Posts Tagged job search
What is your job search question?
Posted by klowrey in Interviewing, Job Search on July 2nd, 2009
Where are you stuck with your job search. I want please email me at klowrey@appresumes.com.
Job Search 101 – Notorious Blunders & Errors You Can Avoid
Posted by klowrey in Job Search, Resume on June 30th, 2009
Your job search is serious business. For many it is one of the most stressful and unrewarding experiences. To make life easier, we are going to focus on eliminating the unproductive activities. As a result of knowing what is truly not working, you can now focus on what does work instead. When you are stuck at a dead end job, have a bad boss or just need employment again quick this will be most enlightening. Let’s face facts folks often addition by subtraction is the solution we all need. Avoid the following mistakes, errors and blunders. Spend your time, and effort focusing on getting interviews.
- Leaving your resume in the copy/fax machine at current job, so your current boss gets it.
- Leaving your cover letters in the fax at work so your boss can find it.
- Posting your resume on the internet so your employer can find it with your name on it!
- Responding to blind employment ads/fake/suspicious employment ads. See above.
- Disclosing your SS# & DOB to unconfirmed/suspicious sites, especially as a result of an email.
- Think about using a pro resume writer for your resumes and cover letters if yours is merely average.
- Not adding “do not contact current employer” on the application, Use April 2002 – Present on resume if currently employed so clericals know not to verify this employer.
- Emphasizing self employment success – proving you don’t need a job or won’t stay long ever!
- Unflattering Google search results on your name. Also check Blogs, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn.
- Most pro resume services offer free objective resume reviews, why not take advantage of this?
- Don’t forget all the free research done for you on job hunting in online job hunting info articles.
- Don’t show hatred or dislike of your previous employers in interviews.
- Don’t wait till you are unemployed to build and maintain your network of connections.
- Don’t forget about powerful free job searching and networking tools on LinkedIn.
- Don’t hesitate to use quality professional recruiters and job search coaches as your allies.
- Don’t forget to keep focused on the positive. Your attitude is easily read by others.
- Do swim with the current, always follow the mega-trends. If the mortgage industry is dead. Slide into the insurance business and take advantage of the clientele you have built up over the years.
- Yes, stay flexible, changeable and adaptable. You may have to relocate to a better job market.
- Take advantage of telecommuting programs now widely available at many employers.
- Forget about lying – education can and will be verified, jobs, credit, reputation etc…
- Only use job postings for less than half your job search time if that. Be pro-active instead.
- Don’t reveal all your weaknesses in interviews either. It is okay to say I left for personal reasons.
- Never use your work email for job hunting communication, even if they say it is private. It is not.
- Use Twitter only as if your boss was always included in the conversation, if you want to keep your job.
- Always keep a job hunting log to track your results and make follow up a lot easier.
Maybe you have lost weeks or months to a mistake. Then start your addition by subtraction right away. Don’t listen to the media talking about layoffs, outsourcing and more layoffs. Turn off the boob tube and any other sources of bad news, and start focusing on getting hired, positive interviews and results instead. It is amazing how powerful your subconscious mind is when peace and tranquility is restored. The answers to all your challenges will just come to you, simply by asking yourself questions.
(c) 2009 by Darrell Z. DiZoglio of http://RighteousResumes.com.
Seven Boneheaded Job Search Mistakes
Posted by klowrey in Job Search, Job Search, Resume on June 29th, 2009
This is an article on job search mistakes. Number three is one that I see all the time. You must target your resume to a specific career. People that are all over the map with their job search don’t get results.
How Many Careers Should You Have on Your Resume?
Posted by klowrey in Uncategorized on June 21st, 2009
One problem that I see with job candidates is having multiple careers on their resume. Sometimes you even see resumes that have work history going back 30 years.
Here is a a great article tha covers this topic.
Article
The Other Side of the Job Search Fence
Posted by klowrey in Job Search on June 16th, 2009
Have you ever wondered what goes through the minds of hiring managers? Check out this article for some of the answers.
Here is a Job Search Secret Get Organized!
Posted by klowrey in Job Search on June 15th, 2009
Here is a great article on keeping your job search organized. Check it out here.
How to Advance Your Programming Career
Posted by klowrey in Job Search, Resume, Uncategorized on June 14th, 2009
Here is a tip for all you computer programmers out there (get rid of that pocket protector, yes I’m talking to you). If you want to develop your programmer career,or even break into the profession, what can you do?
One thing you could do is get involved in a programming community. There are thousands out there but the one I recommend is called Stackoverflow. This is a programming question and answer site with some cool twists. For example answers are voted on by the community. Because of this the correct answers to the questions are almost always positioned at the top.
The feature that make this site useful for a programming job search is reputation. Stackoverflow’s reputation is a rough approximation of how much the Stackoverflow community trusts you. You gain reputation points by having your answers voted up by the community. As you gain reputation you gain more the ability to do things on the site like edit questions, leave comments, or even delete duplicate questions.
Success in building reputation is evidence of a talented developer. This is something that you could even put on your resume. I even know of tech recruiters that use the site to locate tech talent based (at least partially) on reputation scores.
In closing if you want to develop your programming career you should consider getting invovled with Stackoverflow.
Are Resume Distribution Services Worth It?
Posted by klowrey in Job Search, Resume, Uncategorized on June 11th, 2009
My company offers resume writing services. One of the easiest up-sells we could offer our clients is resume distribution. “Why don’t you give me $195.00 extra dollars and I’ll distribute your resume to hundreds of online job boards?”
So why doesn’t my company offer this service and pocket some quick cash? The simple reason why we don’t is the fact that blasting your resume to hundreds of job boards does not help you find a job. All it does is give you unwanted email and phone calls from people tying to scam you. (work at home and make $1,000 per hour stuffing envelopes).
Save your money and post your information on a couple of the top job boards. You should consider using a separate email and phone number to avoid spam. Remember that while it’s ok to post your resume online, your best chance of job search success will come from networking.
Your Job Search Self Improvement Project – Mastering Public Speaking at Your Local Toastmasters Club
Posted by klowrey in Job Search on June 10th, 2009
Are you looking for a job and wondering if improving your public speaking skills is a worthwhile investment? Let me kill the suspense and tell you that the answer is a resounding yes. Few self improvement projects will pay the dividends of improving your ability to communicate information to a group of individuals.
In my previous life I was a computer programmer. Like most computer programmers, public speaking was not my strong suit. The mere thought of giving a presentation gave me the chills. When I finally did get up to present, I always seemed to stumble and come off sounding like less then ideal.
Well I got fed up and decided that I was going to improve my public speaking abilities, and turn public speaking from a weakness into a strength. I read books; I listened to audio programs, and even purchased an expensive public speaking video series. The problem is that nothing worked. I still pretty much sucked at public speaking after consuming all of these materials.
What finally helped was joining my local Toastmasters club. If you are not aware Toastmasters is an international organization of local clubs dedicated to helping member’s developer their public speaking skills. These clubs meet weekly (sometimes bi-weekly). Each meeting is structured to maximize the opportunities for each member to speak. There are formal speeches, self introductions, impromptu speaking, and various roles that all require you to stand in front of an audience and talk.
The reason Toastmasters worked for me is because the meetings provide a regular dose of public speaking education mixed with tons of experience. You not only learn and observe but every week you will be speaking in some capacity or another. This is a very powerful one two educational punch.
If you want to improve your public speaking skills let me recommend that you join your local Toastmasters club. This could be the best self improvement project you ever tackle.
See you at the lectern.
Job Search For the Older Worker
Posted by klowrey in Job Search on June 8th, 2009
What do you do when your over 50 and looking for a job. Age discrimination is a reality, but you can do things to combat it. Check it this great article on the subject.