The Resume Experiment (4 of 5) Content is King

The Resume Experiment (4 of 5) â€" Content is King So far weve discussed first impressions and formatting issues. Today we focus on content. Carl Chapman wrote a follow-up blog post today where he says: it is the content of the resume that is important. Just so long is the resume isnt so drab, dull, boring, or ugly that it goes right in the trash can, youll be fine with almost any format if you have content that illustrates that you have skills and experience that the prospective employer needs. So lets see what our experts have to say about John Does content: Part I The Recruiters Carl Chapman dont feel like you are getting enough of Carls feedback? Heres his original post about the resume. there seems to be a battle going on between whether this particular person wants to be an employee or work for him/herself. I notice that there are almost NO quantifiable achievements that are expressed in terms of dollars or percentages. Every employer must justify the expense of an employee. Use real titles from your jobs or translate real titles that companies use that are strange and non-conforming to the most meaningful truthful title that describes your actual position. To do otherwise may terminate your candidacy ended before it has really begun. Professional resume writers and career coaches like Barbara Safani of CareerSolvers and Liz Handlin of Ultimate Resumes, and Billie Sucher of CareerHub will also have a larger repertoire of adjectives and adverbs that make your resume scintillating and sizzling rather than just average. Daniel Sweet There is a lot left out from my summary here, especially in the bullets Daniel also has a great, comprehensive post with feedback where he fleshes out his thoughts on his FRACAT blog. There are a lot of things Id change about this resume (as youll read below), but there is one paramount, supreme, glaring problem with this resume, as there are with 90% of the resumes that I read: You dont tell me why I should hire you! As far as this resume is concerned, there is absolutely nothing special about this candidate, nothing that he excels at, no skill that he is particularly wonderful at, and no single area of experience that hes been building up for years; any of which would be a reason for me to hire this person. That alone would get you calls. So, before you do the easy, small stuff, do this one, big, humongous, stupendously important thing: TELL PEOPLE WHY THEY SHOULD HIRE YOU! How do I know they [the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th jobs] are jobs and not hobbies? Because they are listed as such on your resume. And, together, theyre going to take up a chunk of your time. Other miscellaneous advice (if it doesnt make sense, hope over to his original post): Tell People What You Do Have Your Jobs Tell People What You Do (Fix Job Titles) Have Your Companies Tell What You Do Dont Tell About What I Dont Care About Dont make me figure out your results Kill The Fluff Steve Levy once again, more info in Steves original post this is just stuff Im picking out as it relates to content. Everything in a resume needs to pass the So what?  tes if someone in your target audience reads it, will their response be â€Å"so what?† If so, it either needs more seasoning or needs to be eliminated. The resume is entirely depauperate of measures of performance. You have room so give the reader the article titles; Did articles generate comment fodder – how much? Did the press releases you wrote generate â€Å"interest† or sales? Do you think youre E.E. Cummings and your goal is to write the longest sentence in resume history? Break it up! Tell the reader what it means to go â€Å"from very poor state into a successful and profitable enterprise.  Im not so sure that the titles listed accurately portray what the real job was – this too needs to be assessed. Most important, you have to explain the dates†¦ I’m an engineer so I naturally had to draw a Gantt chart of John’s career. I used the order presented in the resume and came to the conclusion that John needs help that even Dr. Phil can’t offer. So there has to be a better way to present John’s experience on a resume – and there is. Naturally, without any details about the companies, this order is based more upon my feel than for actual facts. [Jason: I dont hink you want to be in the position of allowing a recruiter to maked decisions based on feelings, or assumptions. And who would have thought that your recruiter is an analytical type thats going to make a gantt chart! Want to chance it? Or do you want the phone call for an interview??] Another item we dont know is what type of position are you targeting this too can change the advice given. Part II The Resume Writers Alison Doyle the candidate is interested in customer service management. The position description should correlate his customer service skills should be listed first and highlighted, rather than the web design, etc. Id suggest completing re-writing the resume to focus on customer service (and the highest level skills he had strategic planning, management, etc.) and limiting some of other non-related responsibilities. If theres a way to work in some stragetic level responsibilities and up it a notch, that would help billing support, copy writing, etc. sound like a lower level position. Also, Im wondering if there is a way to merge the company Y/Z lists to address the perspective (at first glance) that hes job hopping. if the blog, web site, writing are related to the type of jobs hes looking for, he may want to work them into the first experience section. Im a believer in targeting resumes (along with cover letters) so Id need to know more about what his goals are Barbara Safani For the most part, the candidate is communicating tasks rather than accomplishments. The candidate’s current resume does nothing to distinguish him from his competition. Lots of people have skill sets similar to this candidate. What makes him different? Imagine you are buying a new product†¦let’s say it’s a dishwasher†¦every brand has its own pitch†¦some dishwashers save water, some are better for the environment, some are faster, some are quieter†¦you get the picture. The consumer buys one of the dishwashers based on the product benefits, not its features†¦they all wash the dishes†¦the consumer needs to decide which dishwasher provides the most benefits to them. With a resume, accomplishment statements with key metrics best showcase a candidate’s benefits. Task statements merely convey features of the candidate’s experience. This candidate has a lot of great information on page two that needs to be incorporated into page one to give the reader a more comprehensive view of his competencies. I have no doubt that this candidate is great at what he does. But he needs to find ways to showcase his value over and over again throughout the document in order to get the phone to ring. [Barbara had a lot of pointed questions to try and quantify the achievements here is an example her questions are bolded (Ill post the document tomorrow)] Oversaw web site redesign and implementation; aided in copy writing and content revision for new web site; how did this benefit the site? Did traffic increase; if so, by how much? creation and implementation of affiliate program; redesign and restructuring of forums; implemented new features and services for clients; assisted in implementation of company wiki; what was the benefit of this? more traffic, better page ranking, increased PR, increased sales, more cross-selling, or something else? assisted with hiring and training; how many did you hire and train? customer service management; oversaw sales department; assisted with billing and technical support. Billie Sucher Use your resume as a powerful teaching, educational tool and make it easy for the employer to experience you, see you, get you, your story, and pick you! Think through your options and always remember to think like the employer thinks. A FOCUS is really, really helpful on a resume if you are applying directly to a prospective employer. It sets the tone for all else to follow. If youre applying directly to a company in response to an opening, use their job title. Identify your strongest / best / most powerful, unique, and effective credentials to support your efforts in getting to your target goal. Think in terms of what are my best, most relevant, and powerful knowledge, skills, and abilities, experience, and education to help me win my case on paper. I would encourage you to come up with 5 to 7 of your best, strongest, most credible, supportive, relevant, essential one-liners that proves, shows, (convinces) teaches your reader you can do so so job (target goal/focus) because you have such such credentials. (Voila alignment things connect). And the employer gets it / gets you and gets in touch with you! Key functional areas are numerous and many the trick is to pick ones that are right relevant for YOU now! If you need help in figuring out some skills, go visit O*net online Think: if you only had 30 seconds to tell a prospective employer about Web Site Design (for example) or Project Management (for example)†¦.what are the most essential, relevant, vital, and effective pieces of information you would want them to know about you your wonderful product? Testimonial Find someone who thinks you rock, will sing your praises, who thinks youre astounding (or at least decent) and get a quote from them. The other voice (from someone beyond self) is always better than your own for credibility, believability purposes. (Example: I can tell you Im one of the best resume writers in the country, right? Well, dont believe me! If you hear it from someone else, well then, pay attention!) Brad Attig want to see what Brad really thought? Check out my comments at the end of this post for a letter he writes to John Doe for now some content-related comments: You have a lot of â€Å"stuff† going on at the same time. I assume WORK EXPERIENCE you get paid for and WORK EXPERIENCE (OTHER) you hope to get paid for? [Jason: do you want the decision-maker making assumptions?] Now let’s try to get some meat into your accomplishments. â€Å"A† players at â€Å"A† companies look for people that can positively impact the business. Meaning: Make money, save money. Just for a minute, pretend you are your own client. Step out of the box. John is coming to John and needs a marketing presentation and strategy. What brand are you and how do you sell it? Think of the key works that align with â€Å"YOU† the brand. Deb Dib the following is taken/borrowed/stolen from Debs really cool post called The Five Golden Rules of Resume Writing for 2007: (from #1) There are only five things you must have in your resume: Value Proposition Differentiation Proof Brand Passion! Hit these five areas if you truly want to get that resume read, get interviews, and get on the short list. #2. Know your VALUE Compose a one-sentence value proposition that will not just capture the interest of a recruiter or decision maker, but absolutely compel them to action. Without this, you cannot write a great resume. In fact, you should be able to put this in the middle of a blank piece of paper and get your targeted decision-maker interested in you. Liz Handlin CEO of Ultimate Resumes and VP of Marketing at Broadpeak. [in the SKILLS section] Don’t list basic applications like Microsoft Office†¦if you don’t know Office you probably don’t belong in an office! List applications that the reader might not know that you are an expert in. [new section: MEDIA/AWARDS] If you have received recognition for any projects, work, or just for being yourself list them here. Indicating that references are available is not necessary – of couse they are!. [new section: AFFILIATIONS] List memberships in any professional societies with particular emphasis on those in which you hold an office. No need to list controversial (example: if you are a member of the KKK you shouldn’t put it on your resume) or purely recreational (example: Homeowners Assn. Bridge Club) groups Louise Kursmark these comments are taken directly out of the original resume with Louises comments in various sections. She then rewrote the resume completely, based on some assumption (will be posted on tomorrows post). [at the very beginning/intro, Louise asks] WHO ARE YOU? Needs introduction – who you are, what you do well, what kinds of problems you solve, where you might fit into my organization. Professional profile/personal brand information to â€Å"set the stage† for the rest of the resume. [along with comments from yesterday, Louise wants this company put into perspective] What does this company do? How large is it? [Right after the company John Doe states what he did there um, kind of] This is a recitation of tasks/job description – this tells me nothing about what YOU contributed to the success of this company; why you were hired; what challenges you faced. This could be written about ANYONE with this job title. [the next two companies were a little better he got into acheivements (almost)]Nice strong intro – at last, something YOU did! However, it then deteriorates into, again, a job description. Where are the numbers that make these statements credible? As General Manager, you probably had a lot to do with the company being acquired†¦ this resume does not make this clear. â€Å"Responsible for† is not a strong introduction. No evidence of how well you did your job or, specifically, how you helped your clients or your company. [regarding Work Experience (Other)] Not sure this entire section is presented in the most beneficial way. Your writing and blogging experiences seem to be a pivotal part of your customer service experience – and instrumental in establishing you as an expert in your field. Thus I suggest including these positions as primary rather than â€Å"other† work experience. [Regarding SKILLS towards the end of the resume] Key information should be included as part of introduction. â€Å"references upon request† is an outdated inclusion. and finally, one last thought in an e-mail to me: His resume is completely lacking in the details and specific accomplishments that are essential to attract attention. Jasons Thoughts This is already a really long post I dont have much to add. I think Carls quote at the top starts it off well, and Ill end with a letter from Brad to John Doe: Dear John, I received your resume today and we have to break up already. I cant figure out who you are, what youve done or what you want. There is no way we can have a relationship based on that, plus youre just plain boring. Sorry John, I want excitement, I want a resume that grabs me. Just because youre in black and white doesnt mean you cant be colorful. Do you have any idea how many resumes try to get my attention? I only gave you a second glance because your friend Jason asked me to. I have to wonder what he sees in you. I know, down under all the plainness, there must be some accomplishments. Oh, and you seem to be kind of scattered too (never mind my rambling, kind of hard to follow, huh? Like your resume). I’ll pass you along to my friend Brad, perhaps he can give you some suggestions. Sorry John Signed Some Recruiter The Resume Experiment Series Post I Introduction Post II First Impressions/Reactions Post III Formatting Post IV Content (todays post) Post V Wrap-Up (Friday) The Resume Experiment (4 of 5) â€" Content is King So far weve discussed first impressions and formatting issues. Today we focus on content. Carl Chapman wrote a follow-up blog post today where he says: it is the content of the resume that is important. Just so long is the resume isnt so drab, dull, boring, or ugly that it goes right in the trash can, youll be fine with almost any format if you have content that illustrates that you have skills and experience that the prospective employer needs. So lets see what our experts have to say about John Does content: Part I The Recruiters Carl Chapman dont feel like you are getting enough of Carls feedback? Heres his original post about the resume. there seems to be a battle going on between whether this particular person wants to be an employee or work for him/herself. I notice that there are almost NO quantifiable achievements that are expressed in terms of dollars or percentages. Every employer must justify the expense of an employee. Use real titles from your jobs or translate real titles that companies use that are strange and non-conforming to the most meaningful truthful title that describes your actual position. To do otherwise may terminate your candidacy ended before it has really begun. Professional resume writers and career coaches like Barbara Safani of CareerSolvers and Liz Handlin of Ultimate Resumes, and Billie Sucher of CareerHub will also have a larger repertoire of adjectives and adverbs that make your resume scintillating and sizzling rather than just average. Daniel Sweet There is a lot left out from my summary here, especially in the bullets Daniel also has a great, comprehensive post with feedback where he fleshes out his thoughts on his FRACAT blog. There are a lot of things Id change about this resume (as youll read below), but there is one paramount, supreme, glaring problem with this resume, as there are with 90% of the resumes that I read: You dont tell me why I should hire you! As far as this resume is concerned, there is absolutely nothing special about this candidate, nothing that he excels at, no skill that he is particularly wonderful at, and no single area of experience that hes been building up for years; any of which would be a reason for me to hire this person. That alone would get you calls. So, before you do the easy, small stuff, do this one, big, humongous, stupendously important thing: TELL PEOPLE WHY THEY SHOULD HIRE YOU! How do I know they [the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th jobs] are jobs and not hobbies? Because they are listed as such on your resume. And, together, theyre going to take up a chunk of your time. Other miscellaneous advice (if it doesnt make sense, hope over to his original post): Tell People What You Do Have Your Jobs Tell People What You Do (Fix Job Titles) Have Your Companies Tell What You Do Dont Tell About What I Dont Care About Dont make me figure out your results Kill The Fluff Steve Levy once again, more info in Steves original post this is just stuff Im picking out as it relates to content. Everything in a resume needs to pass the So what?  tes if someone in your target audience reads it, will their response be â€Å"so what?† If so, it either needs more seasoning or needs to be eliminated. The resume is entirely depauperate of measures of performance. You have room so give the reader the article titles; Did articles generate comment fodder – how much? Did the press releases you wrote generate â€Å"interest† or sales? Do you think youre E.E. Cummings and your goal is to write the longest sentence in resume history? Break it up! Tell the reader what it means to go â€Å"from very poor state into a successful and profitable enterprise.  Im not so sure that the titles listed accurately portray what the real job was – this too needs to be assessed. Most important, you have to explain the dates†¦ I’m an engineer so I naturally had to draw a Gantt chart of John’s career. I used the order presented in the resume and came to the conclusion that John needs help that even Dr. Phil can’t offer. So there has to be a better way to present John’s experience on a resume – and there is. Naturally, without any details about the companies, this order is based more upon my feel than for actual facts. [Jason: I dont hink you want to be in the position of allowing a recruiter to maked decisions based on feelings, or assumptions. And who would have thought that your recruiter is an analytical type thats going to make a gantt chart! Want to chance it? Or do you want the phone call for an interview??] Another item we dont know is what type of position are you targeting this too can change the advice given. Part II The Resume Writers Alison Doyle the candidate is interested in customer service management. The position description should correlate his customer service skills should be listed first and highlighted, rather than the web design, etc. Id suggest completing re-writing the resume to focus on customer service (and the highest level skills he had strategic planning, management, etc.) and limiting some of other non-related responsibilities. If theres a way to work in some stragetic level responsibilities and up it a notch, that would help billing support, copy writing, etc. sound like a lower level position. Also, Im wondering if there is a way to merge the company Y/Z lists to address the perspective (at first glance) that hes job hopping. if the blog, web site, writing are related to the type of jobs hes looking for, he may want to work them into the first experience section. Im a believer in targeting resumes (along with cover letters) so Id need to know more about what his goals are Barbara Safani For the most part, the candidate is communicating tasks rather than accomplishments. The candidate’s current resume does nothing to distinguish him from his competition. Lots of people have skill sets similar to this candidate. What makes him different? Imagine you are buying a new product†¦let’s say it’s a dishwasher†¦every brand has its own pitch†¦some dishwashers save water, some are better for the environment, some are faster, some are quieter†¦you get the picture. The consumer buys one of the dishwashers based on the product benefits, not its features†¦they all wash the dishes†¦the consumer needs to decide which dishwasher provides the most benefits to them. With a resume, accomplishment statements with key metrics best showcase a candidate’s benefits. Task statements merely convey features of the candidate’s experience. This candidate has a lot of great information on page two that needs to be incorporated into page one to give the reader a more comprehensive view of his competencies. I have no doubt that this candidate is great at what he does. But he needs to find ways to showcase his value over and over again throughout the document in order to get the phone to ring. [Barbara had a lot of pointed questions to try and quantify the achievements here is an example her questions are bolded (Ill post the document tomorrow)] Oversaw web site redesign and implementation; aided in copy writing and content revision for new web site; how did this benefit the site? Did traffic increase; if so, by how much? creation and implementation of affiliate program; redesign and restructuring of forums; implemented new features and services for clients; assisted in implementation of company wiki; what was the benefit of this? more traffic, better page ranking, increased PR, increased sales, more cross-selling, or something else? assisted with hiring and training; how many did you hire and train? customer service management; oversaw sales department; assisted with billing and technical support. Billie Sucher Use your resume as a powerful teaching, educational tool and make it easy for the employer to experience you, see you, get you, your story, and pick you! Think through your options and always remember to think like the employer thinks. A FOCUS is really, really helpful on a resume if you are applying directly to a prospective employer. It sets the tone for all else to follow. If youre applying directly to a company in response to an opening, use their job title. Identify your strongest / best / most powerful, unique, and effective credentials to support your efforts in getting to your target goal. Think in terms of what are my best, most relevant, and powerful knowledge, skills, and abilities, experience, and education to help me win my case on paper. I would encourage you to come up with 5 to 7 of your best, strongest, most credible, supportive, relevant, essential one-liners that proves, shows, (convinces) teaches your reader you can do so so job (target goal/focus) because you have such such credentials. (Voila alignment things connect). And the employer gets it / gets you and gets in touch with you! Key functional areas are numerous and many the trick is to pick ones that are right relevant for YOU now! If you need help in figuring out some skills, go visit O*net online Think: if you only had 30 seconds to tell a prospective employer about Web Site Design (for example) or Project Management (for example)†¦.what are the most essential, relevant, vital, and effective pieces of information you would want them to know about you your wonderful product? Testimonial Find someone who thinks you rock, will sing your praises, who thinks youre astounding (or at least decent) and get a quote from them. The other voice (from someone beyond self) is always better than your own for credibility, believability purposes. (Example: I can tell you Im one of the best resume writers in the country, right? Well, dont believe me! If you hear it from someone else, well then, pay attention!) Brad Attig want to see what Brad really thought? Check out my comments at the end of this post for a letter he writes to John Doe for now some content-related comments: You have a lot of â€Å"stuff† going on at the same time. I assume WORK EXPERIENCE you get paid for and WORK EXPERIENCE (OTHER) you hope to get paid for? [Jason: do you want the decision-maker making assumptions?] Now let’s try to get some meat into your accomplishments. â€Å"A† players at â€Å"A† companies look for people that can positively impact the business. Meaning: Make money, save money. Just for a minute, pretend you are your own client. Step out of the box. John is coming to John and needs a marketing presentation and strategy. What brand are you and how do you sell it? Think of the key works that align with â€Å"YOU† the brand. Deb Dib the following is taken/borrowed/stolen from Debs really cool post called The Five Golden Rules of Resume Writing for 2007: (from #1) There are only five things you must have in your resume: Value Proposition Differentiation Proof Brand Passion! Hit these five areas if you truly want to get that resume read, get interviews, and get on the short list. #2. Know your VALUE Compose a one-sentence value proposition that will not just capture the interest of a recruiter or decision maker, but absolutely compel them to action. Without this, you cannot write a great resume. In fact, you should be able to put this in the middle of a blank piece of paper and get your targeted decision-maker interested in you. Liz Handlin CEO of Ultimate Resumes and VP of Marketing at Broadpeak. [in the SKILLS section] Don’t list basic applications like Microsoft Office†¦if you don’t know Office you probably don’t belong in an office! List applications that the reader might not know that you are an expert in. [new section: MEDIA/AWARDS] If you have received recognition for any projects, work, or just for being yourself list them here. Indicating that references are available is not necessary – of couse they are!. [new section: AFFILIATIONS] List memberships in any professional societies with particular emphasis on those in which you hold an office. No need to list controversial (example: if you are a member of the KKK you shouldn’t put it on your resume) or purely recreational (example: Homeowners Assn. Bridge Club) groups Louise Kursmark these comments are taken directly out of the original resume with Louises comments in various sections. She then rewrote the resume completely, based on some assumption (will be posted on tomorrows post). [at the very beginning/intro, Louise asks] WHO ARE YOU? Needs introduction – who you are, what you do well, what kinds of problems you solve, where you might fit into my organization. Professional profile/personal brand information to â€Å"set the stage† for the rest of the resume. [along with comments from yesterday, Louise wants this company put into perspective] What does this company do? How large is it? [Right after the company John Doe states what he did there um, kind of] This is a recitation of tasks/job description – this tells me nothing about what YOU contributed to the success of this company; why you were hired; what challenges you faced. This could be written about ANYONE with this job title. [the next two companies were a little better he got into acheivements (almost)]Nice strong intro – at last, something YOU did! However, it then deteriorates into, again, a job description. Where are the numbers that make these statements credible? As General Manager, you probably had a lot to do with the company being acquired†¦ this resume does not make this clear. â€Å"Responsible for† is not a strong introduction. No evidence of how well you did your job or, specifically, how you helped your clients or your company. [regarding Work Experience (Other)] Not sure this entire section is presented in the most beneficial way. Your writing and blogging experiences seem to be a pivotal part of your customer service experience – and instrumental in establishing you as an expert in your field. Thus I suggest including these positions as primary rather than â€Å"other† work experience. [Regarding SKILLS towards the end of the resume] Key information should be included as part of introduction. â€Å"references upon request† is an outdated inclusion. and finally, one last thought in an e-mail to me: His resume is completely lacking in the details and specific accomplishments that are essential to attract attention. Jasons Thoughts This is already a really long post I dont have much to add. I think Carls quote at the top starts it off well, and Ill end with a letter from Brad to John Doe: Dear John, I received your resume today and we have to break up already. I cant figure out who you are, what youve done or what you want. There is no way we can have a relationship based on that, plus youre just plain boring. Sorry John, I want excitement, I want a resume that grabs me. Just because youre in black and white doesnt mean you cant be colorful. Do you have any idea how many resumes try to get my attention? I only gave you a second glance because your friend Jason asked me to. I have to wonder what he sees in you. I know, down under all the plainness, there must be some accomplishments. Oh, and you seem to be kind of scattered too (never mind my rambling, kind of hard to follow, huh? Like your resume). I’ll pass you along to my friend Brad, perhaps he can give you some suggestions. Sorry John Signed Some Recruiter The Resume Experiment Series Post I Introduction Post II First Impressions/Reactions Post III Formatting Post IV Content (todays post) Post V Wrap-Up (Friday) The Resume Experiment (4 of 5) â€" Content is King So far weve discussed first impressions and formatting issues. Today we focus on content. Carl Chapman wrote a follow-up blog post today where he says: it is the content of the resume that is important. Just so long is the resume isnt so drab, dull, boring, or ugly that it goes right in the trash can, youll be fine with almost any format if you have content that illustrates that you have skills and experience that the prospective employer needs. So lets see what our experts have to say about John Does content: Part I The Recruiters Carl Chapman dont feel like you are getting enough of Carls feedback? Heres his original post about the resume. there seems to be a battle going on between whether this particular person wants to be an employee or work for him/herself. I notice that there are almost NO quantifiable achievements that are expressed in terms of dollars or percentages. Every employer must justify the expense of an employee. Use real titles from your jobs or translate real titles that companies use that are strange and non-conforming to the most meaningful truthful title that describes your actual position. To do otherwise may terminate your candidacy ended before it has really begun. Professional resume writers and career coaches like Barbara Safani of CareerSolvers and Liz Handlin of Ultimate Resumes, and Billie Sucher of CareerHub will also have a larger repertoire of adjectives and adverbs that make your resume scintillating and sizzling rather than just average. Daniel Sweet There is a lot left out from my summary here, especially in the bullets Daniel also has a great, comprehensive post with feedback where he fleshes out his thoughts on his FRACAT blog. There are a lot of things Id change about this resume (as youll read below), but there is one paramount, supreme, glaring problem with this resume, as there are with 90% of the resumes that I read: You dont tell me why I should hire you! As far as this resume is concerned, there is absolutely nothing special about this candidate, nothing that he excels at, no skill that he is particularly wonderful at, and no single area of experience that hes been building up for years; any of which would be a reason for me to hire this person. That alone would get you calls. So, before you do the easy, small stuff, do this one, big, humongous, stupendously important thing: TELL PEOPLE WHY THEY SHOULD HIRE YOU! How do I know they [the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th jobs] are jobs and not hobbies? Because they are listed as such on your resume. And, together, theyre going to take up a chunk of your time. Other miscellaneous advice (if it doesnt make sense, hope over to his original post): Tell People What You Do Have Your Jobs Tell People What You Do (Fix Job Titles) Have Your Companies Tell What You Do Dont Tell About What I Dont Care About Dont make me figure out your results Kill The Fluff Steve Levy once again, more info in Steves original post this is just stuff Im picking out as it relates to content. Everything in a resume needs to pass the So what?  tes if someone in your target audience reads it, will their response be â€Å"so what?† If so, it either needs more seasoning or needs to be eliminated. The resume is entirely depauperate of measures of performance. You have room so give the reader the article titles; Did articles generate comment fodder – how much? Did the press releases you wrote generate â€Å"interest† or sales? Do you think youre E.E. Cummings and your goal is to write the longest sentence in resume history? Break it up! Tell the reader what it means to go â€Å"from very poor state into a successful and profitable enterprise.  Im not so sure that the titles listed accurately portray what the real job was – this too needs to be assessed. Most important, you have to explain the dates†¦ I’m an engineer so I naturally had to draw a Gantt chart of John’s career. I used the order presented in the resume and came to the conclusion that John needs help that even Dr. Phil can’t offer. So there has to be a better way to present John’s experience on a resume – and there is. Naturally, without any details about the companies, this order is based more upon my feel than for actual facts. [Jason: I dont hink you want to be in the position of allowing a recruiter to maked decisions based on feelings, or assumptions. And who would have thought that your recruiter is an analytical type thats going to make a gantt chart! Want to chance it? Or do you want the phone call for an interview??] Another item we dont know is what type of position are you targeting this too can change the advice given. Part II The Resume Writers Alison Doyle the candidate is interested in customer service management. The position description should correlate his customer service skills should be listed first and highlighted, rather than the web design, etc. Id suggest completing re-writing the resume to focus on customer service (and the highest level skills he had strategic planning, management, etc.) and limiting some of other non-related responsibilities. If theres a way to work in some stragetic level responsibilities and up it a notch, that would help billing support, copy writing, etc. sound like a lower level position. Also, Im wondering if there is a way to merge the company Y/Z lists to address the perspective (at first glance) that hes job hopping. if the blog, web site, writing are related to the type of jobs hes looking for, he may want to work them into the first experience section. Im a believer in targeting resumes (along with cover letters) so Id need to know more about what his goals are Barbara Safani For the most part, the candidate is communicating tasks rather than accomplishments. The candidate’s current resume does nothing to distinguish him from his competition. Lots of people have skill sets similar to this candidate. What makes him different? Imagine you are buying a new product†¦let’s say it’s a dishwasher†¦every brand has its own pitch†¦some dishwashers save water, some are better for the environment, some are faster, some are quieter†¦you get the picture. The consumer buys one of the dishwashers based on the product benefits, not its features†¦they all wash the dishes†¦the consumer needs to decide which dishwasher provides the most benefits to them. With a resume, accomplishment statements with key metrics best showcase a candidate’s benefits. Task statements merely convey features of the candidate’s experience. This candidate has a lot of great information on page two that needs to be incorporated into page one to give the reader a more comprehensive view of his competencies. I have no doubt that this candidate is great at what he does. But he needs to find ways to showcase his value over and over again throughout the document in order to get the phone to ring. [Barbara had a lot of pointed questions to try and quantify the achievements here is an example her questions are bolded (Ill post the document tomorrow)] Oversaw web site redesign and implementation; aided in copy writing and content revision for new web site; how did this benefit the site? Did traffic increase; if so, by how much? creation and implementation of affiliate program; redesign and restructuring of forums; implemented new features and services for clients; assisted in implementation of company wiki; what was the benefit of this? more traffic, better page ranking, increased PR, increased sales, more cross-selling, or something else? assisted with hiring and training; how many did you hire and train? customer service management; oversaw sales department; assisted with billing and technical support. Billie Sucher Use your resume as a powerful teaching, educational tool and make it easy for the employer to experience you, see you, get you, your story, and pick you! Think through your options and always remember to think like the employer thinks. A FOCUS is really, really helpful on a resume if you are applying directly to a prospective employer. It sets the tone for all else to follow. If youre applying directly to a company in response to an opening, use their job title. Identify your strongest / best / most powerful, unique, and effective credentials to support your efforts in getting to your target goal. Think in terms of what are my best, most relevant, and powerful knowledge, skills, and abilities, experience, and education to help me win my case on paper. I would encourage you to come up with 5 to 7 of your best, strongest, most credible, supportive, relevant, essential one-liners that proves, shows, (convinces) teaches your reader you can do so so job (target goal/focus) because you have such such credentials. (Voila alignment things connect). And the employer gets it / gets you and gets in touch with you! Key functional areas are numerous and many the trick is to pick ones that are right relevant for YOU now! If you need help in figuring out some skills, go visit O*net online Think: if you only had 30 seconds to tell a prospective employer about Web Site Design (for example) or Project Management (for example)†¦.what are the most essential, relevant, vital, and effective pieces of information you would want them to know about you your wonderful product? Testimonial Find someone who thinks you rock, will sing your praises, who thinks youre astounding (or at least decent) and get a quote from them. The other voice (from someone beyond self) is always better than your own for credibility, believability purposes. (Example: I can tell you Im one of the best resume writers in the country, right? Well, dont believe me! If you hear it from someone else, well then, pay attention!) Brad Attig want to see what Brad really thought? Check out my comments at the end of this post for a letter he writes to John Doe for now some content-related comments: You have a lot of â€Å"stuff† going on at the same time. I assume WORK EXPERIENCE you get paid for and WORK EXPERIENCE (OTHER) you hope to get paid for? [Jason: do you want the decision-maker making assumptions?] Now let’s try to get some meat into your accomplishments. â€Å"A† players at â€Å"A† companies look for people that can positively impact the business. Meaning: Make money, save money. Just for a minute, pretend you are your own client. Step out of the box. John is coming to John and needs a marketing presentation and strategy. What brand are you and how do you sell it? Think of the key works that align with â€Å"YOU† the brand. Deb Dib the following is taken/borrowed/stolen from Debs really cool post called The Five Golden Rules of Resume Writing for 2007: (from #1) There are only five things you must have in your resume: Value Proposition Differentiation Proof Brand Passion! Hit these five areas if you truly want to get that resume read, get interviews, and get on the short list. #2. Know your VALUE Compose a one-sentence value proposition that will not just capture the interest of a recruiter or decision maker, but absolutely compel them to action. Without this, you cannot write a great resume. In fact, you should be able to put this in the middle of a blank piece of paper and get your targeted decision-maker interested in you. Liz Handlin CEO of Ultimate Resumes and VP of Marketing at Broadpeak. [in the SKILLS section] Don’t list basic applications like Microsoft Office†¦if you don’t know Office you probably don’t belong in an office! List applications that the reader might not know that you are an expert in. [new section: MEDIA/AWARDS] If you have received recognition for any projects, work, or just for being yourself list them here. Indicating that references are available is not necessary – of couse they are!. [new section: AFFILIATIONS] List memberships in any professional societies with particular emphasis on those in which you hold an office. No need to list controversial (example: if you are a member of the KKK you shouldn’t put it on your resume) or purely recreational (example: Homeowners Assn. Bridge Club) groups Louise Kursmark these comments are taken directly out of the original resume with Louises comments in various sections. She then rewrote the resume completely, based on some assumption (will be posted on tomorrows post). [at the very beginning/intro, Louise asks] WHO ARE YOU? Needs introduction – who you are, what you do well, what kinds of problems you solve, where you might fit into my organization. Professional profile/personal brand information to â€Å"set the stage† for the rest of the resume. [along with comments from yesterday, Louise wants this company put into perspective] What does this company do? How large is it? [Right after the company John Doe states what he did there um, kind of] This is a recitation of tasks/job description – this tells me nothing about what YOU contributed to the success of this company; why you were hired; what challenges you faced. This could be written about ANYONE with this job title. [the next two companies were a little better he got into acheivements (almost)]Nice strong intro – at last, something YOU did! However, it then deteriorates into, again, a job description. Where are the numbers that make these statements credible? As General Manager, you probably had a lot to do with the company being acquired†¦ this resume does not make this clear. â€Å"Responsible for† is not a strong introduction. No evidence of how well you did your job or, specifically, how you helped your clients or your company. [regarding Work Experience (Other)] Not sure this entire section is presented in the most beneficial way. Your writing and blogging experiences seem to be a pivotal part of your customer service experience – and instrumental in establishing you as an expert in your field. Thus I suggest including these positions as primary rather than â€Å"other† work experience. [Regarding SKILLS towards the end of the resume] Key information should be included as part of introduction. â€Å"references upon request† is an outdated inclusion. and finally, one last thought in an e-mail to me: His resume is completely lacking in the details and specific accomplishments that are essential to attract attention. Jasons Thoughts This is already a really long post I dont have much to add. I think Carls quote at the top starts it off well, and Ill end with a letter from Brad to John Doe: Dear John, I received your resume today and we have to break up already. I cant figure out who you are, what youve done or what you want. There is no way we can have a relationship based on that, plus youre just plain boring. Sorry John, I want excitement, I want a resume that grabs me. Just because youre in black and white doesnt mean you cant be colorful. Do you have any idea how many resumes try to get my attention? I only gave you a second glance because your friend Jason asked me to. I have to wonder what he sees in you. I know, down under all the plainness, there must be some accomplishments. Oh, and you seem to be kind of scattered too (never mind my rambling, kind of hard to follow, huh? Like your resume). I’ll pass you along to my friend Brad, perhaps he can give you some suggestions. Sorry John Signed Some Recruiter The Resume Experiment Series Post I Introduction Post II First Impressions/Reactions Post III Formatting Post IV Content (todays post) Post V Wrap-Up (Friday)

6 Social Media Platforms You Must Use for Employer Branding

6 Social Media Platforms You Must Use for Employer Branding Do you currently use social media to support your employer brand? Maybe its something which youve considered recently but you werent sure whether it was necessary? If you are looking to attract the best talent amongst a digitally savvy generation, having a social media presence is no longer a nice to have, its a requirement! Potential employees will spend their time looking into social channels such as: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube to learn about the companys work and culture. This means that you  have to  create content which boasts a culture and content rich environment! Heres how you can utilise each platform to ensure you do this well: 1. Facebook   Facebook has the largest potential reach of all social platforms and you can bet that one of the first things a potential employee will check is your companys Facebook page make sure that your wall is full of content and that you regularly post images and video (where possible)! Based on resources available you can either utilise your existing company page or create a new company page specifically for employer branding purposes. Facebook is a great platform for showcasing varied content due to the fact that its demographic is very large. Make sure you highlight  a mixture of news features and employee stories so you can optimise your audience reach. If you are setting up the page for the first time,  notify employees about  the company page and urge them to participate in discussions / content sharing, you can even run internal competitions on the page to ensure that the page grows quickly. To support this set up Facebook live sessions and closed groups which allow members to interact directly! 2. LinkedIn   On LinkedIn you can create a company page to showcase your organisation, its products or services and culture. You also  have the freedom to customize the company page (to a degree) at no cost. For minimum time spent, make sure you include the company details (address, website, company size etc), add a logo, and customise a banner to your page to make it look professional! From the initial page you can also customize the careers section to ensure that its authentic and representative of your company. You can upload photos, feature executives, employees and include employee-contributed blogs which are great pieces of content for current employees and potential employees alike!  Dont forget your employees are your brand ambassadors so make sure that they have listed the company as their workplace and that each of their profiles looks professional (unified headshots and company bios).  If you have brand collateral make sure to include this on your employees LinkedIn pages too! 3. Instagram   The key to ensuring that your Instagram account does well  is by posting good quality images, regularly! Its a great platform to get creative with both culture and open positions. If you are feeling experimental try something like Marriotts employer branding video: View this post on Instagram Help wanted! Career zig-zaggists welcome. See how #Marriott supports all types of career growth. #MarriottJobs #HotelJobs #FindYourWorld http://bit.ly/GrowYourCareerWithMarriott A post shared by Marriott Careers (@marriottcareers) on Jul 23, 2015 at 10:30am PDT If being  creative isnt your thing, sit back and grow  your employer brand on Instagram by getting employees to post their own content. The best way to do this is to invest into the culture and ethos of the company. Get the employees to do fun things and urge them to upload the content themselves. Make sure you encourage the use of a company specific #, a great example of this is NPR. They created a life at #  #nprlife  and the content has grown organically over time! View this post on Instagram TBT: Chilling with NoName, nbd. ??? @ameetag #NPRInterns #nprlife #tinydeskconcert A post shared by NPR Interns (@nprinterns) on Mar 16, 2017 at 12:49pm PDT 4. Twitter   Due to the fact that Twitter is an open platform, people can view your content without following you, which means your potential audience reach is uncapped and exponential. This also means that the content you put out is extremely important and merely putting a # in front of keywords isnt enough to ensure you get results! Make sure to do research on your potential audience, the content which will resonate with them and use #s to support this. Dont worry you can use an array of tools to help you find out which #s will resonate with your audience such as HashTracking which will do all the heavy lifting for you! If you want to check out some players who have already done this and done it well, try Hootsuite and Twitter themselves (below): Owly breaking it down at #hootsx breakfast @sxsw #sxsw #hootsuitelife @hootsuite pic.twitter.com/0mIwkeusKq Tori Swanson (@talktomenaked) March 12, 2017 Happy 5 YEAR Twitterversary to these two!! Thanks for all you have done to make Twitter the place that it is today!! #weloveyouguys pic.twitter.com/kySyQLgKeu Katie Marcotte (@kms) January 12, 2017 There are also a number of tools which you can also use such as Google Trends and Hashtags which allow you to identify people who are talking about certain topics. You can search for specific #s and filter by desired location, from here you can engage with potential candidates who have a genuine interest in the field. Stay away from just tweeting about open positions this will only create a disengaged audience as nobody wants to be constantly spammed about new positions which become available. Be sure to check out how Disney and 5 other top employers use Twitter for this. 5. YouTube   The popularity of video is already huge and ever-growing! Its also well-known that content is more likely to rank in the first page results of Google than text alone and can play a part in improving SEO. Make sure you are on top of the video trend by creating a company channel on YouTube and invest some time into solid video content. If you dont have a big budget for an employer branding campaign, not to worry you can make your own videos relatively cheaply. You can shoot your own interviews of employees or do some  spotlights on which can work really well. Potential employees are likely to research what it would be like to work for the organisation which will give them a realistic expectation but are also a great way of highlighting company values. 6. Snapchat   This is a great platform to have fun with and with the evolving use of video its an opportunity to engage with a typically younger demographic, experiment with emojis, filters and upload internal company content. With the introduction of Instagram stories and Facebook messenger day, the video can be re-purposed across an array of channels to ensure that you are  reaching the biggest possible audience. Heres how Cisco leverages Snapchat for employer branding. Conclusion Different platforms can be used in slightly different ways to engage with a range of demographics so make sure you do research into your audience who you are trying to reach, where they visit and are most likely to engage. Start with a smaller group of platforms which are most likely to support this and nail them. After you have these mastered, grow across the other channels and have at least one experimental channel which you can have fun with!

Try this Dont ask for what you want when you negotiate

Try this Dont ask for what you want when you negotiate When I founded my first company I didnt have time to find someone to date, but I knew that I wanted to get married. So I followed all the advice I had read about how you should tell people what you want in order to get what you want. I started telling everyone that I wanted to get married, and a lot of people set me up on dates. But things did not go well. Almost every guy I went out with ended up wanting to do business with me. (Yes, I went into business with one of them.) And often when I met with an investor about the next round of funding for my company, our meeting (that was invariably at some swanky restaurant he owned) turned into a date by the end of the evening. I started questioning the idea that I should be so frank about looking to get married. Life is one big negotiating opportunity, and I saw I was not doing well. Also, I noticed that men dont generally ask for what they want. The classic example: They ask you out to lunch when what they really want is sex. There is so much written about how women are not as good at negotiating as men are. Lots of studies show that women dont even start negotiating nine times out of ten, men will ask and women wont. And when women do negotiate, they dont get what they want as often as men do. There is no solid research to tell us the why behind the poor negotiations. Most people who toss around ideas about why women dont ask, toss around some version of the idea that women dont like conflict: Women like to collaborate; women are caretakers. I dont believe this, because in a relationship, women are typically more comfortable with conflict than men are. In fact, women are more likely than men to bring up conflict in a relationship. And men are more likely to withdraw from conflict. (This last link is so fun. Its dating tips for guys from AskMen.com a site that is always right on target about how women think.) Anyway, I think the reason women do poorly in negotiations is that women assume you should ask for what you want, but men know thats not how the game is played. Men know that you need to be aware of what you want, but thats not necessarily what you ask for. So then it makes sense that men negotiate more than women because women are facing conflict head-on and men are not. Its much easier to approach someone you are not going to instigate conflict with. So negotiations work best when you dont assume you need to ask for exactly what you want. Think of the sex example: If a guy approaches you for sex, you hang up on him. If he approaches you for lunch, you think hes very sweet. And then later you have sex. Salary is another situation where you are better off not asking for what you want. In salary negotiations, you always want to wait until the other person gives the number. Even though you know what you want, if you say the first number, your counterpart will tell you it is higher than he or she was planning to pay, no matter what the number is. When someone asks how much money you want, a way to get out asking directly for the very high salary you really want is to say things like, I want to consider the whole package not just salary or I want to make sure we are a good match before we talk about salary. This forces the other person to give a number first, and then you can say you want more. My friend Chris Yeh gave me another good example of when you should not ask for what you want: Founding a company. He said if you want advice, ask for money, and if you want money, ask for advice. For those of you who have dealt with investors, youll recognize that this is exactly how the world of startups works. And based on my own experience of trying to date while running a startup, I think this might be true too: If you want to go into business with someone, ask them on a date. And if you want to date someone, go into business with them.

Personal Branding Interview Chris Garrett - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Chris Garrett - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Chris Garrett, who is a professional blogger, Internet Marketing Consultant, new media industry commentator, writer, coach, speaker, trainer, web geek, and co-author of ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. In this interview, Chris talks about how blogging has changed in the past few years, if its still possible to stand out in the 200 million person blogosphere, tips for advanced bloggers, mistakes people make, and why quality is more important than quantity when it comes to subscribers. Whats changed in the blogging world since you wrote the first edition? The biggest changes I would say are the increase in emphasis on social media, the constant evolution of tools, and the increase in exploration of indirect monetization (making money because you blog, through services and products, and so on, rather than from your blog with ads etc). Is it still possible to be successful despite the fact that there are 200 million plus blogs? Well, first it depends on your definition of success. If your definition is become a gazillionare then dont hold your breath. If you mean make a decent income then yes, we see it all the time. Just dont be a me-too, make your own space, and have passion enough to stick with it. What are your top three tips for advanced bloggers who are looking to up their game? Keep experimenting and breaking out of your comfort zone. Doing what you have always done is a rut not a route to growth. Make sure you are keeping your fans happy rather than putting all your energy into getting noticed. The people who are already connecting with you are your best advocates and should be treated with care and respect. Partner, guest blog, make friends get out of your cave and shake some hands. It is very difficult to get to a decent scale all on your own, you need other people. What mistakes have you seen bloggers make since you started? Oh there are lots! The mistake that most prominently comes to mind is something Darren and I have talked about a couple of times. Its the endless cycle of bloggers who treat other people badly but then wonder why nobody wants to talk to them any more. There is a phrase that applies; Be kind to people on the way up, you might need them on the way back down!. I cant count the number of people who used to be well-known but you dont hear about them now because they burnt out their reputation by constantly attacking to get attention rather than adding any kind of value to the community. Attention is not everything, it might seem boring to be nice but it helps in the long term! A lot of bloggers are interesting in getting more subscribers. Should they worry about this? No, but yes. What I mean is, do not look at your subscriber count just as a number! These are people, and should be treated as such. You want to attract a group of people who really want to hear from you, but the subscriber count is just an indication of how well you are attracting AN audience, but you need to know if you are attracting the RIGHT audience, and also if you are not just creating a situation where you are losing almost as many as you gain. - Chris Garrett is a professional blogger, Internet Marketing Consultant, new media industry commentator, writer, coach, speaker, trainer and web geek. He is the co-author, with Darren Rowse, of ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. He was also a founding member of Performancing. You might know him from his past writing for such sites as ASPToday, ASPAlliance, Threadwatch, or more recently, ProBlogger, The Blog Herald, FreelanceSwitch, Cogniview, and CopyBlogger. Chris consults, trains and speaks about internet marketing, blogging and new media at events such as the Successful Outstanding Bloggers conference in Chicago, Affiliate Expo, WordCamp, the Netherlands Social Media Congress and the Institute of Fundraising.

What to Look For in a Military Resume Writing Service

What to Look For in a Military Resume Writing ServiceIf you have been looking for the best military resume writing service online, you may be surprised to find out that there are a lot of them. In fact, it is estimated that nearly 20% of all employers out there do require a military resume when reviewing applicants' qualifications. This is an indication that your resume is worth something.Not only will military resumes be reviewed in the same way as resumes from other companies, but they will also carry a high level of significance. You need to make sure that you send your resume to the right place if you want to stand out. Of course, you are already aware that your resume needs to fit the requirements of each company and therefore your resume needs to be a good match. Here are a few things that you need to watch out for when looking for the best military resume writing service.First, the company should be capable of writing a resume that specifically fits the job description of the employer. Ideally, you want your resume to fit the requirements of each of the companies that you are applying to. While you are on the search for the best military resume writing service, you also want to find a resume writer that has enough experience to be able to write a great resume. In most cases, the most experienced resume writers will get their resumes written by employers, as well.Secondly, you should look for a resume writer that has a broad range of experiences. For instance, if you want to be a construction specialist, you want to hire a resume writer that has some experience with construction and has been able to meet the hiring requirements of a construction company. On the other hand, if you want to be a salesperson, you will probably get better results with a resume writer that has some experience with sales.In addition, you should look for a military resume writing service that is reliable. As mentioned previously, your resume needs to fit the requirements of each of the different companies that you are applying to. You want to ensure that the writer is professional and does not play games with you by sending you a resume that is substandard.You should also be sure that the military resume writing service you use is consistent with other resume services. This means that you should check reviews for any claims that are made about the company website. Reviews can help you get a better understanding of the work of the writers and make sure that you are able to use one of these services without having to worry about things like plagiarism.Lastly, when you use a military resume writing service, you should have confidence in the work that they have done. By this, we mean that you should feel comfortable with the resume writer and feel like you are getting the best results for your money. When you are looking for a military resume writing service, you should be confident that you are using the best possible service available to you.These are just a few things that you need to keep in mind when you are looking for the best military resume writing service. There are many of these services available online and you should be able to find one that is reliable and comfortable with your resume writing needs. Keep in mind that it is very important that you look at all of the resume writing services and that you are satisfied with the resume writer that you choose.

Unexpected Places You Can Find Your Dream Job - CareerAlley

Unexpected Places You Can Find Your Dream Job - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Being in the wrong job is never fun. However, perhaps the most worrying of problems is when you dont even know what job you want to be in. As time goes on, it might feel like your prospects of finding the career for you are sinking and time is running out. Thats not necessarily true, but it can be an immediate relief when the light-switch finally flicks and the answer is right in front you. Were going to look at places you might be able to find that answer. Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash Your passion It might not exactly be out-of-the-blue but sometimes looking at your passion for a career might seem like its somewhat impractical at first glance. Especially if your passion is for something creative. However, it pays to remind yourself that there are people who share that exact same passion who spend every day of their lives working on it as part of their career. Its true that the number of creative people in creative jobs compared to those that arent might seem like a small number. But the greatest difference between those who make it in a creative career is the fact that theyre willing to treat it as a job, not just a hobby, and will put the work in not only their craft but how they can make money from it. But the greatest difference between those who make it in a creative career is the fact that theyre willing to treat it as a job, not just a hobby, and will put the work in not only their craft but how they can make money from it. Tweet This Your mind Some people dont really have a passion for a particular vocation and thats okay. Instead, they might find that their passion is for a certain kind of work. They might find theyre the empathetic person whos best suited to jobs that have them dealing with people on a daily basis. They might find that theyre natural problem solvers and that it doesnt matter what kind of analysis theyre doing and solutions theyre providing so long as they have a problem to solve. The trick is finding out what your personality type is. Once you understand what kind of stimuli you respond to and what kind of work you do best with, finding the career to match your personality type can be easy. Source Your values You might not be driven by a specific kind of work or a passion to produce or do something particular. Rather, there are people who are truly driven by the values they want to see in the world and, honestly, theres a shortage of people like that needed in lots of industries. If its a religious faith that drives you, then working in religious roles such as teaching religious studies or working as a healthcare chaplain might give you just the career fulfillment youre looking for. Otherwise, there might be some cause that youre particularly motivated by, and nonprofits or corporate organizations aligned with those goals that could use your help. Spiritual fulfillment isnt the first thing that a lot of career-minded people consider, but it can be one of the most personally satisfying aspects of a job./p Staying motivated when you have a goal can be tough, especially if that goal seems far away. If your goal is to land the job of your dreams, youll often have to spend months, or even years attempting to get to where you want to be. However, that doesnt mean you shouldnt do it! If it was easy, wouldnt everybody be going out there and picking and choosing what they wanted? Where would the fun in that be? Enjoying your journey, the contrast in it, and learning from it is one of the best ways to improve your life! Staying Motivated On a Course To Your Dream Job LinkedIn Learning Price: LinkedIn Learning provides over 10,000 business, technology, and creative skills development courses designed for in-depth instruction and just-in-time microlearning Enhance Your Skills We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Your past Its always worth taking a look at the experiences youve had in the past, too. A lot of people have trouble divorcing the work theyve done from the workplace theyve been in for example. You might have very well-loved the role but hated the job. If thats the case, then you can look into other industries and other work environments you might recreate that role but to more positive results. You can even take control of it yourself and begin freelancing your way to a career as your own boss doing the work you love in the way that fits you personally. Link to Pic Left field When youre looking for direction in your career, its worth considering that the right answer might be out there but you just havent found the right place to look for it yet. Stretch your legs and take a step outside your comfort zone. You can go to informational interviews, for instance, that give you a chance to speak to professionals about what its like to work in their industry. You can visit networking events such as job fairs and spend time entertaining ideas that you might never have properly considered before. Or you can ask your friends and family and ask them about their careers. You never know where inspiration is going to strike but youre more likely to find it if you actively look for it. Once you know where you need to work, dont accept compromises. Plot out what education youll need, what skills you should focus on, and start networking and getting in touch with the industry. It will be hard work, but once you have your sights set, nothing else will do. Personalized interview coaching Price: At TopInterview, each session is tailored to you and your unique goals. Your choice of comprehensive packages make it easy to get the help you need to nail your interviews. TopInterview offers three plans based on your needs Ace your interview We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. 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Can Your Seasonal Business Survive Year-Round

Can Your Seasonal Business Survive Year-Round With the holiday season about to kick off, many seasonal businesses will be shifting their operations into high gear as they prepare for their peak period. Every month, around  534,000 new businesses are launched  and a significant percentage of them are aimed at catering to customer demands of a specific season like Easter, Christmas or even summer. For any business owner, there are a lot of misconceptions and  fears about starting a business, which are magnified for those launching a seasonal one. While it is true that seasonal businesses face some unique roadblocks throughout the year (and particularly during off-season), the key lies in planning ahead and being adaptable throughout the year.   Get Your Cash Flow Management Right For seasonal businesses to survive, owners must focus on two main pillars: good cash flow management and maintaining control of your costs. Around 82 percent of small businesses fail due to inconsistent cash flow. For seasonal businesses, this worry is enhanced as sales can slow or be practically nonexistent during those off-peak seasons. This is where good cash flow management comes in. In your peak seasons, create a dedicated reserve fund where you set aside a small percentage of your sales for those slower months. Also, you can time invoices and offer credit options so that you can have payments still coming in during those off-peak months. However, be careful since the downside to offering a credit option is that there is a chance of debtor defaults. A good credit collection policy and a well versed, efficient team are needed to ensure your accounts receivables collections stay on track. Make Operational Adjustments The other main aspect of ensuring your business’ survival is  taking control of your business costs, particularly in the off-season. Minimizing your costs in those times means you end up with fewer expenses to account for in a time where receipts would have slowed. While some expenses like loan repayments cannot be removed completely during those months, there are ways to cut expenses.   Start with your opening and staff hours. During recruitment, make it clear to employees that offseason hours would be part-time. Alternatively, if you find that the costs of running the business during off-peak seasons exceed any projected revenue or you are unable to service your debt, it may be wiser to close your business. In this case, you may  qualify for a discharge of your debts  to cover outstanding creditors due to the drop in income.  If you are renting an office or factory space, consider a seasonal lease or subletting it in the slower months. However, be sure to  establish clear communication channels for the business  and let customers know in advance of your changed hours. This avoids any confusion on whether the company has stopped trading, and what hours it is open.   Focus On Off-Peak Marketing Research The months when your sales and manufacturing have slowed is the perfect time to focus on other parts of the business, such as marketing, customer research and building your business’ brand. Take advantage of your downtime to formulate a good marketing campaign or come up with unique ways to  build your brand offline and online. You can also use this time to conduct market research and customer surveys to identify the trends and changing demands of your target market. You can then incorporate these into your product or service offerings when you do launch your line for the season or when buying supplies for your peak season (if your business is more of a middle man). Keep in mind to keep advertising/ market research activities cost-effective since profits would have slowed. Make Use Of Forecasting For Expenses Forecasting comes in useful for those seasons where sales and customer traffic picks up. In the lead up to these periods, businesses have to spend more on preparing for increased business including hiring additional staff/extending work hours, increasing inventory and an increase in variable expenses such as electricity. However, due to the slower months, many businesses find themselves unprepared financially for this bump in costs. Forecasting helps businesses estimate and then put away money/arrange financing to cover these costs. For a cost-effective option, business owners can opt to do the work themselves with the help of business forecasting apps or software. Alternatively, you can choose to outsource it to a business planning and projection professional. Seasonal businesses do come with a set of distinctive challenges you need to be ready for but they are not insurmountable. Ensuring sustainability of seasonal business centers on planning ahead and the creation of off-peak safeguards. Do this and your business stands a formidable chance of being one of the 50 percent of businesses making it past its initial years.