| 1. |
The first thing you think about when you decide to look for
a new job is an update for your resume
The first thing that you ought to do is a career self-assessment including
several informal activities that you can do at home and even at work to provide better
direction and momentum for your job search. A resume update is generally insufficient
to gain a competitive advantage against the professionally written resumes that you
will market against.
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| 2. |
You are not familiar with the "in-the-box"
drill and do not practice this regularly as a way to manage your career.
The "in-the-box" drill should send you to the supermarket or elsewhere
for a large carton in which you will place tangible evidence of your achievements
from school through the present. One or two weeks of archaeological dig activity should
begin your career self-assessment and get you ready for the resume phase of your job
search. |
| 3. |
When you engage in a job search you normally spend
most of your effort and time replying to positions advertised in the classified section
of newspapers or on the Internet.
I know it feels good to be actively engaged in job searching, but the truth
is that replying to ads is the least effective and most costly method. Only about
5% of people ever find jobs through employment ads. |
| 4. |
Your current resume is one page and highlights
your job responsibilities for all the positions that you have held.
Don't fall into this trap – the "one-page myth" will help only
if you are a recent graduate or entry-level job candidate. What hiring managers really
look for is a well-designed, easy-to-read resume that tells the full story of your
achievements and how they will translate into bottom-line results. If you are an experienced
professional, manager or executive you need to market yourself on more than one page.
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| 5. |
When you reply to a classified ad and you see
a Fax number to reply to, you take your hard copy resume and Fax it.
Well, your Fax could say, "One page sent – OK" but at the receiving
end your resume may never wind up in that company's database, especially if it's a
medium to large-sized company. It needs to be in scannable format. Ever wonder why
you never hear from some companies, even though you believed you were a good fit for
the position? |
| 6. |
Although you are a good communicator, you are
concerned about how to handle some of the tough questions you know you will be asked
during the interview phase of your job search.
Being an effective communicator in general is not the same thing as being
an effective interviewer. This is a critical phase of the job search and most people
can benefit from top-notch interview training to prepare for the rough spots. Remember,
you need to maintain some control over the process. |
| 7. |
Despite your career achievements, you feel instinctively
that your baby boomer/mid-life status will either slow the process or present insurmountable
obstacles in making a career transition.
Unlike previous generations, baby boomers will not be heading into retirement
as their parents did, but instead will continue to seek rewarding work. The 50+ population
controls most of the nation's wealth and should harness that kind of power to make
career transitions. Good career coaches can remove those obstacles to a smooth transition
and improve your resume and marketing approach. |
| 8. |
When you reach the point of accepting a job offer,
you tend to take whatever salary and benefits are presented to you on the table, because
the hiring company has stated that the terms are firm and it's a job that you really
want.
Everything is negotiable. Accepting what is offered without understanding
and controlling the negotiation process can cost you tens of thousands of dollars
or more throughout your career. |
| 9. |
You understand the value of networking, but are
often frustrated when you attend business and professional lunches/dinners, netting
few if any results from the business cards that you distribute.
Effective networking is a skill that can be learned. It does not mean relying
on a network of friends, family and associates to open all the doors for you. Effective
networkers broadcast their value to others and establish need with polished commercial
messages. |
| 10. |
You already made a firm commitment to invest in
yourself and find a more rewarding career, but you don’t have the time to act on your
goals because of demanding responsibilities at work and at home.
This is universal and is probably the single biggest factor contributing to
a sluggish and unrewarding job search. Professional resume writers and job and career
transition coaches can remove the time factor so that it is no longer an issue. Momentum
is central to any good career campaign. |
| 11. |
You write your own resume and have
never opted for a professional resume writer to support you, afraid that someone will
question whether you wrote it yourself or had help.
Many people express this concern to me and want to know how to handle this
question. Tell the interviewer that yes, you did have some help, but that your resume
is a truthful record of your accomplishments. This issue has almost never come up
with my clients because, as a skilled resume-writer and interviewer, I listen carefully
to the client’s own words and speech patterns and weave that into the final resume
product. |
