How to Supercharge Your Executive Resume » Blog | Great Resumes Fast

It’s not always easy to know what to do with your executive resume when you realize that it’s not getting you jobs, but you don’t exactly know why. Sometimes your resume requires a few minor tweaks and sometimes it needs a complete overhaul. Then there are times that it just needs a boost to make it interesting to more recruiters.

If you think your resume falls into the last category, supercharging it is probably all you need to give it that boost. Here are some ways to get this done…

Make Your Key Details Stand Out

One great way to supercharge your resume is by learning how to make your key details stand out. You could get this done by positioning your details as high as possible on your first page. If you have a career summary, you could place this underneath your title and contact information then list out in a paragraph or bullet-point format what details you want them to know about you.

Some stand-out details that you might consider include record-breaking or award-winning moments you had with previous employers. You could also mention exception moments of bringing in revenue, having huge results with a small staff or any other moments that showcase how you were able to help previous employers improve their business.

Also, you could mention skills that you’ve acquired that make you stand out from the rest. Basically, the idea is to mention whatever you think will convince the hiring manager into read on.

Get Testimonials

Something many executive job seekers don’t consider when writing their resume is adding testimonials. While it’s not necessarily something you’ll see on the typical resume, it’s something that you could absolutely add to spice things up and give insight into your work ethic before the hiring manager ever checks up on your references.

A good way to get this done is to ask for a number of testimonials from your networking circle. If you have LinkedIn contacts, you could easily ask for recommendations on there then ask for permission to add the ones you desire to your resume. Having these testimonials adds credibility to your cause and gives the hiring manager an additional reason to read on.

Stick with a Theme

While you want to cover a number of bases to show you’re well-rounded, it’s also important to choose some type of theme for your resume, especially if you’re sending your resume out into the job pool to be discovered by recruiters. The idea is to create one career goal for your resume so that recruiters will know how to categorize you as they look for prospects. If you have more than one career goal, create more than one resume. This way, your resume(s) will be focused enough to draw in the audience you’re looking for.

Having a good resume is not a bad thing, but having a supercharged one is better by far. So if you’ve decided that what you already have just isn’t good enough, consider the above tips to supercharge your resume and create the interest you’ve ultimately been looking for.

Need a job? Be sure your resume is the best it can be. Review executive resume services and choose the best one for you and your situation. Do it today at http://www.ResumeLines.com

Guest post by Heather Eagar of Resumelines.com

For a free resume analysis submit your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com. You can view professional resume samples at http://www.greatresumesfast.com.

via greatresumesfast.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

The hidden trend in the monthly jobs report --- and what it means for you

On Friday at 8:30 AM, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the U.S. jobs report for the month of May. Unemployment is high (9.7%) and private sector job growth is weak. On the same day, stocks fell to their 4-month low, with concerns that high unemployment forecasts lower consumer spending. From Wall Street’s perspective, this makes sense. Main Street, however, might have a different interpretation.

The good news (and there is good news) is the positive direction of the trend line. The trajectory of jobs (lost or created) since January 2009 is heading in the right direction.

Looking deeper than the top-level trend line, however, my optimism is tempered with realism. Consider these:

• Most of the jobs being created are in the category of employment services. There is a far greater use of contingent workers and independent contractors across all levels in organizations.
• Temporary workers were once an indication of future hiring. Unlike what some prognosticators may say, this time around, the rate of temporary hiring may not be the best indicator of future full-time hires as the economy recovers. Companies are under tremendous global pressure to compete. Salary and benefits can comprise between 20 and 60 percent of a firm’s entire operating budget -- the largest operating expense for most organizations. The difference during this recession is that firms were more strategic in how they eliminated roles. This time they are more likely to bring back skills (as needed), rather than jobs. They are far more strategic about which critical positions they need to have “in-house” and which they can bring in "as needed".

What does this mean for you in the future?

There is a big change on the horizon in the way we should conceive of the concept of jobs – and it is dramatically changing how job security will be created in the future. For many, jobs of the future may be more like multiple income generating activities (or gigs) where we leverage our talents and skills. Job security will no longer be derived from being employed 40 hours/week. Rather, it will be something we create for ourselves when our talents and skills are in demand.

This is a mind shift.

The emphasis of the future will be on the skills you bring, rather than the job you occupy. There will be a far greater focus on self-management of both our skills and our network, two critical components of career success. Possessing more sought-out skills and having a strong network will be related to more income opportunities, whether working for a single organization or as an independent contractor.

Perhaps we need to take a collective deep breath and realize that, while change is afoot, this free agent mentality may also come with some upsides:

• You will now have tremendous flexibility to plan and grow your own career, no longer relinquishing career management to an employer.
• You will now have the ability to craft your sources of income across multiple opportunities if this is what you chose to do.
• You will now have the opportunity to engage in a career that fits with your life – and not vice versa.

Wishing you success and happiness,

Paula

via paulacaligiuri.com

 

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Job Search Over a 100K – The Options

If you’re considering doing a job search over a 100K, then you need to think beyond the little green pieces of paper. After all, even if you have all the right qualifications for a 100K job, do you have what it takes? It is not easy maintaining a 100K job, let me tell you. In fact, it is downright hard.

Securing a 100K job too, is much more difficult than it used to be, what with the recession hitting our economy hard.

Moreover, the competition isn’t getting any easier, and let’s face it, no matter how good you are at whatever you do, someone will always, always be better than you. So you need to keep that in mind when you’re doing an employment search over 100K.

So what are your options when you’re looking to work in 100K jobs?

Pharmacy

This is one field where you can still easily find a job of over a 100K, relative to other fields. In fact, the average salary for pharmacists, in 2008, when we were deeply in the grasp of recession was actually $106,410! Obviously, two years down the line, the figure has moved upward, because we’ve managed to come out of recession! So what is the career profile of a pharmacist?

You need to prepare medicines and drugs for patients and give them healthcare advice as well as monitor health progress in patients. A doctorate course in pharmacy – which translates into a higher salary – usually takes about four years.

Finance manager

Always had a head for accounting? Then your career search for 100K jobs should definitely include this profession, because most people get puzzled by numbers and your love for numbers could therefore make you a very sought after professional indeed!

But, just like any other field, experience is the basic key for a high salary here. If you don’t have considerably experience, you might not be in line for that fat paycheck.

Human Resource manager

They are the most hated people in a company and most employees are resentful of their power. But, a 100K job search is incomplete without this position, simply because it is extremely high paying. After all, the future of the company depends on its human resource department!

In order to reach the top, the minimum qualification is a master’s degree or a doctorate. Human resource isn’t child’s play and not for nothing is it so high paying – you can earn much more than the 100K you’re targeting -, but the good news is, a lot of people do manage to crack it!

If you are looking to work in 100K jobs, there are a vast number of options apart from this that you can go in for. In fact, almost every field offers 100K jobs if you have sufficient experience. So do a job search over 100K now and be surprised!

Silas Reed, Writer for  100KCrossing writes articles that inform and teach about different 100K job profiles. Please visit http://www.100Kcrossing.com for a list of some of the many jobs we offer in the 100K profession.

via employmentdigest.net

 

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

30+ Strong Action Verbs to Spice Up Your Resume | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

If you use the phrases “responsible for, duties included, or worked with...” you are selling yourself, your experience and your resume short. These passive terms do absolutely nothing for communicating the value and benefits you offer an employer.

These phrases are boring and repetitive because most every job seeker uses them. Hiring managers need words that jump off the page and captivate them. Here are a few examples of my favorite action words:

Accelerated
Authored
Captivated
Captured
Championed
Consolidated
Critiqued
Directed
Diversified
Diverted
Doubled
Enforced
Enhanced
Exceeded
Pioneered
Forged
Formalized
Formulated
Generated
Influenced
Initiated
Integrated
Intensified
Leveraged
Masterminded
Maximized
Mentored
Optimized
Orchestrated
Re-engineered
Spearheaded
Structured
Proliferated
Recaptured
Rejuvenated

...And the list could go on. Don’t like these? Use the synonym feature in Microsoft Word or go to thesaurus.com. Be strategic in your action verb choice and choose strong words that convey ACTION and RESULTS to begin every sentence. These words are a key component in creating a powerful and captivating resume.

For more great resources and resume samples visit Great Resumes Fast or to request a free resume analysis send your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com.
Author:

Jessica Holbrook is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that win interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com/ or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.

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via careerrocketeer.com

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Online Reputation Management: How To Repair Damage | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

Jeff Kramer was kind enough to mention Brand-Yourself in an article he wrote the other day.  On a side note, I shadowed him once while pursuing my dream of being a humor writer.  He’s a fun guy; he taught me how to get kicked out of a fur shop with dignity, or at least without getting the cops called on us.

In any case, he made a real point in his article: the service Brand-Yourself provides is great for getting your name out there in a positive light. Let’s face it: not everybody has been smart enough to keep the less-flattering information about themselves off the internet.  Now, obviously it’s better if you have a squeaky-clean image, but if you’ve made a couple bad decisions (perhaps vis-a-vis your friend Jose), there are a couple online reputation management steps you can take before paying someone else to help:

Remove the offending material if possible

Is there a status update or tagged photo you don’t want splashed on the net?  Get rid of it.  If it’s a photo you don’t own, untag yourself, click “Report This Photo,” and request that the poster remove it.  Hopefully they will, but at the very least attempt to disassociate yourself from it.

Deal with negative reviews quickly

This is a bigger problem for people who sell things (such as eBay seller). Regardless, you should remedy the situation to the best of your ability.  If appropriate, offer a refund or some way to make it right, but don’t get into a public pissing contest.  Even if you’re right, other buyers are only going to see you being uncooperative.

Bury the bad

This is the most consistently effective tactic for making something go away. And it’s exactly what Brand-Yourself makes it easy for you to do. Generate posts, comments, and pages of material on multiple websites using your real name to make the negative stuff drop as low as possible.  When nothing else works, this will at least minimize the effect.  If it comes to serious issues like criminal behavior and legal accusations, you just have to do your best to hide it.

Suck it up

Already got fired because you said something you shouldn’t have? It’s too late to change that course of events, but make it a learning experience.  Like anything negative, if a future employer asks you about it, you can explain one negative incident away as a learning experience.  A series of similar incidents is a behavior, and much harder to put a positive spin on.

As a general rule, you should treat your internet web presence like a resume these days. Online Reputation Management 101: only put up what you want employers to see.  If you do feel the overpowering urge to post something risqué, it might be time to get yourself an alter ego.

via blog.brand-yourself.com

 

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How Your Writing Style Affects Your Job Search | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

if you read the hedline of this post and thought it was an intresting article to read.  and then you started to read it and it sudenly  became clear that the auther doesnt appear to understand how to spell or use correct grammer, wood you read it threw till the end? They’re are many conclusions one could jump to about my expertise and personel brand just base on this 1 paragraph, isn’t their?

Okay, that might be a bit exaggerated for the average bad speller, but I have seen worse!

In today’s online world, your ability to spell and use proper grammar and punctuation plays a huge role in building your personal brand – especially if you are a job seeker. Strong writing skills are incredibly important nowadays because writing is one of the main ways we communicate with each other at work.  Your writing represents you and is often your first impression to a potential employer. And let’s face it: first impressions are very hard to change!

As a job seeker, the biggest assessment of your written communication skills will typically come into play after you have sent in a resume and cover letter. Why? Most people take great care in assuring their cover letter and resume are error free. However, a surprising number of people do not.  Do not be one of those people – especially when writing out a job application! 

Where is Your Professional Writing Style?

 

When hiring managers want to set up an interview with you, sometimes they will call you, but other times they might just send you an email asking for some good dates and time for your interview.

I like sending emails. Honestly, I prefer to communicate by email so I can assess a candidate’s written communication skills in ‘real’ life. I know that many people do not write their own cover letters and resumes so I’d like to see some writing that comes directly from you.

Why are writing skills important? Most office jobs, nowadays, require employees to communicate with their customers /vendors/suppliers via email.  Would I want to have a new employee who writes like I did in that first paragraph?  What was your first impression of me when you started reading this article?

If you can’t spell or put sentences together properly, people will draw some not-so-great assumptions about you. Sadly, I know some very smart people who can’t spell or write good sentences no matter how hard they try. You must realize, though, that potential employers do not know anything about you and will likely assume that you do not pay attention to details, or are just lazy.  This is a less-than-desirable first impression, isn’t it?

Are You Writing To Your Friend or To Your Potential Employer?

In addition to proper spelling and grammar, knowing when to be formal or informal with your writing style is key.

When I set up job interviews via email, my last question to the candidate is a variation of “will 2:30 p.m. Friday work for you”? I typically get two different types of acceptance responses:

1)   “Dear Ms. Simko: Thank you for contacting me. Friday at 2:30 p.m.  will work well for me. I appreciate your interest in me as a candidate and I look forward to meeting you on Friday!  Best Regards, Bob.”

2)   “Sounds great! See you then.”

Now, I am not advocating that a response like #2 is always inappropriate but when you are communicating with someone for the first time, professionally, (as a job seeker and at a new job) you should always be very professional in your communications – i.e. response #1.

Response #2 won’t kill your chances of getting the job but people who use response #1 will have a definite edge over you.

Less-formal communication styles may build over time as you get to know people better and as you become familiar with what type of communication is preferred in the workplace. But until then, put your best writing style forward!

Do You Have ‘Writing Samples’ Online?

Finally, as we often mention on this blog, employers will likely Google you to learn more about you as a job candidate. Just as important as it is to have a “clean” online appearance, you should make sure that the style of your writing is clean and appropriate as well.  If you are a blogger, write published articles online, or you comment in LinkedIn groups, your great content isn’t going to make much of an impression on me if I see that your writing style resembles paragraph one of this article.

What I read online from you is considered as a ‘writing sample’ to me. Bad grammar and writing skills will cause me to lose interest in you as a candidate.

If you are not a great master of the English language, I would advise you to find someone who is and have that person Google you and look over the content that you have written online.  This is a great opportunity for you to gain feedback and clean up your act a bit.

For anyone who wants to improve his/her writing skills, there are many free online courses.  This is one example, but there are many others out there if you just Google “free online grammar course”.  It really is important that you take some time to work on your writing skills if you are weak in this area or are unsure about when to use different communication styles.  Excellent writing skills go a long way in building a strong personal brand.

Jessica Simko is a seasoned senior level Human Resources professional with over 15 years of experience in all facets of Human Resources Management.  She is a Freelance Writer and  Entrepreneur specializing in career/ life coaching and social media. Striving to help people connect their passions with their jobs and life, she offers great career, personal branding, and life tips on her new blog, Work and Life Solutions.  Feel free to connect with her on:

Twitter
Linked In

via blog.brand-yourself.com

 

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Dealing with Rejection Tips & Career Advice by Career Expert Kris Parfitt : CAREEREALISM

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Kris Parfitt
What’s the size of a baseball, the weight of a grapefruit and can knock you to the ground at 50 mph?
My beau, Dan, was an all-star lacrosse player in high school and college and has been playing the game since he was a kid, he still plays. One of my favorite stories he tells is also one of the best analogies to how we deal with failure, rejection or when we are confronted by something that stops us in our tracks.
When you’re a kid first learning to play the game and you get hit with a lacrosse ball you feel like you’ve been sucker punched by Mohamed Ali – you’re out of the game. Out as in you don’t return because you’ve been carried off the field, doubled over in insane pain hiding the tears from Coach and your team mates. As you grow a bit older (and bigger) and get hit by the ball, the game stops, the ref and Coach come running onto the field to check things out, you walk it off, sit out a few plays – maybe you go back in, maybe you don’t. Usually though, you’re back at practice the next day.
When you’ve been playing as long as Dan has and you see the ball screaming towards you at 70 mph you now know your best defense is to tighten and flinch, take the hit and keep running. You know you’ll have a bruise that lasts a week but nothing about the pain stops you – you’ve experienced it many times before and will many times again. When you learn the hit doesn’t require emergency attention and continuing to move forward actually makes it feel better, there is no need to stop. Besides, you’re a valuable player and this could be game point.
How many times have we taken a hit – worse than a lacrosse ball to the gut or as stinging as a Thanks, But No Thanks letter – and we get stopped? We’re out of the game, licking our wounds, contemplating whether or not to return. I love this analogy because it fits well into how we as humans deal with rejection, failure or when confronted by something that stops us from moving forward.
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From my own experience I’ve learned the more I fail, am rejected, or confronted the higher my level of confidence becomes and the less time spent on the side lines. Yes I still fail, often get stuck when confronted, and feel the smarts to be rejected, but I no longer wallow, pout or hide – and if I do, it’s not for very long. I flinch, take the hit and keep moving. It’s not to say I ignore the pain or distance myself from the emotional hurt, I am in touch with the process of moving through that: I just don’t let it take me out of the game for long, if at all. I love being in the game more than I do being on the sidelines.
The more we play in the game of life, the more we’re going to be hit by the ball. And the more we are hit by the ball, the more we learn that it doesn’t have to stop what we’re doing. Learning this and applying it shapes our character, the two most important aspects being leadership and confidence. Combined they are two qualities that draw people to us such that we are noticed, admired and respected. However, the best way to increase our level in one or both is to keep getting hit by the ball. Play a bigger game and the reward is an increased awareness of our own leadership and confidence.
When we have the confidence to keep going in the face of failure, our playing field gets bigger and getting hit by the ball no longer means the end of the game.
Did you enjoy this article? Read more articles by this expert here.

Kris Parfitt is a career strategist and leadership branding coach who is committed to finding your roadblocks and moving them out of the way so you can have the career success you want. Kris has over twenty years experience in leadership, counseling, and training positions all of which have provided an exceptional education which allows her to be a dynamic coach, one that focuses on inspiring you to acknowledge and express your extraordinary abilities and potential. Connect with Kris via LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter.
The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock.

via careerealism.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal