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#BestofFSCBlog : Over 12K Reads-How To Stand Out And Win The Job Interview. How do You Stand Out? A MUst REad before Your Next Interview.

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Heading into a job interview is an important and stressful event. Even if you are the best at what you do, you cannot waltz into an interview without being prepared.

To succeed in the interview, you must research the company, search for the interviewers on LinkedIn, thoroughly read the job description to ensure you understand the requirements and update your LinkedIn profile. You’ll also need to master the art of small talk to make an excellent first impression and pay attention to the message you’re signaling with your body language.

Have questions prepared to ask the interviewer to show you’re interested? Let the hiring manager know that you want the job. Mirror the interviewer and be charming, yet authentic and genuine.

Doing Your Homework Is Essential

Try to find out about the people with whom you’ll meet. You can seek them out on LinkedIn and search for information about them online. By learning a little bit about the interviewers, you’ll be able to have enough information to engage in relevant small talk to break the ice and establish a bond.

The interview questions will be based on the job description. Ensure your résumé is in sync with the requirements. Think of your current and prior experiences and skills that can be matched with what the job responsibilities demand.

Look into the company’s products, services, mission statement and place within the sector, so you won’t have to worry when asked, “So, what do you know about our company?” Seek out people from your network who work at the firm or someone who knows an insider who can give tips on how the hiring process works.

Prepare and practice an elevator pitch to help you effectively sell yourself within 30 seconds. Role-play commonly asked interview questions with a mentor or trusted friends and colleagues. Ask for feedback and constructive criticism to improve your interviewing technique. Take a fresh look at your LinkedIn profile to ensure it aligns with your résumé, and everything is accurate. If you are utilizing the services of a recruiter, pump them for as much information about the job, corporate culture, interview process and people you’ll be meeting with.

First Impressions Count

If the interview is in an office setting, make sure you’re dressed appropriately. Check out the commute beforehand, so you’re not running late. When entering the building and meeting people, pull your shoulder back, hold your head high and walk confidently. Be polite to everyone you meet, as they’ll offer their input to human resources and the hiring personnel.

If it’s a video call, ensure your background, lighting, audio and internet connectivity are top-notch. Remember to look into the camera, but not to stare too hard. Having some notes discretely taped to the computer is okay if you need help or feel stuck.

You want to capture the interviewer’s attention from the start. Upon meeting, you can say, “Thank you for inviting me to the interview. I’ve always admired and respected your company, and I feel honored to be considered for this important role.” Then ask, “Why did you choose my résumé over all the others you’ve received?” The rationale behind the question is that it will force the interviewer to think about all the positives regarding your background, experience and good qualities that fit the role.

You want to make the interviewer like you. While people will tell you that possessing the right skills is the only thing that matters, managers want a person they feel comfortable with, find pleasant to deal with and have a positive, can-do attitude.

The Subtle Art Of Small Talk

Armed with knowledge about the interviewer, due to your research, you have an advantage. You can bring up a topic you know will resonate with the person. A good icebreaker would be, “I don’t know if you follow sports, but did you watch the Yankees game last night?” The interviewer will come to life and happily respond that they’re a huge Yankees fan and the game was thrilling.

You can then subtly bring up a few topics you already know the person is interested in. The conversation will organically go in a positive direction, and you will establish a bond.

Mirror The Hiring Manager

Interviews tend to go better when you mirror how the interviewer talks. This doesn’t mean mimicking them. For instance, as a New Yorker, I’ll slow down my cadence and smooth out the brashness in my tone when talking to someone from the South.

People like to hear their own name. Throughout the conversation, sprinkle in the manager’s name. Don’t overdo it, as it will come across as phony.

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

All Eyes Are On The Interviewer

It’s understandable to be fidgety and awkward in an interview, but you must suppress the tendency to shake your leg, fiddle with something on the desk, get distracted or look away from the video lens. You must offer your full attention and actively listen to the hiring manager. This interviewer is the most important person in the world to you at the moment.

A good couple of questions to ask right away to demonstrate interest and empathy is, “How can I help you? What would I need to do to be successful in this role and exceed expectations?” When you get the manager talking, it’s a good sign. The more they speak, the more invested in you they are. It’s a psychological hack. The hiring manager talks themself into hiring, thinking, “Wow, I’m really selling this person on the job. They must be really good!”

Let The Interviewer Know You’re Interested

Whether it’s an onsite or video interview, the same principles apply. Pay attention to the conversation, make eye contact and, most importantly, let the interviewer know you want the job. Many job hunters play hard-to-get and think that’s an effective formula for success. It’s not, and that strategy often backfires. Managers want a person who desires the role. They are disinterested in mere window shoppers.

Selfishly, hiring managers want someone they know will accept an offer. It is problematic if the hiring process lingers on for six months with 10 different individuals involved, only to end up with the applicant taking a pass. All the time and effort is wasted. Senior management and everyone involved in the hiring process will be irritated by expending so much time, energy and political capital only to have to start the search all over again.

Always Be Authentic

Come across as positive, motivated and enthusiastic. Demonstrate that you are a team player. Avoid putting on pretenses. Be your true genuine self, and let them know the real you.

Don’t default to acting like the stuffy, corporate drone, espousing corporate jargon and buzzwords. Be your genuine and authentic self. It doesn’t pay to pretend because they are hiring you for you. If it turns out that you are a drastically different person than you pretended to be, it will be uncomfortable once you start. Your employer will feel as if you committed a bait and switch.

Don’t say anything disparaging against your former or current boss and co-workers. When you do this, the manager will instinctively believe you will one day badmouth them when you leave the firm and interview with another company. It makes the hiring manager feel that you’re not trustworthy.

You have to win over all the interviewers with your charm and likability, in addition to possessing the right skills. Listen intently to what people say. Then you can reframe their thoughts to show that you get it and are paying close attention. Nod your head when you agree with a statement someone made that resonated with you. It demonstrates that you are both on the same page. Avoid interrupting when the interviewer is talking.

What To Say

You want to come across as motivated and enthusiastic. Tell the hiring personnel, “I’m so happy to be here and meet you. I’ve extensively researched the company, reread the job description 10 times over and spoken with many people who raved about your company. I believe my skills, background, talent, education and credentials perfectly match the opportunity.”

At the end of the interview, you need to have some questions ready when they ask, “Do you have any questions for me?” Rather than worrying about what questions to ask at the end, which distracts you from being in the present, ask genuine questions based on your curiosity and interests as they arise.

A Call To Action

As the interview is winding down, give it one last pitch. “It was fantastic to get to know you and (reference others involved with the process). It was a pleasure learning about the opportunity and company.”

Share something from the heart: “When I initially read the job description, the opportunity spoke to me. After all the great conversations, I’m even more convinced that I have all the right skills for the role and would love to come aboard.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to the next step” is a smart way to position yourself before the meeting ends. Then, offer, “Can you please share the next steps and who I’ll meet with for the following rounds?” The questions frame that you are motivated to get the role and subtly nudge the interviewer to start thinking about the next steps and moving forward.

 

Forbes.com Author:  Jack Kelly –  Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

Forbes.com | June 12, 2023

#JobSearch : How To Write A Follow Up Email After An Interview. The Most Important Thing you Do After an Interview. A MUsst REad!

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What’s the one thing you want, most of all, after a job interview? A job, right? But first things first – before you get the job offer, you’ve got to have a little more dialogue – even if you crushed the interview and you are an ideal candidate. After you’ve met with your prospective employer, either in person or via video call, there’s one thing that every candidate desires. Of course, the easy answer is “a job offer”. But the job search process is a process. And in that process, the one thing you want after a job interview is simple. Every candidate wants and needs another point of connection. Another conversation. A conversation is what leads to a job offer! To be sure, that conversation begins when you send your follow-up email, after the interview. Here’s how to rely on your own resourcefulness and craft an email message that can get you the dialogue you need.

The suggestions below are offered as tools, not rules, for your email message. Consider that the intention is to choose the words that will help you most – and of course, those words will always come from inside of you. Even if you turn to a chatbot for solutions, you still have to craft the right prompts. Consider also that a follow-up email should be no more than 250 words, as a rule of thumb, with no attachments. These prompts and suggestions below will give guidance for your email, after a job interview – feel free to modify and personalize as you see fit.

What’s A Good Subject Line?

After a job interview, the best email subject is the one that clearly represents what it is that you want. And what you want in a follow-up email after a job interview is (always) another conversation. So, the subject line should reflect that intention. While there’s no exact recipe for an email – because what works for you needs to come from you – here’s a possible subject line that might be useful: “Time to Talk?” Before you hate on that line, remember: it’s a tool, not a rule, to point you in the direction of a follow-up email subject that gets you closer to your next gig. When you look at the subject of “Time to Talk?” it’s a bit provocative. Does it mean, “do you have time to talk?”, or “I need a time to talk!”, or …well, what exactly? Didn’t you just talk to the hiring manager, the person in HR, the folks at the company? Yes, of course. But the funny thing about conversation is that it can always continue – especially for the candidate that deserves the job. The communication principle here is: the subject must reflect what you need, and what can be of service to your potential employer. A time to talk – to continue the conversation from the job interview – is the next logical step. Would you like a time to talk? If so, it might be a good start in the subject line.

You can also send a follow-up email after a job interview that has a more boring subject line, such as “Thanks for Your Time”, if you want to be basic. Why not write, “I’m Not Creative” or “Busy Joining the Herd” or “Don’t Read this One” instead? (that last sentence was written in sarcastic font). Look, if you’re reading this post, you want to stand out from other candidates when you send an email after your job interview. Come straight at the thing that you want, and offer the thing that will help your next employer most. That’s a conversation! So, some other possibilities that can elevate your game include “Positive Reflections on Our Conversation, from [Your Name]”, “Our Next Conversation”, “Looking Forward to Our Next Conversation”. Your subject needs to be clear on the conversation you want – and point towards your next one!

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

Show an Attitude of Gratitude

Appreciation is where the conversation begins. Remember, general statements get general responses. Of course you appreciate the opportunity to share your skills and abilities, but what specifically stood out for you, and sparked your appreciation? What did you see, observe or learn in the interview that you really appreciated? Was there anything that stood out – something that you might call extraordinary, special or compelling about the company? If those words feel too grand or too fancy or too whatever, adjust accordingly – but be specific and remind yourself and your potential employer of the alignment you felt towards the organization. If you can’t be specific about what you liked – in one sentence – then you won’t stand out from the other candidates.

Remind and Reinforce

A follow-up email, after a job interview, is a reminder. A reminder to the hiring manager of your point(s) of connection. A reminder of the service you can provide. A reminder of why you are a beautiful and compelling fit for the role. It’s not necessary to rehash your resumé or recreate the entire conversation – but hitting the highlights can be really useful. Words and phrases – followed with simple, specific reminders – can be wise reminders for the hiring manager. Which of these words and phrases would help you most, when writing an email after your job interview? “alignment with your organization”, “my values”, “my contribution”, “connection to your team”, “your insights into ______”, “my previous X years experience as a _____”. And don’t forget phrases like “an ideal fit”, “a deep understanding of _____” and “commitment”, “dedication” and “sincere interest”. Write about your values. Write about what matters most to you, and how you can help solve problems for the organization. It might seem really simple, but it can be very useful to let the employer know that you are very interested in coming on board – and that’s why you are seeking a time to talk!

Solutions and Service – How to Close Your Email Message After a Job Interview

After sharing some reminders of your qualifications and your interest, is there something you’d like to know more about? Steer clear of specifics around compensation, or start date, as these issues might be a bridge too far. Like asking someone to marry you on your first date, the intention might be OK but the execution is suspicious. The secret of success is all in the timing, so consider topics that could get you another time to talk. Don’t be presumptuous. Be curious. What would you like to know more about? What is it that you’d like to explore further in a conversation? Perhaps that conversation would allow you to put together a plan for the first 100 days in the role. Or a strategy for helping the team in some way. Whatever the case may be, and you will have to evaluate your own case, consider how curiosity drives conversation. That curiosity always looks in the direction of the service (and solutions) that you can provide. Because every employer, from the machine shop to Meta, hires one thing and one thing only: solutions providers. There’s more to explore, regarding the solution you can provide. So explore ways to find a time to talk, and discover ways to be of service – because that’s the solution you want, after your job interview.

Every person has their own style, and however you choose to express yourself in an email, remember: the worst thing you could do would be nothing. The candidate who doesn’t send an email is actually sending a crystal-clear message: namely, that you don’t want the job. Every conversation is a point of connection, and after a job interview it’s best to always send an email message. Be grateful, be specific, be curious, and be clear. Consider how you can set up the conversation that leads to the offer you want. Maybe all you need for your next gig – or your next email, after your job interview – is really simple. Maybe you just need a time to talk.

 

Forbes.com | June 7, 2023

#JobSearch : Write A Cover Letter To Get Noticed (And Hired!): 4 Best Practices. Best Way to Stand Out, Get Noticed! MUst REad!

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Despite headlines about layoffs and companies downsizing, the job market is still strong. But to find a great job, you must set yourself apart, and a primary way to make an impression is with a compelling cover letter.

                                Question: How do you stand out?

The cover letter is still critical to the way you present yourself—and perhaps more importantly—the way you distinguish yourself from so many other job seekers.

Cover Letters Matter

Fully 56% of employers prefer a cover letter, according to an article published in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. And 45% of recruiters said that not having one could result in your application being rejected, according to stats collected by Resume Now.

Hiring managers say cover letters make them more likely to pay attention to an application. They say they read them, and they are an important factor in the hiring decision. In addition, 47% of people include a cover letter, based on the Resume Now stats.

Cover letters admittedly require a lot of effort to research, customize and write—but they are worth it and a necessary part of the process. Write one whether or not it is requested, because it will make you more memorable and separate you from the pack. Just make sure you provide a high-quality cover letter, because a poor letter is worse than none at all.

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Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

Write on Purpose

When you’re developing your cover letter, be sure you write with its purpose in mind. Use it to introduce yourself and as a vehicle to create your first impression. A cover letter should communicate why you want the role, why you’d value working for the organization and why you believe you’re a good fit to the role and the culture.

A cover letter is meant to provide details which go beyond your resume, expanding on responsibilities, giving examples and highlighting your achievements and results. If necessary, you can also use it to explain gaps in your resume or extenuating circumstances related to your employment.

Write for Relevance

In addition to writing a cover letter in the first place, perhaps the most important thing you should do in the document is to show a match between your talents and the job you’re applying for.

Do your homework, researching the job and the organization so you can reflect the company’s direction and priorities and make a case for how you can contribute to reaching them. Highlight the way your achievements relate to the role you’re applying for.

In addition, be humble. Talk about making a contribution to something, not achieving it by yourself. Communicate what you have learned about the job or the organization through your research, but stop short of saying you understand it perfectly. Hiring managers want to know you’ve put in the effort to read, review and learn, but they also want to know you get that there’s still a lot to discover.

Write for Alignment

Be sure your cover letter is aligned with your resume, but doesn’t repeat it. Be consistent in the format you use for both documents, and ensure your name and contact details are identical between the two.

In addition, align what the reader will see on each document. If your cover letter includes an example of the results you drove in your project management role with a volunteer association, be sure you reflect the details (for example, the name of association and type of responsibilities) similarly so they can make easy references. In addition, be sure the experiences you’re referring to in the cover letter are actually reflected in the resume.

The cover letter is also an opportunity to highlight which elements of your resume are most relevant. You may be a brilliant financial mind and previous roles demonstrate this—but if the job you’re applying for doesn’t include a finance component, you should use the cover letter to highlight the skills which are most related to the job you’re pursuing.

Write for Accuracy

Your cover letter should include a header (your contact information as well as the organization’s) as well as a salutation. Be sure to address it to a real person if you can determine the name of the proper recipient.

After these, your letter should include an introductory paragraph which talks about why you’re interested in the job and a body which provides details about how your experience is a match. Finally, it should include a concluding paragraph which summarizes your interest and invites the hiring team to contact you.

Be descriptive in your cover letter, but also concise. Fully 70% of hiring leaders prefer a shorter letter, according to the Resume Now stats. In addition, be creative and let your personality show, but avoid being goofy or gimmicky.

Always be sure to proofread your letter multiple times and even ask a friend to check it for you—to be sure it strikes the right tone and is error-free. When you’re deciding what to include in your cover letter, also be sure to follow directions from the organization, including all the necessary specifics they request.

A Reflection of You

Your cover letter is a reflection of you. It demonstrates your commitment to making the effort and putting in the work to make a case for yourself in relationship to the job and the organization. These will send a strong message to the potential employer about how you’ll perform and present yourself in a job.

Done well, a cover letter takes a significant investment of your time, but it will surely pay off in finding a great role!

Forbes.com Author:   Tracy Brower, PhD Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Forbes.com | June 5, 2023

#JobSearch : Why White-Collar Workers Are Losing Out In The Job Market. Recent Job Market Survey: 66% of Executives Most Worried. MUst REad!

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White-collar, college-educated professionals are having a harder time finding a new job and are facing greater job insecurity than blue-collar workers. Unlike during the Great Resignation, white-collar professionals are enduring long rounds of interviews, not receiving feedback, and finding it harder to secure a new opportunity, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a recent job market survey by Professional Résumé Writers, nearly half of the workers self-reported that they were concerned about losing their employment, with executives being the most worried (66%).

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

Causes For Concern

According to Layoffs.fyi, nearly 198,000 workers have been laid off this year in the tech sector alone. There are fewer opportunities for professionals in the United States, as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that job postings have fallen by nearly 500,000 since the end of 2022. Hiring for knowledge workers or the “laptop class” has slowed, while jobs for lower-wage workers remain abundant, especially in leisure and hospitality.

As if that is not enough to instill fear into white-collar workers, in March, Goldman Sachs released an alarming research report about the ascendency of artificial intelligence. The investment bank concluded in the analysis that 300 million jobs could be lost or diminished due to this fast-growing technology.

Office administrative support, legal, architecture and engineering, business and financial operations, management, sales, healthcare and art and design are some sectors that automation will impact. In 2023, IBM and Chegg laid off workers or paused hiring, as management felt AI could handle many of their tasks.

Companies are also accelerating their efforts to send jobs to lower-cost countries. A recent Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta survey found that 7.3% of leadership in the U.S. plans to move more jobs offshore as the next step from remote work within America.

Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford University and an expert in workplace matters, told the Wall Street Journal, “About 10% to 20% of U.S. service support jobs, like software developers, human-resources professionals and payroll administrators, could move overseas in the next decade.”

The Job Search Process

Michelle Reisdorf, an Illinois-based district director at recruiting firm Robert Half, told the Wall Street Journal that employers are being “extra cautious” when it comes to hiring. Unlike the Great Resignation, when companies urgently needed to increase headcount, hiring managers are now slow-walking the interview process to vet out candidates properly. Businesses are also raising their standards for hiring, whereas, during the talent shortage, companies were less stringent in their criteria. Understandably, employers will be more discerning when hiring white-collar workers, as these professionals cost more money.

According to data from Robert Half, the average time it takes companies to fill white-collar roles is 11 weeks. In 2021, the hiring process was averaging seven weeks.

In her over 20 years at the recruiting firm, Reisdorf said she has never seen employers exercise this much caution throughout the hiring process.

People Will Move For Less Money

Facing labor market headwinds, employees are willing to accept less money, despite economic uncertainty. In a recent survey by Blind, 56% of tech workers said they’d be willing to accept the same or less pay in a new role. Thirty-three percent of respondents attributed this to the current state of the job market.

The survey also found that tech employees are more likely to accept a lower salary in a job switch if they are already well-compensated. For example, 62% of respondents earning over $100,000 per year said they would accept a lower salary in a job switch.

This is a significant shift from the past, when tech employees were more focused on maximizing their salaries.

What You Can Do About It

Despite the challenges, there are a number of things that white-collar workers can do to safeguard their employment status. One important thing is to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in their field. This will help them to remain relevant and marketable in the job market.

Another important factor is to develop strong skills in areas such as problem-solving, critical thinking and communication. These skills are becoming increasingly important in the workplace and can help professionals stand out.

Sometimes, workers must compromise on pay and work preferences to get hired. That could mean accepting less compensation than you were earning and going into the office every day.

For those people who are still holding onto their jobs, they must make themselves indispensable in the workplace. This will help you avoid being on the chopping block when it comes to layoffs at your company.

Finally, white-collar workers should be prepared to adapt to change. The job market is constantly changing, and knowledge workers need to be able to change with it to stay successful and keep earning a livelihood.

 

Forbes.com | May 22, 2023

#YourCareer : What To Do — Besides Worry — Before You’re Laid-Off. Great Read!

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Waiting to learn if you will escape a looming layoff can sometimes be more stressful than losing your job. On the other hand, a study found the likelihood of developing a health condition increases by 83% in the first 15 to 18 months after a layoff, even for employees with no pre-existing health conditions.

This unsettling feeling is now known as Layoff Anxiety, a term that describes the emotions and health issues proceeding job cuts.

So what can we do beyond worrying while waiting for a layoff?

1. Deploy Defensive Pessimism

One way of making worry work to your advantage is by “taking your fear out to its extreme,” wrote executive coach Melody Wilding in a piece for Harvard Business Review. Deploying “defensive pessimism” is, according to Wilding, walking through your plan if you are laid off in detail to “anticipate how you will deal with obstacles such as your finances, health care, and finding a new job.” This strategy allows you to rehearse the worst-case scenario productively.

In the spirit of defensive pessimism, here are some options to consider instead of holding your breath in anticipation.

Experts recommend keeping enough money to cover three to six months of living expenses to replace lost income. Bestselling Author Bonnie Honeycutt listed the top three places to keep emergency funds, rather than in your checking account, as High-Yield Savings, Money Market Accounts, and Certificate of Deposits (CDs). Finding the extra money in advance to fund an emergency can prove challenging. Adding income sources is possible if your pennies are stretched beyond the pale.

 

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Article continued …

2. Create An Emergency Fund

Experts recommend keeping enough money to cover three to six months of living expenses to replace lost income. Bestselling Author Bonnie Honeycutt listed the top three places to keep emergency funds, rather than in your checking account, as High-Yield Savings, Money Market Accounts, and Certificate of Deposits (CDs). Finding the extra money in advance to fund an emergency can prove challenging. Adding income sources is possible if your pennies are stretched beyond the pale.

Take heart:Walking the path of the worst-case scenario before it happensoften opens our eyes to the reality that a layoff doesn’t have to bepermanent. Although our time at one company may end, the journey of the rest of our lives begins when they let us go.

 

3. Nurture Your Side Hustle

Not putting all our eggs into one basket or diversifying our portfolio are age-old concepts. However, when it comes to full-time jobs, many employees push all their chips to the middle, betting on one source of income rather than exploring other options. I’ve been laid off twice in three years and can attest to the importance of having a little side income source. It kept the bills at bay.

Personal branding expert Stephen A. Hart believes that creating other offerings outside of your 9-5 helps maximize the skills we’ve acquired throughout a career. “We often discount the superpowers we’ve developed, but there is a lot that you can do and possibly teach,” Hart said in an email. “Begin by inventorying your acquired skills, talents, and wisdom. And look at ways you could create an offering to assist other people or organizations within your industry for a fee.” There are many quick ways to cash in on your knowledge, like coaching, consulting, and facilitating workshops.

4. Know Your Rights

Many factors play into layoffs, and the language used by employers significantly impacts workers. In her article for The Wall Street Journal, Vanessa Furham notes there are “some important differences between being furloughed, laid off or permanently terminated, and it could mean the difference between having healthcare coverage or not.” Another area to consider is that severance is only sometimes an option, and often companies forgo paying out unused vacation. All the more reason to use it before you lose it, in this case, forever. Knowing your rights and options before getting laid off can slice down the element of surprise when the news arrives.

Take heart: Walking the path of the worst-case scenario before it happens often opens our eyes to the reality that a layoff doesn’t have to be permanent. Although our time at one company may end, the journey of the rest of our lives begins when they let us go.

Forbes.com Author: Jennifer Magley

 

Forbes.com | May 18, 2023

 

 

 

 

#YourCareer : Which Jobs Will AI Replace? These 4 Industries Will Be Heavily Impacted. Traditionally White-Collar Work—May be Heavily Impacted. Thoughts?

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Since the release of powerful AI tools ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, discussions about whether “robots” will replace humans have grown, and studies show some jobs—surprisingly, some traditionally white-collar work—may be heavily impacted.

KEY FACTS

  • Generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence capable of creating text or other content in response to user prompts, has quickly gained popularity following the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
  • Since its November 2022 release, people have used AI chatbot ChatGPT for an array of this, including writing college-level essays and generating code.​​
  • The AI race heated up after Google released Bard on March 21, a ChatGPT competitor and a separate entity from the company’s Google search engine.
  • A recent report from Goldman Sachs estimates around 300 million jobs could be affected by generative AI, meaning 18% of work globally could be automated—with more advanced economies heavily impacted than emerging markets.
  • The report also predicts two-thirds of jobs in the U.S. and Europe “are exposed to some degree of AI automation,” and around a quarter of all jobs could be performed by AI entirely.
  • Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and OpenAI found some educated white-collar workers earning up to $80,000 a year are the most likely to be affected by workforce automation.
  • According to the report, jobs in agriculture, mining and manufacturing are the least exposed to generative AI, while jobs in the information processing industries, like IT, are the most exposed because jobs that use “programming and writing skills” are more closely related to GPT’s capabilities.
  • Generative AI isn’t perfect, both OpenAI and Google admit their program sometimes gives incorrect responses and has other flaws, like ChatGPT’s knowledge base that ends in 2021, and Bard’s limited conversation retention.

 

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JOBS MOST IMPACTED

  • Finance and banking: Banks have already begun incorporating AI into their business models. 56% of banks claim they’ve implemented the technology into their business domains like management, and 52% claim they’ve used it for revenue generation, according to Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and the World Economic Forum. Abhijit Bose, a Capital One senior vice president, told the Washington Post AI will potentially “monitor transactions” to give detailed financial advice on saving and spending. Morgan Stanley has begun using OpenAI-powered chatbots to organize its wealth management database, helping advisers pull up data and research more efficiently. The World Economic Forum also predicts AI will bring three changes to the finance division: job cuts, job creation and increased efficiency.​​ In addition, they estimate by 2027, 23% of jobs in China’s financial sector will be replaced by AI.

 

  • Media and marketing: Kristian Hammond, chief scientist of Natural Sciences told the BBC in 15 years, “90% of news will be written by machines.” Natural Sciences has a software called Quill, an AI paraphrasing tool that writes company reports ahead of earning announcements. German publisher Axel Springer announced in February plans to transition into “digital only,” which includes job cuts in favor of “modern technology” and automation. Reporters for different media outlets like Business Insider, CNET and CNBC have used ChatGPT to write news stories, though they have often been criticized for containing false information. In January, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced the company would rely on ChatGPT to personalize content and enhance quizzes, much to the employees’ dismay, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the marketing world, 84% of marketers reported using AI in 2020, a stark jump from 29% in 2019, according to Salesforce research. High-performing marketing teams averaged around seven different uses of AI and machine learning in 2020, and over half planned on increasing their use in 2021, the report also claims.

 

  • Legal services: An attorney used ChatGPT to publish a 14-page legal paper published in Social Science Research Network on a plethora of prompts, including creating a contract, explaining why the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage shouldn’t be appealed and developing deposition questions. The AI bot has the potential “to address access to justice questions” and make legal services available to those who can’t afford it, Andrew Perlman, the author of the paper and a Suffolk University Law School Dean told Reuters. Low-income Americans don’t get enough or any legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems, according to a 2022 report by Legal Services Corp. Some have already begun incorporating AI into legal service, like startup Lawgeex, which has a service that reads contracts faster than, and what they claim to be more accurate than humans.

 

JOBS LEAST IMPACTED

 

  • Manufacturing and factory workers: This industry has been undergoing automation for a while, with General Motors credited as the first major manufacturer to implement robotics in their assembly lines after the introduction of UNIMATE in 1961. However, generative AI may speed up the process. For example, Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Bot, or Optimus, an autonomous android made to replace humans in dangerous, repetitive jobs. Musk plans to place these bots in his Tesla factories and eventually expand to millions around the world. According to an MIT and Boston University report, AI is expected to replace as many as two million manufacturing workers by 2025. “Our evidence shows that robots increase productivity,” the researchers said. A Chinese factory in Dongguan City replaced 90% of its workforce with machines, resulting in a 250% increase in productivity and an 80% decrease in defects. A job that took 650 human workers to complete now takes about 60 robots and 60 humans, the company claims.

 

  • Agriculture: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2021 there were 21.1 million full- and part-time jobs in the food and agriculture sectors, making up 10.5% of the labor force. Agriculture is considered one of the world’s oldest professions and has stood the test of time, lasting through four separate industrial revolutions. According to the Washington Post, many small farms don’t produce enough profit to invest in more machinery, though larger farms have already begun the process of automation for strenuous tasks. In the U.S., family farms make up 98% of all farms, with a majority being small family farms that operate about half of the country’s farm land. However, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture does fund AI research, education and extension activities in the areas of natural resources and environments, agricultural systems and engineering and economics and rural communities.

 

  • Healthcare: A study published in the International Journal of Health Services found on average, psychiatrists spend 20.3% of their day on paperwork, followed by internists and general practitioners at 17.3%. Mundane administrative tasks like this can be automated, but other areas probably won’t need AI. David Dranove, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management told the Kellogg Insight most adults want to hear about their health from a human, and there’s “a need for compassion…that AI is unable to contribute.” An Oxford University report predicts medical transcriptionists, medical records, medical secretaries and health information technicians are the most likely jobs in the field to be automated, not actual providers. This extends into mental health as well—the Washington Post has tried and failed at creating an AI version of infamous psychologist, Sigmund Freud.

Forbes.com Author: Arianna Johnson

 

                       Forbes.com | March 31, 2023

#YourCareer : The Disappearing White-Collar Job. Peak of the Need for Knowledge Workers. Your Thoughts?

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For generations of Americans, a corporate job was a path to stable prosperity. No more. 

The jobs lost in a monthslong cascade of white-collar layoffs triggered by overhiring and rising interest rates might never return, corporate executives and economists say. Companies are rethinking the value of many white-collar roles, in what some experts anticipate will be a permanent shift in labor demand that will disrupt the work life of millions of Americans whose jobs will be lost, diminished or revamped partly through the use of artificial intelligence.

“We may be at the peak of the need for knowledge workers,” said Atif Rafiq, a former chief digital officer at McDonald’s and Volvo. “We just need fewer people to do the same thing.”

Long after robots began taking manufacturing jobs, artificial intelligence is now coming for the higher-ups—accountants, software programmers, human-resources specialists and lawyers—and converging with unyielding pressure on companies to operate more efficiently.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees after the Facebook parent’s latest round of layoffs that many jobs aren’t coming back because new technologies will allow the company to operate more efficiently. International Business Machines CEO Arvind Krishna recently said the company could pause some hiring to see what kind of back-office work can be done with AI. Leaders in many industries say they expect the new technology will augment some existing roles, changing what people do on the job. AI could allow employees to better contribute to their companies by doing more meaningful work, said Mr. Rafiq, author of a new book on management.

For the year ended in March, the number of unemployed white-collar workers rose by roughly 150,000, according to an analysis from Employ America, a nonpartisan research group. That included workers in professional services, management, computer occupations, engineering, and scientists.

“I can’t think of any job where it’s like AI by itself,” said Rodney McMullen, chief executive of grocery chain Kroger, which has about 430,000 employees. “I can think of a lot of jobs that are being affected by AI.”

That underlying dynamic has been accelerated by the binge hiring of recent years. Company leaders say they have become saddled with bloated managerial layers that slow decision making. The retailer Gap said in April that its new round of corporate job cuts would trim what has become an inefficient corporate bureaucracy.

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Lyft’s new CEO, David Risher, told investors this month that the ride-sharing company had cut the number of management layers from eight to five. Lyft said in April it would eliminate roughly 1,000 white-collar jobs in its latest round of layoffs. The flattened corporate structure means that Lyft “can innovate faster,” Mr. Risher said.

Jobs go through boom-and-bust cycles. In previous downturns, executives pledged to make streamlining efforts stick, only to replenish or grow their corporate ranks when business conditions improved. Many executives say the forces now at play suggest this time is different.

During past periods when higher interest rates pitched the U.S. economy into recession, job losses were often led by industries most sensitive to rate changes, such as manufacturing and construction. “It seems like we’re not seeing that right now. It could be the structure of the economy has changed,” said Preston Mui, an economist at Employ America, who has been studying white-collar job losses.

“A real question is: The Fed raises rates and softens the economy, where is that going to show up?”he said. The evidence is pointing to white-collar jobs, he said.

After 14 months of interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve, job openings dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years in March, the most recent month of Labor Department data. Layoffs in the information sector were up 88% in March from a year earlier and up 55% in finance and insurance, the data show. For manufacturing, they were up 25% over the same period.

Companies are for the moment focused on keeping blue-collar employees—restaurant servers, warehouse workers, drivers and the like—who remain in short supply, according to economists and human-resources specialists. For C-suite executives under pressure from investors, that exposes middle managers and other white-collar workers to layoffs.

Whole Foods and Walt Disney announced layoffs in recent weeks that largely hit corporate staff while sparing such customer-service jobs as grocery clerk and hourly theme-park attendant. Retail workers, including salespeople and cashiers, were among the most in-demand roles in the first quarter of the year, according to the jobs site LinkedIn, along with nurses and drivers.

“Companies realize they over-hired in the middle,” said Nick Bunker, an economist at jobs site Indeed. “They’re paring things back.”

The number of employees working and the number of hours they worked in white-collar sectors such as professional services and medical and veterinary roles contracted in late April compared with January, according to data from Homebase, which provides software services to small businesses for scheduling hourly workers.

Sudden fall

Colton Pace, chief executive of Ownwell, a property-tax analysis company based in Austin, Texas, said he was filling more open roles with temporary contractors to give the startup flexibility in an uncertain economy. He also sees technology soon doing more company tasks.

“I want to be a little more cautious in how we hire,” Mr. Pace said. “In addition to that, it makes more sense because we’re not sure. Some of these roles will be automated away.” 

A year ago, roughly 15% of the company was made up of contractors or seasonal workers. Those workers now make up a quarter of Ownwell’s roughly 85-person workforce. Mr. Pace said he could see AI and other tools eventually shouldering a greater share of the work in customer support, operations and sales.

There is no firm definition of white-collar employee in government data. The term broadly applies to people who work in offices and have higher education, such as a bachelor’s degree or some college. In recent decades, hiring in management and professional jobs rapidly outpaced other categories. The number of employees in management and professional occupations increased nearly 150% in the past 40 years, and nearly 36% since the end of the 2007-09 recession, according to Labor Department data. By comparison, service occupations such as barbers, child care workers and casino employees have risen 72% since 1983, the earliest available data, and 3.5% since June 2009.

Over the years, higher demand for skilled workers and higher pay for college-educated workers widened the economic gap with blue-collar workers. Yet following the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, wages rose fastest among low-earners, reducing the college wage premium and reversing about a quarter of the rise in wage inequality since 1980, according to a study by economists including David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Payroll data from more than 300,000 small- and medium-size businesses showed that wages for new hires had generally declined in April from a year ago but fell most rapidly in white-collar professions, such as finance and insurance, according to Gusto, a payroll, benefits and human-resource management software maker. They rose most quickly in such services and blue-collar industries as tourism, construction and recreation, Gusto found.

Digital smarts

As companies look to cut costs, some employers have said middle managers will have to give up their teams and return to being just another worker. Others, including McDonald’s, have asked staffers to accept reduced compensation if they want to stay at the company.

Artificial intelligence also is expected to eliminate some positions entirely. Mr. Krishna, of IBM, has said in recent weeks that he could see 30% of IBM’s roughly 26,000 non-customer-facing roles being replaced by automation or AI over a five-year period.

An IBM spokesman said the company was still hiring for thousands of positions. “There is no blanket hiring ‘pause’ in place,” he said. “IBM is being deliberate and thoughtful in our hiring.”

The Labor Department projects that of the 20 occupations that will create the most jobs through 2031, about two-thirds will be blue-collar jobs that pay around $32,000 a year, including home-health and personal-care aides, restaurant cooks, fast-food workers, wait staff and freight movers.

The professions with the best prospects for growth that require a college degree include software developers, operations managers and registered nurses. Those jobs pay around $100,000 a year and are forecast to be better protected than other white-collar work from AI displacement.

Some employers are already figuring out exactly how many fewer white-collar workers they will need in the future. The business- and government-consulting firm Guidehouse in McLean, Va., which employs about 16,500 people, had expected to triple its head count in the coming years to reach its goal of roughly tripling its revenue to $10 billion, said CEO Scott McIntyre. Not anymore, he said.
 
Mr. McIntyre expects that with the help of AI and increased automation, Guidehouse may need to hire 40,000 people instead of 50,000 to reach its growth target. “The smarter you are with enabling technology and technology that creates productivity, the smarter you can be about hiring,” he said.

WSJ Authors:  Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com and Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com

WSJ.com | May 15, 2023

#JobInterview : Ask These Three Questions After Your Next Interview. MUst REad!

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A job interview is an exciting opportunity to exhibit your experience and skills in the hopes of securing your dream job. While it’s important to research the company while preparing for an interview, you also need to have some questions ready to ask the interviewer. Not only does this show your interest in the company and the position, it also gives you the chance to learn about the company culture and career growth opportunities. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the questions you should ask during an interview.

At the end of your job interview, you’ll be asked whether you have any questions; this is the perfect opportunity to find out more about the company and whether the role is a good fit for you. Here are three questions to ask after your next interview:

1. What do you enjoy most about working for this company?

Asking this question allows you to develop a rapport with the interviewer. Additionally, their personal perspective will give you more insight into the company culture.

2. What attributes and qualities make a successful employee in this organization?

You’ll give the impression that you’re determined to succeed and that you want to make sure you’re well suited to the company.

3. Is this a new position? If not, why did the previous employee leave?

This question seems a bit bold, but it’s a savvy question to ask. The interviewer can give you one of three answers, they were either promoted, fired, or left for personal reasons. If they left for personal reasons, that’s their way of saying they can’t give you that information which could be a red flag.

 

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Article continued …

What Are Good Questions to Ask About Company Culture?

Everyone needs a job, but what you really need is the right job. By asking questions about the company during an interview, you gain a more balanced perspective about the organization you could potentially work for. Here are three questions to ask about a company:

1. Can you tell me more about the company culture?

Hiring managers want to hire employees who will fit into the company culture. By asking this question you demonstrate that you want to know so that you can decide whether it’s a culture you want to be a part of.

2. Can you give me an example of a project I’ll be working on?

Asking this question will give you insight into the type of work you’ll be doing on the job. You can then decide whether the project fits the job description advertised and if it’s a role you’ll be comfortable with.

3. What skills do you feel would improve the company’s performance?

This is a good question to ask to prepare you for a second interview if you’re really serious about getting the job. Once you have the answer to this question, you can take a class to gain or improve this skill if you already have it. If you do get a second interview, you can mention that you’re currently taking a course in the skill they need to improve their company.

What Questions Should You Avoid Asking In An Interview?

Although you should ask questions during an interview to gain insight into the job you’re applying for and the company you could potentially be working for, there are some questions you should avoid because they’re inappropriate and will give the wrong impression about you. Here are three questions you should not ask in an interview:

1. What does your company care the most about?

While there are a lot of questions you can ask about a company, this isn’t the strongest of them. Asking what a company does shows that you didn’t prepare for the interview which means you’re not serious about the job.

2. What benefits does the company offer?

An interview is all about making a good first impression. You’re there to let your employer know what you can do for them. While you do have the right to know what benefits you’ll have access to, your first interview isn’t the time to ask this question.

3. What is the exact salary for this role?

Most companies are not going to advertise a position without including salary information. In California and New York, this is beginning to change and they will list exact salary ranges. But in general, they don’t put the exact amount, they’ll put an estimate; for example, you’ll know they’re paying between $50k – $70k. Salary is typically negotiated during the second or third interview when the company has a better idea of how much they think you’re worth. Therefore, asking about salary at the first interview is a huge red flag because it gives the impression that your main concern is making money and not being an asset to the company.

When preparing your interview questions, remember to tailor them to the specific company and role you’ve applied for. And one last tip, after the interview, follow up with a thank-you note, reaffirming your interest for the position. A thank-you note is another strategy that will set you apart from the other applicants.

 

Forbes.com Author: Goldie Chan 

 

Forbes. com | May 15, 2023

 

#JobSearch : How To Answer ‘Why Should We Hire You?’ In A Job Interview. When answering this question, you can start by saying…. A MUst REad!

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You may not be aware of this, but hiring managers are generally not trained on how to interview candidates. It’s one of those quirks in the business world in which leadership believes managers can conduct in-depth interviews without any formal training by the company.

Since supervisors are not well-versed in interviewing, it’s natural that they often default to innocuous, standard, basic questions. This strategy works to the advantage of applicants, as they can brush up on the frequently asked interview questions. One of the most commonly asked questions by a hiring manager is, “Why should we hire you?”

This question is designed to determine if the candidate truly desires the specific role and wants to work at the company, or just wants any job they can get. Understandably, managers want to hire people who are highly excited and passionate about the opportunity and the chance to work at the company. For many, it’s hard to feign enthusiasm, as the interviewer will immediately pick up on the vibe and take a hard pass on their candidacy.

Preparing For The Question

To answer this question successfully, take the time to adequately prepare for the interview. Prepare and practice your elevator pitch, which keeps you on-point by having a brief, 30-second sales pitch about your background and how it’s relevant for the role. Focus on your strengths and how they can transfer to this new role. Put together a list of your achievements. Be ready to demonstrate how you will add value to the organization.

With a trusted family member, friend or mentor, role-play answering commonly asked interview questions, including “Why should we hire you?” Go over it aloud several times so you’ll be comfortable, confident, and in the flow when you’re interviewing.

Bosses want employees who are upbeat, motivated and passionate about their work. You’ll need to practice sounding excited, but ensure it comes across as genuine and natural.

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Preparing For The Question

The question is one of the best to receive. The hiring manager gives you the leeway to deliver your elevator pitch on why you want the job and how your skills, background, talents, education and other attributes make you a perfect fit. To be prepared, before you attend the interview, make sure you have put in a lot of time to become an expert on the company, its culture and its mission statement. The knowledge will infuse you with confidence, which will come across well in the meeting.

When answering this question, you can start by saying, “Thank you for inviting me to interview for the (insert the title of the position) role. I’m excited to be considered for the opportunity. I’ve admired your organization for years and would love to work here.”

You need to follow up with specific reasons why you want to work at the organization. This will demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and possess much knowledge about the company, its management team, financial situation, products, services and rankings compared to other companies in the same space.

Provide details about why the job is important to you. Do this by making sure that your experiences match up with the job description. Provide color on your current responsibilities at your firm that will seamlessly transfer over. Share tasks, projects and big wins from your job and prior roles.

Since you are seeking a new opportunity, you will understandably need room to grow and develop. It’s okay to say, “My experiences, responsibilities, talents and prior background are tailor-made for the job. I am confident that I can hit the ground running, add value to the organization and help you with the workload. The position is a perfect fit. Additionally, according to the job advertisement, there are new things that I could be involved with, which will help me get to the next level. Unfortunately, they are downsizing at my firm, and there may not be a path forward.”

 

Forbes.com Author:  Jack Kelly – Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

 

Forbes.com | May 11, 2023

#JobSearch : How To Write A Resume Objective Statement That Will Land You That Interview. First Tip: Learn What it Is. Do you Know & What is It?

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Resume objective statements have never made the most sense to me. The objective of a resume is obvious—it’s to get a job. Trust me, I’m not writing one for fun. It’s not a Bluesky skeet or anything like that.

But in these tough economic times, it can never hurt to be too careful when it comes to expressing yourself well in job applications. Whether you’re a new grad looking to land that first gig out of college, a freelancer looking to upgrade to full-time, or someone looking for a new job after years at the same place, a tight resume can be the key to getting you through the door. And it starts with a resume objective statement.

Here are a few tips for writing a resume objective statement that will land you that coveted interview.

What Is a Resume Objective Statement?

My first tip for writing a banger resume objective statement is to learn what it is. Don’t skip this step! A resume objective statement is a brief statement at the beginning of a resume that summarizes the career goals and objectives of the job applicant. That’s it!

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

Be Specific

Your objective statement should be specific to the job you’re applying for. Make sure you read the description carefully and highlight the skills and experience you have that are relevant to the position. If you have a particular goal in mind, such as working in one specific industry or becoming a manager, you can include that in your objective statement. Just make sure it’s tailored to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you want to work in sales, don’t say that you want to become a vet (learn from my mistakes!).

Ideally, use exact words from the job description in your resume objective statement. This means—I’m so sorry to say—that you need to write a new one for every position you’re applying to. It does pain me to tell you this, but one day you’ll have a job with healthcare, and you’ll thank me. And it doesn’t have to be entirely new—slight tweaks go a long way.

Be Succinct

Your objective statement should be concise and to the point. Fewer words is always better, and this is true across all mediums—resume statements, break-up texts, etc. Aim for one or two sentences that summarize your skills and experience as they relate to the job.

The resume objective statement is located right below your contact information. It might not be the most important part of the resume—that really depends on what the employer is looking for, and whether or not they’re seeking someone with super specific experiences—but it is the first thing they read. Get to the point and leave them wanting more!

Highlight Your Value

Your objective statement should make clear what value you can bring to the employer. Think about what sets you apart from other candidates and what skills or experiences you have that would make you an asset to the company. If you don’t have any skills, acquire some! Or, expand your definition of a skill. In my opinion, in this day and age, any attitude other than nihilism counts as a skill (but don’t put that on your resume). In all seriousness, though, skills as broad as social media, effectively using ChatGPT, or public speaking can appear in a resume objective statement if it aligns with the job you’re applying for.

Be Unique

To whatever extent possible, I recommend trying to avoid cliches. You’re trying to get your resume to stand out from hundreds of others. Phrases like “seeking an exciting role” or “looking to develop my skills” or “hire me rent is so high” are overused and don’t add much value to your objective statement. Instead, focus on specific skills or experiences that would make you a good fit for the job. My advice? Throw in the word “myriad.” It fits into every sentence, and there are myriad benefits to showing off your vocabulary in this way.

Once you have that perfect resume objective statement, you’re well on the way to the next challenge: acing an interview. Good luck!

Forbes.com | May 5, 2023