Is Your Virtual Alter Ego Hurting (or Helping) Your Career? | paulacaligiuri.com

There are 3 people in the USA with my husband’s name. If you roll the three versions of George together you have the image of a philanthropic café owning chiropractor who is a bass player in a sludge-metal-punk rock band. Interesting image - but only partially accurate.

In a world where Google is a verb and 45% of firms admit to using social media sites to screen prospective employees, you need to know how your professional brand is shaped by those who share your name. Your unexpected namesakes may be giving you an alter ego in cyberspace, one that might be damaging your professional reputation.

Do you know how many people share your name? Click the HowManyofMe website to learn how many Americans share your name.

From my howmanyofme.com results, I am the only Paula Caligiuri in the USA. This was 1-letter close. In the late 1990's one of my Rutgers colleagues taped a newspaper headline on my door which read “Caligiuri returns to Galaxy”. The headline (I later learned) was about Paul Caligiuri, a professional soccer player, who, at that time, was returning to the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team. Paul Caligiuri is a soccer legend. He is an American who played soccer professionally in Europe (rare) and scored the game-winning goal in 1989 which qualified the United States for the FIFA World Cup (also rare).

Paul Caligiuri inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame - photo from UCLA Soccer website

As an aside, in case you are curious, Paul and I are not related – minimally evidenced by the fact that we cannot possibly share any common genetic predisposition for athleticism. I have none. Truth be told, I like basking in the reflected glory of my darn-close virtual alter-ego. Thanks Paul.

What should you do if you have an unexpected namesake who may harm your professional reputation? Here are three suggestions to try:

1. Own the domain name of your name. It is not expensive to register a domain name and it will prevent your unrelated namesakes from further altering your professional brand and image.
2. Use your middle name or full name to build a separate and searchable professional identity. Build your professional profile around using your full name consistently in anything which may be searchable (e.g., Linked-In).
3. Bring it up first, especially if your unexpected namesake is about the same age or in the same geographical region. You can, in passing, mention to a colleague or prospective employer who might search for you online how to identify you. For example, "You should check out my travel reviews online but be aware that there are a couple of Minnie Mouse’s who do these reviewers. I am the Minnie Mouse from California, not the one from Florida. What will consistently differentiate you from the others who share your name?

Do you have a virtual alter ego? I'd love to hear from you and your experience with others who share your name.

Paula

via paulacaligiuri.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Is Your Resume Making it Easy For the Recruiter to Eliminate You From Consideration? | EmploymentDigest.net

As an Executive Recruiter and Certified Professional Resume Writer / Executive Resume Writer, the majority of resumes that I review have serious flaws which often demonstrate poor communication skills, as well as the lack of attention to detail. In today’s highly competitive job market even a simple typo is enough to disqualify a candidate. A poorly worded sentence may give the HR Manager a momentary chuckle but since your resume is supposed to be an example of your best work, they are unlikely to forgive the mistake.

The ability to write well and communicate their value does not come easily to the majority of job seekers. Does this mean that the job seeker is unqualified and unable to do an outstanding job in the position? Absolutely not! A smart recruiter recognizes this and will often refer a potential candidate to a professional resume writer for assistance.

A well-written resume allows the recruiter to confidently present and market a job seeker as the very best candidate for the position. A strong, compelling resume allows the hiring manager to fully understand the job seeker’s unique skill set and experience they bring to the organization, as well as demonstrate the benefit they will receive.

More importantly, when the decision has been made to make the candidate an offer it is the resume that HR will refer to when deciding how much a candidate is worth. A mediocre resume tends to generate a mediocre salary offer. When a candidate provides strong supporting documentation demonstrating their previous accomplishments it is far easier for the recruiter to negotiate the highest salary possible which benefits both the job seeker and recruiter.

A recruiter is paid by the employer to screen resumes and identify and present only stellar candidates. Your success in today’s highly competitive job market depends on the quality of your resume. Seek the assistance of a Certified Professional Resume Writer in crafting a resume that will open doors and win interviews rather than simply eliminating you from the competition.

 Angie Jones – President of  Haute Resume & Career Services LLC Executive Recruiter Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) Certified Employment Interview Consultant (CEIC) International TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) Award Winner Samples of Work Selected for Inclusion in Recent Books on Resume / Cover Letter Writing

via employmentdigest.net

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Is Your Resume Making it Easy For the Recruiter to Eliminate You From Consideration? | EmploymentDigest.net

As an Executive Recruiter and Certified Professional Resume Writer / Executive Resume Writer, the majority of resumes that I review have serious flaws which often demonstrate poor communication skills, as well as the lack of attention to detail. In today’s highly competitive job market even a simple typo is enough to disqualify a candidate. A poorly worded sentence may give the HR Manager a momentary chuckle but since your resume is supposed to be an example of your best work, they are unlikely to forgive the mistake.

The ability to write well and communicate their value does not come easily to the majority of job seekers. Does this mean that the job seeker is unqualified and unable to do an outstanding job in the position? Absolutely not! A smart recruiter recognizes this and will often refer a potential candidate to a professional resume writer for assistance.

A well-written resume allows the recruiter to confidently present and market a job seeker as the very best candidate for the position. A strong, compelling resume allows the hiring manager to fully understand the job seeker’s unique skill set and experience they bring to the organization, as well as demonstrate the benefit they will receive.

More importantly, when the decision has been made to make the candidate an offer it is the resume that HR will refer to when deciding how much a candidate is worth. A mediocre resume tends to generate a mediocre salary offer. When a candidate provides strong supporting documentation demonstrating their previous accomplishments it is far easier for the recruiter to negotiate the highest salary possible which benefits both the job seeker and recruiter.

A recruiter is paid by the employer to screen resumes and identify and present only stellar candidates. Your success in today’s highly competitive job market depends on the quality of your resume. Seek the assistance of a Certified Professional Resume Writer in crafting a resume that will open doors and win interviews rather than simply eliminating you from the competition.

 Angie Jones – President of  Haute Resume & Career Services LLC Executive Recruiter Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) Certified Employment Interview Consultant (CEIC) International TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) Award Winner Samples of Work Selected for Inclusion in Recent Books on Resume / Cover Letter Writing

via employmentdigest.net

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Job Search Hack – Double Back On Your Old Job Applications

Unemployment seems stuck at 10% and it’s not getting better very quickly.

One unique feature about this recession seems to be that if you do lose your job, it could take you a long time to find another one. Every day there are more headlines about the long term unemployed and how tough it is out there if you’ve been laid off.

Almost half of those on unemployment have been collecting for over six months or more. As the BLS wrote in its report on April job figures:
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up over the month, reaching 6.7 million. In April, 45.9 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

We’ve seen the same thing at ResumeWriters.com. We have clients that are coming to us as a last resort because they’ve been job searching for a solid year and have gotten nowhere.

What do you do if you’re one of the long-term unemployed?

One of my favorite job search tips that I often share with my clients is a simple one.

I’ve told you before that your job search should be organized. Hopefully that includes keeping records (a calendar, diary or journal) of the various places you’ve applied to. It’s important to keep track of who you’ve sent resumes to, when, what the response was, when you interviewed, and what the result might have been. This level of organization is key to an organized, strategic job search.

So, if you find yourself months into a job search and feel like you’re hitting a wall, try something simple:

Cycle back through your early applications!

After all, if it’s been several months since you made contact, things might have changed in the intervening time period. New positions might be open. New people might be in charge with new agendas.

This works even if your application was rejected. Doubling back and expressing interest again is a great way to show your commitment and strong desire to work with that company.

And if you interviewed with the organization (but didn’t get the job) even better! Hopefully they’ll remember you. That might even put your foot in the door a bit because you’ve already been through their hiring process once, so the decision making might be smoother.

So if you’ve got a list of companies you’ve applied to from several months ago, try the following:

• Send emails, drop post cards, pick up the phone and touch base.
• Remind the contact that you’ve applied in the past, and even though a connection wasn’t made, stress that you really respect their organization and are so motivated to work with them that you thought you’d give it another go.
• Keep organized and mention the date of your first application. Mention the position you applied for originally.
• Inquire about that position. But if it’s been filled, don’t skip a beat: ask if anything else has opened up that you might be a good fit for.
• Remind them you’re available and even suggest you’ll be in contact again after a period of time.
• If you’ve already interviewed with the person once, thank them for their time and suggest that you felt the first interview was so constructive it inspired you to call again.
• If you already interviewed with the organization, but with someone else in the company, don’t be afraid to mention that you’ve been interviewed before. It will tell this new contact that you know what to expect and have a bit more knowledge of their organization than some Jane Doe off the street.
• Finally, record this contact in you notes so that if you do have to cycle back again, you can make sure to wait an appropriate period of time.

Job search is not a one and done thing. Just because you weren’t successful the first time doesn’t mean you can’t double back and check the same waters a second, or even a third time!

via thejobbored.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Job Search Hack – Double Back On Your Old Job Applications

Unemployment seems stuck at 10% and it’s not getting better very quickly.

One unique feature about this recession seems to be that if you do lose your job, it could take you a long time to find another one. Every day there are more headlines about the long term unemployed and how tough it is out there if you’ve been laid off.

Almost half of those on unemployment have been collecting for over six months or more. As the BLS wrote in its report on April job figures:
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up over the month, reaching 6.7 million. In April, 45.9 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

We’ve seen the same thing at ResumeWriters.com. We have clients that are coming to us as a last resort because they’ve been job searching for a solid year and have gotten nowhere.

What do you do if you’re one of the long-term unemployed?

One of my favorite job search tips that I often share with my clients is a simple one.

I’ve told you before that your job search should be organized. Hopefully that includes keeping records (a calendar, diary or journal) of the various places you’ve applied to. It’s important to keep track of who you’ve sent resumes to, when, what the response was, when you interviewed, and what the result might have been. This level of organization is key to an organized, strategic job search.

So, if you find yourself months into a job search and feel like you’re hitting a wall, try something simple:

Cycle back through your early applications!

After all, if it’s been several months since you made contact, things might have changed in the intervening time period. New positions might be open. New people might be in charge with new agendas.

This works even if your application was rejected. Doubling back and expressing interest again is a great way to show your commitment and strong desire to work with that company.

And if you interviewed with the organization (but didn’t get the job) even better! Hopefully they’ll remember you. That might even put your foot in the door a bit because you’ve already been through their hiring process once, so the decision making might be smoother.

So if you’ve got a list of companies you’ve applied to from several months ago, try the following:

• Send emails, drop post cards, pick up the phone and touch base.
• Remind the contact that you’ve applied in the past, and even though a connection wasn’t made, stress that you really respect their organization and are so motivated to work with them that you thought you’d give it another go.
• Keep organized and mention the date of your first application. Mention the position you applied for originally.
• Inquire about that position. But if it’s been filled, don’t skip a beat: ask if anything else has opened up that you might be a good fit for.
• Remind them you’re available and even suggest you’ll be in contact again after a period of time.
• If you’ve already interviewed with the person once, thank them for their time and suggest that you felt the first interview was so constructive it inspired you to call again.
• If you already interviewed with the organization, but with someone else in the company, don’t be afraid to mention that you’ve been interviewed before. It will tell this new contact that you know what to expect and have a bit more knowledge of their organization than some Jane Doe off the street.
• Finally, record this contact in you notes so that if you do have to cycle back again, you can make sure to wait an appropriate period of time.

Job search is not a one and done thing. Just because you weren’t successful the first time doesn’t mean you can’t double back and check the same waters a second, or even a third time!

via thejobbored.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Lack of Cover Letter is One Cause of Job-Search Failure - Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

One of the “Top 5 Reasons Why Job Hunters Fail” is “not writing a cover letter,” Robin Ryan notes in an article in her monthly newsletter.

“Human-resources managers state that cover-letter writing is becoming a lost art,” Ryan writes, “since job hunters think they can skip this step when they apply electronically.”

“A well-written cover letter has great power with employers and should always precede any resume sent. Open the letter with a powerful first paragraph that sums up the background, key strengths, skills and accomplishments you have to offer. Human-resource managers say that a good cover letter demonstrates your communication skills and can capture the interview,” Ryan advises. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

via resumesandcoverletters.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Tips on Starting a Business - The Career Doctor Blog

Jake writes:

I am interested in starting a computer tutoring business. I know how to use computers well and I understand that many adults are not exactly fluent. I was wondering if you have any tips on how to go about doing this and the necessary steps I will need to take to make this happen the correct way.

---

The Career Doctor responds:

Summer is a time for ambitious teens to find work, and I laud all of you who are out there working or attempting to start your own business.

I think there are four keys to starting any teen business, well, or any business for that matter.

First, identify a need that is not being fulfilled in the marketplace (or one that is being filled at an inferior level). Once you have identified that need, you also need to have a set of products and services that offer something unique, something of value to your potential customers.

Second, develop an understanding of your potential customer. Who are these folks — and why would they use your product/service over competing ones?

Third, create a promotion plan for reaching your target consumers. You could have an amazing product or service, but if no one knows it exists, you are not going to be in business for very long. And promotion is more than just putting some flyers around the neighborhood.

Fourth, have a good handle on both the expenses you will incur, as well as your projected revenue (sales) stream. There have been many a business that failed because of not having a good handle income and costs.

Read other do’s and don’ts for starting and running a teen business in this article published on Quintessential Careers: Teen Business Do’s and Don’ts.

via careerdoctor.org

Posted via web from AndyWergedal