Developing A Strategy for your Job Search

Developing a Strategy

To keep moving forward you need to have a strategy. You don't  need to have made any  final decisions – you may still be working on several possibilities. You should:

·         Identify and prioritise the strands – be as specific as possible

·         Identify any gaps or discrepancies in your knowledge and experiences

·         Explore what you can do about these

·         Identify a range of possible routes to your goals

·         Investigate ‘stepping stones’ for each route

 

Your Action Plan

Whatever your goals, whatever stage you are at in the decision making process, you are most likely to make progress if you break down the tasks you have to do into small steps and then identify the actions you need to take for each step. Many action plans fail because the tasks appear too difficult. You may have several goals – but you need to break each down into a list of tasks. Set a timescale for each action – but be realistic – do not expect the impossible.

Firstly identify clear and specific goals – these could vary from ‘find a job as an editor in Publishing’ to ‘explore the training courses for secondary teaching in Scotland’ or even ‘revisit my responses in Prospects Planner to narrow down my options’.

For each goal determine:

·         What actions you will take

·         How you will take action

·         Who or what will help you

·         Why you might not take action

·         When you will take action

 

To your successful job search

 

Fran Watson

 

Creative and Artistic Careers

Is your current job sapping your creative energy? Do you doodle all day on your notepad, or monopolize your whiteboard with dry-erase murals? Have you petitioned to get the office chairs upholstered? No matter how you express it, creativity is essential to your life. With a degree, you can turn your passion into a career that inspires.

1.      Animation

It's not just for flipbooks, anymore. Animators in the field today can expect to work mostly with computers to create characters, visual effects, and other three-dimensional work that can't be done on the movie set. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that animators have among the best job prospects in the motion picture industry.

2.      Video game design

You grew up on the classic consoles, but you might not realize everything involved in creating the games you love. Software publishers look for trained, imaginative designers to bring the game's story to life. The BLS notes that education influences earnings a great deal among workers in the software publishing industry, including video game designers.

3.      Fashion

If you've got every Project Runway on TiVo and you keep clothing catalogs on your coffee table, the fashion industry may already be a big part of your life. Artists for an eye for clothing design can make an average of $55,900 a year, according to the BLS. One in four designers were also self-employed, allowing you to vogue wherever you want.

4.      Web design

Web designers merge artistic invention with current technology to create a professional web presence for their clients. That expertise comes with a price: Salary.com estimates that web designers in New York bring home an average of $72,700 a year. Taking classes in CSS and HTML can give you the edge.

5.      Interior design

The BLS estimated that interior designers made an average of $40,700 in 2004. They make that paycheck by taking a client's style and translating it to the space - most airports, hotels, and offices require a professional designer's touch. If you're tuned to the frequencies of feng shui, a degree in interior design can revitalize your personal space.

These exciting, challenging, creative careers have one thing in common: they're all competitive. Getting an education in any of these fields can help give you the edge among applicants who are also looking to trade in their boring day-jobs for something a little more outside the lines.

Sources

§  The Bureau of Labor Statistics

§  Salary.com

To your job search success!!

Fran Watson

Resume Tips

Common Resume Blunders
by Kim Isaacs, MA, CPRW, NCRW

Make sure your resume is top-notch by avoiding the top resume blunders:

1. Too Focused on Job Duties

Your resume should not be a boring listing of job duties and responsibilities. Go beyond showing what was required and demonstrate how you made a difference at each company, providing specific examples. When developing your achievements, ask yourself:

• How did you perform the job better than others?
• What were the problems or challenges faced? How did you overcome them? What were the results? How did the company benefit from your performance?
• Did you receive any awards, special recognition or promotions as a result?

2. Flowery or General Objective Statement

Many candidates lose their readers in the beginning. Statements like "A challenging position enabling me to contribute to organizational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancement" are overused, too general and waste valuable space. If you’re on a career track, replace the objective with a tagline stating what you do or your expertise.

3. Too Short or Too Long

Many people try to squeeze their experiences onto one page, because they've heard resumes shouldn’t be longer. By doing this, job seekers may delete impressive achievements. There are also candidates who ramble on about irrelevant or redundant experiences. There is no rule about appropriate resume length. When writing your resume, ask yourself, "Will this statement help me land an interview?" Every word should sell you, so only include information that elicits a "yes."

4. Using Personal Pronouns and Articles

A resume is a form of business communication, so it should be concise and written in a telegraphic style. There should be no mentions of "I" or "me," and only minimal use of articles. For example:
I developed a new product that added $2 million in sales and increased the market segment’s gross margin by 12 percent.

should be changed to:
Developed new product that added $2 million in sales and increased market segment’s gross margin by 12 percent.

5. Listing Irrelevant Information

Many people include their interests, but they should only include those relating to the job. For example, if a candidate is applying for a position as a ski instructor, he should list cross-country skiing as a hobby.

Personal information, such as date of birth, marital status, height and weight, normally should not be on the resume unless you’re an entertainment professional or a job seeker outside the US.

6. Using a Functional Resume When You Have a Good Career History

It is irksome for hiring managers not to see the career progression and the impact made at each position. Unless you have an emergency situation, such as virtually no work history or excessive job-hopping, avoid the functional format.

The modified chronological format is often the most effective. Here’s the basic layout:

• Header (name, address, email address, phone number)
• Lead with a strong profile section detailing the scope of your experience and areas of proficiency
• Reverse chronological employment history emphasizing achievements in the past 10 to 15 years
• Education (New grads may put this at the top.)

7. Not Including a Summary Section that Makes an Initial Hard Sell

This is one of the job seeker’s greatest tools. Candidates who have done their homework will know the skills and competencies important to the position. The summary should demonstrate the skill level and experiences directly related to the position being sought.

To create a high-impact summary statement, peruse job openings to determine what’s important to employers. Next, write a list of your matching skills, experience and education. Incorporate these points into your summary.

8. Typos

One typo can land your resume in the garbage. Proofread and show your resume to several friends to have them proofread it as well. This document is a reflection of you and should be perfect.

To your job search success

Fran

P.S. If you need help with your job search, click here

Unemployed? Looking for Work?

Why can’t I find work?

The first question to ask yourself is, “where am I looking?” If the newspaper is your only source, you are cheating yourself of some great opportunities. If you are searching only on the internet, you are also short-changing yourself. Many companies do not use either of these methods for hiring; they use networking techniques. You have heard people say, “It’s who you know,” and this is true.

Think about it for a minute. Which would you choose, a complete stranger or a person referred by one of your employees or friends? If you had a choice between placing a job ad that costs $100 - $200 or paying an employee a bonus of $50 for a referral, which would you choose? It makes economic sense for employers to use networking, and it makes good sense for you to do it too.

How do you network? To start off you make a list of everyone that you know, even slightly – your barber/hairdresser, the bank teller, the cashier at the grocery store, your next-door neighbour. Keep writing until you can’t think of anyone else. Then look at your list again and try to figure out where each person works and what kind of information they could provide you with. These are probably not the people who will be hiring you, but they may be the link to the person who will.

Have you let everyone know that you are looking for work and the type of work you are looking for? Or do you just say you are looking for “anything.” People need to know more facts than that. Will you really do “anything” or are there some limits on what you are willing to do. Take some time to write down a short summary of your skills and experience and what you are looking for. Use this when contacting employers.

Is your resume up to date? Does it have all your skills and experience on it? Is it targeted for the specific work area you are looking for, or is it so general that people have to try to guess what it is you are applying for? Do you have extra copies that you can give to the people in your network? Or are you waiting until that perfect job appears before you write it up? You should always have a current resume ready as you never know when that perfect opportunity will arise.

If you need help with your resume or your job search contact me

To your job search success

Fran Watson
Career/Employment Coach

P.S. You will also find some tips on interviews here

Need a Laugh?

Need a Job? See link below.




http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoyed this and it made you think outside of the box about what you can do with your life.

Fran Watson
http://www.franwatson.ca/coach.html

Get More Interviews - Resume Real Estate?

by Phil Rosenberg
Career Advice: Get More Interviews By Effective Use Of Resume Real Estate
Mar 16 2011 in Featured, Resumes, reCareered Blog by Phil Rosenberg


The real estate of your resume is one of the most important, and most over looked concepts of effective resume presentation. But most resumes I see have an poor idea of how the use of real estate affects the reader’s impression of your qualifications.

First, what in the world is resume real estate?

Resume real estate describes the use of space and placement on your resume. Not all spaces are created equal – that’s why resume real estate is today’s career advice topic.

Most resumes I see are clearly planned around paper. However, most interview decisions are made on a screen, not paper. This is makes a huge difference, because the human eye focuses on different information in the space of a screen, versus on paper. Most screens display only about half of a page, while readers focus on the whole first page of a paper resume. In the average “15 seconds” (http://www.recareered.com/blog/2010/10/01/15-seconds-2/) a recruiter/HR rep/hiring manager spends making an interview decision, if you don’t show why you are superior candidate quickly, you won’t make the cut.

Is your resume ever printed out? Sure, usually for review just before an interview, but most hiring managers typically make the interview decision from a resume they view on screen. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but let’s concentrate on how the majority of decision makers work, since it applies to the majority of candidates.

Back to real estate…

In an online resume and in 15 seconds, the human eye scans what’s on the screen…typically the top ½ of the first page. This is your most valuable resume real estate. Press the page down key. This is your next most valuable resume real estate, typically the second 1/2 of your first page.

Your goal is to get your reader to press page down … if you’re successful, you have your reader’s attention for more than 15 seconds, and increase your odds dramatically that you’ll get an interview.

If you haven’t captured your reader’s attention in the top half of your first page and convinced them to hit page down, you’re probably not getting an interview with this reader. So if all of the sizzle to your resume is on the second page, you are asking your reader to hit page down, twice, to get to the really good stuff that is relevant to the company. How likely is that, in 15 seconds?

For today’s career advice, here are a few suggestions to maximize use of your resume’s real estate, and some traps to avoid:

1.Small Headers – Use small headers and top margins. No one other than you needs to see your name in 24 bold font in flashing lights. The thinner you keep your top header, the more room you have to show your reader why they should hire you. Make your header 2-3 lines max in 10 font.

2.Kill the summary – Avoid a summary and key accomplishments section at the beginning. Both are seller’s pitch, and your reader doesn’t believe them. Your hiring manager believes the bullet points contained within your work experience. These are your features and benefits and most corporate buyers make decisions based on features and benefits … not seller’s fluff.

3.Personal Branding Statement – Instead of a summary, use a crystal clear, very concise personal branding statement (see :How A Personal Branding Statement Can Help Job Seekers” at http://www.recareered.com/blog/2011/02/24/career-advice-how-a-personal-branding-statement-can-help-job-seekers/).

4.Don’t describe the company – Directly under your personal branding statement, list your experience. Don’t waste space describing your prior companies – your hiring manager isn’t hiring your past company…you are asking them to hire you.

5.Minimize the unimportant – If your most recent experience isn’t relevant to the job you are applying for – minimize it, by only listing where and when you worked keeping it to a line or two. If you spent the past two years at a non-profit, and you are trying to get back into your prior technology industry, make sure to draw your reader’s eye to what’s relevant – your technology industry experience, by expanding the relevant experience.

6.Maximize the important – Make the first three bullet points relevant to the specific company, department, and hiring manager. Do research (see “4 Killer Ways To Use Research In Job Search” at http://www.recareered.com/blog/2010/07/16/4-killer-ways-to-use-research-in-job-search-best-of-recareered/) to determine what the most burning problems are, and demonstrate how you’ve already solved them.

Emphasize the three things your reader is looking for on your resume (see “Three Items Employers Look For In Resumes” at http://www.recareered.com/blog/2011/01/07/three-items-employers-look-for-in-resumes/). Your reader’s attention will focus most on the first three bullet points.

7.Use short bullets – no more than 2 lines. The human eye doesn’t scan detail in bullets longer than two lines. Use bullets, not paragraphs. The human eye doesn’t scan details well in paragraphs.

8.Seal the deal – Use the second (and possibly third) page to seal the deal, to add additional evidence. If your reader has gotten to the second page, the interview is probably yours to lose.

9.Death to zoom – Don’t Zoom. About ½ of the resumes I get are zoomed to 150%, because they were saved while in zoom mode. Most resume writers use zoom for final reviews, to make sure that typing and spacing is correct. If you save in zoom, the reader pulls up the document in zoom. At 150% zoom, the reader doesn’t see ½ the first page, they see ¼ of your resume, drastically cutting your most valuable real estate.

10.Save as .doc – Most companies save resumes in word or text, and a good percentage haven’t upgraded to Office 2007 and the .docx extension. If you have Office 2007, save in 97-2003 compatibility mode. The majority of companies and recruiters want your resume in word format, not .pdf.
I get so many resumes from frustrated candidates that have their most compelling information that makes the candidate a good fit … on page 2. These same candidates couldn’t figure out why they weren’t getting interviews.

How will you change how you manage your resume’s real estate? Readers who try today’s career advice, please comment and share your success stories.
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To attend our next complimentary live webinar featuring action items to immediately improve your resume, hidden job search, and job search strategy plus live career Q&A with Phil Rosenberg of reCareered, register at http://ResumeWebinar.com .

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There is a lot more really good information on Phil's website. I encourage you to check it out.

Fran Watson