Applied Online? Now Get Your Resume to Rise to the Top of Their Pile!

By Kathy Bernard, Get a Job Blogs & Workshops

Ever feel like you are sending your resume into a pit of no return when you apply for a job on an online site? I’ve found a good way to get your resume noticed by the hiring manager or recruiter after you apply online. It involves using www.LinkedIn.com, so if you aren’t registered on this important free business networking site yet, establish a profile there as soon as you can. Then invite all of your friends and colleague to connect with you there. The more LinkedIn connections you have, the greater access you will have to an extended network of your first degree connections and all of your connections’ first and second degree connections.

Once you are on www.LinkedIn.com and have established connections, use the search box to try to learn the hiring manager and/or recruiter’s name. Do so by using the drop down menu to “Search People” and then type in the company’s name. Search through the results to find the people with the leadership or recruiting titles you seek.

Contact these people through one of these means:

• If they are a second degree connection (if one the people is a friend of one of your first degree LinkedIn connections), click the button “Get introduced through a connection” and follow the prompts. This will allow a friend of yours to send your message to the person. Alternatively, you can send a regular email with your resume to your friend and ask him/her to forward your resume to his/her connection and put in a good word for you.
• Send the hiring manager or recruiter a LinkedIn “Inmessage” (this requires a monthly LinkedIn upgrade cost)
• Try to find the person’s email address on Google by putting the person’s name and company name in the search box and seeing if his/her contact information comes up in the search findings. (Their contact information might be in a directory, for example).
• If you can’t find the person’s email address online, but the job requires you to apply by emailing (for example) Bob Brown at bbrown@blank.com, you now know the construction of email addresses at that company. So if you learn the hiring manager is Becky Thatcher at the same company, you know that her email address is probably bthatcher@blank.com. Use that knowledge to send her a personal email and attach your resume.

Of course another option is to try calling the company’s main switchboard and asking for the name and email address of the recruiter or director of the such and such department.

Taking these approaches has worked well for me because they show potential employers that I am proactive and resourceful. Personal approaches also appeal to recipients’ egos because they know I sought them out specifically. So start emailing key people after you apply online … after all, it could help you Get a Job!

You’re qualified … but so is your competition. Here are simple ways to make your resume stand out!

by Kathy Bernard, Get a Job! Tips blog online.

I spoke with three job seekers this past week who were all well qualified, but all three had the same lament: Nobody was calling them for job interviews. I looked at their resumes and was impressed with their educational background and experience. I also figured out why they weren’t getting calls.

Here is what I learned and how you can use the knowledge to make sure your resume stands out above the rest.

I realized they weren’t getting calls because their resumes didn’t portray them as the most qualified candidates. Could your resume be letting you down? Carefully study and improve your resume with these thoughts in mind:

1. Does your resume reflect how uniquely qualified you are for each job opening? Don’t be lazy or complacent! Diligently modify your cover letter and resume to convince each hiring company you are the best person for the job.

2. Does it include power words and quantifiable results? Don’t just state what you did, show why it mattered.

3. Does it use keywords that were mentioned in the job description? Remember, many recruiters run resumes through a keyword search program, so if you don’t have the right words on your resume, you will automatically be rejected.

4. Is it clearly written and easy to read? If it is filled with jargon or acronyms only people in your past company or industry use, revise the information to be meaningful and impressive for a more general audience.

5. Is it interesting and succinct? Recruiters wade through hundreds of resumes. If you bore or confuse them, they will simply move on to the next one.

6. Does it show that you are qualified for the open position? If your job history has not adequately prepared you for the job, prove you have the abilities through other means, such as by emphasizing your educational background, showing relevant volunteer or freelance experience, or by including examples to prove your expertise.

7. Does it list your qualifications in order of importance and relevance to the job you seek? This sounds like a no-brainer, but if you are an administrative assistant wanting to be a communicator, put your communications experience on top and minimize your admin experience.

8. Is it attractive? A well designed resume makes ample use of white space particularly around the margins and in between sections. Feature no more than two, easy-to-read, typefaces. Make sure type is not too large or too small. Use bullet points to cleanly organize information. Use boldface and italics to draw attention to important elements, but don’t use either excessively.

9. Is it error free? Is your past job history information up to date and correct? Use spell check to check your spelling and grammar, but also review it carefully to make sure spell check didn’t incorrectly “fix” a word. The funniest spell check “miss-fix” I’ve seen was when Microsoft Word fixed the word “position” on a resume to be “prostitution!” Don’t let such a mistake happen to you. Check your job application messages before you hit “send.”

Job seekers: Three reasons why well-intentioned people (like me!) aren’t helping you find work and what you can do about it.

by Kathy Bernard

I am helping so many people find work (on a voluntary basis), I created a chart to remember them all. The chart includes their names, locations, job preferences, and email addresses so I can send them relevant job leads. (If you want to be on the list, send me an InMessage or connect with me on LinkedIn.) In the process of creating the chart, I realized why I haven’t been more help. The same roadblocks may be keeping your friends from helping you.

Here’s what I learned:
1) I said I’d remember you, but I don’t
If I met you once at a workshop or networking event and you didn’t keep in touch, you’ve sadly been relegated to that cobwebby place in my head where I supposedly learned why x=12. If you aren’t on LinkedIn, or don’t have your picture on your profile, I still don’t remember you. Remind me!

Lessons to learn:
Build a relationship with people who said they would help you.
• Connect with them on LinkedIn. Include your photo on your profile.
• Send them an email immediately following a networking event reminding them of everything you want them to remember about you.
• Tell them about jobs you applied for and ask them for advice and if they know someone at the company (so they can put in a good word for you).
• Suggest LinkedIn groups or networking events they might enjoy.
• Tell them you liked their blog post or discussion board comment (that never gets old!)
• Introduce them to people who could help them in their career.
• Provide them with business leads. For example, refer a real estate friend to someone selling a home.
• Congratulate them on their business successes.
• Update them if your job status has changed. For example, let them know if you have decided to do freelance while looking for work, or if have taken a temporary job.
• Change your LinkedIn status bar so your status will continually appear in all of your contacts’ LinkedIn Network Updates.

2) I said I’d remember what job you are seeking, but I don’t
I’m a creative type, so fields like information technology or science are a great mystery to me … I know there are all kinds of jobs within these fields, but I don’t know which one is right for you.

Lessons to learn:
• Don’t just tell people what kind of job you want, send them your resume and repeatedly remind them of the job titles you seek.
• Remind them what level of position you are looking for and whether you are willing to consider lower positions.
• Clearly state what type of position(s) you want in your LinkedIn status bar, but avoid stating too many types of positions, lest it sound like you aren’t an expert in any one area.
• Let people know if you are open to temporary or part-time work while you are job seeking. Also let us know if you have reached a desperation state where you will take anything.

3) I can’t recall what you want. Are you looking for work … or starting your own company … or both?
I have quite a few friends who have grown frustrated in their job search and have decided to start a design firm, marketing company, etc. Does that mean they don’t want job leads? I don’t really know. I err on the side of sending them job leads and business leads.

Lessons to learn:
• Whatever you decide to do, remind your well intentioned friends of your plan. And if you change your mind and restart your job search, let us know that, as well.
• Make sure to fully inform friends and former coworkers that you are starting a new company. Provide incentives to encourage their referrals.

The most important thing to remember is that if your friends are working, they are crazy busy, working in under-staffed situations. They want to help, but you’ve got to do the heavy lifting to make sure they know your needs.

Equip your friends to help you in your job search! After all, it can help you … Get a Job!

How do you keep your friends informed of your job search? Share your comments!

Going Outside the Traditional Resume to Capture the Interview

Going Outside the Traditional Resume to Capture the Interview
By: Jessica has a true passion for the job seeker, evidenced by her desire to share everything she can with everyone she can about resume writing and interviewing.
Author Website: http://www.greatresumesfast.com

This past week I was on JobTalkAmerica, a radio show designed around the needs of job seekers in today’s tough economic climate. On the show I discussed two critical points your resume must have in order to succeed and also how to go outside of your resume to get the interview. I want to elaborate further on what you can do outside of your resume that can help you get the interview.

A PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN LINKEDIN PROFILE

This past week we had a client upload the professional LinkedIn profile that we developed for him and the first day it was online he got an interview with one of his target companies. I think this alone speaks volumes about what a LinkedIn profile can do. You need a keyword-optimized profile, and now LinkedIn has added even more features that will make it easier for employers to find you! Utilize the new features like adding skills, certifications, or publications to your profile; this increases the chances that employers will find you when they’re searching for someone with your background and experience.

A GOOGLE PROFILE

I keep hearing these insane statistics about how many employers are googling potential candidates to research them; this is where a Google profile comes in. Creating a branded and engaging profile gives the hiring manager more information about you and it’s in a place they’re going to look anyway!

A WEB RESUME

A Web resume is another great way to get your experience and expertise out there and make it all searchable. With modern technology these days you really have to up your job search game and find new and creative ways to get in front of the hiring manager. If you know where the hiring manager is (searching on the Net) then that’s where you need to be. It’s another compelling way to brand yourself, direct the information hiring managers find about you, and secure your place in a competitive market.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Every element of your social networking and online job search should be connected to one another. I have my twitter account linked to my LinkedIn account and my Facebook page; then I have my blog attached to each one of those. I’m hoping I won’t lose you here while I go a bit deeper, but anytime I post to my blog it automatically posts a link to my twitter account, a note to my Facebook page, and an updated blog post to my LinkedIn profile. So everything is interconnected. It saves me time but also refreshes every social network I’m on at the same time; so my fans, followers, and connections can always see what’s new. Tweet, write, and comment on your career, field of interest, and related information, and it won’t go unnoticed!

A VISUAL CV & VIDEO RESUME

A visual CV and video resume are two additional ways to increase your presence on the Internet. I equate a visual CV to a Web resume, although it is a bit more interactive. However, a video resume to me is more cutting edge and attention getting, and while you may not e-mail your video resume to the employer directly when applying or upload it in the application, you can post a link to the video resume in your e-mail signature and on your resume! This leads the hiring manager to more convincing and engaging information about you!

If I were in a job search this is exactly what I’d do:

I would create a video resume and post it to my visual CV as well as my Web resume, LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, and link to my twitter account. But most of all, I would create a blog or personal Web site and upload it there. I would include a link to my LinkedIn profile and video resume on my resume and cover letter whenever I submit it—and also include a link to both in my e-mail signature. Get your information out there—because hiring managers want to see it!

Capture the interview by going where the hiring managers are—online (and they’re not necessarily on the pricey job boards). So get off the job boards and visit the sites I’ve mentioned above. Spend some time fine-tuning your profiles, branding yourself, and being a forward-thinking job seeker. Branding yourself comes with its own set of challenges, so if you want a professional to help you develop your brand, LinkedIn profile, social networking sites, and more, call 800.991.5187 or visit Great Resumes Fast today. We guarantee interviews and your job search success. If a new LinkedIn profile today means interviews tomorrow, it’s worth the investment!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Stop Being Lost in the Crowd

By: Jessica Hernandez is the President/CEO of Great Resumes
Author Website: http://www.greatresumesfast.com

Is your LinkedIn profile a verbatim recreation of your resume? Or is it a unique and complementary representation of you and your job search? I know a plethora of job seekers who simply cut and paste their resumes right into their LinkedIn profiles. Let me tell you why this is NOT the best job search strategy. I’ll also tell you how to capture the hiring manager’s attention and—potentially—the interview.

1. If you’re putting your LinkedIn profile address on your resume, then you can expect employers to go there (You are putting this on your resume, right? Please tell me you’re including this on your resume!). So instead of just repeating what they’ve already just read, give them something new, inspiring, and something that makes them want to connect. Hiring managers don’t just hire skills—they hire personalities. Let them see part of yours—and make it shine.

2. 90% or better of employers are now going online to research their potential candidates. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather they find my LinkedIn profile and the information I’ve put together in it at the top of their search results rather than some college kid’s rants on his personal blog or FB page about a drunken party (who just happens to share your name). They will search for you; give them great information to confirm that you are the best candidate for the job.

3. People want a personal connection and to know you’re a great match on paper and in person. You can be slightly more laid back on LinkedIn and discuss interests and expand on your background and expertise in ways you can’t on your resume. Reading lists, blog articles, groups, connections, etc. These are all ways to show the employer who you are and—again—what you have to offer. Position yourself as a subject matter expert—and when the hiring manager needs someone in your industry, they’ll know just who to come to.

I could go on and on about why branding your LinkedIn profile is so important, but the bottom line is: If you want to be found by recruiters and hiring managers, if you want to cement your reputation and brand in their mind and secure the interview, start branding your profile today. Otherwise, you’re just the same as every other joe jobseeker among the millions of people on LinkedIn. Stop being like everyone else and blending in and be discovered today. Learn more about professional LinkedIn profile development here.

Expert resume writer Jessica Hernandez is the President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast a top-tier job search and resume writing firm. Jessica and her team’s work has secured top careers for forward-focused executives and professionals. Named to numerous career expert blogs, Web sites and Twitter lists, she is a credentialed writer, former fortune 500 hiring manager and frequent media source, author, columnist, and published contributor to multiple career, job search and resume advice books. Jessica is also the Resume Makeover coach for the JobTalkAmerica radio program and offers her expert advice and tips weekly on the show.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Post Mid-Term Elections…

These past elections have put many new faces into our government offices. We’d like to thank everyone who also voted in our “I Lost My Job, Not My Vote” polls.

LINK: The polls are still open, in case you want to check them out

NOW, the *real work* begins for our elected officials. It is easier to make promises than to keep them.

As a reminder to all our elected and government officials, here are the results of our polls, as of today. The struggles for people in job transition are FAR from over, but as long as progress is being made and people are listening to each other, there is hope. And hope is inspirational!

POLL 1

LINK: Unemployment & Financial / Legal Matters

POLL 2

LINK: What Should a Person Do About Job Loss?

POLL 3

LINK: Speak Your Mind – How Would You Create Jobs?

POLL 4

LINK: Thought About Volunteering?

POLL 5

LINK: Do You Have a Checklist?

I Lost My Job, not my VOTE!

BE HEARD! Help us reach 1,000,000 votes.

What should our government do to create jobs?

The things our government does affects all of us, all the time.
As the election approaches, voters can stay connected to issues.
Our elected officials and candidates need to hear from us.

ILostMyJob.com is a non-partisan website. Our mission is to do good for people in job transition. We support efforts to create jobs and prosperity for people. We are hosting these polls because:

* people in job transition need to speak up about jobs
* people who have lost jobs should be heard
* elected officials and candidates should listen

The Next Job…

“What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.” – Helen Keller

I’d like to think that the vast majority of us set out to do the best we can in our jobs. Yes, I know there are the ever present “slackers” in every organization (you know, the people that excel at doing nothing, look busy and take all of the credit for others’ work), but I’m not talking about them. Sometimes things just don’t work out, either because we just don’t fit or we don’t like the work or the company. A co-worker of mine, let’s call him Edsel, just had this experience. He was hired for a fairly senior role and was “technically” qualified but had never done anything like that before. Needless to say, it was not working out. But the company did the right thing by him and offered him another role in the company (rather than just let him go) – this does not always happen. But Edsel did not want to take a chance and had already been looking for another job before he was offered the transfer. Needless to say, he soon left the company for greener pastures (I hope) rather than take a chance on this next opportunity. So what is my point? Re-read today’s quote. Today’s post is about “finding the right job”.

• Career Quizzes – According to their site – “Job Quizzes are helpful, free quizzes to help you decide on the perfect job! Take some Job Quizzes before making a decision on a career, they help”. You know what they say, “there are no guarantees” in life and the same holds true for job search. Their main page has a listing of quiz types, like “Office Character Test” and “Is Your Job Sexy” (and many more). At the bottom of the page are three lists of related links – Career Quizzes, Career Guides and Career Resources. At the very top of the page are similar links plus links for Career Tools and Career Library (plus a few more). Good luck in your quiz!

• Monster Career Quizzes – From the granddaddy of job search comes this one page that offers a number of quizzes – Career Quizzes, Readiness Quizzes, Virtual Interviews, and Culture Quizzes. There are a few links below each category with an additional link for “more quizzes like this”.

• How to Find the Right Job – This article, by employmentspot.com, takes you through some steps to determine what job is right for you. There are related embedded links through out the article and these are strategically placed. There are related links on the left hand side of the page (for job search in general) as well as links on the right hand side of the page.

• 5 Clues You’re in The Wrong Job or Career – 5 clues, from ezinearticles.com, gives some guidance to help you figure out if you are in the wrong job or career. Sometimes it doesn’t take 5 clues (many times 1 clue does it), but it is certainly worth the read. There are quite a few links to related articles at the bottom of the page.

• How to Know What the Right Job is for You – The last one, from wikihow.com, stresses how you need to clear about what you are looking for. This 7 step article covers all of the things you need to consider. There are tips at the end of the article followed by related “wikihows”. The right hand side of the page has additional links as well as featured articles.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Top Six Blunders Found On Professional Resumes

Submitted by Cathy Eng, CARW, Owner of Resume Rocketeer, Inc. (http://www.resumerocketeer.com)

More than ever before, professionals are taking creative, and even risky, chances with their resumes in order to get noticed. While these chances are a great way to get noticed in a crowded job market, they can also spell your doom. Here are some resume writing rules that should not be broken:

1. Including information indicating religious or political affiliations. Unless you are applying for a position at a church or with a political campaign, avoid including participation in these types of organizations. Although your involvement shouldn’t influence your chances, you would not want to diminish those chances by indicating views that may affect your work.

2. Being overly confident. A hiring manager I know actually said he read a resume that stated, “I’ll have your job in five years.” There is a big difference between radiating confidence and coming off as threatening or boastful. A better way to have phrased that would be to say, “Enthusiastic in my aspiration to learn and grow within your company.”

3. Presenting dull, responsibility-focused bullets. Hiring managers don’t just want to know you have the experience and skills to do the job; they want to know you can do it better than everyone else. By telling them simply what you did at your last job, you are communicating that you are mediocre as a job candidate. Did you save your company money? Improve efficiency? These measurable results make your time there more impactful.

4. Including an objective. Resume objectives are focused on what the job candidate wants from their career and employer. In today’s job market, companies are just trying to survive and are not concerned with your career needs. You must be focused on the company and what you can do for them.

5. Including visuals. Unless you are a graphic artist, do not include photos, designs, or other distracting artwork. It just ends up taking away from your fantastic qualifications.

6. Going over two pages. Unless you are a tenured college professor with dozens of books published (in which case you should present a curriculum vitae), there is no need to go over two pages. In fact, it decreases your chances of it getting read. For instance, if you want to learn about a person in a hurry and you have the choice of reading a one-page executive summary or a three-page resume, which would you choose?

It is essential to take some chances in your resume to stand out, but these resume blunders are unforgivable, and are likely to get your resume thrown out. Use this advice and you are on your way to having a strong, professional resume.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Is Your Recruiter Any Closer To The Job Than You?

By Phil Rosenberg, President
http://reCareered.blogspot.com

You’re excited because you just got a call from a recruiter who sought you out. Should you really be excited? While some recruiters can help you, others may hurt your chances to land a specific opportunity – still others may just waste your time.

Not all recruiters are equal. How can you tell if a recruiter is any closer to the job opportunity than you are?

It usually boils down to the relationship that the recruiter has with the hiring manager – not just with the company, but the hiring manager. There are a number of different types of recruiter relationships, and it helps to determine which kind of relationship your recruiter has.

How can you tell which type of recruiter has contacted you? Which type is the most productive to work with? What should you do if you are working with the wrong type but on the right opportunity?

Remember, just because a recruiter has contacted you, doesn’t mean you have to work with them. If you choose to not work with a recruiter, but prefer to work with another recruiter closer to the hiring manager, emailing the recruiter that you don’t wish for them to represent you should do the trick. Make sure you put the recruiter on notice that you don’t want them forwarding your resume.

If they have already forwarded your resume to one of your target companies, email the hiring manager and HR department to inform them that you are not working with this recruiter (this helps avoid the risk of conflicts for the hiring manager).

These are all questions that should be running through the job seekers’ mind while trying to determine what kind of recruiter you want to work with.

Here are some of the basic types of recruiters:

1) Retained recruiter …
2) Contingent fee recruiter …
3) Splits recruiter or sourcer …
4) Recruiter with no relationship …

( Continued … )

Source: http://recareered.blogspot.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.