Recent Posts

3 Ways to Think Like a Recruiter

People often ask me why job seekers hire professional help with writing his or her resume. The great part about resume writing is that I often work with educated professionals who have years of great experience. Unfortunately, they just don’t know how to get their resumes in front of people with the power to give them a job. Generally, they’re too busy being a great nurse, project manager, executive, or whatever else to understand one important thing: how recruiters think. So here are three keys to understanding how recruiters think and some great strategies to get their attention.

Recruiters have very little time and lots to do.

While recruiters and hiring managers have many different philosophies and approaches, one thing is certain: they all review scores of resumes. Rejection letters can often inform candidates that hundreds of people have applied for the same position. Faced with competition of that magnitude, it’s easy to see why your resume has to be outstanding in order for you to get any attention from an employer. Most people reviewing your resume simply don’t have more than a minute or two to look it over.


Know your target audiences – yes there is more than one.

Given the volume of resumes employers receive for each position, lower-level hiring staff are frequently used to “shortlist” candidates for each opening. This means that a less experienced HR professional is reviewing dozens of resumes in order to weed out 6-10 strong candidates. With this in mind, it’s important to write your resume in simple terms that someone who doesn’t have your background can grasp. As you develop the highlights from each of your previous positions, ask yourself if a stranger at a cocktail party would understand what you’ve just written. Make sure you include appropriate keywords so lower level staff can easily identify your skills but use accomplishment-based statements and numbers to catch the higher level decisions makers.

Relevant experience is what brings home the bacon.

Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re looking for a pet sitter while your family is away for a week’s vacation. In looking for a pet sitter, you would generally want to know about the person’s experience with pets, whether her availability met your needs, and whether your pet liked her during an in-person introduction. The pet sitter candidate would be wasting your time if she told you all about her experience roofing houses or preparing people’s income taxes. It’s fabulous that she has those abilities, but all you need to know is whether she can walk and feed your dog.

The same principle is true for resumes. Because the average worker holds more than 10 jobs during his or her career, chances are good that some of your accomplishments may not be relevant to the job you’re currently trying to get. Use your resume space for the experiences that matter, and don’t overwhelm reviewers with information that they don’t need.

For a free resume analysis submit your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com. Or view professionally-written resume samples at http://www.greatresumesfast.com.


Author:

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 win interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com/ or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.

View the original article here

5 Strategies to Combat an Employment Gap

Historically, having a significant gap in your professional employment has been viewed as a draw back or potential red flag on your professional resume.

However, given that a May Gallup poll showed that 19% of the American population is underemployed (either not working or working part-time instead of full-time), there are many, many job seekers out there wondering how to handle this resume issue. The good news is that there are ways to present gaps in employment that minimize their impact on your resume.

Fill the gap.

Hiring managers receive dozens of applications for every job they post these days. They know as well as anyone how tough the current job market is. Because of this, employers are far less likely to stigmatize a job seeker who shows a recent gap in their employment history—the key is to fill that gap with something that shows that you care about your career.


Take educational or professional enrichment courses.

One simple way to keep yourself sharp as a professional is to take a class while you’re looking for work. Depending on your financial situation and available time, there are many options for professional development. Many universities offer continuing education classes in subjects like writing grants or preparing taxes. There are also online training programs for licensed professions such as real estate sales. If finances are a concern, you can take affordable classes through your local parks and recreation department or library system.

Become a consultant for those in your network.

Working less than full time doesn’t mean you automatically forget all the expertise you’ve gained from working in your field. Using your network to obtain consulting gigs not only allows you to earn some income, but it gives you recent experience to discuss on your resume and in interviews.

Pick up freelance work.

I know a copy editor who has been unemployed for 15 months now. He’s been working as a freelancer over the Internet while he’s been searching for a full-time position. Given the current economic conditions, he knows that it’s a logical alternative to doing nothing at all. And should this year-long gap even come up at an interview, he knows that his freelancing experience will not only provide a reasonable explanation but also show the potential employer his initiative and ability to persevere under adverse conditions.

Dedicate your time as a volunteer.

Volunteering is particularly helpful to those who are hoping their next job will be in a field different from their last one. If you don’t have professional experience in something like marketing, volunteer to promote a fund-raiser for a local nonprofit—they’d love the help, and you instantly possess some marketing experience.

If you’re currently paying your bills by working a job for which you’re overqualified, it’s OK to mention it when applying for a new position. Employers appreciate the honesty. “I’m waiting tables right now while I look for full-time work,” is a statement that shows you’re flexible, humble, and willing to get your hands dirty when it’s needed! It also shows your commitment to doing what it takes which is a great asset as an employee and employers will take notice.

For a free resume analysis submit your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com. View professionally-written resume samples at
http://www.greatresumesfast.com.


Author:

Jessica Holbrook 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 win interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com/ or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.

View the original article here

Are You a To-Do List Bottom-Feeder?

For a while now, I’ve had a section on my whiteboard wall called “Minor Commitments,” tasks, requests, small, one-time things I’d committed to doing.


What harm could these do? Turns out, a lot.


Because when I added up the time and energy it took to honor any 10 minor commitments, it equaled the time and energy needed to honor one big, fat honking commitment…THAT I DIDN’T MAKE because I’d already committed to the itty-bitty ones.


And, thing is, the return on the big, honking one I passed up would’ve been exponentially larger than the total return on all 10 minor commitments.


So, before you end up saying, “oh, it’s cool, I can knock that out in like no time, sure I’ll do it,” step back and ask yourself what seriously impactful, bigger thing you won’t be able to do if you commit to this one little sucker…and then another…and another..and another…


Put another way, try to get a beat on which minor commitments really matter, and which are more likely to be bottom-feeder obligations that keep you glued to the pond-scum, while brighter, cleaner water flows briskly just a few feet above…


If you only had the time to swim up there…


Thoughts?


View the original article here

Why Entrepreneurs Need Community

Today’s weekly guest contributor is my friend and go-to tech-genius, Glen Stansberry. Glen is the co-founder of the LifeRemix blog network (which I am incredibly grateful to be a part of), he writes about helping creative people create at LifeDev and Tweets regularly. Today, Glen shares some killer wisdom on the importance of community.


++++


Can you believe the nerve of this guy?


While Jonathan’s lazily propping his feet in a hammock, we’re here slaving away for him. He’s sipping drinks with tiny umbrellas and playing with his family while we’re grunting away at our own jobs. I mean, it’s bad enough that he keeps rubbing it in that he’s in a tropical paradise, but what really chaps me is that he’s taking a vacation and asking others (like myself) to do his work for him.


It’s easy to be a little really jealous of Jonathan, but the truth is that we’d all be in Bali right now if we could. Vacations and breaking out of our normal routines are like espresso shots for our creativity. I expect some high-caliber stuff out of Mr. Fields once he returns.


It takes a lot of work to be able to relocate for a month to a somewhat-remote place, and the fact that Jonathan is pulling it off is pretty impressive. What’s most interesting about Jonathan’s trip is that he was able to effectively use “peersourcing” to help him get away.


This is a fantastic example of how community is pivotal to the success of an entrepreneur.


Or in Jonathan’s case, how to slack off more. (Ok, seriously… I love Jonathan. I’d gladly drop everything to help him out, as he’s helped me out so many times before. Just don’t tell him, ok? I’d never hear the end of it.)


I was fortunate enough to co-found the blog network LifeRemix a few years back. The network has some amazing people, with serious skills in many different fields. Bestselling authors, awesome programmers, marketing geniuses, financial wizards… we’ve got it all. (I’m quite lucky that I was a founder, otherwise I wouldn’t have made the cut!)


We’ve managed to help each other out with our writing and other pursuits of life. In fact, we’re a pretty close little community. We all have unique skills and knowledge about different topics, so really the network is like a massive pool of knowledge. Someone will ask a question in our email list, and usually four to five really smart people will chime in, offering help and advice. So it’s no surprise that when Jonathan told the network he was going on vacation and needed a hand with guest posts, we gladly answered the call.


Here’s the secret to being a successful entrepreneur: You need community.


You need help from other people. People who will challenge you and lend you a hand when needed. People who will expand your horizons with their expertise or particular walks of life. Thanks to this thing called The Internet, you can find people and groups to help you in almost any field and variety.


Forums, Google groups, open source projects… there are literally limitless options for finding a community.


Or maybe it makes more sense to find a local, offline community. There are plenty of options for finding groups of people in your area. Churches, business organizations and memberships, neighbors, etc. Just because someone isn’t in your exact niche–or even know the definition of the term “niche”–doesn’t mean they can’t provide you with valuable support and feedback.


Community helps us fill in those little cracks in our life that we can’t fill ourselves.


I’ll often ask our crew for marketing ideas or feedback. I’m a designer by trade, but my marketing chops are “meh” at best. Guys like Jonathan or Chris have saved my bacon many a-time.


Community also gives us a chance to give back.


I love this. I love the fact that I’ve got a chance to help Jonathan because he’s helped me so many times before. There’s nothing better than receiving and giving. It’s important to note that asking for help is just as important as giving. Oftentimes people feel like they’re being a burden by asking for help. But other people need a way to give back their talents and resources too.


At LifeRemix we’ll ask each other for help all the time. In fact, it’s encouraged. I dare you to find a successful person that did it “all on their own”. Everyone (yes, even Steve Jobs) has had people in their lives that bring the best out of them, both professionally and personally. Finding and surrounding yourself with these people is going to be critical to your success.


So if you really want to skyrocket your career, find a community to be a part of.


If you can’t find one, then start one within your niche. (All you have to do is ask.) There’s always something you can provide. If anything, you can be encouraging and supportive. (Sometimes the thing a community needs most is more cheerleaders.) The important thing is to just get involved. No man is an island. (Though certain renegades do go and live on one for a month or so…)


++++


Glen Stansberry writes about helping creative people create at LifeDev. You can also find him ribbing Mr. Fields from time to time on his Twitter account.


View the original article here