March 26, 2010 In Career Change, Tips

3 Ways to Excel at Marketing Yourself in Today’s Economy

The key to landing your dream job (or dream career change) is to put yourself in front of potential employers – they can’t hire you if they don’t know you are out there. Learning effective ways to market yourself can have a huge impact on the number of resume requests and interviews you get. How do you start marketing yourself in a way that will make the employers come to you? Here are three techniques:

  1. Identify what you’re good at and what you can offer an employer. Hiring managers aren’t just interested in filling open positions; they are interested in gaining assets for the company. How could you be an asset? What kind of information about you does an employer need to see to know that you will be a valuable addition to the team? You need to address your accomplishments in all of your marketing materials. You also need to make it very clear about how an employer can benefit through bringing you on board.

     
  2. Rework your resume and cover letter. Depending on the industry, sometimes it is better to stand out and be different. People looking to make a career change to a  creative industry, like publishing or entertainment, could benefit from sending out distinctively formatted resumes and cover letters as representative of their creative talents. Often times, marketing yourself effectively means taking chances and standing out from the crowd.

     
  3. Utilize new technology. The job market is a crowded place right now, saturated with many highly qualified people. Some have recently been laid off from a corporation or law firm, others are recent law school grads and there are also those who are looking to make a career change. To make sure you see (and are considered for) every available job, spread yourself out over the Internet. Use LinkedIn, Facebook and Craigslist. Post your resume on every job board and social media site you can identify – you never know where your next opportunity will come from. The posting process will take many hours, but if you land a six figure job, it will have been time well spent. You should also eblast your resume to as many executive recruiters that you can find; remember, too, that recruiters typically work nationally, not locally. In addition, you should  do cold mailings to companies of interest in your targeted location or industry — just because they are not advertising open positions doesn’t mean there aren’t openings. Keep in mind that research shows only about 7% of available jobs are advertised on the web. To find that 7%, you should  set up a “job agent” to scan the Internet for appropriate opportunities. Career Strategies can perform many of these services for you through our Contacts and Connections program.

     
March 18, 2010 In Career Change, Tips

The Top 4 Job Hunting and Career Planning Tips During a Recession

Is the recession really putting a damper on your career planning process? It’s hard to move up the ladder and land your dream job when you’re not even getting interview requests. It’s important to not lose hope, however. From hiring a professional resume writer to changing your career planning agenda, there are several things you can do to boost your chances of getting hired. Here are the top four tips and tricks to help you score the job you’ve always dreamed of:

  1. Brush up on your skills. Anyone who is serious about career planning knows that you’ve got to keep your skills relevant. Often times, this translates to taking a class on the latest computer programs or educating yourself about the latest things going on in your industry. If you know what you’re doing, you’re more likely to get hired!

     
  2. Hire a professional resume writer. Sure, a professional resume writer may cost some money up front. But it’ll pay for itself within the first week of you landing a new job, and you’ll have the peace of mind that comes along with knowing your resume is 100 percent error-free.

     
  3. Focus on social networking. Millions of organizations and people have Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages these days…including companies that are currently hiring. New media is a great way to find out about new jobs as they’re posted – getting in early may be what gets you the job. For more information check out our prior post on using the internet for a career change!

     
  4. Try part-time work. To prevent gaps in your resume (which is a major career planning no-no), try freelance, part-time or volunteer work. Keeping yourself busy isn’t just a great way to fend off boredom, it can also make the difference between getting hired and getting passed over for (another) job.

     
March 1, 2010 In Career Change, Tips

Why Hire A Professional Resume Writer?

The economy is unstable, unemployment rates remain shockingly high and it doesn’t look like anything is going to change dramatically any time soon. While there are jobs out there (our clients are getting interviews and we have already completed three cases in the first six weeks of the year), with the market being what it is, how is the average job hunter supposed to find a new position

When you have done all the career planning you can possibly think of, it may be time to hire a professional resume writer.

One of the biggest advantages of hiring a resume writing professional is that you know your resume will be flawless and compelling. One of the biggest complaints that recruiters and human resource professionals have with job applicants is one of the easiest to correct: cover letters and resumes with glaring errors.

Let me give you an example of a letter we received from a candidate just the other day:

“I saw your “ad” on Monster.Com and am interested in your services.  My interests, skills, knowledge and abilities far exceed the law and would welcome the opportunity to discuss alternatices.  Resume attached.”

Beside the obvious typo (I have never discussed “alternatices” with anyone before), and the two less obvious grammatical errors, there is an error in judgment and presentation that would be sure to turn off a potential employer.

By hiring a professional resume writer, you are doing more than just career planning: you are taking an active role in your job search, and eliminating the possibility that a grammatical or strategic error on your resume could be holding you back. Yes, it will cost more money than if you were to sit down at your kitchen table and write it yourself, but you will end up with a presentation-quality resume that is not only completely error free, but which presents your credentials and talents in the best light possible.

You can work with your resume writer to customize resumes and cover letters for each individual job to which you apply. Tailoring your paperwork to match the specific criteria of each job that you are applying for will go a long way toward getting you noticed by the hiring managers.

When you work with a professional to highlight only your relevant work history, it will look like you spent your entire life concentrating on building your skills in that particular discipline or practice area. Although a professional resume writer will cost money up front, it is a small investment that can help you secure a six-figure job more quickly, and it will pay for itself many times over.