1.     5 ways to look relaxed during a job interview
You might be surprised what you should consider doing the morning of an interview….
2.     After the Job Interview – Keep Searching and Keep Interviewing
With three reasons why you should absolutely not stop your job hunting efforts after an interview, no matter how good you think it went…
3.     Job interviewing 101: How to succeed in different situations
Consider doing this one thing to give yourself the advantage in a group interview…

Interviewing not your thing? Do you think interviews are stressful? Do you find it difficult to formulate responses off the top of your head? Are you afraid you’ll say too much or too little? Then let’s talk! Call or email me today. Your next interview could be tomorrow.

1. Remove “responsible for” and reword to lead off with an action verb. It’s more compelling, descriptive, and personalized.
2. Remove words such as all, various, several, multiple, assorted, and etc. They add no value and in my opinion, sound “lazy.” Either be more specific or be less wordy.
3. Start with a headline that defines who you are followed by a concise summary paragraph and a bulleted list of areas of expertise to present you and your strengths to the reader before diving into the details of your professional experience. Objective statements are extremely passé.
4. Quantify accomplishments and facts wherever and however you can.
5. Address one of the questions “so what?” “with what benefit?” or “with what result?” for each of your bullets to ensure you’re conveying to reader why it was an accomplishment or achievement.
6. Limit bullets to 2-3 lines and paragraphs to 5-6 lines max for greater readability and ease of scanning down the page.

If you take a few minutes to implement these six suggestions, your résumé will become more readable, specific, and updated – three factors you want in your favor to rise to the top of the résumé pile.

To read more on the subject, the following post shares why it’s so important from a recruiter’s perspective to submit a resume free of spelling and grammar mistakes:

10 Stupid Spelling And Grammar Mistakes You Must Avoid

Of course if you would like to speak with me about your resume challenges, and how we can help you achieve a well-written, keyword driven, accomplishment based resume, contact me by email or phone. I’d be happy to talk to you.

1.  Corporate Recruiters and Your Job Search

Why no news is not necessarily bad news when dealing with a corporate recruiter…

2.  3 Reasons Why Companies Use Applicant Tracking Systems

How government reporting requirements are driving more companies to use application tracking systems…

3.  Practical Tips for Online Networking    

How to target your networking to specific sites for better results…

Please contact me by email or phone should you wish to discuss your job search needs. Partnering with a job search expert could expedite your job search results.

Susan Whitcomb of The Academies recently shared with career professionals a very specific, actionable tipto help job seekers develop a list of target companies. I find it’s easy to tell clients to develop a list of target companies, and clients agree to the value of being proactive vs. waiting to respond (along with everyone else) to job ads once they’re posted. The reality though is that it’s rarely crossed off of a lot of clients’ to-do lists because they aren’t sure how to best do so.

To start, Susan recommends listing 5-10 companies that appeal to you. To add to this list, research additional companies online, focused either by geographic market or industry. LinkedIn is one of best places to do this. Visit the profiles of professionals currently working at your target companies, and review where these professionals previously worked as potential possibilities to expand your target list.

As a next step, a recent post from a colleague talks about asking your network for help making new connections within your target companies to increase the chance of establishing new relationships that could lead to job referrals…
7 Quick Fixes To Accelerate Your Job Search

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If you found this tip helpful and are looking for more suggestions on how to get results from your efforts, the Job Search Success System offers just the guidance you’re seeking. Its 18 modules (audio and written) cover such related topics as online job search techniques, secrets to tapping into the hidden job market, and how to use LinkedIn.  For details about the program and how to order either the self-paced (Silver) version or the VIP version with personal coaching time with one of the nation’s leading career coaches, click.

Since LinkedIn is a forward facing marketing document, it gives you the opportunity to use your background and experience to tell your story while focusing on the value that information has for future positions.

        Let’s look at the top profile block.

1. LinkedIn Picture: Headshots are displayed up close with the new changes LinkedIn has incorporated. LinkedIn puts a small white border around your picture so add a bigger picture to get the most from your headshot. A professional headshot is best, avoid a “desk” shot or picture with multiple people.

2. Title/Professional Headline: This is the first impression of who you are – your branding message. People who are showing up higher in LinkedIn have phrases in their name field and professional headline telling people who they were. You have 120 characters to communicate your brand.

Jobseekers: you can put your certifications in the professional headline like PMP. EXAMPLE: Jane Jobseeker, project management professional (PMP).

Clients in transition: in the current job section do NOT put consultant if you are currently unemployed. Instead, consider a statement like: Passionate about project management, OR Project management expert OR Expertise in project management.

Other EXAMPLES: Wanted for future HR assistant position…..OR CTO ready…..OR Purchasing professional looking for next career opportunity.

Remember the focus of the professional headline – what’s in it for the reader? If you set yourself up as a “solution” you may get better results. EXAMPLE: I help companies achieve their sales goals by XXX

If you are changing industries: Consider letting your readers know how your current career has set you up for the next step.

EXAMPLE: Having experience in the industry for the past 20 years has prepared me for XXX. OR Accomplishments I have achieved as XXX have positioned me for career opportunities in XX

3. Create a vanity URL: Don’t know what this is? In the bottom left corner of your profile you will see the LinkedIn symbol followed by a URL. It may currently show up as www.linkedin.com/in/john29385hk . What is preferable and easier to use is creating a URL link that is customized to you. You can put your LinkedIn URL in the resume, email signature, and on business cards or V cards.

EXAMPLE: www.linkedin.com/in/johnjones

4.  Contact Info: In the bottom right hand corner of the top section of your LinkedIn Profile there is a “contact info” tab. If you want people to contact you now that they have found you, make it easy. Be sure to populate it with your email address, phone number if you wish, twitter handle and personal website (which could be your online resume) or blog link. Who can see this information is up to you. You can set your security so that only “1sts” can access this contact information.  Also, you can add contact information in your Summary and Additional Information sections if you prefer.

After recommending just these tips recently to a client, it was only a few hours before he started getting more visitors to his profile. There are many other sections of the LinkedIn profile that I did not address here, and they are important too. If you would like to know more about how you can get noticed on LinkedIn, call or email me and we can set up a consultation.

-       Don’t have time to drive to a meeting or listen to teleconferences scheduled at someone else’s convenience?

-       Would you like to have a job search system that would contain all the elements you need to move ahead in your career?

-       Do you need a simple, easy process to guide you through job search and result in a higher success rate than you have achieved in the past?

If you replied yes to any one of these questions, the Job Search Success System may be your answer!

Having been in business nearly 10 years, I’ve come to realize almost all job seekers echo the same frustration: “Job search strategies and techniques are my biggest challenge.” As a certified resume writer, I hear my clients’ frustration. To help ensure their success, I have partnered with Mary Elizabeth Bradford, a leading national career coach and author, who has created a time-tested, trusted, and award-winning job search tool, The Job Search Success System.

My colleague Mary Elizabeth Bradford has shown hundreds of professionals at all levels how to land their ideal job in less time while maximizing their compensation. Learn how to easily set up a job search strategy to find positions perfect for you in a current or new industry, tap into the hidden job market, use Internet techniques to research companies and industries, overcome job search challenges, and much more. You’ll have access to multiple step-by-step coaching audios and corresponding worksheets that are yours to download and keep in your library to refer back to throughout your career.

One of the benefits of this Job Search Success System is that you have access to it at your convenience.  You can go through the modules at your own pace, from the comfort of your home or office. And, once you have purchased the program, it is yours for life with no monthly maintenance fees.

Want to know more? Program details and purchase information available at http://tinyurl.com/anq29un.

Even if you’ve never considered a program like this one before, I encourage you to check this one out. If you’re a client of mine or a loyal reader of my blog, you know I do not often recommend products and services.  I stand behind The Job Search Success System and am available to discuss how it would benefit you personally in your unique job search.

Much has been written and debated on the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS) lately.  I am often asked about it by prospective clients and approach this topic from two angles.

In general, for every resume I write, I request 2-3 target job postings for several reasons, one of which is to ensure I am incorporating industry terminology into the document.  Not all companies and not all positions are screened by ATS, and unfortunately you will not always know when submitting your resume. Applying to smaller companies or positions for which you know you can submit your resume through an internal contact are effective ways to circumvent an ATS.

If you’re responding to online postings or submitting your resume in to a company’s website, there is a greater chance they are utilizing an ATS to help with initial screenings. In those situations or whenever a client feels he/she may be encountering ATS-related roadblocks, I utilize PrepTel’s Resumeter service to optimize keywords in the resume for a particular position. The frustrating and illogical part of this process (and why the Resumeter service adds value to the process) is that ATS software programs (of which there are several) determine keywords differently (via algorithms) than a human reading through the job posting.

It should be noted though that optimizing for one posting will not ensure optimization for another posting so this can become a labor-intensive approach to submitting resumes and one that plays to the computer so whenever possible I recommend the first strategy of networking into a company and passing your resume on to a “live” person since (1) it helps you stand out as a candidate, and (2) at the end of the day, it’s still people (and not computers) who hire people.

The good news is PrepTel’s Resumeter tool is free for job seekers’ own use or you can opt to work with me to optimize your resume for a particular posting. Email or call me today for a price quote and to get started right away!

How to Say “Look at Me!” to an Online Recruiter

By Phyllis Korkki

I love my colleague Barbara Safani’s suggestion of posting such videos as giving a speech or training presentation on YouTube to gain credibility and add to your online searchability.

How to ace a Skype job interview

By Amy Levin-Epstein

This article offers five great pointers, with my favorite being to maintain good posture and, for women, to dress in solid jewel tones (versus the old stand-by or default of black) to brighten your face “without appearing bleak or busy.”

Online Career Fairs

More of an announcement than an article, but Tory Johnson’s organization, Women for Hire, has transitioned their career fairs to an online format with three this spring – Thursday, February 28^th, March 28^th, and April 25^th from 1-4 pm ET/10 am-1 pm PT  They are free to register and attend. The set up offers you the opportunity to connect via chat with a recruiter or company representative for a full seven minutes.

To take advantage of this time and direct exposure, Women for Hire recommends you do your homework ahead of the event as to who will be at each “booth,” have your elevator pitch or selling points ready to copy and paste into the chat function, ask open-ended questions, and keep an eye on the clock so you leave yourself enough time for a thoughtful wrap up.

Do you have questions about any of these resources? Feel free to contact me. I’d be happy to help you with your online Skype interview techniques, as well as strategies for attending an online career fair, and other job search tools you need assistance with.

What is Muay Thai, you ask? It translates to the “art of eight limbs.” So while boxers use their hands, Muay Thai fighters utilize their hands, legs, knees, and elbows. (Cool, right? The elbows are particularly fun to throw.)

I’ve been training Muay Thai kickboxing for about eight months now, and people close to me know that I’ll talk forever to anyone who’ll listen about how it has improved my life. It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post with a personal perspective, and I realized some of the lessons I’ve learned over the past year translate well to job search and career management.

Three lessons about how to effectively job search that I’ve learned from training muay Thai:

1. You get out of it exactly what you put into it. You can attend a class and throw punches and kicks at 50% power, but you’re not doing anyone any favors, or you can give 110% to any training session and see results and improvement faster.

Job searching is similar. You have to push yourself to work harder and longer. If you don’t, you’re not doing anyone any favors. Push yourself to hit a new target, perhaps making three more calls every day, think outside of the box by being open minded to alternative job targets, and cover all your bases with a targeted resume, well-written cover letter, a detailed, branded LinkedIn profile, and an online professional presence. My colleague Julie Walraven wrote a short but effective post inspired by a Chris Brogan quote about making excuses or making progress. Which one will you choose?

2. Pay attention to the details – all the time, every time. Any one technique in Muay Thai has a checklist of what each body part is supposed to be doing right. When you throw a punch, it’s: shoulder up, chin down, other hand at your cheek, and hips turning while pivoting on the ball of your foot. Every time you throw a punch, proper form requires keeping everything in check. “Shoulder, chin, shoulder” can be heard as a reminder in every class. There’s no point in practicing if your technique is wrong. You practice to get it right every time.

Networking is the same way. There should never be anything considered a “practice conversation” or a “test run.” Just like practicing with sloppy form is a waste of time, networking just to say you’re networking is a waste of your time. You never know who could lead you to your next opportunity. If you’re going to go through the motions of networking, do it purposefully and correctly. Prepare and make every networking call your best. Offer to help those in your network. Stay connected to people on a consistent basis. Reach out to people with specific questions about whom or what they might know. Make every call or contact count. If you’re worried about being an inconvenience, my colleague Miriam Salpeter shares how to convince people to help you with your job search without being annoying.

3. Push past your comfort zone – again, and again. Trying new things and reaching new achievement levels is, in my opinion, what makes us better. It’s hard to improve if you don’t stretch yourself and remain open minded, and it’s certainly no fun going through life being afraid of what makes you uncomfortable.

The Wise Job Search wrote about quit looking for easy – and I could not agree more. In your job search, how often do you avoid making that cold call or reaching out to someone in your network to ask for help? My colleague Lisa Rangel explains why conversations are the number one job search metric everyone should be tracking – with which I also could not agree more. Easy or comfortable is not going to get you where you want to be.

* * *

As a friend of mine recently commented, things enter our life at a certain point for a reason. As a woman, Muay Thai is one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done. It’s amazing exercise (cardio and strength training all in one), confidence boost, and stress reliever all in one. My wish for you is that you find your own activity that adds clarity to your job search and a release from the stress of your daily life. If you’d like help moving forward in your job search, email or call me now. Don’t wait another day. Perhaps the time is right to partner on a new resume, executive bio, or LinkedIn profile.

In addition to the following questions, remember to think broadly as professional accomplishments can also relate to training and education, continuing education, recognition, and soft skills as well as communication and leadership skills.

1. What is unique about how you do your job?
2. What does your current boss praise you for?
3. If you have quotas or goals in your current position, are you able to meet or exceed them?
4. Were you hired to meet a particular challenge for the company?
5. Were you rewarded with any additional responsibility?
6. Have you done anything to improve customer relationships with the company?
7. Have you done anything to improve communications, either internally or externally?
8. What teams have you been part of?
9. What are you most proud of?
10. What would your co-workers say about you?
11. What do you enjoy the most?
12. How did you take initiative in your position?
13. What special projects have you worked on?
14. How did you set yourself apart?
15. How did you go above and beyond what was required?
16. What have you done to increase your responsibilities in your current job?
17. Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of?
18. Were you promoted in recognition of your work performance?
19. Did you increase sales or profits?
20. Did you recruit new customers for the business?
21. Did you save the company money?
22. Did you institute any new processes or procedures?

Most people are not comfortable talking about their accomplishments and think they are bragging. In job search, it is very important to showcase your talents and skills, so the reader of your resume will be able to capture the essence of who you are and what you can do for them.

I hope this 3-part series has been a valuable resource for you. Need some help implementing some of your accomplishments into your resume? Call on a professional to help! I am available to help you create a resume that will showcase your talents and skills, and help you stand out above your competition.