How to turn them into solid examples of talent
By Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer
Throughout your career, you’ve accomplished many feats, exceeded several goals and mastered countless skills. Now you’re on yet another job hunt and you can’t remember a lick of any of it.
Such is the importance of keeping your résumé up-to-date, whether you’re looking for a job or not. When you don’t, not only will you forget the important details that’ll help your résumé stand out to employers, but in your rush to submit your application on time you’ll end up using the same words and phrases as everyone else – ruining your chances altogether.
Career experts always advise job seekers to avoid common résumé mistakes, but one grave error often left out of the mix is the overuse of clichés and vague phrases – and perhaps it’s the worst gaffe to commit.
“If a job seeker places overused phrases on his or her résumé, the chances of standing out from other candidates are greatly diminished,” says Kathy Sweeney, a certified professional résumé writer for her company, The Write Resume. “A résumé is a marketing tool and should be utilized to distinguish the candidate from other people vying for the same position.”
click here for Full Article.
Get the most from your professional network
Monday, January 14, 2008 0 comments
LinkedIn brings together your professional network
•Stay in touch
• Discover job & business opportunities
• Get expert business advice
•Find past and present colleagues and classmates quickly.
LinkedIn makes staying in touch simple.
•Discover inside connections when you’re looking for a job or new business opportunity.
•Your network is full of industry experts willing to share advice. Have a question? Just ask.
Copyright © 2008 LinkedIn Corporation. All rights reserved.
Your Cover Letter Sucks
0 comments
And may be thrown in the trash unless you use this insider secret
Fact #1: Your cover letter is more important than your resume!
Most people pay more attention to their resume instead of their cover letter; however, the cover letter is the first impression, and we all know that you never get a second chance at a first impression. If you do not grab the employers' attention and appeal to their interests right away, THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOUR RESUME THE TIME OF DAY and will immediately toss it in the trash.
Fact #2: 99.9% of all cover letter templates will not work!
Most employers are so accustomed to receiving the same old boring templates that most of the time they hurt you more than help you. When an employer sets their eye on a personalized cover letter it instantly grabs their attention. By simply personalizing the first paragraph of each cover letter for the company you are applying to you will automatically stand above the rest of the competition and dramatically boost your chances of landing the job.
click here for Full Article.
SOME AMAZING FACTS ABOUT COVER LETTERS
And Why This Powerful Little One-Page Sales
Letter May Be The Single Most Important
Letter You Ever Write!
And Why This Powerful Little One-Page Sales
Letter May Be The Single Most Important
Letter You Ever Write!
Fact #1: Your cover letter is more important than your resume!
Most people pay more attention to their resume instead of their cover letter; however, the cover letter is the first impression, and we all know that you never get a second chance at a first impression. If you do not grab the employers' attention and appeal to their interests right away, THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOUR RESUME THE TIME OF DAY and will immediately toss it in the trash.
Fact #2: 99.9% of all cover letter templates will not work!
Most employers are so accustomed to receiving the same old boring templates that most of the time they hurt you more than help you. When an employer sets their eye on a personalized cover letter it instantly grabs their attention. By simply personalizing the first paragraph of each cover letter for the company you are applying to you will automatically stand above the rest of the competition and dramatically boost your chances of landing the job.
click here for Full Article.
The New World of Job Interviews
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Doug White, Robert Half International
The employment interview isn't what it used to be. While the vast majority of interviews are the standard face-to-face variety, technological advancements have made it possible for employers and applicants to connect quickly in other ways.
Some hiring managers conduct phone interviews during the early phases of candidate searches; others may request you meet via videoconference if you live far away. And, yes, certain companies even hold virtual job fairs.
Following are tips for success when participating in non-traditional job interviews.
click here for Full Article.
The employment interview isn't what it used to be. While the vast majority of interviews are the standard face-to-face variety, technological advancements have made it possible for employers and applicants to connect quickly in other ways.
Some hiring managers conduct phone interviews during the early phases of candidate searches; others may request you meet via videoconference if you live far away. And, yes, certain companies even hold virtual job fairs.
Following are tips for success when participating in non-traditional job interviews.
click here for Full Article.
Recruiter Roundtable: Job Resolutions for 2008
0 comments
What New Year resolution would you like to see job-seekers make in 2008?
Improve Your Skills
Professionals should resolve to continue enhancing their skill sets and marketability. Start by determining where you want to be at the end of 2008 and list action steps you'll need to take to achieve your objective. Also identify the attributes in short supply in the marketplace, and build your abilities in these areas. This will help you not only stand out during the job search but also thrive once you're on the job. By continually strengthening your abilities and gaining new expertise, you will move forward on the road to success.
-- DeLynn Senna, executive director of North American permanent placement services, Robert Half International
Stick With Your Values
Seek out an organization that has the culture and values that are important to you. All too often, we focus on the job itself and don't pay enough attention to the organization. If you're starting a job search in 2008, make a commitment to find an organization that aligns with your personal needs. In the long term, you'll be much happier in your new role and a greater asset to your organization.
-- Janice Renock, vice president of North American recruiting, the Capital Group Companies
click here for Full Article.
Improve Your Skills
Professionals should resolve to continue enhancing their skill sets and marketability. Start by determining where you want to be at the end of 2008 and list action steps you'll need to take to achieve your objective. Also identify the attributes in short supply in the marketplace, and build your abilities in these areas. This will help you not only stand out during the job search but also thrive once you're on the job. By continually strengthening your abilities and gaining new expertise, you will move forward on the road to success.
-- DeLynn Senna, executive director of North American permanent placement services, Robert Half International
Stick With Your Values
Seek out an organization that has the culture and values that are important to you. All too often, we focus on the job itself and don't pay enough attention to the organization. If you're starting a job search in 2008, make a commitment to find an organization that aligns with your personal needs. In the long term, you'll be much happier in your new role and a greater asset to your organization.
-- Janice Renock, vice president of North American recruiting, the Capital Group Companies
click here for Full Article.
Perfecting the Passive Job Search
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 0 comments
Caroline Levchuck, Yahoo! HotJobs
Is your boss taking you for granted? Is business slowing around the office? You may not be ready to jump ship just yet, but you should start to explore other professional options. You need not engage in an all-out active job search. Rather, you can put out feelers in another way.
Follow these five steps to start your passive job search.
1. Post your resume online.
The easiest way to begin exploring your professional possibilities is to post your resume on Yahoo! HotJobs. By doing so, you're letting thousands of recruiters, human resources professionals, and employment experts know what your unique qualifications are and that you're interested in new opportunities.
Remember that your current employer might see your resume online, which may prompt your boss to give you a raise or a promotion if she's worried that you're going to jump ship. But you can also restrict searches of your resume, if you prefer.
click here for Full Article.
Is your boss taking you for granted? Is business slowing around the office? You may not be ready to jump ship just yet, but you should start to explore other professional options. You need not engage in an all-out active job search. Rather, you can put out feelers in another way.
Follow these five steps to start your passive job search.
1. Post your resume online.
The easiest way to begin exploring your professional possibilities is to post your resume on Yahoo! HotJobs. By doing so, you're letting thousands of recruiters, human resources professionals, and employment experts know what your unique qualifications are and that you're interested in new opportunities.
Remember that your current employer might see your resume online, which may prompt your boss to give you a raise or a promotion if she's worried that you're going to jump ship. But you can also restrict searches of your resume, if you prefer.
click here for Full Article.
Scouting Your Talents for Employment Potential
0 comments
A realistic assessment of your aptitudes can help land a new job
By Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com careers contributor
You’ve all heard it before. Find what you’re good at and build a career around it.
It’s advice that makes sense, but not always. Not every talent can necessarily translate easily into a career.
Case in point. I got a letter from a reader named Karina from Hong Kong recently and her comments crystallize what I’m talking about:
“I'm very good at guessing a movie's storyline and my husband agrees that any movie that keeps me guessing to the end is one of the best movies we've ever seen. Are there any jobs out there that can utilize this ‘talent’ of mine?”
We all probably have a long list of these types of “talents,” but thinking you can get these abilities off the couch and into a great job might be a bit naive. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just recommending that you keep your reality check meter on high.
click here for Full Article.
click here for Full Article.
15 Job Seeker Mistakes
1 commentsBy Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writerYou talk too fast. You avoid eye contact. You ask too many questions. You wear too much perfume. You lie about your work history. You show up late to interviews. You don’t do your research.
And you wonder why you haven’t gotten a job yet?
There’s no such thing as an error-free job search, says Eli Davidson, business coach and author of “Funky to Fabulous.” Most mistakes can be avoided with a little attentiveness.
“The best way to get a great job is to have a laser beam focus,” Davidson says. “The more targeted and specific you are, the more powerful your job search will be.”
Many people assume only young job seekers are making these mistakes; but in reality, both new and seasoned candidates face different challenges that cause them to slip up, says Kip Hollister, founder and CEO of Hollister Inc., a New England staffing firm.
click here for Full Article.
click here for Full Article.
Stand Out with an E-Portfolio
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Take a minute to search your name on the Internet. What comes up? Your MySpace page? An old paper you wrote in college? A court document archiving your arrest from college?
While some of these citations are worse than others, none of them are items you want to showcase – especially to potential employers. And believe me, they’re looking. Thirty-five percent of hiring managers use Google to do online background checks on job candidates, according to a recent survey by Ponemon Institute, an information and privacy think tank. Nearly one-third of those Web searches lead to job rejections.
“If an employer is going to be searching for you online, would you rather them find pictures of you at a party or valuable information about your experience, expertise and career goals?” asks Kelly Driscoll, president and co-founder of Digication, a technology solution firm.
Enter the e-Portfolio, the newest career tool in our tech-savvy era of job hunting. Not only will an e-Portfolio give you a competitive edge in the job market, it also gives you a positive digital identity when companies search for you online, Driscoll says
“E-Portfolios are becoming increasingly important to supplement, support and extend a résumé into a dynamic profile of an individual with not only descriptions of work that was done,” Driscoll says, “but actual examples that give employers the ability to learn much more about an individual before even entering the interview process.”
Want to learn how to hone your digital identity as a competitive advantage in your job search? Read on for a crash course on e-Portfolios.
By Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer
Click here for Full Article.
While some of these citations are worse than others, none of them are items you want to showcase – especially to potential employers. And believe me, they’re looking. Thirty-five percent of hiring managers use Google to do online background checks on job candidates, according to a recent survey by Ponemon Institute, an information and privacy think tank. Nearly one-third of those Web searches lead to job rejections.
“If an employer is going to be searching for you online, would you rather them find pictures of you at a party or valuable information about your experience, expertise and career goals?” asks Kelly Driscoll, president and co-founder of Digication, a technology solution firm.
Enter the e-Portfolio, the newest career tool in our tech-savvy era of job hunting. Not only will an e-Portfolio give you a competitive edge in the job market, it also gives you a positive digital identity when companies search for you online, Driscoll says
“E-Portfolios are becoming increasingly important to supplement, support and extend a résumé into a dynamic profile of an individual with not only descriptions of work that was done,” Driscoll says, “but actual examples that give employers the ability to learn much more about an individual before even entering the interview process.”
Want to learn how to hone your digital identity as a competitive advantage in your job search? Read on for a crash course on e-Portfolios.
By Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer
Click here for Full Article.
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