Research the Company to Create Better Job-Search Documents - Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

It seems cliched or redundant to mention researching the company before forwarding your documents, but it’s amazing on how many job-seekers fail to do just that. It’s pivotal that you take a “quality, not quantity” approach to your job search, declares Teena Rose in her article for Quint Careers, Optimizing Your Cold-Contact Cover Letter.

Focusing your efforts on targeting, researching, and applying to a small and specific, targeted list of employers will generate a higher return from your efforts. By researching potential employers, you’re reflecting to the company that you’re serious about joining its team — so much so, that you’re willing to dedicate your personal time to learning about the company.

via resumesandcoverletters.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Proactively Addressing Bad Credit-Report Issue - The Career Doctor Blog

Debi writes:

With so many companies doing background checks, how do I handle a having bad credit report? I was out of work for a little over a year and my credit is shot. I’m still working on repairing the damage. How can I proactively address the credit issue?
Should I include an explanatory paragraph in my cover letter — or bring it up when I get an interview?

I feel it’s a double-edged issue. If I bring it up, I could be negating their interest from the get go but if I don’t bring it up, it could look like I’m trying to hide it.

Do you think having a bad credit report would be enough of a reason for an employer to not contact a potential employee who has the experience and skills they say they want?

The Career Doctor responds:

First let me stress an important rule of job-seeking. Never, never include anything negative in your cover letter, resume, or job application. By providing negative information in any of these documents, you basically eliminate yourself from consideration. The time to address any negative information is in the job interview — once you have made the initial cut.

I still remember one of my favorite bad cover letters, which stated in the first sentence of the letter, “While I have been fired from my last two jobs…” Who would ever keep reading that letter?

Now, credit reports are a sore subject for me because it’s a trend in hiring that I do not like nor support. So many people have been downsized or simply struggling in low-wage jobs and thus have problems with their credit report that I think this tool of evaluating a candidate’s worthiness makes no sense except for industries like banking or accounting. And no one has ever been able to show me a study that correlates a bad credit report with a bad employee, yet some employers will not hire you without a good credit score.

So, I totally am behind you here. Do not include any mention of it in your cover letter and do not bring it up in the interview — until, and only then, the employer ask for references in preparation for a background check. It is ONLY at this point that I would bring it up. I would ask if they just check with references or if they do a more detailed background check. If they do a more detailed check, then I would go with a short explanation about your credit rating — of why it’s bad and the steps you have taken to fix it.

via careerdoctor.org

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Career Change Myths Exposed | EmploymentDigest.net

Have you been dreaming of making a career change? If so, why haven’t you acted on your dream? It might be because you are operating under a false assumption. You might be missing out on opportunities because of a career myth – the good news is that there are several career change myths that can be explained away or at the very least worked around.

Career Myth:

#1) There is absolutely no way to make a living doing something you love.

Well hmm… that sounds like fear talking. The reality is that work doesn’t have to be something that you dread – you can make a living doing something you love and you can get paid to do it! Don’t buy into the myth that your work has to be drudgery. You don’t have to sacrifice happiness you can do something that you enjoy.

That said it is not always that simple. Obviously you will have to find a viable career and market. Do some homework.

- Research careers that are of interest to you.

- Interview people who are working successfully in the careers you are interested in and find out how they made it work.

- Know what you need in terms of certifications, licenses, and degrees.

- Develop a plan to go after it.

Why wouldn’t you be able to make a living doing what you love if you have done your homework, designed a career plan, and gained the necessary expertise?

#2) It is much too risky to change careers.

Actually there is risk no matter what. Remember, there is no such thing as permanent employment. That went out with gold watch retirements – we’ve all heard the stories about the gold watches they used to give out at retirement time. And, we know that those stories become rarer by the day.

- Decide whether it is riskier staying in place or moving on to something new. If you’re living with a career decision you regret, is it best to stick with it and hate the work you do or is it time to move on? Don’t forget your personal sanity is at risk if you hate your job and stay in it.

- Assess whether a career move is right for you. Consider your own aspirations.

- Remember that your career is in the hands of your employer.

- Do you want to have a bit more say about your career?

The bottom line is that any employer you work for will have their own interests in mind rather than yours. If you’re okay with that stay where you are and if you’re not set some goals and create a plan and then execute your career change.

#3) The job market is too tough to make a change.

You’re right; it is a tough job market. The myth is that there are no growth areas. Actually, there are growth areas. Most job seekers look for the same type of job they held in the past, a tactic that is not always effective. Career changers have to be savvy – knowing what areas are growing is essential to their success.

Job seekers will have to be committed to lifelong learning and learn how to project future market needs. Smart job seekers will be ready for anything. That means they will be well educated, they will hold or work towards additional certifications and will be ready for career change at the drop of a hat.

Since the job market is ever changing, it will always be important to keep up with those changes. The job market will be less tough on those willing to embrace change.

Sure. There are lots of career myths. However, career plans are essential to career change success – and that is no myth.

Making a career change truly can be an intimidating process. Patricia Erickson covers all of the ins and outs of career change at length in her new book entitled Career Management Guide: A Practical Approach To Career Change In Any Economy.

 Patricia Erickson is a highly regarded and successful career management expert. She has helped thousands of job seekers and career changers design strategies that transform careers.

She is able to give clients the edge over their competition with this offer. Instantly save $30.00 on a professionally written resume and get access to Patricia’s exclusive coaching bonuses to help you make a highly successful career move. PLUS when you invest in a resume at the site below you’ll also qualify for free one on one coaching and mentoring with Patricia. Go to http://www.avitacareermanagement.com/resume_writing_services.html for more information!

via employmentdigest.net

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Candidates; Do you "KIS" your resume to your "Audience"? | CareerAlley

“Failure lies concealed in every success, and success in every failure.” – Eckhart Tolle

Author Byline: Ron Cottick, Author
Author Website: http://www.informationexchangegroup.com

Candidates; Do you “KIS” your resume to your “Audience”?

I have been around the business of recruiting for a long time. Having worked in both agencies and the corporate recruiting world, in varying capacities, I have seen resumes of many different sorts. The two most common types of resumes are the functional and the chronological, however, there is little commonality between them. More on that later!

Resumes have been very fluid over the years. Candidates put their resume together as best they can. Some get advice from experts in the industry. Some are told that functional resumes are the best, others the chronological is best. For every expert you ask you could almost bet on getting a different answer from each of them. It often would appear that the expert would suggest it be fluffed up here, dressed up there and made prettier to attract the right attention. Who is all the fluff, dress up and pretty for? Did anyone ever think to ask what the audience wants? Doubtful! Your audience, you know, is the Human Resource person who reviews your resume and the Hiring Manager you hope to interview with.

I will not get into philosophy of resume writing here, at least not at this time. What I will address though is the “functional” versus “chronological” resume and two key elements of the resume that are seldom considered when writing it. Those elements are often overlooked or not addressed by professional resume writers. Those two elements are the “KIS” (Keep it Simple) and the “audience”.

Chronological versus Functional:

· Functional, chronological, functional, chronological, that is the question

• Definition of the chronological resume, simply put;
  • The chronological resume is the one most candidates are familiar with
  • Typically it lists an Objective, Skills Summary, Work History and Education
  • It is laid out with employers, dates, job titles and scope of responsibility/experience for each position held

• Definition of the functional resume, simply put;
  • The functional resume is one where there would less likely be an Objective, experience would be listed in paragraph format as a Skills Summary and scope of responsibility for positions held would be highlighted in separate paragraph format such as Production Supervision and/or Projection Management
  • Employers would be listed with or without titles at each place of employment and usually not have dates on employment

• Which one to use
  • There is no absolute right way here but you should have one or the other that is factual, informative and straight to the point
  • Chronological is preferred because more and more employers want to see where you worked, when you worked there (more and more want month and year), and what you did when you were there
  • Chronological does that and I have never seen anyone object to a chronological resume, however, I have seen Hiring Managers request functional resume be replaced with a chronological resume
  • Additionally, I find that chronological resumes lend themselves better to technical positions and Hiring Managers tend to prefer chronological resumes because they can be more fact based and to the point as many technical people are
  • If you are going to use a functional resume I suggest using it for non-technical positions

I have seen resumes in all shapes, sizes and fashion. Many times they are not focused, have too much irrelevant information and say things they should not. They just do not look right for presentation and need working over. In many cases, dramatic working over. Here are some suggestions on the most common elements I have seen that need reworking to create the KIS resume.

Addressing the KIS, targeting your Audience:

· The application that the resume is written in is important in that most resume databases employers use today accept only Word Doc resumes and/or work easier with Word Docs

• PDF, TEXT and others are generally not as user friendly as the old standby Word Doc, so, KIS that resume as a Word Doc resume
• Do not use some of the formatted resume templates that are out there for writing resumes because they also can be problematic with some databases; simply type out the resume in a Word Doc format
• Do not expect someone in Human Resources to try and reformat your resume to fit it into their database if need be, it likely will not happen and if it does, it will not be the first thing they do

· Put “ALL” contact information on the resume and not in a header or footer

• Many resumes are looked at on a computer screen and no one I know wants to go to print preview to see the contact information; if the resume is not presented in hard copy, this becomes an unfriendly step that does not win friends or influence people

· Do not go outside the box when it comes to resumes with pictures, personal information, fancy resume borders; they do not attract the right kind of attention

• Although the picture may be pretty and personal information interesting, it is likely that it is not relevant and Hiring Managers really don’t care; they are mostly interested in what you can do for them
• An exception could be a sales, marketing or some sort of position where a person would have to be in front of others to do business, however, it should not be a qualifier and I would not go there; you can not go wrong by not having it on a resume
• Fancy resume borders can not address a candidates qualifications for a job and usually come across as unimpressive; would not do this

There is more to the resume that gets the attention of the Hiring Manager than I have brought up here. If the resume is not an easy read and does not get attention early in the read, nothing else will probably matter. Aside from these tips I always suggest you keep in mind your audience and what the position is you are applying for. The resume should speak to both and attempt to sell the Hiring Manager on wanting to set up an interview. If you can not get to the interview you will not be getting anywhere.

I do not want to imply here that the resume should do all the talking but it is the first impression you make and you do want to make the best first impression. You want a resume that is easy to read, understandable and gets the attention you are looking for. That would be the difference between a not so good resume as compared to a focused, targeted and excellent resume. A resume, KIS’d as described above, gives you a much greater chance to get the right kind of attention and move forward to an interview. When you KIS with the resume you can more readily expect to KIS your way to the interview.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Good luck in your search.

via careeralley.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Why I Won’t Be Reading Your Cover Letter » Blog | Great Resumes Fast

We recently had an open position we were trying to fill and I was amazed—or should I say appalled—at the blanket responses we received from job seekers.  Potential candidates sent us cover letters describing experience they possessed that was completely irrelevant to our opening; it was the same as someone having a degree in veterinary medicine but seeking employment as an IT director.  Did these job seekers really think that going on and on for paragraphs about irrelevant experience was going to make me want to read their resume—or even more so—interview them?

I think I understand the dilemma here: Truly active job seekers are sending out countless job applications as quickly as humanly possible—probably exasperated by the sheer volume of applications they feel pressured to submit.  It’s not a shot-in-the-dark game, people.  Or a game of numbers.  I truly don’t believe it’s a situation where you have to submit 200 applications to receive two call-backs.  What it comes down to is a matter of focus and relevancy.  Can you make the correlation between your experience and career background and what the employer truly needs?  I’ll give you a perfect example.

We occasionally will have openings for certified or professional resume writers.  We place an ad for the opening online with some very specific requirements and ask that the candidate respond with valid and convincing reasons why he or she would be the best fit.  Some candidates go on and on—almost endlessly—about having authored books, written articles for medical journals, or their technical writing experience.  None of which has anything in common with resume writing—other than the word “writing”.  This is frustrating to hiring managers as they are wading through hundreds of job applications.  It almost seems like a waste of time.  I find myself thinking, “Why can’t they tell me what I need to know?”  I specify in the ad that I need to know about criteria A, B, and C—and whether you possess those skills.  Ninety-nine percent of job seekers fail to address their experience in these areas.  Why?  I am not sure if it’s laziness or  a result of being overwhelmed—but what I can tell you is that you’re only hurting yourself and your chances for an interview.

I know that when you’re submitting as many applications as you can you may feel hurried, rushed, or like you don’t have the time to make a customized submittal.  Truth be told, you’re wasting more time if you don’t.  Take the time to specifically address each requirement, and provide the hiring manager with the absolute most relevant experience you have that matches the requirements of the position.  You may be surprised at the results.

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

via greatresumesfast.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Personal Branding Basics | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

A lot of my people tell me that they hear and read a lot about the personal branding in a job search but don’t really understand what it means.

To me PERSONAL BRANDING is how you differentiate yourself from your competition and let people know how special you are.

So here are a few ways to establish a personal brand on your resume, online and in person.

1: Create a tag line that sums up who you are in one or two sentences.
For some it can be a very simple statement and for others something a little more innovative. Then place it at the top of your resume directly below your name and contact information separated by a double line. Here are 2 examples.

PPM \ PMO Manager
"Expertise developing process & methodology to manage a portfolio of 200 projects valued at $275M annually"

OR

Highly Skilled R&D Engineer
“Transforming your existing products and processes into ones your competition will envy”

2: Design a great business card that accentuates your brand
Depending on your field, you can be conservative, colorful or innovative. Whichever you choose, use both sides of the business card. Generally the front has your contact info and your brand, and on the back of the card place has an ad for what you have to offer.

There are several companies online who have professional templates to choose from, or will print your artwork for you at a reasonable cost. Zazzle and Vistaprint are two I know of. They can also print matching stationary, return labels, hats, tee shirts and other materials to help grow your brand.

3. Work on your public persona
Position yourself as an expert in your field by seeking public speaking engagements in front of target audiences. You can join civic and fraternal organizations which can help you solidify your bonifides and help you build your network.

4. Be a networking group leader
Join a group and become the most active member, or start your own live or online networking group in your field or community. Look at what interests similar groups and bring your name and expertise to the forefront by asking and answering relevant questions and exchanging job and networking leads with as many people as possible.

5. Create a public perception
Work on your social media profiles. Keep them current and relevant and make sure they show people more than just a boring "widget maker" looking for a job. Let your personality shine through. Set goals and a schedule of how many group responses you will reply to and how many tweets you will post each week.

6. Maintain your own blog
Blogging is a great way to establish your brand, show yourself as a subject matter expert and network to get other people to join and contribute.

7. Be open and available
Let people you know, as well as total strangers know that you are always available to help them by sharing your knowledge, your skills and your contacts with anyone who needs it. Get in the habit of Paying It Forward and you will see a lot of payback.
Author:

Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com/, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.

via careerrocketeer.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Addressing Salary Requirements in a Cover Letter

Job advertisements sometimes ask you to specify salary requirements when submitting your application. But many job seekers feel uncomfortable revealing their desired salary before they’ve even scheduled an interview. If you’re one of those people, don’t worry – there are some ways to comply with the employer’s request while avoiding having to immediately provide a specific answer.

One technique is to list a range of salaries you’ve earned throughout your career. For those who have been in the workforce for a while, it is common for this range to be fairly wide. So you could say, “I’ve earned between $50,000-$75,000 in previous positions, and I would be happy to discuss salary after an interview.”

Another way to address the issue is to offer a ballpark figure. For instance, you could say, “My current salary is in the low six figures.” Or, “My current compensation, including bonuses, is in the $80s.” Remember to factor in bonuses, 401(k) matching, mileage reimbursement, and other additional forms of compensation when providing them with a number.

Sometimes employers will specifically ask you what you earn in your current position. Non-employee workers (subcontractors) can easily avoid this question by stating, “As a contractor, my compensation varies from month to month.” If you suspect that a position for which you’re applying pays less than you currently earn, you can say, “My current salary is $65,000, but I am willing to negotiate if that is out of the hiring range for this position.”

When asked about salary, the most important thing is to not sell yourself short. Unless the number you stipulate is significantly above what an employer is willing to pay, it shouldn’t prevent you from getting an interview. In addition, providing a somewhat general answer about salary requirements can aid you in appearing flexible and willing to negotiate.

By  Jessica M Holbrook: To receive a free resume analysis send your resume to info@greatresumesfast.com or visit us online at http://www.greatresumesfast.com

via employmentdigest.net

Posted via web from AndyWergedal