’t satisfied with how much recognition they receive. Even worse, 17 percent of employees say they have never been recognized for their on-the-job efforts and 31 percent stated they left a job because they weren’t recognized or appreciated for their work.

Compensation packages; competitive salaries that include bonus, stock and profit sharing are important with retention however at the end of the day it’s all about your people not having that feeling of being trapped in a position just because it pays well in an organization that offers no growth opportunities or that views you simply as a replaceable commodity. Remember recognition and being valued means more than money to most people.
Work-Life Balance; because of the continued expansion of the do more with less approach, employees are expected to pick up the additional work load. This is fine if they are given the appropriate time off to catch that recital or ball game with the family. Simply said you cannot put a price on the importance of a person’s work-life balance.

Pay it forward; and finally you can pay it forward by not standing in the way when someone from your team has a new career opportunity with another company. After discussing it and providing advice the bottom line is that if it makes sense for them then you should be supportive. Great employees are valuable however no one is irreplaceable. In actuality it is a compliment to you and your organization for developing another executive for our industry. It will also be viewed by the industry as doing the right thing and will attract new talent for your company. Ultimately people want to work for a company that is supportive and that genuinely cares about each individual’s career development and advancement.

Chris O’Leary is the founder of Loss Prevention Recruiters a leading solutions provider in the retail loss prevention industry. He is a former loss prevention executive who has provided loss prevention career advice for over twenty years and has placed many leaders in their careers who are currently vice presidents or directors of loss prevention in our industry today. Loss Prevention Recruiters is all about helping people with their careers and doing what is best for each individual because “the best career advisors build their reputations based on providing sound advice and ethical behavior.”