Posts tagged 'career change'
Okay, people. This will probably be my last blog post of 2008. I know it’s a bit early, but nonetheless, it’s true. I’m taking this opportunity to introduce my recurring theme of 2009. I know some of you might get tired of hearing it, but others need to hear it as often as I can say it. Here goes:
There are jobs out there.
I say it a lot lately in person to clients, friends, unhappy grocery store checkers. I’m going to say it again with emphasis.
There are jobs out there.
Good jobs. Jobs you want. Better jobs, even, then the one you have or the one you are losing or have already lost.
And I am not saying this to make those who have been looking without success so far feel bad. Depending upon what you do, this can be a challenging market- but for others, there will be a brief period of un- or under-employment and then you will find something else. Something good. Something that maybe even pays more or gives you more responsibility or more fun or even all three.
Let’s get crazy while we’re talking here- it’s just us, right?- if you are unhappy with you current job, you can find another one. Even if you have a decent, secure job, you can actually hunt for a new job RIGHT NOW (well, wait until after the holidays– everyone is scrambling to get where they need to be with the appropriate gifts in hand) and be SUCCESSFUL in relocating to a position that is more fulfilling.
NO, you are not STUCK. YES, you have OPTIONS.
Take an honest look at your resume and call me if you need help with it. Think about what you want to do next and call me if you need help with that.
Let me help you make a plan to make a move in 2009 and then successfully execute that plan.
In the meantime, I am wishing you & your family happy, healthy holidays!
December 20th, 2008
That’s right. It’s November already. (Don’t shoot me. It’s not my fault time goes by so quickly.)
Are you happy with your job? If so, good. If not, think about what you are unhappy about and change what you don’t like. And if what you are unhappy about is unchangeable (the owner of the company is intolerable, you can’t make the salary you want to make, you are bored or burnt out), maybe it’s time to make a plan.
Just a thought.
November 10th, 2008
Just a brief bit of resume advice. If you take away nothing else in terms of guidance in this area, take this: Don’t be boring- or undersell yourself- in your resume.
This is your place to really express who you are in your career. Yes, you can (should) use colorful words (if you are a colorful person). Be bold on paper if you are bold in real life. There is even room for a little gentle humor (if that is who you are). Be creative. Be proud.
In short: Let yourself shine.
October 28th, 2008
Being a professional resume writer, I’m all for people hiring professional resume writers to do this chore for them. Hire one, compliment the finished product, and then pay them promptly. 1 – 2 – 3 – DONE!
But sometimes you need to try to do it yourself first. I get that. So here is my best practical advice for the actual process of writing the resume.
1. Take advantage of the free consultation. I mean it. It’s free. As a veteran hiring professional, I have spent many years of my life looking at the bad (or just not as good as they could be) resumes of job candidates and not being able to give feedback because of the situation. I am happy to be able to now. Email me your current resume and then we’ll have a short conversation wherein you will most likely get either three to five usable tidbits or high praise for an already-perfect resume (it could happen).
2. Get samples off the web. Google “marketing resumes” or whatever your field is. Hopefully, you’ll get some good examples of resumes for people at your level in your field which you can use for formatting guidance.
3. Pretend you are writing about someone else. If you have a hard time confidently conveying your own talents and accomplishments, try to remove yourself from the process. Otherwise, you are likely to undersell yourself or disregard information that should be included.
4. Use an actual job desciption for a position you would want. Your target job is out there and your resume should be geared toward getting you that job. Go on the web again and find an example of a job you would want and write your resume as an ad for you in that specific job.
5. Break it down. If the idea of actually writing the whole resume is too daunting, take it, as Anne Lamott would say, Bird by Bird. Commit yourself to writing the description of your current job, for instance, or setting up the format. Hopefully, that will trick you into starting the process and you will find yourself feeling more at ease once you have begun.
6. See Resume Rules #1, #2, and #3. Read the resume advice I have provided on this blog, keep it in mind when writing, and then reread it when you are done and make necessary revisions.
7. Show and tell. When you have finished writing your resume, send it to your five smartest, most career-savvy friends along with an explanation of what job you’re looking for. Ask them, “Would you call me in for an interview?” If the answer from more than one of them is anything other than a confident, “YES,” get detailed feedback and do a rewrite.
And then, of course, when all else fails, there is surrender…
8. Know when to get help. Lots of perfectly lovely, talented, and intelligent people lack either the aptitude or the inclination to write a really good resume. If what is keeping you from getting a more satisfying new job is the lack of a good resume, admit it and reach out. A half-written resume or a resume that gets you no replies when submitted for jobs you know you are qualified is not going to get you where you want to go.
Hopefully, you find all of this advice helpful. Regardless of how you get it, an expertly-written resume is the key to getting you that job you’d wake up in the morning happy to go to. Even in this wobbly economy, good jobs are out there. Give yourself the best chance to get one.
October 10th, 2008
This is the difference between ending up in the YES (contact them now for an interview) or MAYBE (read later) pile. We don’t worry about the NO pile. If you followed Rule #1 and Rule #2, you should be able to stay out of the NO pile for any job for which you are reasonably qualified. The MAYBE pile is a killer at this point.
The MAYBE pile is for resumes that are comprised of huge blocks of text, that have over five bullet points for each job, that use the same nine words over and over again, that have no headlines at the top briefly describing key qualifications so the reader knows something about the candidate as they skim through the professional experience section.
“I’ll read that later,” the hiring professional will say when faced with having to decode a resume with these characteristics. Too much time, too much work. But here’s the thing…
Most hiring professionals NEVER get to the MAYBE pile.
September 29th, 2008
This is where I lose more people, even those who thought they “got” me on the marketing tool point.
Let me explain. When someone is reading your resume, they are telling themselves a story about who you are. “This is a woman who gets bored easily and bounces around a lot,” they will think when they see a page with six different jobs on it that all last about 18 months. That might not be the truth, but unless something on the page (or at least in the attached cover letter) says otherwise, that’s the conclusion. Maybe three of those jobs were in the same company, just different divisions. Maybe one exit was a due to a non-profit shuttering it’s doors. You’d better make sure these parts of the story are conveyed in your resume.
What story does your resume tell about you?
September 14th, 2008
When I say this, it resonates with some people, gives a eureka moment to some, and confuses others.
Don’t tell me everything, just tell me the things I need to know that will convince me that you are the right person for the position you are seeking. And I’m not talking just about the words- although of course they are key. There is also font, the layout, how the jobs are positioned, what is bold and what is not… everything adds up. If you are looking for a creative position, don’t use a resume that looks like you are seeking a job in a bank. Everything counts.
As far as your career history, highlight the skills and the most valuable experience you have for the job you want. You take out or push to the background anything that isn’t relevant. It can be done. I do it all the time for people wanting to redirect their careers or even just jump to the next level.
I have turned a graphic designer resume into an event planner resume for someone who used it to make a complete career change. I have made different versions of a resume for a school director with a big-time business background who wasn’t sure which path he wanted to follow next. I have taken several administrative or junior executive resumes to the next level, positioning them for a move up the ladder.
Everything on that page will either rule you in or rule you out as a candidate for the job. Give yourself the best advantage with a resume that sells you properly.
September 12th, 2008
On one of my on-line “mommy boards,” a woman wrote in for advice from the group because she was interviewing for jobs and she had a gaping hole on her resume during which time she was a stay-at-home mom. She didn’t know whether she should tell the interviewer that she had been home with her little one or whether she should be more vague- “exploring other options,” “dealing with a personal issue,” etc.
Regardless of what a candidate said in an interview, I could smell ambivalence from a mile away. From anyone, not just moms returning to the work force. The seasoned executive assistant who was over the job, for instance. Or the recent grad who thought he was too good for clerical work (though he wasn’t qualified to do anything else- but that’s another story). Or the woman who looked like she might burst into tears at the thought of showing up at the office. Whether she told me she had a baby at home or not, I could see it wasn’t a job she wanted. And I was no more likely to give her a job than the kid with the ‘tude or the been-there-done-that assistant. No HR person wants to set themselves up for that kind of headache.
On my mommy board, I said I felt that this mom should go ahead and mention her baby if not mentioning it was going to make her uncomfortable or appear shifty, but, more importantly, that she should make sure to convey that she was ready to work and would happily show up every day and get the job done.
Ideally, rather than trying to fake it, that meant that she would “process” any ambivalence and find a way to be happy about getting a job- some family-oriented upside, like having less stress about money or more outside stimulation. I know, easier said than done, but there has to be a reason why working outside the home will benefit her little one and, even if her first choice is spending all day with them, if she keeps in mind that motivation, she will feel like a good mom for going out and getting a job. And she may just ace the interview.
September 4th, 2008
Or, if you prefer, “Yahoo” yourself.
Do you have an online presence? Is it the presence you wish to have?
If you have no online presence, you don’t exist. Well, to be fair, you do exist, of course, but you don’t exist to anyone who hears your name and wants to know more about you. They’re not going to call your mom, are they?
Start with LinkedIn and go from there. Create a profile. It won’t take that long, but it should be as thorough as possible and reflect the you who you want to present to the outside world. If that’s all you do, fine. You now exist.
But what if you do an online search for yourself and it’s not reflective of the you who you want to present to the world? Even your private pages, such as those on Facebook and Myspace, can sometimes be viewed by people you have not made friends with.
I was once doing a search for an executive assistant and I saw on someone’s myspace page where they described themselves as moody and seemed rather committed to staying that way. That person’s resume was in the garbage in about ten seconds.
So clean up your act or get an act if you don’t have one, and if there are things online that you cannot get taken down (party photos of you posted by other people, poorly thought-out or obscene comments made to blogs, etc.), your only option is to start adding content that shows you in the best light. Professional profiles, well thought-out comments to other people’s blogs, even articles about topics you are passionate about posted to websites can push the bad stuff down the page on a search of your name.
And if you don’t have the time, the skills, or the inclination to get an online presence that gives you a professional leg up, you always have the option to hire someone to do it for you, to write your profiles, your blog comments, your articles. As someone who has ghostwritten online content, I know you wouldn’t be the first and it would be worth it.
August 22nd, 2008
I’ve had a couple of conversations this week that have gotten me thinking about the way we undervalue ourselves and how that gets us stuck in positions that aren’t utilizing or rewarding us properly.
This is not new thinking for me, of course. A lot of what I do when advising clients is convincing them of their worth in the marketplace and the variety of their marketable skills. And when I do a resume rewrite or create a bio, even for an accomplished and seemingly-confident professional, they often marvel at the way I present them, as if to say, “Is this really me?”
“Yes. That’s you,” I insist. I’m not making things up here.
So yesterday a former client called to update me on herself and a couple of people she referred to me. One referral was a recent college grad whose resume I’d rewrtten. He was getting all kinds of calls for interviews now and was very happy. That was very gratifying, but not surprising. He’d had great paying jobs and prestigious internships during college. He’d clearly been thinking about his career path when he sought them out. All he’d needed from me was to present him and his experience in the best light possible for the specific position he was seeking.
But my former client went on to tell me both she and a frustrated co-worker she’d referred to me had both gotten promotions and raises, from different branches of their company, after my consulting/coaching sessions with them.
Now these are both intelligent, confident, capable professional women and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t stand for comparable treatment in other areas of their lives. And yet they were underpaid, overworked and sorely undervalued in their positions and each felt trapped, not sure they could do better. That’s where I came in. I helped them see their worth.
After our work together, one of them was offered a promotion and a (big) raise without seeking it out. She had been ready to leave. She’d had me rewrite her resume and had started putting feelers out. The other one didn’t want to leave. She liked what she was doing there so she made a last-ditch stand, sure that they wouldn’t give her what she wanted. But she got it.
The other conversation this week that got me on this topic was with a friend who is making a move out of a toxic work environment after enduring it for a long time. “It’s like you’re finally leaving a really bad boyfriend,” her sister told her, relieved. This friend is nervous, relieved, excited. But she is looking forward to something better. And I’m sure she’ll find it.
Are you ready for something better? What do you have to give up in order to get it?
August 16th, 2008
