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#JobSearch : Hiring Has Restarted. Here’s What You Need to Know to Land a New Job, Now. Question: What are your best strategies for job-hunting in the pandemic era?

One year since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, there are glimmers of a sustained jobs recovery—and that means new opportunities for prepared job seekers.

There are reasons to believe the latest uptick in job creation has more legs than similar spurts last summer and early fall, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned at The Wall Street Journal’s Job Summit last week that the economy remains far from maximum employment.

The number of help-wanted ads returned to pre-pandemic levels in January, fueled in part by more high-wage openings in technology and finance, according to job-search site Indeed. Weekly unemployment claims have fallen to their lowest levels in months. There also are signs that economic activity is poised to pick up as more people are vaccinated.

As hiring accelerates, millions of unemployed Americans will be vying for openings alongside workers jockeying for new jobs and promotions. Yet, the pandemic’s impact on the job hunt is likely to linger: Workers will need to be prepared for virtual interviews and onboarding. They may need to pick up new skills, or reinvent themselves for the next phase of their career.

Whether the pandemic has left you unemployed, underemployed or gearing up for the next step, you will need to stand out in the crowd. Economists, executives and career coaches offered advice to thousands of job seekers at the Journal’s Jobs Summit. Here is what they said:

Get your résumé in front of a human

Before your résumé even reaches a recruiter, it will need to charm a piece of software. Adding certain keywords—the terms most relevant to the job you’re seeking—is essential. For an engineer, that can mean listing programming languages you are fluent in.

“Using those words that are going to be important to the recruiter in your résumé is a key first step,” said Scott Bonneau, vice president of global talent attraction at Indeed. He recommends keeping a résumé to one page: “Once your résumé makes it to a recruiter, they may only have a few seconds or a few minutes to spend on an initial scan.”

After your résumé clears the robots and recruiters, it has a chance to gain the attention of hiring managers. Mr. Bonneau said a succinct summary or objective statement at the top of your résumé can help. “That is your brief but important way to give that hiring manager or that recruiter a contextualized overview of your experience with respect to the role,” he said.

Paige Ross, senior managing director and global head, human resources, at private-equity firm Blackstone, studies outcomes when reviewing résumés. “What have you worked on, and what were the results?,” she said.

Laura Fennell, executive vice president and chief people and places officer at financial-software maker Intuit, seeks clarity: “Résumés can get super flowery and hard to understand, so real clarity around what you’ve done—I love that.”

Work the system—but don’t try to game it

Though it is important to be strategic, overplaying your hand can backfire, Mr. Bonneau said. Key words are vital to get your résumé noticed but cramming in phrases lifted verbatim from the job description or make your résumé hard to read won’t get you far. You may get past the applicant-tracking-system algorithm only to end up alienating the recruiter who receives a résumé filled with key words that don’t genuinely reflect your abilities.

“It’s important to make sure that we focus on the relevant experience, the relevant words, but backed up by your accomplishments and what makes you the best candidate for that role,” he said.

Timing is everything

Once a job is posted online the clock is ticking, and applications that come in at the end of the submission window may already be handicapped, recruiters said. Sifting through applications and interviewing candidates begins almost immediately, and there likely will be internal candidates as well as finalists for previous vacancies all jockeying for the role.

Applicants should make thoughtful—but swift—edits to their résumé and cover letter, Indeed’s Mr. Bonneau said. “A couple of days might be the difference between a job being there or being filled by the time you apply,” he said.

He suggests setting alerts on Indeed and other sites for when relevant jobs are posted. “Let the tools do some of that work for you,” he said.

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

Article continued …

“Network, network, network”

Even as you’re working to get your résumé noticed, don’t forget networking. Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation, a nonprofit focused on unemployment, recommends that as job seekers tap professional contacts they include details that may elicit particular advice.

“When you’re networking with the people you know, don’t say ‘I’m looking for a job,’ ” said Ms. Oates. “Say instead, ‘I really have great organizational skills. That has to help me get a job. Do you have any idea about that?’ Be a little bit more specific.” Even if you don’t know anyone at the company or the field where you’re applying for a job, she added, try making contacts at professional or trade organizations.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

What are your best strategies for job-hunting in the pandemic era? Join the conversation below.

You don’t need to check every box

Some job descriptions may read like an unachievable wishlist—but that shouldn’t necessarily stop you from applying.

“‘Preferred requirements’ or ‘nice to haves’ doesn’t mean that you have to have that skill set to apply for the role,” said LaFawn Davis, Indeed’s group vice president of environmental, social and governance. She recommends explaining in your cover letter how your skills can translate to the role you are seeking.

“You should go for it if you have most of those things because, I guarantee you, the skills that you have will work out well in that role,” she said. “If you’re ready to get into something new, if you’re open to stretching yourself, you can learn those other three to four things that maybe you don’t have right now.”

 

WSJ.com | March 7. 2021 |  

#JobSearch : Identifying Your Strengths & Weaknesses – Where to Look. Question: What can you Contribute for the Job?

Much of the time a candidate for a job is viewed in terms of what they can contribute to that job. Often, during an interview, you will be asked about your strengths and weaknesses. This is the time to be honest, but make sure you have an accurate view of yourself by looking carefully at the evidence.

Every job entails at least 4 places to look at for this evidence:

  • tasks
  • processes
  • relationships
  • communication 

Tasks are the actual things you have to do on the job. For instance, every certification you possess reflects a strength because you can do that task. If you are applying for a job that uses specific technical skills, those are tasks you need to be competent in.

Processes are the way you go about dealing with your responsibilities. You could utilize a coach to figure out your learning style or go over past reviews you’ve had. Ask a friend who won’t sugarcoat the painful truth to tell you where you need help. Do you make lists that get lost? Commit to too much and let things slide? Get sidetracked easily? Or the opposite; are you so set on doing a task that you miss important signals?

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

Article continued …

Relationships are important because you do not work in a vacuum. Think about it; even those who work alone interact with somebody in order to do part of their job, right? The way you get along with coworkers affects team projects, workplace atmosphere, and a lot more. How do you react to criticism? To compliments?

Communication is the only way others can understand you. It’s one of my favorite subjects because it involves language for the most part, and I love words. But words have to say what you mean and be understood to mean what you thought you said. I will wait while you read that again…
…because it illustrates a point about communicating. If the people you are writing to, or calling, or trying to reach via your online profile do not understand what you say, it really doesn’t matter how great you thought you said it. This affects your resume because you communicate your appropriateness for the job. It affects your interview, because you communicate how you will be in the workplace. And it affects your workplace because communication is the oil in the gears that keeps the machinery of business running smoothly.

 

FSC Career Blog Author:  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 – February 22, 2021

 

#JobSearch :High Salaries Haunt Some Job Hunters. Recruiters Increasingly Ask about Pay History Early in the Hiring Process, putting High Earners in a Quandary.

After more than 20 years as an electronics engineer, Pete Edwards reached the low six-figure pay level. Now, as he looks for a job following a layoff, he finds that salary success a burden.

Although his experience includes the sought-after field of 3-D printing, the 53-year-old hasn’t been able to land a permanent full-time job. Time and again, he says, employers seem to lose interest after he answers a question that they ask early on: “What was your last salary?”

That question comes up sooner than ever nowadays. Hiring managers used to broach salary history or requirements only in later stages, after applicants had a chance to make an impression and state their case.

Today, pay increasingly is mentioned early in the process, either as a required field in online applications—which are used more often—or during initial interviews, say recruiters, compensation consultants and job seekers.

The shift is vexing applicants, mostly those of a certain age and pay level, who are concerned that a salary they worked to attain now gets in the way of having a job at all. “I’m unemployable now as a result of getting to the top of the tree,” Mr. Edwards lamented.

Josh Rock, a recruiter at Fairview Health Services, a 20,000-employee health system in Minnesota, said that during the last recession, recruiters used compensation queries as a quick way to cull the large numbers of candidates for open jobs. The habit has stuck, he said. “Why not figure out what’s going on sooner in the process than doing a dance?”

Human-resources executives say asking about pay right off the bat helps contain compensation costs, ensures that candidates have reasonable expectations and spares recruiters from chasing prospects they can’t afford.

“Unfortunately, some clients use salary as a pre-screening question,” said Susan Vitale, chief marketing officer at iCIMS Inc., a provider of recruiting software in Matawan, N.J. “So if the role tops out at $55,000 and they say they want $60,000, it might knock the candidate out of consideration” even if the person would be open to salary negotiations.

Screening candidates this way may be a factor in wage stagnation, some analysts suggest. Average hourly earnings rose 2.5% in 2015, modest by historical standards. Wage growth has averaged only about 2% for the past five years.

Focusing on compensation history “holds down wages because now the jobs are being filled by people with lower salary expectations,” said Thomas Kochan, a professor of employment research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. “We have a whole generation of people who are permanently adversely affected.”

Though hiring tactics have received little attention in the economic debate about wage stagnation, Mr. Kochan said they could have profound effects: “The decisions of firms individually are…creating collectively this macro phenomenon of stagnation,” yet are hard to measure because they are shrouded in secrecy.

U.S. employers continue to hold the line on wages despite six years of economic recovery and an unemployment rate of 5%. Finance chiefs are “probably looking ahead and saying they want to keep the escalation of labor costs from going up in a way that will put pressure on earnings,” said Ajit Kambil, global research director of Deloitte’s CFO Program.

In Deloitte’s most recent quarterly survey, 47% of chief financial offers said they plan to work to lower or control labor costs this year, by taming compensation growth, reducing benefit costs or other means. Moreover, employers may feel they can lowball applicants because they believe there is still a surplus of qualified candidates.

“Workers are still a little discounted” in most fields, said Linda Barrington, executive director of the Institute for Compensation Studies at Cornell University’s ILR School. “Employers won’t pay what the last person in the job was paid because labor is now on sale.”

Steve Carpinelli recently applied for a public-relations position with a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. The role called for a minimum of five-to-seven years of experience. He has more than 14.

Mr. Carpinelli’s pay reached high five figures before the 45-year-old switched to the generally lower-paying field of nonprofits. While preparing for a phone interview with the Washington organization, he discovered that the last person in the job earned $101,000. So when asked early on about his salary expectations, he put his range squarely around what the last employee earned, seeking $85,000 to $110,000.

“After that, the conversation was very robotic, not a two-way conversation about what they’re truly looking for,” Mr. Carpinelli said. “I definitely got the impression that I’d priced myself out.”

In his experience, “there has been a definite shift or emphasis on beginning the conversation with: ‘What is your salary range?’” Mr. Carpinelli said. “I was always told you never talk about salary until you’re given an offer. But I’ve noticed the salary-range question comes up far earlier in the conversation.”

The organization ultimately hired a young woman with five years’ experience. Mr. Carpinelli is still looking for a permanent job.

Older job seekers sometimes see such outcomes as evidence of bias. But “employers can make financial decisions and it’s not necessarily age discrimination,” said Raymond Peeler, a senior attorney-advisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “What an employee would have to prove…is that the employer is using the salary level as a proxy to disqualify all the older applicants.”

A majority of workers take a salary cut when they get a new job after a stretch of unemployment, but those over 45 usually take a bigger hit than workers under 35 years of age, according to research from Ms. Barrington and a Cornell colleague, Hassan Enayati.

A survey by AARP last year found that of job seekers between 45 and 70 years old who found work after a spell of unemployment, nearly half earned less than before.

Some employers hesitate to hire at far below a past salary, concerned that the employee would resent earning so much less. “If someone wants $100,000 and settles for $75,000, they’re not going to be happy,” said Steve Gross, a compensation specialist and senior partner at consulting firm Mercer.

Workers, however, say they would like the chance to decide for themselves.

“The presumption that I would walk into a job and get $150,000 is not there,” said Rosemary Lynch Kelleher, a baby boomer who has earned at that level during her 25-year career in international trade policy, and has been looking for a permanent job for several years.

“I realize very clearly that it’s not there. And I would take something for $100,000 or $75,000.”

In Austin, a woman who lost her six-figure position as a data architect in 2014 but recently landed a job, said she had been tempted to say she earned $60,000 to improve her chances of getting hired.

While she was searching, the 63-year-old said: “I hate putting down what I want” in salary. “If you put down too much, they think you’re expensive. If you don’t put down enough, they think you’re undervaluing yourself.”

Much of this ambiguity could be avoided if employers published a pay range for positions, but they don’t want to tip their hands. So experts suggest job seekers research market rates for particular positions and try to finesse salary questions.

“Say, ‘I’m open to a salary commensurate with the job,” recommended Blake Nations, a former recruiter who was laid off and then founded Over50JobBoard.com. “And if they keep going, ask: ‘What do you expect to pay someone with my experience and education for this position?’ ”

Some applicants, faced with a salary-history question they fear would exclude them from the start, have toyed with putting a bogus number in a required field in an online form.

Mr. Edwards, the electronics engineer, says he tried that once. Not hearing back from the company, he contacted its HR department and was told he was too expensive. That baffled him because he had listed $1,000 as his previous pay. It turned out HR had changed that to $100,000, assuming it was a mistake.

Author: Lauren Weber at lauren.weber@wsj.com

 

WSJ.com | February 4, 2016

#BestofFSCBlog : #JobSearch -The 8 Best Online Tools For Your Job Hunt In 2021. A MUst REad!

I’ve always been a lover of history. I think the past offers something beautiful and mysterious, a connection to those who came before us and their ways. I sometimes catch myself daydreaming about what things were like many years ago. And as a career coach, I inevitably drift over to wondering what it must have been like to look for a job in the past.

Many things about the job hunt haven’t actually changed much with modern technology. Networking and developing your skills have always been integral to finding the right job. Networking, after all, is just a version of cooperation or helping one another out. These types of social supports date back to ancient times to when the stakes were much higher than a salary negotiation. Many experts believe that our social structures have not changed all that much since we were living in small communities as hunter-gatherers, fighting for survival. Networking is part of that survival process, and the desire to connect is hardwired inside all of us.

But obviously new technology has afforded job seekers infinitely more potential to optimize their searches and find the perfect job. While a select number of remote jobs posted in 2020 were location-specific, 80% were available to workers in any location.

I’m sure we’re all grateful that we don’t have to circle classified ads anymore. But what are the best tech tools at your disposal for finding the perfect job?

Here are 8 of the best online tools to help in your job search. 

1) LinkedIn

This is almost such a no-brainer that I didn’t include it. But then I had a thought: how many job seekers are really utilizing LinkedIn to its fullest? LinkedIn offers some amazing features that may not be known to most users.

For a lot of people, LinkedIn is kind of a weekly check-in type of site. You might log on, scroll a bit, give a quick “like” to your middle school friend who got promoted, check your messages, do a casual job search, then migrate over to something more stimulating, like a Buzzfeed listicle or the latest celeb gossip.

If that sounds a bit like how you’ve been using LinkedIn, it’s time to step your game up.

To start, did you know that you can add media to the “Featured” section of your profile? Creators, I’m looking at you. Maybe you’ve done a killer brand video, or you want to share a reel of media appearances you have made. Or perhaps a photo from a keynote you made at a conference.

All of these will make an impact and boost your LinkedIn profile up from being a dusty online billboard of your resume, to a compelling advertisement for your skills and accomplishments.

Having trouble uploading a video because it’s too long? You’re in luck, there’s a work-around for that.

Are you wishing there was a way to combine your networking connections from LinkedIn with your other work contacts? Did you know that you can export your LinkedIn connections as a spreadsheet?

Most people who are doing job searches on LinkedIn just plug in relevant keywords and locations. But the search features on LinkedIn have much more to offer. You can save searches and set up alerts for relevant postings.

If you feel that searching for jobs on LinkedIn is turning up results that are too general, don’t match your specific skills and desires or don’t relate to your connections, you can utilize the LinkedIn advanced search features to filter for much more precise searches for listings.

Even if you treat LinkedIn as your first and last stop in your job search journey, it is worth spending a little more time on the site to really get comfortable with the ins and outs. It can truly be your most valuable online tool.

 

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

Article continued …

2) Glassdoor

Glassdoor is another immensely valuable asset to anyone in the job search, and I absolutely loved my recent interview with their CEO right here. This tool is especially useful when researching potential jobs and employers, or when entering into the interview stage and considering offers with a certain company.

If you are unfamiliar, Glassdoor is a database for jobs listings and applications, as well as a portal where current and former employees can anonymously rate their experience in working for a certain company across many metrics, and provide information like salary and potential interview questions. Through analysis of this data, Glassdoor creates ratings and metrics on specific companies.

If you are interested in the company culture, revenue or size of a potential employer, or you are looking for an inside perspective on what it’s like to work for a certain company, Glassdoor should be your first stop.

In recent months, Glassdoor has also risen to the challenge of addressing the very pressing issue of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. With new products and features, Glassdoor has begun allowing users to share demographic information and rate a company based on its handle of issues of diversity within the workplace.

This is such an essential issue, and Glassdoor is a leader in creating greater transparency and accountability when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion in the job search and in the world of work.

Large influencers like Glassdoor have the power to change workplace culture, and establish new norms in society. It is fun to see them caring about these big issues and taking action!

3) Jobscan Resume Scanner

If you’re reading this article, I have a feeling you’re someone who has put a lot of time into your resume. But did you know that often, when you’re applying for a job, your resume may not even make it to a real person?

This is because many recruiters and hiring managers are utilizing an application track system (or ATS). In my recent book You Turn, I actually refer to applicant tracking systems in a header called “Applicant Tracking Hell”—and there’s a reason for this! Navigating the ATS is challenging, and knowing your resume may never even encounter a human being is disheartening. As a matter of fact, data shows that up to 75% of resumes never make it to a hiring manager.

You may have done a great job of highlighting your professional experience on your resume, but you’re just using the wrong words or formatting. This is where Jobscan comes in. Jobscan uses algorithms and AI to scan your resume and compare it to a specific job listing, giving you feedback on how to best tweak your resume to work well with an ATS.

Here are some things that you might find out have been preventing your resume from getting through the ATS filters:

  • Descriptions of your work experience do not match up to the job descriptions.  Even if you are super qualified, if your resume doesn’t match up with keywords in the job description, you could be preemptively disqualifying yourself. I tell job seekers in my online courses to make sure they sprinkle terminology from job descriptions as though it’s fairy dust throughout their resume. Sprinkle away!
  • You’re not using standard formatting. While clever and inventive ways of formatting your resume may show off your aesthetic acuity, and your creativity with design, they may also prevent your resume from making the ATS cut. Non-standard formatting can confuse the AI, and lead to your resume being processed incorrectly, or not at all.
  • Too much flowery language. You may think that using headings like “Selected Professional Engagements” and “Secondary School and Collegiate Alma Mater” makes you sound smart. But, I hate to break it to you, complicated and word descriptions are not working in your favor when it comes to ATS. Stick with standard headings that will ensure that the ATS processes your resume correctly. Think: “Work Experience” and “Education.”

Trust me, Jobscan ATS will definitely give you a better shot at acing your resume for a specific job description. They even provide excellent resume templates for various careers and roles.

4) Slik email finder

Slik is an amazing AI-based service that was originally designed for those working in sales as a tool to find leads and connect with prospective clients. Slik has become a major asset for many sales professionals, including those on sales teams from Dropbox, DocuSign and Slack. And if the major players in tech-based work solutions are using it, you know it must be good!

Slik offers a range of data-finding services, but one that I’ve found particularly helpful, and is certain to be an asset for you in your network, is their email finder tools.

Gosh, I just love a quick little email finder. I must be a career coach, huh?

Slik allows you to search emails and other data sourced from LinkedIn profiles. You can save searches and compile data. This information can be extremely valuable if you are a salesperson, but also fantastic for anyone who is hoping to connect with a specific person or department while doing exploratory networking or in the hopes of sending a letter of interest.

5) Shapr

One of the hardest things about networking is that you never really know if someone you are reaching out to will be happy to connect, or if they’re truly interested in making the connection and lending a hand in your career journey.

Shapr is an amazing social networking app that takes the guesswork out of networking. It’s designed to connect professionals and help users network in their field with others that are excited and willing to connect.

What makes it so valuable for networking is that all of its users are opting in with the intention of meeting new connections and sharing their ideas and insights. So no more wondering if the person on the other side of the LinkedIn chat is rolling their eyes and exhaling deeply. On Shapr, everyone is there for the same reason: they are excited to network.

Shapr works kind of like some of the major dating apps. Don’t get too excited, this one is for professional connections only! You create a profile that highlights your interests, skills, location and relevant information about your career. You can browse other profiles or search for people that match specific criteria.

From there, a connection is made in a way that will be quite familiar to a lot of folks. You swipe on profiles that you are interested in connecting with. If there is mutual interest, you have a match! From there, you can chat with your new connection, and see if a great professional relationship blossoms.

Shapr is a fresh and modern take on networking, and an excellent way to bolster your professional network.

6) JobSeer

Are you tired of pouring through page after page of jobs that are close to what you want and qualified for, but just not quite right? Well, Jobseer will help you pinpoint the right jobs for you, cut through the wrong ones and stand out from the pack. And, bonus: they help you easily get access to people’s email address!

JobSeer is a free Extension app for Google Chrome that is compatible with most of the popular online job boards. The beauty of Jobseer is that it uses AI to streamline your online job search.

Once you’ve created an account, you can input information into your Jobseer profile that will help you find jobs that are a good match. The first step is your resume. You can upload your resume, or even multiple resumes, that will be scanned by Jobseeker for relevant skills, experiences and qualifications, and compared to relevant job listings to help you find the perfect fit.

Your resume will be utilized in a customized “smart search.” You select job titles that are relevant to your search, and input your skills to help with the specificity of your job search. Jobseer also recommends skills that are matched with the job titles you are searching. You also select other parameters such as location, experience level and job type.

All that sounds pretty standard, but once you start searching, you’ll see the magic of Jobseer.  For each job you select, Jobseer will give you a customized score based on how well you fit the job description. Additionally, you can look at which skills are aligned with the job description, and areas in which you do not fit qualifications.

The information you gather from Jobseer will be relevant not only to help you find job listings that are a great match, but also in tweaking your resume to fit specific job descriptions.

As if that wasn’t enough for incredible features, Jobseer also gives you insightful information about the job and company, including insights on the companies’ size and revenue, as well as a projected base salary for the role that you are exploring.

Jobseer also offers you access to five free email addresses per day, attached to their insights on the job listings, which will allow you to reach out to recruiters and even employees that you already have a connection to.

Check out this quick video to see how Jobseer works, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be quickly adding it to your browser. It will definitely level up your job search game and help you optimize your chances of matching with the right job.

7) Idealist.org

These days, it feels more important than ever to be working for a company whose values reflect your own. If you’re someone who is hoping to work within the nonprofit sector, or to find a mission-driven job, Idealist is a great place to direct your search.

Idealist is a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with the goal of connecting individuals to jobs and careers at nonprofit organizations that focus on charity work and social impact.

Their site functions much like other job boards, however, all of the listings they post are from verified nonprofit organizations. You can search for listings based on keywords or get more granular with specific metrics about what types or listings you are interested in.

Idealist also offers resources for those who are hoping to level up their career goals within the social impact space with a higher degree. They have resources for those exploring graduate school, with information to help candidates navigate the application and selection process, and details of programs to assist individuals in finding graduate schools that fit their interests and aspirations.

Idealist is also a great site to visit if you are not necessarily looking for a new job, but want to get more involved in community work or contribute to a cause. They also have many listings for volunteer opportunities, with many options to meet you where you are in your desire to commit time and energy to volunteering. You can even find remote or virtual volunteer work.

Idealist also helps connect users to mutual aid networks. While you might have been hearing this term a lot more over the last 12 months, the spirit of mutual aid goes way, way back. In a sense, it’s about neighbor helping neighbor. There are many different types of mutual aid networks, but this is the common thread: they are spaces for people to connect and share resources. You might financially contribute to a fund in order to support those with need or who have been affected by a crisis, or you can find information on how and where to make helpful donations. Given the challenges of the past year, we would all be served by lending a helping hand to one another.

8) Google

I saved the most obvious one for last. In fact, Google is so obvious, that I think its features are often overlooked in the job search.

To start off, when you enter the job market, you have to be aware of how you appear on a search engine. You should expect that a hiring manager will look you up online, especially your social media. Data shows that 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates. Coming across badly online can really hurt your job prospects, with 54% of hiring mangers admitting that they eliminated a candidate based on their social media presence.

But if you think plugging your name in the Google search bar, like we’ve all done more times than we’d like to admit, is enough, you had better think again.

To start with, you should log out of your Google accounts, and go into “incognito mode,” or a similar private browsing option on your preferred web browser. Google saves your search data, and will give you a specifically tailored Google search based on your past searches and location. You want to see what a stranger would see if they put your name into google.

According to online presence management specialists at ReputationDefender.com, you should Google yourself once a month—that way you can keep track of your online presence, and if something should appear that reflects you in a less than positive light, you can get on it quickly.

Beyond keeping track of how you appear online, Google can actually be a great asset for staying organized and on top of your job search. Google Jobs is actually a super functional job platform that allows you to search for jobs, save specific listings and searches and even set alerts based on job criteria. Google Jobs aggregates listings from most other job platforms, making it the best of all worlds.

However you choose to go about your job search, I hope this brings you up to date on the latest resources to help you put your best foot forward in the brave new world of online job hunting. Dive on in, and happy hunting!

 

Forbes.com | February 9. 2021 |

 

#JobSearch : How Does Your Brand Stand Out on Your Resume? Accurately Reflect your Expertise? Most if Not All, the Answer is NO.

One question I get asked every single week by clients is if their resumes have enough branding–specifically, executive branding. Does their resume accurately reflect their expertise and what they are recognized for? Can I tell what their brand might be? Usually, my answer to these questions is NO.

 

Your executive brand doesn’t always speak for itself, especially if your resume is basically a job description of what you’ve been doing. No, you have to sprinkle aspects of your brand throughout your resume and let your reader know who you are.

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

Article continued …

A brand is an evolution of where you are today. It communicates your value to the reader. Have you Googled yourself lately? What comes up in the searches next to your name? That will help you realize your brand.

To represent your brand on your executive resume, make a list of 5-10 strengths and personal attributes that describe you. Are these strengths and attributes on your resume? If a reader were to glance at your resume, would they be able to tell within 10-20 seconds what your brand is, who you are, and what you bring to the table? Is the first half of your resume selling the reader on your brand?

This may sound like a difficult task to do. We aren’t very good at evaluating ourselves. Many of our clients tell us they have this information but are unsure of how to incorporate that into their resume. There is help for that. There are many talented executive resume writers who specialize in executive branding and can walk through it with you. Whether you hire someone to help you with that or do it yourself, the most important thing is that your resume is infused with your unique brand.

 

FSC Career Blog Author:  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 – February 1, 2021

#JobSearch : Mistakes to Avoid for Doing your Own Resumes and Cover Letters. Great Two(2) Min Read!

In today’s challenging economic climate, many people are choosing to create their own resumes and cover letters rather than hiring a professional to help save on the cost. This is understandable when money is tight. But you still want to present professional looking documents, free from mistakes. When you are writing your own resume and cover letters, it is very easy to make mistakes just because there are so many versions and corrections (we writers deal with this, too). Even if you are a competent writer, it still is a good idea to carefully read your work once more before sending it off to be read by the people you want to impress.

 

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

Article continued …

Here’s how to avoid some common mistakes in writing:

  • Keep track of grammar when changing a sentence. If you change the noun from singular to plural, for instance, remember to change the sentence structure to match.
  • Don’t rely on automated spellcheckers alone to catch mistakes. Your, you’re, their, they’re, there, two, too, and to are all words which are spelled correctly and won’t show up as an error when used in the wrong way. “Manager” was one I always misspelled as “Manger”. They are both words, so spell check never caught it. Luckily, I’m hyper-diligent about checking and rechecking how I spell Manager– plus there is a little tool in MS Word that lets you auto correct things like that, so whenever I type Manger, it automatically changes it to Manager. Awesome.
  • Avoid the automatic word-finishing features on your word processing program for the same reason. You want your brain to be in control.
  • Look it up if you are unsure. Good spellers and good writers rely on more than their memory. A popular site that helps with more than spelling is https://www.grammarly.com because it checks grammar, spelling, word choice, and style (plus, their Facebook page is informative… and snarky). It’s up to you to take the advice of the computer once the error is pointed out.
  • Take a break before rereading your work. It’s like rebooting your brain and allows you to see the piece with fresh eyes. If you have been working feverishly on something, you read it with your past efforts in mind and can fool yourself.

Of course, all the resume writing tips the pros use apply. Your cover letter and resume, along with the follow-up thank you letter, are huge indicators to the potential employer of your ability and professionalism. Everybody makes mistakes — but you don’t have to leave those mistakes in your writing. It’s easy to fix a mistake once you see it, so learn how to look for it.

FSC Career Blog Author: 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 – January 26, 2021

 

#JobSearch : How to Write a Cover Letter That Stands Out. Cover Letters Tailored Specifically to the Job had a 31% Higher Callback Rate than Applications with Generic Cover Letters.

Job hunting can sometimes be demoralizing, especially when unemployment numbers are at record highs. Looking for job postingsreformatting your résumé and sending follow-up emails are all draining tasks, but, for some, writing a cover letter can be the most overwhelming part of a job application.

I’ve edited hundreds of cover letters for family members, friends and acquaintances. They often ask whether spending time writing a cover letter is worth the effort. A survey by ResumeGo, which offers resume writing services, found that 87% of hiring professionals surveyed said they do read cover letters. A separate ResumeGo experiment found that, of 7,287 fictitious job applications between July 15, 2019, and Jan. 10, 2020, those that included cover letters tailored specifically to the job had a 31% higher callback rate than applications with generic cover letters. Applications with tailored cover letters also yielded 53% more interviews than those without cover letters.

Here are some tips from experts and my own playbook for writing a compelling cover letter.

Create a custom cover letter—even though it is time consuming.
It may seem easier to use a form letter and swap out the company and job title, but hiring managers will be able to see right through you. Jobseekers often rush while writing cover letters, says Dorie Clark, author of “Entrepreneurial You: Monetize Your Expertise, Create Multiple Income Streams, and Thrive,” and a professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. “They’re actually critical in terms of shaping your narrative because it’s your opportunity to tell the world who you are, what you’re about, and why you’re qualified,” Ms. Clark says.

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

Article continued …

But it’s OK to format your cover letter using a formula.

Think of a cover letter as a chance to sell yourself. Explain why your experience makes you a good fit for the position. Each sentence should help to persuade a hiring manager that you are the right pick for the job.

The structure can be simple. Your first paragraph should explain who you are and why you are interested in the job. Use the middle section of the letter to prove that you are qualified. (Read on for more about how to do that.) In the final section you can really bring home why you are a good fit for the position.

Reread the job posting and do your homework.

1. Take note of the skills the role requires. The goal of your cover letter is to explain how your experience will help you to fulfill the duties outlined in the job description.

2. Be enthusiastic. If you are applying for an entry-level position, you might not have a lot of experience, but that is OK. Familiarize yourself with the employer’s values and reflect why you want to work there in the cover letter.

Top tip: As you are writing, keep the job posting and the company’s mission statement open in separate tabs in your browser for easy reference. You can also copy and paste the job requirements you want to address at the top of the cover-letter document. You can then delete each one as you address it in the body of the letter. If you are not sure which requirements to address, remember that employers often list their top requirements first. Look out for skills or other requirements that are mentioned more than once in the posting, too, as they are likely to be important to an employer.

Research who is hiring for the position.

If you can, try to personalize your cover letter by addressing it to the hiring manager. Professional platforms like LinkedIn, social media sites and search engines are good ways to find the names of hiring managers. While it is traditional to initiate a cover letter with, “Dear Mr./Ms. [insert surname],” you may want to avoid that approach if you are unsure about the recipient’s preferred title and pronouns. Instead, use the person’s first and last name.

Even if you can’t find the name of the person hiring, you should avoid using “To Whom it May Concern” as a greeting in your cover letter. Although it is formal, it is not very personal. Instead, try using something customized to the role or department you are applying to, such as “Dear Communications Assistant Hiring Manager” or “Dear Marketing Team.”

“It’s your opportunity to tell the world who you are, what you’re about, and why you’re qualified.

— Dorie Clark, author and professor

Begin your cover letter with an attention-grabbing first paragraph.

Hiring managers want to see something that will stand out from commonly used introductions like, “I am writing to you to apply for the office-manager position.” Instead, you could explain how a specific professional or personal experience inspired you to further advance your career. Perhaps you work in IT and like solving problems through coding, which inspired you to seek out opportunities as a developer. Or maybe you want to use your language skills in your next role. Make the connection personal and be brief. Keep the anecdote to two sentences. You can complete the paragraph by tying that story to the job: “It’s because of this experience that I am excited to be applying for [insert job title here] at [insert company name].”

Avoid exclamation points and adverbs.

You should show enthusiasm, but you don’t need to go overboard with unnecessary punctuation or adverbs such as “very” or “extremely.” You can convey eagerness while maintaining a professional tone.

Writing a good cover letter involves differentiating it from your resume.

It can be tempting to copy and paste directly from your resume to describe your work history, but your cover letter is an opportunity to present your experience in relation to the job you want. Use one or two paragraphs in the body of the cover letter to demonstrate how your accomplishments have prepared you to meet each of the requirements of the role and take on the expected responsibilities.

Play up your skills.

When writing the middle section of your letter, identify the skills you have and how they would be useful for the position you are applying for. If you are applying for an entry-level position, or don’t have a lot of experience, emphasize your strengths. Maybe you are a self-starter who can meet goals even while working independently in this era of widespread remote work. Or maybe you come from a nontraditional professional background, which you can frame as an asset due to the skills or perspective it has given you. “If you’re able to make the case, like, ‘Look I come from this different place, which is unusual in your field, and that’s exactly what you need,’ that can be really quite powerful,” Ms. Clark says.

Emphasize what you can do for the company.

Use the latter section of your letter to tie together how your skills, experience and background make you an ideal candidate for the job. For example, after outlining some of your relevant professional history you could add: “These experiences have prepared me to jump right into the data-driven decision-making position at [insert company here], which would make me a valuable asset to the team.” You could also expand on your previous work and motivations with a sentence like: “These experiences consistently inspire me to seek projects that give back to the community, which is why I identify so closely with [insert company]’s mission.”

Consider other formats.

Dana Leavy-Detrick, founder and director of Brooklyn Resume Studio, says it can be appropriate to use bullet points in certain circumstances, such as listing your skills. This format allows you to swap in key points more easily, rather than rewriting entire paragraphs for each new letter. You could write one or two sentences outlining your interest in the role or organization, followed by a sentence saying:  “At this point, in my career, I’m confident I can offer” followed by a list of bullet points describing your abilities.

If you want to show your creative side, an alternative to a cover letter may be appropriate, depending on the job, industry and employer. For example, Jenna Palek scored a job at TikTok in summer 2020 after she posted a video as part of her application, explaining her resume and qualifications, which went viral on the platform. This is a risky strategy but it can pay off in certain circumstances.

Finish the letter with why you want to work for the company.

The final paragraph is your last chance to say why you want the job. It is important to strike a tone that shows you are interested, but not too pushy. You can write a sentence or two that emphasizes your interest in the role or company, and say you hope to hear back soon. Avoid writing that you will follow up over the phone or reach out to schedule a time to talk. Even if the rest of your letter is great, an overly forceful tone in your closing paragraph can be off-putting to an employer. Before typing your name, end the letter with a tonally appropriate sign off, such as “Sincerely,” as opposed to “Thanks,” which may be too informal.

Take the time to review before hitting send.

Don’t hit send without a few final checks. Hiring managers prefer cover letters that are less than a page long, so make some trims if necessary. Read the cover letter aloud and check for spelling and grammatical errors or typos. If you have the time, ask a friend or adviser to check it over. Then you can hit submit

Resources
  • WSJ Jobs Summit on March 4, 2021: Register for this free online event that provides recent graduates and workers looking for new opportunities with practical strategies and insights to navigate the competitive job market.

 

WSJ.com | January 21, 2021 | Allison Pohle

 

 

#JobSearch : 2 Key Attributes Your Resume Should Communicate. How’s Yours? Great Two(2) Min Read!

Your resume is a compilation of your career for the purpose of evaluation. Your resume is written for the reader. They are looking for indications you will be suitable for a specific opening, and that reader uses your resume to determine if an interview should be scheduled. Every hiring manager or recruiter will be looking for two areas, which are summed up:  learn and lead.

The ability to learn is essential no matter which position you are filling in an organization. From the top executive to the lowest rung of the career ladder, if you aren’t continually seeking to learn how to increase your effectiveness, you are dead weight. This can be shown in a resume through several means:

  • seminars and classes attended
  • organizations and volunteer activity
  • certifications

 The ability to lead is really the ability to think and act independently for the good of the group. Some of this ability isn’t going to show in a resume — having the strength of character to avoid gossip, for instance. Still, a resume can show that you have accomplished goals. The positions you have held in any organization, the time spent as a member, and the activities you participate in all show leadership by example even when they are not “head” positions. Your references will reveal what kind of person you are, which will give an indication of what kind of worker you probably will be.

 

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

Article continued …

During an interview, you are assessed in the light of your resume. The impression the resume gave is adjusted to include the face-to-face interaction and the whole package is considered. Will you be able to learn the job? Will you be able to do the job well even when distractions occur? Will you be a positive force in their particular workplace? If your resume hasn’t shown that you might fit, you will probably not be called in for that interview.

If your resume hasn’t resulted in being called in for any interviews, maybe it’s time to look at it again. Does it show that you know how to both learn and lead? Is it well written? Professional Resume Services has carefully built a site with many ways to help you develop an excellent resume for distribution. Explore the tips and services and see how your resume can be one that gets you that interview and the opportunity to learn and lead in a new job.
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 – January 21, 2021 

 

#JobSearch : 6 Things You Need To Update On Your Resume. Your Resume must Showcase How you’re Different from Other Candidates.

When you’re job searching, a resume serves as the first impression you make on a company. Your resume needs to highlight your skills and talents and also showcase how you’re different from other candidates.

Question: How do you stand out?

Ensure it does all of that by following these six tips.

Update your job information and descriptions

If it’s been a while since you last updated your resume, make sure that any changes to your job responsibilities and achievements are reflected. Pay attention to anywhere you have written things in terms of length of time. As the calendar changes from 2019 to 2020, your two years of experience become three, so make sure to update those figures accordingly.

 

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

Article continued …

Get rid of anything no longer relevant

Look through your job descriptions, skills, and education fields to see if there are any points you can remove. As you build more work experience, you can start to remove things from early on in your career, such as extracurricular activities or part time jobs that are no longer relevant to your current career.  .

You should also remove graduation years or any other dates that could indicate your age. The only years that need to be listed on your resume are your employment dates. If you’ve gotten a specialized certification within the last three years, you can list the year if having a current certification will boost your chances of getting hired.

Update your skills and certifications

Add any new certifications and relevant skills to your updated resume. Be sure that everything you list in the skills section is directly related to the job or job field you’re applying to. Listing overly general skills that most people also have only takes up space and does nothing to add value.

Update the formatting

Format your resume to ensure it can easily be read by both humans and AI. The first look at your resume will likely be done by AI via an applicant tracking system (ATS), but after it passes through that phase, it will be reviewed by a person. Keep things clean and simple, and ensure that your formatting is consistent throughout the entire resume.

Change paragraphs or long blocks of text to bullet points and use an easy to read font like Arial at size 10 or 11. Put headings, jobs titles, and section descriptions in bold so they stand out during skimming. Change written numbers to numerals, as a number stands out more than a word does.

Save the file with an easy to find file name

Keep the file name simple, following this format – First Name Last Name Resume Year. This ensures that you’ll always upload the correct resume to your applications, and you can easily find it at a later date.

The file should either be a Word doc (.docx) or a PDF. Word docs are easier for an ATS to read, so when in doubt stick with that format. The advantage of a PDF is that the formatting stays consistent regardless of how it’s opened, so if you’re sending it directly to a hiring manager, a PDF is the better option. Always double check the instructions, as some systems list the file type that needs to be submitted.

Remove ‘references available upon request’

This phrase is dated, and if it’s still on your resume, it can make you look dated as well. If the hiring manager wants references, they’ll ask for them, so save this space on your resume for something that’s important.

Author:  Ashira Prossack is a coach, speaker, and former competitive athlete helping business leaders unlock their full potential through a sports-based approach to professional
Forbes.com | January 19, 2021

#BestofFSCBlog : #JobSearch – How to Deal with a Termination on a Resume. Great Two(2) Min Read!

Your employer just let you go. You need to find another job, but how should you handle your termination on your resume? The days when you signed on with a company and stayed with it until retirement are gone. In today’s climate, employers are much more understanding when they see a less-than-perfect work chronology, but you still have to be careful how and when you present a termination.

Remember, your resume is a marketing piece:  positive, upbeat, and selling yourself to a potential employer. There are many reasons someone gets fired, some outside of your control. It could be corporate politics, downsizing, or poor management. But presenting the information correctly is important.

 

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

Article continued …

Do not put the termination or the circumstances surrounding it on your resume. You will have a much better chance of impressing hiring managers if you deal with this question in face-to-face interviews.
If you were recently let go, resist the urge to keep your position listed as “to present” on your resume, giving the appearance that you’re still employed. You will have to explain yourself later on, and potential employers might think you tried to mislead them.

It’s a different matter if you were laid off instead of fired. In this case, you can mention the lay off in your cover letter. Employers are more forgiving of layoffs, so mentioning this might work in your favor.

Focus on your accomplishments in your resume. Your goal is to wow your potential employers by highlighting those accomplishments and skills. Even if hiring managers are wondering why you left a certain employer, your resume should be strong enough for you to receive invitations to interviews in which you can explain your situation in person.

Be sure to list all of your contributions to a previous employer, even any that laid you off. This too can be a red flag to hiring managers. Talk about your responsibilities, overall contributions to the company, and if you received any awards or special recognition. All of this will go a long way in your favor and that’s what you want.

No matter how the termination came about, you still learned skills and accomplished things at the job. Focus on these aspects when creating your resume, presenting the best pieces. But be ready to answer what you learned about losing the job as well. Being able to pick yourself up after a fall speaks to your resilience and ability to learn from mistakes.

 

FSC Career Author:  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 – January 16, 2021