#JobSearch : How to Handle a Job Search During a Pandemic. Great Checklist!

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If you’ve lost your job due to COVID-19 or were in the middle of a job hunt when the coronavirus hit, don’t panic—and don’t give up job searching.

Even though it can be challenging, there are ways you can successfully look for work during a pandemic. Some industries are cutting back, but others are hiring.

Some organizations will need more workers than in the past, and they may need to get them onboard quickly.

Search Indeed for “urgently hiring” and your location to view immediate openings. That will give you a sense of what jobs are in demand in your location.

Below are some tips for job hunting during a pandemic.

Check Your Benefits

Before you start looking for work, be sure that you’re collecting any job loss benefits to which you’re entitled. Check with your human resources department or manager for details on what’s available.

You may be eligible for unemployment benefits. If you’ve lost your job because of COVID-19, expanded unemployment insurance may be available.

The federal government, state governments, and some employers are providing additional unemployment compensation for affected employees. Standard state unemployment benefits are already in place.

In most states, you can apply for benefits online. Check with your state unemployment office website for eligibility and benefit guidelines.

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

Article continued …

Get Ready to Job Search

Update your resume and LinkedIn profile. If you haven’t had to look for work in a while, take some time to update your resume and LinkedIn. Be sure to tweak your resume for the job you want each time you apply.

Write a cover letter. Also, take the time to write a cover letter each time you apply for a job. It will help your application get noticed. Not writing one could hurt your chances of getting hired. CareerBuilder reports that 10% of surveyed employers said not including a cover letter was an instant deal-breaker.

Be Aware of the Job Market

Not every occupation and industry will be affected in the same way. The Washington Post reports that the first layoffs related to coronavirus hit the job market last week.3

Companies in travel, food services, hospitality, and event planning have been especially hard hit, as well as those headquartered in areas that experienced the first cases, such as Washington state. On the other hand, the healthcare field is hiring, as are grocery stores and cleaning services.

Workers shouldn’t assume that their industry isn’t hiring.

However, industries like online shopping and delivery have surged, and essential services like healthcare and warehousing are hiring rapidly to meet demand. Some jobs are booming, and employers are actively recruiting candidates for employment.

Amazon is hiring for 100,000 new full and part-time positions across the U.S. in its fulfillment centers and delivery network to meet the demand from people relying on its service.

Walmart is hiring 150,000 new associates to work in stores, clubs, distribution centers, and fulfillment centers. These roles will be temporary, but may convert to permanent roles over time.

The company is also implementing a new process expedite hiring for key roles, such as cashiers and stockers. The typical two-week application cycle will be reduced to a 24-hour process.

Job Search Online

During a traditional job search, it can be important to job search and network in person as well as online. In the current climate, however, you’ll want to focus on searching and applying for jobs online on the top job sites, social media, and directly on company websites.

Find and keep track of new job postings quickly and simply by:

  • Taking the time to organize your job search. It will make the process smoother.
  • Setting up job alerts, so you are notified about new postings as soon as they are listed.
  • Using hashtags to expedite your job search.

Consider Work-from-Home Options

With the general uncertainty of a pandemic, you may find yourself in a situation where you absolutely can’t work outside the home. Perhaps you suddenly have young children at home because their schools have been closed indefinitely.

Or, maybe you yourself have underlying health issues that would make you highly susceptible to infection should you leave your house.

The good news is that, if you have an internet connection, you have the capability to search and land work-from-home jobs that will at least supplement your income (and, depending upon your professional skillset, you may even find a work-from-home job that is just as lucrative as your old job).

Check out these tips for finding work-at-home jobs that are hiring now.

Search Top Job Sites

Get started by typing keyword phrases such as “work at home,” “freelance,” or “telecommute” into one of the top job sites.

Search Remote and Gig Job Sites

Also check out websites that list gig jobs, and niche sites like FlexJobs that focus on remote positions. FlexJobs has a list of 20 full remotely companies that are hiring now, as well as a list of the top 100 companies with remote jobs.

Be Ready to Offer Solutions

This is a challenging time for employers as well as workers. If you can show the hiring manager that you’ve got what it takes to help the company succeed, you’ll increase your chances of getting hired.

Think about the problems that companies are facing and explain how you’ll solve them. Whether you’re applying to clean public spaces or write code, the way to get hired is to show prospective employers that you have the skills they need. Decode the job listing and emphasize your most valuable qualifications in your cover letter, in the profile section of your resume, and in job interviews.

If you can do your job from home, you may have a better chance than ever of getting a hiring manager’s attention. Many businesses and professional services companies, especially in the tech space, are having their employees work from home.11 hat means a whole lot of eyeballs are on a whole lot of inboxes—and some of them belong to hiring managers. If you have experience telecommuting, this would be good to mention on your resume.

Be Prepared to Ace the Interview

Be sure that you’re prepared for video interviews. Practice interviewing via camera. If you’ve never interviewed via Skype or Zoom, there’s a bit of a learning curve.

Get acquainted with the technology and do a practice interview before you speak with the hiring manager. Pay close attention to the lighting and background as well as how your interview outfit shows up on camera.

Spend Time Networking

Remember that networking doesn’t require meeting in person. In the era of LinkedIn, Facebook groups, and other social networks, you don’t need to be able to shake someone’s hand to make a good impression.

Now is a particularly good time to practice one of the most important tenets of networking: if you want people to help you later, be willing to help them right now.

Write LinkedIn recommendations for former colleagues. Refer friends for open positions at your company. Offer to proofread your friend’s resume and cover letter. It will give you a sense of satisfaction, and it will help strengthen your network for the future.

Upgrade Your Skills

You may have extra time, and if you do, it’s an opportunity to upgrade your skills. There are many opportunities to work on your skillset online, including LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and many other sites where you can learn new skills.

Be Patient and Kind

The coronavirus has impacted many facets of everyday life in addition to the workplace. If you’re not hearing back on jobs as quickly as you’d like, be patient and kind to hiring managers and your networking connections. Everyone has issues to deal with and is doing the best they can during a difficult time.

The hiring process may be longer and different from what you’re used to, but you’ll get there. When you do, take the time to thank everyone who helped with your job search.

Key Takeaways

HIRING HASN’T STOPPED:Hiring may slow down in affected industries, but employers are still hiring.

PRACTICE INTERVIEWING:If you haven’t used video for job interviews or meetings, practice ahead of time.

GIVE TO GET:These are challenging times for almost everyone, offer to help whomever you can. You’ll find people are willing to help you, too.

 

TheBalanceCareers.com |  April 9, 2020 |  ALISON DOYLE

#Resumes :Skills Recruiters Want to See on Your Resume. Recruiters see Thousands of Resumes a Month, So you Need to Make your Resume Stand Out From the Rest.

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Anyone who has worked as a recruiter or hiring manager knows the difficulties in sorting through executive resumes. And as an executive, you may quickly realize you possess very similar skills as your competition when searching for a new job.

Highlighting your best skills and attributes will help set your resume apart from the others. When you combine your tangible skills with writing an effective resume, you’ll have a better chance of distinguishing yourself.

Here are some of the most optimal skills that look great on an executive profile. 

Critical Decision-Making

Being able to make highly critical decisions with limited time and information is extremely valuable. Quick and thoughtful decision making shows you are very aware of any given situation and aren’t just making a random decision just because you have to. You’ve thought through and anticipated certain decisions that may have to be made, so you’re always prepared. This is a key skill for executives in any industry.

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

Article continued … 

Multitasking

There’s a difference between multitasking and doing busy work. Multitasking means you can get multiple jobs done at the same time in order to be more efficient and move business forward. Be sure to explain situations where you had to multitask to meet a strict deadline in your executive profile. Every executive has to multitask at some point, but the best ones will create positive results out of it. 

Team-Building

One of the best things you can put in your executive bio is your team-building experience. Every company wants to hire a team player, whether it’s a lower-level employee or a high-ranking executive. Many executives like to stay tucked away in their office and not talk to others. So if you are actively building stronger teams for your organization, then you’ll stand out. 

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking just means you think about the past, present and future in any decision you make. You’re also willing to take some risks if the potential reward is high. It’s difficult to display strategic thinking in an executive profile, but it’s a great skill to demonstrate when you have an interview.

Recruiters see thousands of resumes a month, so you need to make your resume stand out from the rest. Highlighting your skillset is one way to set yourself above. Just make sure that the rest of your resume showcases how you utilized those skills for the benefit of your employer.

FSC Career Blog Author:  Ms. Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

FSC Career Blog |  April 16, 2020

#JobSearch : Déjà Vu All Over Again – Good News, Bad News for Employers and Job Seekers.

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I remember…  with trepidation … the market events in the fall of 2008 caused the real estate crash in 2009 and the resulting rise in unemployment with hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs. (I was one of them. As a HR director, I had to write my own layoff letter!)  The recent pandemic is not quite the same, but the impact is eerily similar and much worse for workers who are now unemployed. With luck, this time, the economy will swing back quickly once folks get back to their office or location work sites as cures, vaccines, and plasma infusions are deemed safe and made available to inoculate the general population.

When economic crisis upheavals create market impacts and job losses, it’s best to be prepared for the ‘what ifs?’

In 2009, the bad news was employers laid off, terminated, or furloughed workers with no known return-to-work date.  This was a crisis for the company and its workers. The events affected stability, growth, and/or revenue for the business, but also provided a unique opportunity to enrich the workforce and gain more valuable employees in the long run.  Companies initially targeted ‘slackers,’ ‘redundant,’ or unskilled (untrained) employees in the mass layoffs. Workers able to do the work of others had to cross-train, or who were more productive were more likely to be retained.

Use the lessons learned from the 2009 economic crash to preparing for the current pandemic-related crisis, and/or future events with equitable impact on worker’s careers.

Those laid off or terminated were often the workers with the lowest return on investment (ROI) for the business model.  Unfortunately, it was also a great opportunity to drop what the company determined were ‘troublemakers,’ ‘high maintenance employees,’ and those who had reached a salary ceiling for their job level.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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When the economy picked up again, the company had a choice of rehiring the furloughed workers. In some cases, companies found more productive replacements for the past terminated workers.  Some businesses chose to continue to pay unemployment taxes on furloughed workers and hired fresh employees to train to higher standards and productivity.  This may happen again in 2020. If fresh, new workers can provide a higher rate of productivity after training, the companies could turn a higher profit, faster, and decide not rehiring the furloughed workers is worth the business risk.

The good news is some workers ‘sent home’ during this pandemic event may not have been fired.  Companies recognized some work (telework) could continue if workers had the right equipment and access to work-related applications from home.  The scramble to set the employees up to work from home may result in long-term and increased ROI based on lower overhead costs. This event may help business leaders see the opportunity to keep workers, monitor productivity, and simultaneously reduce overhead costs by continuing to keep employees working at home.

It is bad news for the workers who are permanently laid off or furloughed. The economic crisis does provide opportunities for those who lost their jobs to go back to school, take more technical or trade training, and refresh their resume(s) for more practical or higher-level educational opportunities.

The good news is, even though the furloughed worker may have been highly productive, this is the perfect opportunity to use one’s advanced experience and skills to search for a new career position. Shop for that new job with companies who terminated the ‘redundant’ workers and are looking for that higher productivity employee.  When an employee is laid off it’s the perfect timing to refresh their resume to identify their strongest skills and their greatest weaknesses.

It is vital to showcase on the resume the job seeker’s achievements and accomplishments to document the metrics and capabilities of the worker in past and potentially future work environments.  Review the education section to decide when, where, and what to add to skill sets by taking online classes, going back to schools (colleges, universities – online courses where available), or targeting technical schools for updated trades training.

When economic crisis upheavals create market impacts and job losses, it’s best to be prepared for the ‘what ifs?’ in one’s career path.  Use the lessons learned from the 2009 economic crash to preparing for the current pandemic-related crisis, and/or future events with equitable impact on worker’s careers.  Keep updating one’s work skills, ensure your productivity at work is at its high level and makes a profit (or reduce overhead expenses) for your company. Continue to learn or take training in a variety of skills to make yourself non-expendable to your employer.  If you are not constantly improving yourself, you will not survive or do well in the worst-case economic scenarios of the future.

FSC Career Blog Author: Ms. Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., owner of D. Boyer Consulting in Hampton Roads and Richmond, VA – provides resume writing, and editing / publishing / print-on-demand consulting. Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@me.com or visit her website at www.dboyerconsulting.com.

 

FSC Career Blog| April 14, 2020

#Resume : Why an Objective On A Resume Makes You Look Old.

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The days of your resume starting out with “Objective: Experienced Executive Sales Manager seeking to ….” are long gone!  If you are still using a line like that to open up your executive resume, you may as well realize that your chance of getting selected for an interview is probably long gone as well.  Lose the “Objective” and replace that one-liner with a dynamic career summary that pulls the reader in and shows that you have the experience, skills, and credentials to get the job.

A career summary is a brief statement/paragraph at the top of your summary that immediately communicates your qualifications for the job.  In just a few sentences, you need to be able to articulate the value you can offer, what you have that makes you more uniquely qualified than others, and why the hiring manager should call you, and only you, in for the interview.  A few tips to get you on your way…

The hook…

  • Clearly define your goals:  think about this- if you were already in the interview, what would be the top 3-4 things you would tell the hiring manager about yourself to show you are the one to hire? Now, put those 3-4 things in writing on your career summary.

The line…

  • Highlight your applicable experience, strengths, and skills:  incorporate keywords and keyword phrases that are relevant to the position you’re applying for/industry throughout your summary. If the resume is being screened by an ATS program, using the appropriate keywords will help to ensure that your resume will get selected from the pile. If you have space, you can even share an achievement that shows how you’ve increased sales or revenue, improved productivity, implemented a new program―how you’ve created value for others during your career. You can also include the job title or a little bit about your personal brand in your summary to make an even stronger connection.

Reel em’ in…

  • Build them up and leave them wanting to know more:  you’ve made your point, now conclude your summary with a catchy phrase that shows the impact you have made in your career for your past employers.

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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Here are examples of what we found at the top of two resumes submitted by candidates applying for the same position with an association:

 

  1. Objective: Experienced candidate seeking to work as an executive for a large company where I can grow my skills and expertise in the field.

 

  1. Executive Summary: Entrepreneurial leader accomplished in designing game-changing strategies to propel growth and membership within sales associations. Valued for providing insight, evaluating current practices, identifying market trends, and achieving unprecedented results. Expertise in developing strong and sustainable solutions to maximize partner retention and affinity relations, facilitate expansion, and generate revenue growth. Capable of building strong relationships with business partners and influencing at all levels to generate results.

Which candidate would you call in for an interview?

There is nothing more satisfying than watching someone progress in their career, and a strategically-written resume is a great place to start. Recruiters and hiring managers want to be sold on you as a candidate in the first few seconds they spend on your resume―you have to be able to show your ROI with high-value information to keep the reader interested in learning more about you.

Go a step further and use your summary on your resume as the basis for your summary on your LinkedIn profile.  Nobody wants to see “I am seeking a job as a Sales Executive” in the “About” section on your profile.  You have 2,000 characters to sell yourself in the “About” section.  Include a brief summary, some bulleted achievements, and your most relevant strengths and expertise to show all you offer in just a few quick seconds.  Make it personal and creative―let the reader see who you are, how you operate, and how you can impact their organization if they hire you.

So, to answer the question in the title of this article, you need to lose the “Objective” you’re still showing on your resume and replace it with a dynamic career summary that markets you as the best fit for the employer’s needs. When written and presented the right way, a strong career summary statement at the beginning of your resume will not just introduce you to the reader, but more importantly will effectively convey that YOU are the ideal candidate for the job, right from the get-go.

FSC Career Blog Author:  Ms. Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

                                          FSC Career Blog |  April 14, 2020

Are You Showing Your True Personal Brand? Personal Branding is a Larger Aspect of ‘Today’s’ Job Search.

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A major part of a job search involves making your personal brand appear to be what you want it to be. However, executives often make the mistake of gearing their c-level personal branding more toward what they want others to perceive them, rather than showing who they really are. The problem with this is recruiters and hiring managers can see right through it. All it takes is a little bit of inconsistency and your job search could be ruined.

Personal branding is a much larger aspect of a job search today than it was several years ago. Sometimes all it takes is optimizing your LinkedIn profile, while other times you may need to work on your entire online presence to show your true brand.

 

So when it comes to personal branding for senior-level managers, being truthful and honest are the best ways to go. 

Why Some People Are Hesitant To Show Their True Brand

Some people resist demonstrating their true brand because they don’t want the world to know what their personality is. If you haven’t conducted a job search in several years, you may remember thinking your resume needs to follow a certain pattern or standard and shouldn’t deviate from the norm. Times have changed now and hiring managers want to know who they are hiring as a person and a professional. While it’s understandable to be uncomfortable showing your brand, it’s important to also know that differentiation is critical when it comes to being recognized.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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A Personality Fit is Important to Employers

When you show some of your personality on your LinkedIn profile, recruiters will get a glimpse into who you are as a person. A solid mix of professional achievements and personal experiences will bode well on your LinkedIn profile and will increase the chances of you getting noticed. The more natural the language in your profile sounds, the better your c-level personal branding efforts will be, especially when you back it up in your verbal language and your resume. Companies prioritize hiring people with good personality fits now, so never hesitate to show a little. 

Your Personal Brand Presents Unique Value

Without c-level personal branding, executives have no real way of standing out among dozens of other job applicants. You have a great opportunity to distinguish yourself with your personality and tie in how your personality offers value to the company. This could mean working well as a team, the ability to think creatively, be a leader or anything else. Professional achievements for executives often seem similar on paper, so your personal brand could be what sets you apart and gives you a better chance of landing the job you want.

Personal branding is a much larger aspect of a job search today than it was several years ago. Sometimes all it takes is optimizing your LinkedIn profile, while other times you may need to work on your entire online presence to show your true brand.

FSC Career Blog Author:  Ms. Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

FSC Career Blog |  April 13, 2020

#JobSearch : Best Practices for a Job Seeker’s Cover Letter. Great Eight(8) Points Checklist.

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In this technology-based age, many companies are foregoing cover letters in the electronic uploads for digital resume storage, but some systems allow cover letters to be added separately.

Recruiters may review the cover letter for various reasons, but here are a few discriminators used to consider or to reject a candidate. 

1- What positive things do recruiters want to see in cover letters?  The ability to write an idea concisely, proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation demonstrate a well-rounded education.  Aesthetic placement of type font, white space, centering (vertical and horizontal) demonstrates a technical skill to use word processing software and awareness of creating a professional look and feel.

It’s hard to address a ‘real human being’ in any HR department. A Boolean search might bring up a point of contact in the company on social sites (company website, LinkedIn, or Facebook).  If your query and find an employee’s name, they may be willing to share an HR rep’s name and contact info.  ‘Dear sir or madam,’ is the professional alternative, if you can’t find any names.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2- Cover letters should be one page – no more – with one-inch margins and 11 or 12-point type font (Arial or Times New Roman).  If you can’t get the message across in three paragraphs, it’s too wordy.   The contents of a cover letter should be concise and within those three paragraphs. A well-written paragraph has at least three sentences.  Don’t start sentences or paragraphs with prepositions (e.g., and, but, because, etc.).

Recruiters prefer resumes and cover letters uploaded into Automated Tracking Systems (ATS) resume databases or may ask for an e-mailed resume.  Copy and paste it within the body of the email, but place it after your signature line.  You should have a very short notification, e.g., “Per request, please find my cover letter and resume after my signature for your consideration.”  Computer viruses make recruiters nervous about attachments.  Recruiters would rather have an opportunity to scroll down for information versus opening documents to save time and effort.

3- The first paragraph emphasizes the applicant’s interest in the company.  Explain why you are targeting the employer and the job title.  ‘Name drop’ a mutual contact if you have that advantage.  “I am applying for the Whiffle Ball hole-driller position because your company’s reputation is stellar in the junior-league baseball industry for making the highest quality play equipment.  Your emphasis on quality makes my skills as a driller a good match for (name of company)’s strategic objectives noted on your website.”  This shows the applicant has performed research and shows the ability to communicate a point effectively.

4- Name-dropping might be impolite in some circles, but for job shopping, it might get your foot in the door.  Mention a common contact to attract the attention of the recruiter.  “Joe Bob, Pellet Supervisor in your molding plant, suggested my candidacy for this position.”  Additionally, some companies provide incentives such as cash bonuses for employees, so this gives the recruiter documentation of the referral.

The cover letter is not your resume – provide a few salient points of interest in the second paragraph not already explained in the resume.  “A recent trip to the Congo provided valuable experience in creating Whiffle Ball leagues for schools in a district with three different languages.  This experience has enriched my capability to use diverse communications skills to ensure your company has effective methods of obtaining customer suggestions for where Whiffle holes are drilled in the balls.  This explains the gap in employment for the summer of YYY and the change in my career from nursing hamster pups to drilling Whiffle balls.”

5- The third paragraph should emphasize availability and refer to attached (or uploaded) resume and availability for interviewing (either telephonically or in person), accompanied by phone and e-mail information.  The applicant’s return address is already in the resume – don’t waste precious text or white space on repeat information.

6- The cover letter is not a place to try sarcastic or witty humor.  With no context or visible body language, the attempt at humor may backfire.  Write professionally.  Emphasize what you can do for the employer versus asking them to do you a favor.  Try to avoid using the word ‘I’ in the cover letter – it is, but it is not about you – it is about the company’s need to find a qualified candidate for a position.

7- Even English professors can misspell words or get a comma in the wrong place.  Send the cover letter through the grammar and spell check several times and then read the letter out loud to a peer to ensure it makes sense.  Just because a word is spelled correctly, doesn’t mean it’s correctly used (e.g., granite = granted, fast paste = fast-paced).  Get an unbiased outsider to proof the letter, a teacher, mentor, or a student in AP courses to check the spelling.  Look for sample letters on the Internet to compare.

8- The final piece of your cover letter is your signature.  If you have your address on the resume and telephone number and/or email address in the third paragraph, all that is needed is a full name under a ‘wet’ signature.  Applicants can scan a copy of their signature and insert the graphic to look like a real signature, which enables them to send the letter digitally without further scanning.

 

FSC Career Blog Author: Ms. Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., owner of D. Boyer Consulting – provides resume writing, social media management, and print-on-demand author coaching and consulting. Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@DBoyerConsulting.com or http://dboyerconsulting.com.

 

FSC Career Blog |  April 12, 2020

#FiringEmployees : Five Ways to Ensure Employees are Laid Off in the Most Humane and Respectable Way! Great Read for All!

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Laying people off is uncomfortable and emotionally draining. After all, you’re human! Goodness knows you wouldn’t want to be them, going home to face their families. You worry that they’re going to have one heck of a time finding another job, or a job that pays as well, or a manager who will be sympathetic to their special needs… or anything else that weighs on your mind about releasing them.

Here are five things you can do to alleviate some of the stress you personally feel when laying off employees:

1- Treat them with the utmost respect! Be kind. Even if you believe they deserve to be let go, “let it go.” Terminated employees will always remember “how” they were told and how they were treated. The sting of being notified that their job is being eliminated will never leave their memory. Never! More legal retribution is sought by terminated employees due to how they were treated at the time of the notification than for any other reason.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2- Don’t let a “stranger” or some unknown person notify the employee that their job has been eliminated. This news should come from someone who the employee knows and who has personally interacted with the employee during the normal course of their workday. Do your best to insist that your employees are notified by a familiar face.

3- Have personal knowledge about the outplacement benefit you have arranged for employees and encourage them to take advantage of it. Provide separated employees with outplacement benefits from a company that you can honestly say will give them the greatest level of support.

4- Oftentimes, HR uses an outplacement firm that is the most convenient, or the cheapest, without making an effort to understand the difference in services. It’s in the best interest of the company to encourage employees to use the outplacement services! Better to have your separated employees focus on the future with a career consultant than to be bitter, smoldering and venting on the Internet or with the attorneys they have called.

5- Drop the hard party lines. Don’t escort an employee out the door with their cardboard box of personal items for all their peers and the company to see. If they have been impacted by a true reduction in force, and not terminated for cause, then let’s not give the impression that this is a punitive action. Make arrangements for employees to save face and come back after hours (or during certain hours) to clean out their desks. Or offer them the option of having someone they trust remove their personal items for them.

Now, a last, but certainly not least, word about this. Ask yourself the question: “If I were to be terminated, how would I want this experience to go down for me?” Then do what you can to treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself.

 

FSC Guest Author: Susan Howington is a sought-after expert in the Executive Career Transition field, applying her practical knowledge and visionary wisdom as a consultant, coach, author and industry speaker. Her success derives from her understanding that in circumstances of job search, nothing replaces the effectiveness of human interaction and person to person connections. Through her company, Power Connections, Susan utilizes her highly respected reputation to assist companies in transitioning their employees during outplacement initiatives.

 

How Smart People Sabotage Their Job Search
Susan’s book How Smart People Sabotage Their Job Search is on Amazon. Be sure to check it out and order your copy today!

 

FSC Career Blog | April 10,2020 | By

#Resume : Why Job Seekers using ‘Free Software’ for Resumes May be Hurting Themselves.

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I sometimes encounter clients who are using free word processing software to write their resumes. This includes Open Office (e.g., Pages; Google docs; Libre; Apache). Why is this a bad practice for job seekers?  Because most businesses require digital resume submissions and the resume must be saved in a file format those businesses use – including the international-standard of Microsoft Office. Job seekers sending out resumes in non-standard file formats are hurting their chances of being seen for their otherwise great experiences and job skills.

The goal of a resume is to stand out in a crowd; use the wording and descriptions to make the resume owner’s capabilities stand out – not the file formatting itself.

Free software is great when you are on a budget or lacking funds, and you are creating files or documents that only you will be using. Job seekers should understand the recruiter may not have Open Office on their computer and can’t download the software because their company may have restrictions on what is on company-owned IT equipment. Job seekers should not expect recruiters to go that extra mile to open the resume in a non-standard file format when they have dozens if not hundreds of other resumes submitted in the more standardized industry-use software to review.

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As a recruiter, I have encountered engineers who designed their resumes in a CAD program, graphic artists who submitted their beautifully designed resume in Photoshop or InDesign files (.psd; .ai; .indd – which are expensive software packages), and professionals using Google docs. Unfortunately, recruiters may not have those software packages on their computers, thus they are unable to open the resumes. Recruiters have a choice of 1) trying to open the file with what software is already on their computer, or 2) dumping the resume because they don’t have time to open ‘foreign’ files with so many other job candidates who are ‘following the rules’ of standardized file formats (e.g., Microsoft Office Word).

Google docs may have the file-sharing capability; the file owner may send a link to view the document or file, the recruiter may not have the ability to get past the password-protected firewall – encountering a ‘you need to request permission to access this file from the owner’ message (time the recruiter doesn’t have). Google Docs tends to not share the same formatting parameters. Docs created in Word and then shared with Google docs will have their formatting changed on the Google Docs platform. Google docs add leading line spaces in headers and footers and increase the size of bullets, so an original document resume created in Word at two pages, may result in two and a half pages in Google docs. This may irritate recruiters who are adamant about not wanting to read resumes over two pages long.

Open Office also deletes formatting when converting back and forth. Word documents can have formatting for indexing, Tables of Contents, etc., embedded in the document, but once it’s converted to Open Office – all that labor is wasted to create special formatting because it’s erased in the conversion.

If you are a job seeker and absolutely must use Open Office (Pages), type up the resume, then ‘export’ the document as a Microsoft Office compatible file (.doc) before sending it to recruiters or uploading it into resume databases. This will enable the recruiters to open the file on their computers because it will be compatible with their software. Worst-case scenario, you can use a text-edit program (loaded onto just about every computer manufactured) to compile the resume. While it won’t be pretty (baseline Times New Roman font, no capability for bold or italic text), it will have all your vital experience and job skills information in the text document to load it into any online resume database or job post as an official application.

The goal of a resume is to stand out in a crowd; use the wording and descriptions to make the resume owner’s capabilities stand out – not the file formatting itself. Avoid graphics, heavy use of tables, icons, and multiple fonts or sizes. That resume has to get through the initial firewall of processing in the upload before it can get seen by the recruiter. Use standard-practice software to get on an even playing field.

FSC Guest Author: Ms.Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., owner of D. Boyer Consulting – provides resume writing, social media management, and editing/publishing/print-on-demand consulting. Reach her at : Dawn.Boyer@me.com or visit her website at

www.dboyerconsulting.com

 

FSC Career Blog | April 7, 2020

#JobSearch :Ongoing Strategies Every Executive Job Seeker Needs to Consider. How Visible are You on LinkedIn?

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What’s your strategy as an executive jobseeker? There’s no right or wrong answer to the question, and sometimes it takes trial and error to truly figure out what the most effective strategy is for you. Even then, adjustments must be made along the way. Simply thinking you can write resumes that get you hired isn’t the best strategy overall today.

With the digital age we live in, it requires more work and effort to get recognized. Here are some ongoing strategies you should consider incorporating into your job search regularly. 

Always Be Active on LinkedIn

Having a complete LinkedIn profile is great, but being active on the platform is even better. Consider working with a LinkedIn profile writer to get the basics of your profile taken care of. At that point, you can join LinkedIn groups, revisit old connections, post original content, comment on other people’s content and more. The point is the more people who see your name, the more attention you’ll get. Just be sure not to overdo it to the point where people may get tired of hearing from you.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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Be Creative and Insightful With Content You Post

Posting original content relevant to your industry is a great strategy for standing out among the competition. While executive resume writer services can help you put together a solid resume, your expertise is required to write original content. You can post these articles on your website or publish them on your LinkedIn profile. The idea is to be creative and insightful with each post so you’ll earn some credibility with each one. 

Keep Your Name Relevant With Comments on Posts

Find a good balance between the original articles you post and the comments you make on other posts. When you make engaging comments or ask insightful questions, you could spark a discussion with other readers or the writer themselves. People appreciate comments on their articles and you never know when it could lead to something greater. 

Have a Resume Always Prepared

Writing resumes that get you hired today means having various versions of your resume targeted at the companies you’re interested in. Once you’ve researched your targeted companies, consider working with executive resume writer services to have a resume prepared when the opportunity arises. Whether you need to send it to a connection electronically or physically at a networking event, you should always be prepared.

It’s important to have a plan before you start one of the most important events of your life – looking for a job, whether it’s your first job or your next job. Take the time to create a job plan, make adjustments as necessary, and then go after it.

FSC Career Blog Author:  Ms. Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

FSC Career Blog |  April 6, 2020