Recently, I was hired by the parents of Michael, a recent college graduate who had been struggling in his job search. He had applied for nearly one hundred jobs and could not win an interview.
Typically, when I hear this I suspect that the job seeker’s resume is not compatible with Applicant Tracking Systems. But, I checked his resume and found that it did not contain any non-compatible formatting elements and did include all the necessary keywords for the position. Despite graduating from a big name school with an impressive GPA, Michael could not land a job or even an interview. Continue reading
Frustrated by Online Job Applications?
I hear from job seekers all the time about how time consuming the online job application process is and how aggravating it can be to submit dozens of online job applications and never hear back. You wonder if your resume even made it through the Applicant Tracking System.
Because of the highly competitive job market, you need to sell yourself stronger than ever before to stand out from the other candidates. It is crucial that you answer every single question as well as possible, making sure your grammar and punctuation are perfect. This is difficult because the input fields you type into are so small that it can be hard to see what you are typing, and many of these online application systems do not even have a spell check feature. One typo and you are out of the running.
Many jobseekers skip over the salary question, because they do not want to be eliminated with a figure that is outside of the salary range – but you can’t do this. Make sure you answer every question, as many companies use incomplete applications as a way to weed out candidates. Continue reading
Is A Good Handshake A Lost Art?
We all know that first impressions are important, right? Well, don’t blow it with something as simple as a wimpy handshake. A good handshake is a key factor to how you are perceived as a jobseeker– it sets the tone for the rest of the interview. A bone-crushing grasp can make you look 
too aggressive or desperate, while a limp handshake can make you appear weak and ineffectual. This is especially important for women. Do not shake hands as though you have no bones in your hand. Forget about possibly chipping your nails (which is a HUGE turn off for a hiring manager). Offer the firm handshake of a confident person. And men, please do not be afraid to shake a woman’s hand. She will not break!
The key to the perfect handshake? Continue reading
University Career Centers Offer Valuable Assistance
As most of my blog followers know, in addition to working with private clients as a career coach and professional resume writer through The Resume Resource, I also serve as Assistant Director of the Center for Internships and Career Development at Eastern Connecticut State University. Between these two roles, I work with a wide range of people helping them to identify their ideal career path and develop the tools, strategies and confidence to achieve their career goals.
Over the last few months, I have been approached by quite a few parents of new college grads looking for resume and job search assistance for their children. In most cases, these alumni have graduated from expensive private colleges, and despite the fact that the family has paid well over $150K in tuition over the 4 years, Continue reading
Your Skills Alone Will Not Win You The Job
To win a job offer today, you must set yourself apart from your competition. What do you offer the employer that the other candidates do not? Odds are, you have similar educational backgrounds and work experience. Employers are looking for more. They want employees who have the determination to succeed, get along well with others and are well rounded. It is not a matter of GPA or test scores. Employers want to build teams of dedicated employees who they trust, and want to be around. Face it – we spend more time with our colleagues than we do our family and friends. Your likability is important.
Continue reading
Are These Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job?
I recently met with a group of job seekers, many who had been out of work for quite some time. We discussed their current job search strategies and it quickly became apparent to me why they were having trouble landing interviews.
1. Their resumes were not selling them as the ideal candidate or contained elements that are not compatible with Applicant Tracking Systems.
2. They were spending hours upon hours every day in front of their computers searching for open positions on the large paid-for-post job boards, and quickly applying to as many jobs as they could find. One person told me that he had applied to more than 600 postings in the last few months!
3. They were either not a member of LinkedIn, or they were not using its full capabilities to accelerate their job search.
Fortunately, all these things are easily correctable!
The MBTI Assessment Can Help You Find Career Success
I am pleased to announce that I have completed CPP’s MBTI ® training program, and am now a Certified MBTI ® Practitioner! The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® is a great tool to help individuals understand the many facets of their personality. This information provides valuable insight into our natural strengths and abilities, which correlates directly to career satisfaction and success. In addition to career-development purposes, the understanding you gain from the interpretation of your MBTI results can benefit you in your interpersonal relationships. 
The MBTI ® tool was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs to help interpret Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types. It has been used for more than 60 years across the globe to help people become more satisfied and successful in their careers.
The results can help you: Continue reading
The College Grad’s Key to Career Success: Interning
Competition for jobs is at an all-time high, with nearly 54% of bachelor’s degree holders under the age of 25 jobless or underemployed in 2013. An internship gives a new college graduate an advantage over those who have not gained real world experience in their field. 
College students should not wait until senior year of college to intern. Completing more than one internship and starting earlier in their college career, students can learn about the everyday duties of various jobs, which can help them determine which career they want to pursue. If they do not like their first internship position, they would have time to experiment with other internships.
Interning benefits the future employer as well. Many employers see a student who has completed an internship as a more serious job candidate. Companies are more confident hiring a recent grad who has experience in the field and has already assimilated into the corporate culture. Continue reading
Experience the Power of Networking
Networking is a skill we all need to master. Whether you are employed and looking to advance your career or trying to get back into the workforce, networking is key to career success. A strategy combining face-to-face and online networking has been cited as the most effective way to find a new job. In this competitive job market, you need to differentiate yourself from your competition to be noticed by hiring managers.
Networking can also help you navigate the “hidden” job market. Many companies are not advertising their open positions externally because they do not want to be flooded with thousands of resumes. Instead, they post the jobs internally and ask for employee referrals, or they conduct their own search for candidates on LinkedIn.
The goal of networking is to build relationships and gain exposure. To set yourself up to succeed, go into the event 
with the intention of getting to know a few interesting people. If your goal is to come out with a definite job lead, you may come on too strong, and will probably be disappointed with the results.
Here are a few tips to make your networking efforts more productive: Continue reading
Volunteer Work Can Counteract Discrimination Against Long-Term Unemployment
Research by the University of Toronto, McGill University and the University of Chicago indicates that applicants who had been out of work for 8 months had 45% fewer callbacks from employers. A study from MIT found that someone unemployed for 1 month would typically win 1 interview for every 10 job applications, while someone out of work for 7 months has to send 35 resumes to get just 1 interview. Not only is this wrong – it can be very demoralizing for those who have been in an extended job search. 
Continue reading
Don’t Abandon Your Job Search During the Holidays!
If you are in the process of searching for your next job, keep your momentum going during the holidays. A few advantages of a holiday-season job search?
– More access to hiring managers – As many gatekeepers are on vacation, your odds of reaching the decision makers increase. Many executives actually answer their own phones when their assistants are out of the office. Continue reading
Not Asking Questions in a Job Interview Can Cost you the Job
It is important for jobseekers to ask thoughtful questions during the job interview to show that they are eager for the job. Not asking questions indicates to the interviewer that you are not a serious job candidate, and can derail any chance for consideration. 
Without a list of questions prepared in advance, many jobseekers go blank when asked if they have any questions. Don’t let that happen to you.
I have heard from many jobseekers who are confused about what types of questions to ask. Here are a few pointers to help you develop a list of questions that will impress the interviewer. Continue reading
What Is Your Resume Saying About You?
Your resume says a lot more to a prospective employer than just conveying your work history, skills and qualifications. Because they do not know you, hiring managers and recruiters judge you completely by your resume. If it is not winning you interviews, your resume might be sabotaging your job search efforts. 
Continue reading
Psychological Profile Tied to Career Happiness?
Designed for hiring managers and human resource professionals, Software Advice’s New Talent Times blog shares strategies for building and managing today’s workforce. Knowledge is power. The same information that guides companies’ hiring decisions can help jobseekers sell themselves to hiring managers and target their ideal roles.
The Psychological Profiles of the Dream Team series analyzes 4 types of top performers: The Giver, the Champ, the
Savant and the Matrix Thinker. They explain how these individuals tend to function in the workplace, the roles in which they excel and ones for which they are least suited.
Being in the right role is important to your overall career success. In the wrong role, an individual is typically not performing optimally which can result in a low level of satisfaction for both the worker and the manager. We all deserve to be happy in our career. Finding the best role for you is the first step.
According to these guidelines, where do you fall? Continue reading
Overcoming Age Discrimination in the Job Search – Part II
I have heard from many of my baby boomer job-seeking clients that they have experienced age discrimination in today’s competitive job market. I wish that were not the case, but I am glad to share that there are effective techniques to overcome this challenge. Primarily, you want to focus on the value you offer an employer. You want the hiring manager to see you as a valuable skillset that would enhance their team.
The last thing you want the reader to do is question your age as they read your resume. To make your resume age-neutral:
Continue reading
Overcoming Age Discrimination in the Job Search – Part I
As a career coach, I work with fresh college graduates looking to launch their professional career as well as baby boomers looking for a satisfying second career. While they have different obstacles – they have the same goal: they need to make their resumes “age-neutral” and convince the hiring manager that they are the ideal candidate for the job. Jobseekers with little experience need to sell themselves on their potential while more mature workers need to show they still have a lot to offer an employer. There are effective strategies for each to overcome age discrimination in the job search. This week I’ll offer a few tips for the new graduates, next week I will address the boomers.
New college graduates and other Millennials need to show prospective employers that they have transitioned from “college kid” to “young professional”. Continue reading