Resume Help Blog

Archive for February, 2009

People often get confused at the difference between a follow-up letter and a thank you letter. A follow-up letter would be sent days or weeks have gone by after your interview and they are waiting for the decision. In the candidate’s mind they are wondering when they can expect a decision. The answer is simple – NEVER SEND A FOLLOW-UP LETTER! Here’s the reason.

What value does this add to the employer when you ask them when a decision will be made? The answer is obvious – NONE! You are just pestering them and people hate to be pestered. Odds are one of two things have transpired. Either they have not made a decision or they decided not to hire you. So use this opportunity to impress them and gain a competitive edge.

CALL them so you can have a conversation. This will build rapport and reemphasize your strengths. Begin by saying how excited you are about the opportunity, have given some more thought to the position and have some questions.

Now impress them with your insights and intelligence. It’s always best to ask questions that support your case. For example you might ask:

Is this position for the new plant you announced in your latest press release? You might remember I have been the plant manager at 2 startups and beat production goals in both companies.

See the difference? Instead of being a nuisance, you have reinforced your value proposition to the firm. This may be all it takes. It might make the difference between getting the position or missing out.

Ref: gotthejob.com

What should you do if you need a career tune-up? 
An awful lot of people will wait until their career crashes and burns before they seek the guidance of a career counselor or coach, and even then they want to make sure that they cannott fix it themselves first.

What would happen if you met with a career counselor before your career had a breakdown, before being laid off or before you became so discouraged that you are ready to throw in the towel?  Let me suggest that you would be well on your way to a better, doing something that you love to do, career instead of dreading to go to work every day.

Does this sound too good to be true? It can happen by developing the right career plan.

Career counselors and coaches do not have all the answers for you. They aren’t magical. They can’t answer the question “what should I be when I grow up?” However, they can guide you on a journey to help you discover the answer for yourself.

The most common issue that most job seekers have is resume development. Most people start with a resume, without having a clue what they want to do, what their skills and talents are and where they would like to apply them. They aren’t creative and only list their jobs without any explanation and thus their resumes are boring. 

You must look at your resume as selling a product (you). Then define what you have to offer and what problems you can solve. Only then can you develop and implement a plan. Until you understand your “product”, you cannot define who needs your product or who is willing to buy it. This will take some time and some work. You will be the one who decides where you want to be and what you want to do, instead of waiting for someone else to make those decisions.

What if you have already been laid off or expect a downsizing?  A career counselor or coach can help you here as well. If you need quick results, you will need to work smarter, not harder. Career counselors and coaches can put together a plan to help you to develop job search strategies. They will develop an effective resume first and then use all available resources to unearth job openings. 

However, not all career counselors are equally effective. You need to find a career counselor or coach that you can work well with. One who will help you to identify any career gaps, and who is astute enough to generate solutions and suggestions that will help you move forward. 

The difference between a career counselor and career coach is how they approach your needs.  Both career counselors and career coaches will work with you to identify your strengths, goals and of course interests. Of course they expect you to take responsibility for your outcome. In other words if you think this is a magic pill, you are mistaken. Your coach will be direct, will push you, and will probably schedule check-in calls. A career counselor will let you set the pace, encourage you to call when you need help, and expect you to report in at agreed upon times. Which is better? Only you can tell. How motivated are you? Either approach will move you forward.  You decide which approach will work best for you.

Exercise caution when selecting either one. In some states they are licensed, in others not. Therefore it is your responsibility as a consumer to do your research. If licensing is required in your state they should have a have a graduate degree in counseling or a related field, have a solid track record of helping individuals be successful in their career pursuits.

The career counselors we offer on our website are credentialed and are genuine.

Before making your first appointment, you should interview your potential career counselor or coach over the phone. 

1. What are his/her credentials?
2. What time-frame should you expect in order to resolve your issue?
3. What is their level of experience and track record?
4. How much do they charge?
5. How accessible are they?  Can you call anytime or do you need an appointment?
6. How familiar are they with using the Internet?
7. Are they able to help you create a resume that will be read and meets the demands of a rapidly changing marketplace?

Ref: promisingfutures.com

Despite all the bad news, people are getting hired. Recently we posted an article reprinted from CNN on 13 companies (by name) that were hiring. The news services are not reporting a lot on these things because good news does not sell.

Yet the days of putting your resume up on Monster.com and waiting for the phone to ring are over. People who are getting hired are putting together an aggressive plan. So here are the core ingredients that make up a successful job search.

Get Your Resume Done Professionally

Unless you have written a lot of resumes and understand the significance of keyword density and crafting value propositions, this is the best investment you can make. Your resume is your most important document in your career. That’s why we emphasize the importance of having it written by a professional.  Having a resume written by someone who does this for a living will give you a competitive advantage over the others. Employers receive hundreds and you need the competitive edge that a professional resume writer will give you. 

A good professional resume writer will craft your resume that distinguishes you from everyone else. They know the keywords, formats, skills and performance metrics for your industry and they know the kinds of resumes you are competing with. If you write your own resume, at best it will be a 5-6 on a 10-scale and that is just not good enough in this market. Having a professional writer will slash weeks from your job search and pay for itself in your first paycheck. According to About Jobs.com 77% of professionally written resumes get immediate contact from recruiters.

Ref. Aboutjobs.com