|
| |
 |
ArticleBot V1.0: Submit Your Articles to More Than 400
Top Of The Line Article
Directories Completely
On Autopilot For Massive Backlinks...
HOT!Requires: Windows |
|
For those of you who are familiar with the work that I do (career coaching, resume writing, and promoter of the group job hunting concept), my title probably seems a bit surprising. After all, how can one of the biggest fans of group job hunting claim that there are times when it doesn’t work?
Well, most great concepts require more than just theory to make them beneficial. You can talk all day about how wonderful something is, but without true application, it will fall flat. The same is true...
•Your Recruiter is Just Not That Into You
I’m hoping with the increasing reliance on social media tools, like blogs and microblogs, that job seekers will finally get the message that, by and large, recruiters are not there to find them jobs. Recruiters are there to find companies (who are their source of income) top talent for the positions they have open.
I have a lot of advice when it comes to working with recruiters, but today I want to focus on 4 tell-tale signs that a recruiter is just not that into you. Kind of like dating, if...
•The Human Voice and the Resume
Just when I think perhaps I have heard everything, particularly when it comes to resume advice, someone has to go and put something out there that seems to come from left field. The flavor of the moment now seems to be: human-ness, making your resume sound more “human.”
And the pearls of wisdom that seem to go along with this concept are that you should incorporate “I” into your resume more often so that it seems less like a robot wrote it and more like a person, i.e., a human, wrote it.
On...
•How Cover Letters Can Help or Hurt Job Seekers
I have to say that I have been feeling badly lately for the poor cover letter. Actually, I have been feeling badly lately for the poor job seeker who tends to neglect the cover letter, passing it off as just a quick intro to presenting the more important piece, the resume.
I certainly understand how that happens. After all, we are becoming a nation of job seekers successfully sold on the concept that we need a professionally written resume in order to conduct an effective job search. So much...
•Professional Resume Writing Services: The Ugly (Part III)
This article represents my third installment of a three-part series on professional resume-writing services. The first part dealt with the “good” aspects of the industry and the myriad ways that resume writers have benefited both job seekers as well as hiring managers and recruiters. The second part focused on some of the “bad” or negative issues that plague the industry and how both resume writers and job seekers can overcome them.
In this discussion, I will focus on the “ugly” parts of the...
•Professional Resume Writing Services: The Bad (Part II)
This article represents part II of my series on professional resume writing services. Part I covered “The Good” aspects of the industry. For instance, I looked at how the industry has been a great service to many job seekers and to employers by enhancing the quality of resumes and producing targeted documents that marry the needs of the employer with the skills of the candidate.
Now I will focus on some of the negatives. Before I do that, however, let me start out by reiterating that I happen...
•Professional Resume Writing Services: The Good (Part I)
Before I begin, let me start by saying that I happen to be a certified professional resume writer (CPRW) and job search coach. I’ve been writing resumes since 2002, both for myself as well as for larger resume writing firms. Before that, I was a hiring manager for a large truck rental firm, running a 150-person call center. So I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of the job search process, representing the employer and representing the job seeker.
Professional resume writing in...
•The Great Resume Keyword Search
There is nothing like an air of mystery to perk up people’s ears and create a frenzy. And certainly all it takes in the job search world is to tell job seekers that they must have something or they will miss out on the greatest opportunities ever, and pretty soon you have a trend worthy of epic proportions on your hands.
The whole concept of keywords in resumes is one of those mysterious things that has caused many a job seeker to lose sleep. And all because this issue has somehow taken on a...
•Why the Internet is Bad For Resumes
So here you are, a fresh-faced job seeker with a professionally written resume in hand (or on your hard drive, anyway). You are a mixture of emotions: anxious, a little excited, uncertain, maybe even a bit bitter about having to look for a new job in the first place. But most of all, you are hopeful.
You’ve heard about all these great online job posting sites where employers list job after job. You’ve heard that these sites are a buzz with hungry recruiters and hiring managers just waiting for...
•“Pretty” Resumes: Why They Don’t Work
I know this is going to be upsetting to some people, job seekers, resume writers, and maybe even some hiring managers (who for some odd reason rather hire form over substance), but by and large, “pretty” resumes just do not work. They look nice. They can provide a solid first impression. But, overall, looking good isn’t enough to make them effective.
Why? I mean, after all, haven’t we been bombarded for years with resume advice that tells us the prettier, the better?
Before the days of online...
•Before You Change Your Resume, Change Your Mindset: Start Thinking Like a Corporate Entrepreneur
A corporate entrepreneur? Although it may sound like an oxymoron, it is a good way of describing the type of mindset that today’s corporate professionals need to have when navigating through their careers.
Essentially, the corporate entrepreneur is someone who applies entrepreneurial-like principles to his or her corporate job, recognizing that in today’s job market, there really is no such thing anymore as being “the company guy” (or girl).
With professionals on average making four job...
•The Resume Lie: Hide That Entrepreneur Experience!!
Over the past year, I have been on a quest to dispel as many myths as possible when it comes to job hunting, in general, and to the resume, in particular. Unfortunately, with all the online job posting sites available, these fallacies have a way of taking on a life of their own and even manage to fool many good resume writers and career coaches out there.
One of the most frustrating to me is in regard to self-employment and resumes. For years now, job seekers have been told that if they have a...
•Before You Write That Resume or Start That Job Search, Get a New Career Perspective
With the bleak outlook that the media are giving to the job market in 2009, as a job search coach and resume writer, I am hoping that out of it we can finally put to rest some misconceptions that I believe have really been plaguing professionals for a while and that have a lot to do with the improper outlook many of us have in regard to our careers.
For one, I am hoping that we can finally put to rest the idea that some company will protect you and provide for you for your entire career....
•Why Do I Even Need a Resume?
Spend a little time in the wonderful world of resume writing, and you will find that it is a far more complex place than most people realize. Back in my college days, I distinctly remember the two extremes, those seniors running around fretting about their resume and whether they had followed all the “rules” to get them that key entry position into some Fortune 500 and those seniors who simply shrugged and said, “what is there to it?”
Personally, I was somewhere in the middle. I didn’t want to...
•3 Common Resume Writing Mistakes For Information Technology Candidates
Creating an IT resume is not always an easy task. There is usually a lot of information to convey. Candidates putting together their own resume for the IT industry often make a few critical mistakes that can cost them dearly in today’s job market, especially if their job search strategy is not up to snuff.
Mistake #1: Too Much Information
The primary mistake made by IT professionals is in simply providing way too much detail. Most candidates load each thought, bullet, or statement with as...
•The Real Skinny on Corporate Outplacement Services
With the current state of affairs and rising joblessness rate, many corporations will be offering outplacement services to displaced workers. The corporation signs a contract with an outplacement firm to offer a variety of job transition assistance free of charge to employees that the company is laying off. These services can range from resume writing to career coaching to workshops to interview skills training.
By and large, it is a nice concept under not-so-nice circumstances. The company...
•College Career Placement Services: When Are They Going to Step it Up?
I really think it is time that colleges took a long, hard look at their career placement centers. And I think it is time that college students (and their parents who are footing the bill) started holding universities accountable for the quality of these departments.
After all, the basic premise behind college is that you get an education in a certain field and then proceed (if you so desire) to get a job in that field, right? It only seems fitting, then, that when families are forking over...
•The Career Changer Resume Dilemma: Functional Vs. Chronological
There’s been a lot of talk about how great functional resumes can be for career changers. You know, all those job seekers out there who are looking to head into a new direction, be it a new field entirely or new industry.
The premise behind a functional resume is to provide the candidate with an opportunity to highlight transferable skills and basically to “connect the dots” for the potential employer. Not to mention that candidates can downplay their lack of industry experience while playing...
•All Time Worst Career Change Mistakes
Ultimately I hate writing about mistakes because I always feel like I am the bearer of bad news. I don’t like things that insult people or that make them feel bad for doing things that they were sincere about but just went about in the wrong way.
But, the truth is…
We make some really crazy mistakes, especially when it comes to our careers, and for some reason, career changers are the worst offenders.
Maybe it is because they have that anxious, almost desperate quality about them (I can say...
•The Resume “Wow” Factor
As a resume writer, I am always amazed at the amount of time I spend discussing the “wow” factor with job seekers. If any concept has been sold in regard to resumes, it is the idea that a resume must take on an almost magical quality that casts a spell over the reader, transforming the average professional into the “must-have” candidate of the year!
Of course, this magical quality is a moving target because no one quite knows what the special combination is to unveil this secret spell, and of...
•Thinking About Writing Your Own Resume? Think Again…
Before I say anything more, let me confess right up front that I am a certified professional resume writer (CPRW), and that I have experience resumes for professionals of all levels. So, yes, I certainly have a vested interest in seeing people purchase resume services. But listen, if I thought that doing it yourself was a good idea, I wouldn’t be in this business. Period. Why try to sell a service that people can easily do themselves?
When it comes to the resume, there are two extremes that...
•Top 6 Common Résumé Misnomers
Maybe you have already purchased a professionally written résumé, but you have some doubts about the document you received. Unfortunately, the résumé-writing industry gets a bad rap sometimes simply because there is a lot of misinformation out there. And, truthfully, sometimes résumé writers don’t do the best job of explaining their strategy to the client. Not to mention, all the different opinions that seem to prevail out there, from our friends, online resources, recruiters, coworker,...
•Blame it on the Economy; Everyone Else Does
I’ve been half-teasing lately with my career services colleagues that the banks and GM aren’t the only ones in need of a bailout. Job seekers should ask for one too. Why not? It seems that in today’s environment the more corporate leaders mismanage their businesses, the more attractive they are for getting bailed out by the U.S. tax payer.
So why should job seekers be any different?
It is no secret that most job seekers are ill prepared for their job search. They spend money in the wrong...
•3 Tips Essential For Effective Salary Negotiations
Many theories and strategies persist on how to negotiate effectively for a higher salary. There are even a lot of good products and training tools available on the market to help the job seeker in this area. However, many experts commonly forget to tell the candidate a few things that are a must in preparing for the negotiation process. Without a proper understanding of these things, candidates can really miss the mark with their negotiations.
1. Get on Equal Footing
Many companies today ask...
•You’re So Great, You Don’t Need a Resume
I’ve been hearing a lot said lately about bypassing a resume completely in your job search. Many of the proponents of this idea have some valid points to consider:
1. A resume sets you up for rejection with employers. They see your resume, assess you in 30 seconds or less, and place you on one of two piles (call or don’t call).
2. You’re just one of the herd; you don’t stand out. The resume makes you look like everyone else, no matter how well written it is, because you are essentially doing...
|
|