Three Ways to Demonstrate Your Value in a Job Search | CareerEnlightenment.net

When I train career advisors and job seekers on the strategic approach to the online job search, I make sure to mention that a résumé is an obituary.

Résumés do a great job telling people what you did. Where you worked. What things you’ve done in your past that made a difference.

And résumés have a place in the job search as well. They are requirements in many HR departments’ intake process. They help hiring managers to remember you after an interview and pass you along the chain.

But to really stand out from the rest requires that you demonstrate the value you can bring in the future, not the past. Remember that you are being hired to solve someone’s problems.

Here are three easy ways to help you demonstrate your value with a potential employer.

1. Have Something to Say

Even if people don’t agree with you, they will respect you for being brave enough to voice an opinion. No one likes to hire a “yes” man.

No matter what industry you go into, there is always an opportunity to indulge in some controversy. For example, if you are in marketing, you might have an opinion about Gillette’s Old Spice campaign.

If you are in finance, you might have some insights into why the banking industry is doomed to yet another failure. If you are a project manager, you might have some issue with Agile.

Having something to say shows that you are motivated. And having motivation for your job means you are a low-risk candidate.

2. Have a Place to Say It

Today there are thousands of bloggers, and many of these bloggers are job seekers. In fact, I have several clients who have been able to find work based on their blogs.

A blog is a wonderful platform to show the world that you have something to say. It shows that you can write. It shows you are tech savvy. It shows that you are not afraid to take a stand.

You might document your job search.

You might follow a topic.

Here are some examples of some great job seekers who found work from their blogs:

Karen Bolipata (Writer)

Danny Cox (PR)

Jenny Blake (HR)

Terry Shultz (Engineering Design)

Norm Elrod (Marketing)

3. Be a Leader, Start a Community

The majority of blogs are dead within three months. Most never get more than 50 people to read them. The comments section develops cobwebs.

When you pass two restaurants, and one is full with a line, and the other is empty, which one are you going to assume is the better place to eat?

When an employer is checking you out online, if you’ve linked to your blog from LinkedIn and from your email signature, and the employer sees you ranting and raving online with nobody giving a crap, you might not get the result you hoped for.

A blog is a community. Having comments shows that you, as a thought leader, are provoking discussion and that people care about what you have to say.

Apart from begging your friends to comment, this can be one of the most disappointing parts of starting a blog. And, I suspect, a major reason that they don’t last long. No one likes the feeling of talking to a wall.

Having comments also tells Google that you are special. And with your name on the blog, your smart articles will soon begin to dominate Google search results for your name.

To solve the comment problem, I’ve started a Comment Co-Op for career-minded bloggers.

A Comment Co-Op (noun): A Comment Co-Op is a group of people who support each other by commenting on each other’s blog posts in order to improve ranking and traffic.

Basically, members can ask other members for comments, tweets, and links at any time. In return, members can respond back with comments, tweets, and links to other members.

via careerenlightenment.net

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Unemployed Need to Take Time Off from Job Hunt - Careers Articles

Stephen Rood is so busy looking for a job that it's a full-time job -- he spends 40 hours a week on the job hunt. He's busy enough that he considers his travel time of one to two hours of drive time to a few networking meetings each week as "breaks."

"I don't take breaks at home to watch TV or movies," he wrote to AOL Jobs in an e-mail. "I don't go out shopping." His breaks are his drive time, along with one exception: weekends. He keeps those free to relax.

That's the least amount of time that job seekers should take off, said Matthew Beck, managing director of the Mergis Group's Miami office, who advocates stepping back and taking a mental break every now and then, but not to drop out of the search for more than a week.

"I don't think summer is good time to completely shut down your search. You never know when you might miss the right opportunity," Beck told the Miami Herald.

Recruiters typically advise job seekers to treat a job hunt like a full-time job. Rood said he's been doing that since being laid off in October 2009 after a consulting gig didn't lead to a full-time job that he expected when he took the gig 10 months earlier.

But since a job search is so much work, workplace psychologist Dr. Janet Civitelli recommends against spending so much time and says it's wildly unrealistic for job seekers to attempt to spend 40 hours per week trying to find a job.

"Few people could sustain a focused and productive job search for 40 hours per week, week after week," Civitelli wrote in an e-mail exchange with AOL Jobs. " A job search is usually emotionally exhausting, so good self-care is essential. Most job search campaigns end up being more like a marathon than a sprint, so job seekers should pace themselves."

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Civitelli, who also works as a career advice coach, advises her clients to spend an average of 20 to 25 hours per week on their job search, and the rest of their time on outside interests.

"Exercise, meditate, relax with friends and family, learn new skills, enjoy your hobbies," she said in an e-mail. "You'll make a much better impression when you finally land job interviews if you are happy and refreshed vs. miserable and burned out."

Diana Voigt, who is looking for work in her profession as a marketing consultant, recently took a few months off from her job search so she could recoup from the endless searching on the Internet. In an e-mail with AOL Jobs, Voigt said it takes hours to "differentiate" her resume and cover letter once she finds jobs worth applying for, and that the search for good job listings can take all day to sift out four or five possibilities.

In the meantime, she's making a living as a bartender -- a job where people come to take a break from work.

via jobs.aol.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Starting Out in Social Media: Blogging and Social Networking for Business | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

The business case for leveraging social media as a business tool has been made time and time again. Startups to big business use the platform of social media to spread ideas, connect with their audience, and ultimately drive sales.

When working with clients I often am confronted with glossy eyes when talking about the topic of social media. Chances are they’ve read about it in the mainstream media, however, putting it in to action is another thing all together. If you consider yourself a social media fan boy shout hooray and jump to the comments below and give us your fill after skimming this primer, but if you are fall into the glossy eyed category or want to read this basic primer, read below for a primer on how to start out in social media for business.

Social media in itself comprises of many different elements, but two of the most common and important categories:

• Blogging – WordPress, Posterous
• Social networks – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Blogging for business

Social since inception, blogs were designed and still hold strong as great publishing platforms to create useful content and share it with a wide audience. With built in web feed abilities (RSS/Atom), blogs make it possible to publish content and “push” it out to other services. For an example, see this explanation on Facebook how to import your feed as Notes.

Picture your website, and blog in particular, as a hub where all of your social media activity and presence across the Internet should point back to. This is important, as all of the content and important information about your business is no good if no one ever hears about it. Don’t shamelessly self-promote every chance you get, but rather use social media etiquette.

If no one already told you, get your own domain name. Don’t use the subdomain from a service, no matter how much you like it. To sum up other people’s experiences, once you build a great following around and get massive amounts of links to yourawesomewebsite.wordpress.com and then decide to migrate to your custom domain later, its a pain and you lose traffic and followers.  Start off fresh, and get a domain name now. Its cheap and easy, and you will not regret it later. Its OK to have your website hosted on a service like WordPress.com, if that is what you prefer, but use custom domain features.

Social networks for business

No matter what industry you are in, social media can work for your business. It just depends however, on how you choose to use it and where your audience is. If you are speaking to an older generation, you may have to be crafty and see where they are hanging out. With valuations on the larger social networks sometimes coming out at us with mind boggling numbers (such as LinkedIn’s over $2 Billion valuation), you can bet that the social media research companies are still spewing out reports and research about how consumers and business use these services.

Facebook isn’t just for the cool kids anymore. With over 500 million active users, and 900 million objects made up of pages, whether business or community, and events, they clearly have a lot of activity happening there. Accordingly, businesses are leveraging their platforms to attack their target markets more effectively. Although in the spotlight for concerns over privacy and changes to the way advertisers and marketers can access information, Facebook remains adamant that the information is still in your control.

Twitter boasts a flurry of activity happening each day with many millions of updates from around the globe. From fast breaking news, to still the good old lunch tales, it has a lively and active community of people ready to speak their mind. Businesses may find it challenging to have active “conversations” with their audience on Twitter, only because it seems personal connections make for better success, but many businesses still use the platform and thrive, assuming they are active listeners and are useful.

LinkedIn remains the premier business networking social network. With a thriving advertising system, and active groups, there isn’t anything bad to say about using LinkedIn for business, other than it can sometimes be confusing to newbies. I often see profiles that aren’t filled out properly or people let LinkedIn invites build up for eternities before accepting. LinkedIn isn’t just a great living “resume” or CV, its a platform that needs to be used daily, or as often as possible to do things such as connect with other like minded professionals, or find clients and partners. Companies can use it as an excellent passive recruitment tool. It still is the best kept secret in that realm. Spend less on your job searching and just see who is already in your network, connected to your friends and partners.

How to make it happen for your business

As a business, it’s important for you to focus your time on what works best for you. Leveraging these platforms will depend on available talent, time, and resources. Do a bit of research to find out where your target audience is, and spend time with them. You already likely have a great network of contacts, invite them to join you on social networks, make sure they know about your blog, and keep it fresh and alive with relevant content of their interest. Don’t be afraid to experiment: that is what it’s all about. Try new things, don’t let the same old processes get in the way of exploring new ways to communicate and do business. The payoffs are far too great to miss out.

About the Author: An avid inbound marketing strategist, Mark Mathson gets to live his passion every day while consulting on social media marketing.  He enjoys conversing on Twitter and growing and adding value to his network on LinkedIn

via blog.brand-yourself.com

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25 Resume Tips That Help Make a Great First Impression - Careers Articles

Frequently your resume is your first chance to make an impression on a recruiter or hiring manager. And you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so the importance of the resume cannot be underestimated. Here are my top quick tips for creating a resume that makes a great first impression and gets hiring managers to take a second look at you.

1. Include a professional e-mail address; even your e-mail is part of your brand. (i.e., partygirl7@aol.com won't cut it)

Include a phone number that is attached to a professional voice-mail message. A goofy voice mail will encourage recruiters to walk away.

A resume objective describes what you want, and employers don't care about what you want. They care about problems you can solve for them.

Create a profile at the top of your resume to prove your value proposition to a hiring authority, instead of an objective.

Refrain from using subjective words like "loyal" or "trustworthy" to explain your candidacy; you are a job seeker, not man's best friend.

Omit phrases such as "responsible for" or "duties included" from your resume; opt for stronger language such as "managed" or "oversaw."

On your resume, your professional experience section is about where you've been; your top profile section is about where you want to go.

Your resume profile is the 40,000-ft. view of what you can do; your experience section is the granular proof of this based on past success.

List core competencies, keywords, or buzzwords for your job function/industry on the resume to please recruiters and resume-parsing software.

Include months and years on your resume for any positions you were at for less than two years; omitting the months in short-tenured positions is deceptive.

If you were let go from several positions with short tenure due to a downsizing, explain that briefly right on the resume. Transparency is always better than obscurity.

If you left the workplace to take care of a child or aging parent, explain that right on the resume. Don't make the reader guess what you were doing during that gap. Their assumptions will rarely work in your favor.

Minimize descriptions of job tasks and maximize descriptions of accomplishments. Sell it, don't tell it.

Quantify your accomplishments: Show numbers, dollars, and percentages to prove impact in a job.

List hobbies and volunteer experience when relevant to your job target. Leave your passion for stamp collecting off the resume.

Include graduation dates; omitting them raises suspicion and calls more attention to the very thing you are trying to hide.

If you are a recent grad, list a high GPA and relevant coursework, school projects, and internships. Unpaid experience still counts.

Omit "references available upon request." With Google and other search engines, references are available whether you want them to be or not.

Use charts and graphs on your resume to demonstrate impact. A picture is worth a thousand words -- and a bit of "bling" is not a bad thing.

A longer read that is readable is better than a quick read that is not. Pick a font of at least 10 point so the resume is easy to read.

For a U.S. resume, omit references to age, marital status, or religion. Employers cannot request it; offering it makes you look clueless.

Create a text-only version of your resume to preserve the formatting when uploading into a company text box. Word documents will quickly turn into gibberish when placed in a text box.

Treat every word on your resume like expensive New York City real estate. Square footage is at a premium; so make every word count.

Half of hiring managers read cover letters, the other half do not; but you never know which half you are dealing with -- so always send one.

Use the cover letter to match your skills to the job spec. If the job requires eight skills and you only have two, don't apply.

via jobs.aol.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Get an Interview Before Showing Your Resume | EmploymentDigest.net

- Find out who is hiring. - Submit a great resume along with a killer cover letter. - Follow up in a couple of weeks and ask for an interview.

This has never worked for me.

What has worked has been the uninvited interview with the hirer. Not the Human Resources gatekeeper, but the CEO, chief pilot, or the director of operations. Emphasis on “uninvited”. At the end of the interview, I have a resume to hand to the hirer.

For those of you who are unbelievers, I have done this for the last several jobs that I have gotten. My business is Private Military Contracting. The contracts change often. Some change every year. So, I have had to move from job to job more often than a normal worker. This is what I have learned.

Don’t wait until you hear that a company is hiring. By the time that the word gets out or an ad is posted, the decision has already been made. Often, the ad is posted just to fulfill legal responsibilities. Instead, find a growing company that you would like to work for, and then go after the top guy in the department. The one who will make the final decision.

It is easier if you already know your business. If you are a geek, you can make that computer sing. If you are an accountant, you count with the best. But if you are young or changing fields and lack experience, crank up the confidence and emphasize your personal references, loyalty, integrity, and trainability. But even if you are the most experienced in the world, you will still need to make some preparations.

Number One: Be employed. Don’t be needy for a job. It’s a killer. Even if the boss never asks you about your employment status, your bearing and tone of voice will be screaming out: “I really need this job!”

I have been a pilot since 1980, and many times I have been unemployed as a pilot. But I have always had a job when I have gone to a big interview. I have worked construction, mopped a convenience store, and walked the beat as an armed security guard. That way I had an income, even if it was meager. You must be able to hold your head up and truthfully tell the interviewer that you have to give your current employer notice before you can come to work. Many bosses use this as a test. If you will jilt your current employer, you might leave him in the lurch, too.

Number Two: Find a way to get to your target. Of course, one must first find this target. That means research, and it might involve travel. The first time that I used this strategy was 1987. I wanted to get a pilot slot with a specialty airline owned by the CIA. After repeatedly sending resumes, I called and asked to talk with the chief pilot. This is the conversation as best as I can remember:

“Yes, son, I’ve seen your resume and you don’t have the experience we’re looking for. You’re too young. Call me back in a few years.” “Couldn’t I come out there and talk with you?” “No. I am really busy this week.” “Thank you, sir.” I hung up and immediately called his secretary. “Dawn. This is Dave Johnson again. The chief pilot said that he’s too busy to see me this week. Can you schedule me in sometime the following week?” “Yeah. How about next Tuesday at 10 o’clock?”

Nine days later I got on an airliner and flew halfway across the country. At 1000 I walked into the chief pilot’s office.

“Hello sir. My name is Dave Johnson.” “What are you doing here?” the chief pilot said. “I have an appointment to see you at 1000. Check with your secretary.” “How did you do that?” “When you said that you were busy all week, I asked Dawn to find a day that you were not busy, and I came over to see you.” “Well, you have some gall.” He checked with the secretary, and I was scheduled for an hour. I got the interview. The end of the story is that I got the job.

In 2002, I called about a pilot job with the State Department. The HR department told me that I was to wait for them to call me back. Instead, I drove 600 miles to a secure military base. The guards wouldn’t let me in, so I called from the gate to see if the chief pilot would see me. He did. I got the job.

In 2005, I could not get to the Director of Operations for a company I wanted to work for. I knew him socially, but just barely. He was to meet with one of my friends at a local bar. As planned, I walked in about a half hour after they arrived, and my friend invited me over to their table. The Director of Ops cringed knowing that I was going to ask him for a job. I wanted to in the worst way, but I knew that it was not the right time. I had one beer, talked about sports, and left. I never mentioned anything about work or getting a job. As I got up to leave, he pulled me close and invited me to come up to his office Monday morning. I got the job.

What is the point of these stories? Research the company. Go directly to the hirer. Avoid HR until you are hired and you need to get an ID badge and fill out a W-4. Even when the company is not hiring, get in and get the interview. The boss might make a position for you. Or you will be the first in line when something opens up.

By doing so, you differentiate yourself to the boss. You prove that you are resourceful, that you take initiative, and that you will solve problems. These attributes are highly prized by the big guys. Never give up.

D. Alan Johnson has been a private military contractor for over 24 years. I write about my adventures in my novels and a job guide to the contracting world. Visit my website http://www.dalanjohnson.com to learn more about PMC’s.

via employmentdigest.net

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Resume Help & Career Advice by Career Expert Jessica Holbrook Hernandez : CAREEREALISM

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Jessica Holbrook Hernandez

I’m sitting in front of my computer trying to think of a new way to say the same things I’ve already said a million times. I think I’m beginning to feel border line preachy with my resume and cover letter advice. But I also feel a duty to share with job seekers the blunders and mistakes they make that prohibit them from getting the interview and ultimately the offer. After ten years of working as a human resources manager and recruiter – I’ve seen my fair share of job seeker mistakes. So here’s my list of the five biggest mistakes job seekers make on their resume.

MISTAKE #1: Outdated formatting

The first impression your resume gives is critical. How do you want the hiring manager to perceive you? Professional and accomplished? Or sloppy and disorganized? Old and outdated formats only reflect poorly on you as a viable candidate for the position.

MISTAKE #2: Using and Objective

If your resume has an objective please stop. That is an outdated practice no longer relevant in today’s job market. Objectives will only land you in the “bland, just like everyone else pile” not the “oh yeah, don’t let me forget to call them today pile.”

MISTAKE #3: Forgetting important keywords

Don’t forget to use industry specific keywords. Also make sure you know where to put them. The top section of the resume is the best place because that’s where the hiring manager’s eyes will be drawn. Short keywords are a great way to tell the employer about your expertise.

MISTAKE #4: Length and text density

Too long or too short and you’ve lost your hiring manager. Keep paragraphs to 3-5 sentences and the same goes for the number of bullets you use in your resume. Why? Any longer and you lose the audience in information overload…and shorter, you appear under qualified.

The hiring manager doesn’t want your resume to be an exact repeat of the job ad. They already know what they need. What they need to know is how you’re going to meet their needs. Utilize statements that demonstrate your expertise and accomplishments in a given area. Certainly there was a challenge you faced while working for your current or previous employers. How did you address these challenges and what were the results? The answers to these questions make for GREAT bullet points on a resume.

Did you enjoy this article? You can read more articles by this expert here. Also, check out all of our free webinars!

CAREEREALISM Expert, Jessica Holbrook Hernandez 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 transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

via careerealism.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

10 tips for interview success - Career blog - Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career

The first 30 seconds of a job interview are the most important - so if you want to be a cut above the rest you need to be on the ball. Rob Yeung, a business psychologist, maintains that an interview is all about the three Ps. "You need to prepare, you need to practise, and then, on the day, you need to perform."

Here are 10 tips for interview success.

 1. First impressions count

Greet your interviewer with a smile and firm handshake. Give eye contact. Try to make small talk during the walk from the reception area to the interview room. Liz Anderson, a human resources manager says, "You have to sell yourself before you can sell anything else and the first 30 seconds are when the interviewer subconsciously makes decisions about whether they like you or not and whether you will fit into the team."

 2. Be prepared

Re-read your CV and the job advert just before the interview. Do your research thoroughly: Look at the company Web site or obtain literature. You may be asked about the salary you are after so make sure you research that as well.

 3. Don’t waffle

Answer questions properly - even if you need a few moments’ silence to collect your thoughts. Anderson advises, "It’s better to say you need a minute to think about your answer rather than speak instantly and regret it afterwards."

 4. Why should they hire you?

Most job adverts will list qualities they’re looking for - a team worker, a good communicator – so it’s up to you to think of examples of how you can demonstrate these skills. Be ready to talk about your knowledge, experience, abilities and skills. Have at least three strong points about yourself that you can relate to the company and job on offer.

 5. Be positive

Your interviewer will be thinking about what it would be like to work with you, so the last thing they’ll want to hear is you talking about your boss or current colleagues behind their back. Interviewers like to see someone who enjoys a challenge and is enthusiastic.

 6. Remember your body language

It is not what you say, but how you say it. During the interview, do not fold your arms and lean back or look to the floor! Sit upright and try to maintain good eye contact. Use your hands and lean forward when making a point. Many people cannot think and control their body language at the same time, which is why you need to prepare.

 7. Expect the unexpected

Your interviewer may try to catch you off guard: A survey by OfficeAngels has revealed that 90 per cent of employers ask 'killer' questions in interviews. It is impossible to plan for every difficult question, such as “How would your colleagues describe you?” but try to appear relaxed and in control. Ask the interviewer to repeat the question if necessary but do not evade it. Hopefully you will not befall the fate of those job candidates at B&Q who were asked to dance to “Blame it on the Boogie”!

 8. Develop rapport

Show energy, a sense of humour and smile. Jean Smith, a social anthropologist says: "It's infectious, being positive and enthusiastic." Ask your interviewer questions about themselves and any issues the business is facing.

 9. Clarify anything you are unsure of

If you are not certain what is meant by a particular question, ask for clarification. At the end, ask the interviewer if there is anything else he or she needs to know about. Do not be afraid to ask when you are likely to hear if you have been successful or not.

 10. Remember your manners

It is better to choose than to be chosen. Tell the interviewer why you are interested in the company and job opportunity. Ask them for a business card and follow it up by sending a "thank-you" e-mail or letter, saying how much you enjoyed meeting them and how interested you are. Take the opportunity to detail the key advantages you bring.

By following the three Ps - prepare, practise and perform, you can turn yourself into a candidate who would not look out of place on “The Apprentice.”

Author: Kate Lorenz,  CareerBuilder.co.uk editor

via positionignition.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal