25 Jul
Highlight YOU With A Career Portfolio
Differentiating yourself from other candidates with similar backgrounds is essential in today’s job market. One way to do that is by creating a portfolio.
Portfolios are not just for creative folks. Wherever your field or industry, a career portfolio can help set you apart.
If you haven’t heard the term, a career portfolio is used to showcase your accomplishments, training, and experience. Your current career level and target position will help determine the contents.
Certainly, if you’re in a creative field, you want to have samples of your work. If you’re an executive a summary of ventures you designed, implemented, and led might prove valuable. Copies of articles and/or white papers you’ve authored can be a good addition too.
08 Jul
How To Give Your Boring Executive Resume Some Style
The first rule of executive resumes is that Content is KING! No matter how snazzy your resume looks, if your content doesn’t convey value it’s unlikely to generate job interviews.
That said, having a well formatted executive resume infused with color and style can help set you apart from your competition.
When it comes to formatting, the biggest problem with DIY resumes is sloppiness.
This is often seen in inconsistent bullets, employment dates that have migrated across the page, and teeny, tiny or weird fonts that no one can read.
24 Jun
How To Prepare For Your Phone Or Video Interview
Today the hiring process often begins with a brief phone screening with a third-party recruiter or HR associate. The employer’s main purpose is to get some basic information: your salary requirements and availability.
The interviewer also is trying to get a sense of who you are and how you might fit into the company culture. Smart candidates use an initial interview as an opportunity to learn more about the employer as well.
In some respects it’s like a first date: each party is evaluating whether or not he or she wants to take the relationship further.
18 Jun
Want A New Job? You Need To Do The Work.
Over the years, I’ve talked to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people who are looking for a new job. They want growth opportunities or more money. Some of them hate their boss. The common thread is that they all want a change.
As with most things some are more successful than others. The successful ones are the ones who do the work. They don’t spend all day every day in front of the computer browsing job boards. (While that gives you a feeling of accomplishment, it’s not very effective.)
Successful job seekers develop a multipronged job search plan and work it every day.
Here is a basic job search plan that you can adapt to your needs. It’s broken down into job search preparation (PREP) and continuing activities (ONGOING). If you’re actively looking, as in you really want to find a job, follow A activities. If you’re passively looking, you’re open but not in any hurry, P is for you.
#1 TARGET EMPLOYERS
PREP – Create a list of 10 or so Target Employers, these are the companies where you would love to work for whatever reason. Set up Google alerts for each of them so you’ll know when they are in the news.
ONGOING
Monitor the career pages on their company sites. A = 2-3X a week. P = 1X a week.
Contact friends, family, colleagues, etc. to see who they might know who works for one of your target employers (or any employer who’s ad piques your interest). FYI, your alumni association may be able to help with this too. A = 2-3X hours a week. P= 1 hour a week.
06 Jun
Make Sure You’re Helping (Not Hurting) Yourself On Social Media
A few years ago, barely a week when by without news of someone getting fired because of something they posted on social media. As awareness grew people have become more careful.
That’s a good thing.
Particularly if you’re looking for a new job.
Today, 70% of employers research candidates on social networking sites and 47% say that they’re unlikely to contact a candidate for an interview if they can’t find them online, according to a 2018 Career Builder survey.
What are they looking for?
58% —Information that supports the candidate’s qualifications for the job
50%—If the candidate has a professional online persona
34%—What other people are posting about the candidate
22%—A reason not to hire the candidate
What turns employers off?
Most, if not all, career professionals will tell you to avoid being negative. Even if your boss is the devil incarnate, it’s not something you should share. Here are some numbers: 25% of survey respondents said a primary reason they didn’t hire a candidate was because they bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee.
03 Jun
How To Quit Your Job – Gracefully
Congratulations! After months of searching you finally found the perfect job. During the interview process you felt a connection with your future boss and the feeling was mutual. Now comes the not so fun part of saying goodbye to your current employer.
Even if your boss is the devil incarnate you should do your best to leave on good terms. You never know when you’ll need a recommendation or when your paths may cross again. Here are six ways to ensure you’ll leave with your reputation intact.
Tell your boss first
No matter what your relationship has been with your boss always tell him or her you are leaving before you tell your coworkers. You don’t want your boss to hear about your new job though the rumor mill. It will only serve to make you look bad. Many industries are smaller than you think and you never know who knows who. Your current boss may be friends with a future employer.
16 May
10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Accepting A Job Offer
Evaluating a new opportunity isn’t easy. Even your dream job will have less exciting aspects. Things that are downright boring. I speak from experience.
I was what is known as a nontraditional student. That means I worked a full-time job and took my classes in the evening.
As a twenty-something, I did my best to find time for a social life too. The occasional date or evening out with friends. It took me almost 7 years to get my B.A.
After graduating with a degree in English and a minor in Media Studies, I landed a job as an assistant editor with a national 4-color magazine. Within the first 30-days I was writing the news column. Since it was a small publication, in a few months I was writing feature articles and helping the photographer with cover shoots. And I had the best boss ever.
It was awesome.
I loved every minute of it.
Almost.
08 May
Eliminate The Negative – A Fresh Job Search Approach
A lot of people are unhappy at work. It might be a micromanaging boss or crazy coworkers. They know they want to leave, and they want to leave now. The problem is they don’t have a clue as to what they want to do next.
If they do want to stay in a similar position, there’s the question of what type of company? Would a smaller company be better than a large corporation? Or vice versa?
The trick to getting unstuck is to change your approach. Instead of trying to figure out what you do want, decide what it is you don’t want. Begin by listing all the jobs you’ve held.
Next, consider every aspect of each position. Write down everything that you didn’t enjoy, things that made you unhappy. Pretty soon you will see some patterns, patterns that will help you define your new job.
15 Mar
Smarter Career Moves Club on Clubhouse
If you’re on Clubhouse and looking for career information and advice look for our new Smarter Career Moves club.
Smarter Career Moves is the place to learn strategies, techniques, and activities that will help you move your job search forward and advance your career
Join our events to get information and practical advice from career professionals. This is a space to exchange ideas and learn from each other. Come with questions and don’t be afraid to ask.
06 Mar
How To Make Sure Your Resume Is ATS Friendly
Applicant tracking software systems or ATS systems electronically handle many recruitment and hiring needs. One applicant tracking system function is parsing each job application and resume looking for relevant keywords, skills, years of experience, former employers, job titles, colleges and universities, etc., based on employer criteria and store that information in a database.
To employers, who often get hundreds of applications for every position advertised on a job board, applicant tracking software is a boon. On the other hand, many job seekers refer to them as the “black hole.”
When I was working as a recruiter, at least 80% of the job seekers who responded to my job posting weren’t remotely qualified for the job. So before blaming the black hole, make sure you are a qualified candidate: your work experience matches most of the job opening’s requirements. Not necessarily all, but most.
It’s also essential to ensure that your resume is ATS-friendly.
Following are some of the most often asked questions about applicant tracking software systems. The answers won’t help you get contacted if you’re not a qualified candidate. They will help you create an ATS friendly resume.