Resume Confidence Gets Results:

Job Search Tips, Resume Writing Tips, Testimonials No comments

“Two days after receiving my final resume from you I applied to a non-profit that I’ve always admired.  36 hours after submitting the resume we rewrote together and cover letter I received an email expressing interest in interviewing me!

The bigger thing here is that I have sent out hundreds of resumes over the last 3 years with only 2 responses.

I’m aware that you did the resume writing that got me in the door, and your process allowed me to line up with a better version of me — I never felt great about my resume before and that energy went with it when I applied for jobs.

This time, I was confident (just as your company name implies) and I’m already further ahead than I’ve ever been. Thank you Shannon!! ”

Teri – Non-Profit Director/Coach, Vienna, VA

Quick Reference Guide to Your References

Job Search Tips, Networking No comments

Eight Simple Rules for Rockin’ References

 

1)      They do NOT belong on your resume. (Have them on a separate document including: minimum 3 professional contacts, possibly 3 personal, and all should have phone number, email, how you know that person (“relationship” – former co-worker, former client, etc.) and for how long.  Addresses may be required so have that available somewhere, too, just in case.

2)      Always ask someone first before using them as a reference.  Surprise factor & awkward “Ummm”ing and excuses to get off the phone, unreturned contacts, etc. will NOT help you win the new job – or keep up your network.  Some folks may WANT to help you, but won’t be allowed by their employer remember, so ask even if you know they’d recommend you if they could.

3)      Contact your references ahead of the interview to give them the heads up. Call ahead of time, some employers call your references before you even get home from the interview! Give your references the job title & general duties so they are prepared for the phone call when it comes. You can even supply your references with information you’d like them to share with the potential employers.  Many people appreciate getting some direction from you on what they should say. And, most employers will be impressed if your references say “Oh, good, I’ve been expecting you, Sara told me you would be calling.”

 

you_rock_you_rule-10794

 

4)      Make sure your references have a copy of your resume (same reasons as above – they’ll be better prepared)

5)      Remember to ask them to post a recommendation for you on LinkedIn, too.  Do this BEFORE you’re job searching in earnest, or the updates may alert your current employer you are looking!

6)      Have a variety of professional references, not just former bosses, but colleagues/peers and clients, too, if possible.  These give a more well rounded perspective on you & your abilities.

7)      Stay in touch with your references.  The only time they hear from you shouldn’t be when you need this favor.  Try as you can to offer them something in return – send a useful article, offer to be a peer or subordinate reference for them, right them a recommendation on LinkedIn, etc.  Think win-win!

and last but not least ….

8)  You REALLY don’t need (shouldn’t put) “References available upon request” on your resume.  They know that.  Save the space for sharing accomplishments instead.

 

 

Dealing with “Rejection”

Job Search Tips, Networking No comments

 

 ”Do not waste yourself in rejection; do not bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“Why didn’t I get that job? The interview went so great!”

“My resume is PERFECT for their job description – why haven’t they called? It’s been months!”

“I know it’s a financially based “layoff”, but it sure feels like I got fired . . . “

It is as inevitable in job searching, as it is in life, that sometimes we are going to feel unwanted, not appreciated, passed over, or flat out DISSED by some experience or person in a way that feels unfair, unjustified or just plain confusing and hurtful.

I know you know what I’m talking about. These things happen. Sure has to me, anyway.

Doesn’t it take at least SOME of the sting out of the experience to realize it’s just a part of the normal way of things?

Okay, maybe it’s only a minimal comfort, but, as many writers, actors, inventors, salespeople, daters, and other ultimately successful folks remind us, if you aren’t getting ‘rejected’ (or simply told ‘no’), you aren’t putting yourself out there, if you aren’t risking some of them not working out.

As author Lisa Alther shares, “I wrote for twelve years and collected 250 rejection slips before getting any fiction published, so I guess outside reinforcement isn’t all that important to me.”

And many of you are familiar with the failure to success stories of many now famous people – Michael Jordan not making his high school basketball team and now acclaimed artists such as Van Gogh not selling any paintings for years and years.

But I get it, you’re not trying to be famous, nor can you wait until you die for your creative genius to be appreciated!

I used to tell teenagers I worked with: “You have to ask for what you want. You may not get it, but you definitely won’t get it if you don’t ask.”

The same is true here – you have to apply for jobs you want, which you may or may not get—but you sure won’t get offered a position you don’t apply for in the first place!

And what I’ve learned through multiple personal and professional “rejections” is this – to learn to look at all the circumstances in our lives that take a different turn than we wanted or expected and decide that something as good – or maybe even better is in store for us. That becomes our ‘silver lining’, so to speak, not only the ‘better thing that comes’, but the wisdom that comes with knowing this to be true.

It'll Happen

And, from a practical perspective on job searching and not getting jobs, or sometimes not even a response to a resume, remember the following things about perceived job search “rejection”:

  •  Sometimes it’s about who you know: You are one of many candidates and you have NO IDEA who has applied and what their qualifications are. Maybe the hired candidate is the neighbor of the company President’s brother; maybe they hired an internal candidate and the posting in the newspaper was just a legal requirement, etc.

These situations may seem unfair, until it’s your son’s friend’s mom who gets you an interview with her company, or an old boss finds out you’re looking and invites you back —see?

  •  Most final hiring decisions are about ‘fit’, not just qualifications. They are looking to balance and compliment their existing team and employees. They may already have a stellar writer or quiet, methodical organizer to keep everyone on track & what they really need is (fill in the blank with some equally admirable quality that isn’t your strong point.)

This is not anything AGAINST your qualifications or character as a person. You might fit great, but someone else may simply fit better. This happens all the time. Remember, when you do get the job, someone else is wondering why they weren’t hired, after all, the interviews went so well . . . .

  •  Companies can be mysterious and illogical sometimes . . . kinda like people. They may post a job then not follow up on interviewing candidates for months; they may decide not to fill the job right now afterall; they may decide to hire a temp for the time being, they may shovel off that job’s duties onto some overworked current employee — WHO KNOWS. (true story: a current client of mine was expected to do the job of *5* people that were laid off before him!)

All you can do is send in your customized resume and attention getting cover letter (how to’s here) . . . then LET IT GO. Continually do your best work, stay true to yourself and what you REALLY want in your life and in a job, and trust that things work out.

Write me when you are in doubt. Call a friend in your support network for a reminder as needed. And remember, as I said in Who’s Interviewing Who, you are deciding if you want THEM, too, and who wants a company that can’t see or appreciate your obviously outstanding qualities? Right? No, you want to go where you are truly wanted and valued!

Meet each seeming rejection with the attitude of:

 ”Well, I guess that wasn’t the right fit for me, and something else as good or even better is coming my way.”

It is. You are ready, and when it arrives, you will truly believe that all of the above was true.

 

Sing, sing a heartsong . . .

Finding Work You Love, Monday Motivations, Spiritual Approaches to Job Search No comments

 

A lot of clients talk to me about figuring out their “passion” or “life purpose” when we talk about their work & career lives, and the assumption I think is that those things are synonymous – purpose & our job.  Yes, sometimes.  But no, not always.

Since there are many inspirational posts and quotes done with pretty graphics floating around the web, this conversation happens a lot on the Resume Confidence Facebook page.  And it’s an intriguing, sometimes befuddling, and sometimes inspiring topic, no doubt.  And I definitely believe in finding (or I tend to think it’s a remembering) what we think we are here to do on the planet, and then, well, do it!

I was watching Oprah tonight (who is clearly living HER passion and purpose, no doubt about it!).  It was a review of her top 25 moments & interviews or something like that.  Mattie Stepanek was one of them. (see more on Oprah’s page about her friend Mattie here)

If you don’t know who Mattie Stepanek is, you’re going to want to find out, and find out more than this clip is going to tell you, though in this 3:07 minute clip you will surely see why I say that, and know it’ll be true for you, too.

Mattie was a boy with rare disease and just as rare of a way of expressing his spirit & living his 14 years.  I feel   he was an angel incarnate, if such a thing exists.

Spend a quiet 3 minutes watching Mattie talk about living your passion, and your purpose, and he’s not necessarily talking about your ‘job’, either, but maybe your work, though he doesn’t call it work, passion, or purpose.

He calls it his heartsong.  Your heartsong.  Listen:

“Your heartsong,” says Mattie, “it’s the song in my heart, the message in my heart . . . it doesn’t have to be a song, it can just be your message, your feelings . . . what you feel you need to do . . .

We are a mosaic of gifts, each of us has our inner beauty . . . ”

 

And yes, just like you, Mattie, our purpose is to . . . sing . . .

 

Thank you, dear soul, for your most excellent and genuine heartsong . . .

 

 

Mattie’s books of poetry, Heartsong, can be found on the Recommended Readings page.  Bring tissues . . . MattieStepanekHeartsong

Also visit Mattie’s own website Mattieonline.com

Real Bad “Cover Letters” – (cover letters that are real, and, really bad!)

Cover & Thank You Letters, Job Search Tips No comments

 

Real cover letters – real reasons you should NOT copy these really bad examples:

Cover_letters_by_Not_too_shabby

Letter #1 (sent to my friend that owns a small business and also supplied good input about what hiring mangers want in my last blog, “Follow Directions!“)

“Your company is looking for a motivated individual that offers many characteristics that promote success within your organization such as knowledge, dependability and someone that is a self starter.

My name is XXX and I feel that I possess the right elements that will enhance the position to which you are seeking to fill by the many traits that I have instilled in previous experiences allowing us to be successful through our working relationship. Please consider me for your available position and allow me to be part of your team. I appreciate your consideration.

 Please look over my resume.”    (that was the entirety of the introduction email …)

 

Letter #2 (sent to a recruiter friend of mine that works for a Fortune 500 company – she recruits for high end positions, people, and yet, she & her team of recruiters OFTEN receive things from job applicants that are just, well, *wrong*, like this …)

“To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to express my deep appreciation for reading this letter. At the outset I would beg your indulgence to allow me to express my true self in an unorthodox manner, for the traditional introductory letter I found very cold and insincere. At the risk of bucking this tradition I ask that you please give me this chance.

I absolutely recognize that skills and know-how would be a decisive factor in the mind of any decision maker, as it should. I have humbly outlined those in my resume. I however want to start by a story of a graceful virgin who fell in love with a prophet of old. She was the daughter of the tribe chief whom every elegant male was pursuing. But she wanted that man. She recognized two categorical imperatives, strength and Integrity. As shy and proud as she was, she said, “Engage him, father, for the best to hire is the strong, the honest” I have never forgotten the paradigm. I think about it all the time.

I understood what she meant. Strength alone I believe (as technical skills) will not do because the world is full of un-empathetic competent figures. Honesty alone would not do because we have a task at hand crying for completion. I believe both are imperative. I humbly believe that I possess both. I will uphold any fiduciary. I will honor a promise whether to a child, my client or to my superior and I will bring technical skills I believer that you will be happy with.

I am a wandering little man who is looking for a home to dwell in the rest of my career. This will be the bosom that will feed me and my family, that will preserve my dignity and for that I want to devote my life to. I ask you to please consider my request for a consideration and just give me a chance.

Thank you again for reading my letter and ask that you forgive me if I did not write in the usual business style.”  (In a follow up email I asked if she DID “forgive the usual business style” and consider this job seeker for the job – she did not.)

 

What’s wrong with these letters, folks?  I KNOW you know these are not good examples – in fact, these real examples are really really bad, aren’t they?

 

Rather than picking on them specifically, I’ll ask you more usefully if either of them meet the basic rules of a GOOD cover letter:

  1. Is the letter tailored specifically to the job for which you are applying, matching their needs with your qualifications?
  2. Is it focused on the needs of the company/job) vs. only the reasons why the applicant wants or needs the job?)
  3. Is it professional in tone and style?  Is it error free?  Is it concise and to the point without being too brief and therefore useless or generic?

 

Along with other obvious factors, the answer to the questions above are, in part, why these example letters are only good for being bad cover letter examples.

 

Click here now to read “How To Writing an Attention Getting Cover Letter” post (the GOOD kind of attention, that is!) 

 

Want a free sample of a GOOD cover letter, including input on what makes it good?  You got it!

 

 

 

Job Search Tips (and Slips)- Follow These Directions:

Job Search Tips No comments

“I mean, I never liked being told what to do. It’s one of the reasons I dropped out of school. Give me something to assemble, I won’t look at the directions, I’ll try to figure it out by myself. It’s why I love Ikea furniture.” - Dave Grohl

 

Remember that activity from elementary school where the teacher hands out a list of about 20 things to do, and at the top it says to read the assignment first?  Most students don’t, so while they are busy doing all sorts of crazy equations & what not on their paper, maaaayyybeeee one or two students have read to the last of the 20 items & see that it says something like, “The only thing you have to do for this assignment is to put your name on the back of your paper, leave it upside down & raise your hand when you’re finished.”  Usually the teacher then hands out a reward to those that read the directions as instructed, and launches into a lesson in READING THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST on all assignments before doing the work to the majority of the class!

When it comes to applying for jobs, sometimes my friends that do hiring (business owners, managers, recruiters) often tell me it seems too many adults never did learn that grade school lesson!

It’s almost as if this is what we think about following instructions:

instructions-2

 

Follow the instructions in the job ad!  This is the #1 Job Search Tip (and Slip) for January.

 

They’ve asked for whatever they’ve asked for for a reason; not doing so just shows a lack of attention and/or that you don’t do as instructed (whatever your reasoning may be to do something different, doesn’t matter!) Don’t give any reasons for the employer to discount you, even if you are highly qualified! (yes, this is based on yet another repeated comment from my friend that is hiring  )

A local small biz owner friend enjoys sending me his “worst of” job applicant stories.   He ALWAYS says in his ads, “No emailed resumes.  Please stop by in person.”  Guess what the majority of applicants do?  Guess what he does to those, after laughing at them & sending the worst offenders on to me so I can do my best to educate the masses with “what NOT to do” blog posts like this?  DELETE.  He figures that applicants that don’t follow instructions to try to get the job are much less likely to follow direction well on the job – not someone he wants to hire.

(BTW, he also told me about a stained & tattered resume that came in …. ewwwww! But I know none of YOU would do that! Right??  The condition of the resume cancelled out any positive impression she may have made by actually following the ad that said to bring the resume in person.)

The employer is unlikely to hand out gold stars for doing what they ask in their job application.  But the prize could be winning an interview, and eventually a job – can’t beat that reward, eh?

« Older Entries