Archive for career – Page 2

Social Media Spammers: Why I Won’t Buy Your Stuff or Give You Free Help

May 31st, 2019

Okay, you are on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., and you are a jobseeker, need some career advice, or are a business owner. How do you develop a relationship with someone you don’t know? Well, right now the way many are trying to develop that rapport is by spamming connections the moment we accept their invite, and often with multiple “InMails” attempting to sell us something or get free career or business help. 

As a business owner, and as someone who provides help to jobseekers and business owners, I am sensitive to the need to cultivate business or garner valuable networking contacts. On the other hand, no one likes the person who just wants free help or tries to get you to buy their service or product from the get-go. The issue has become so obnoxious on the business side (people wanting to sell me products or services) that I have resorted to providing a free coaching moment or a very nice refusal via the particular social media venues InMail or messaging service. Here are the two things I say, depending on the situation:

Coaching Moment Email:

I know you are anxious to build your business or career and would like to offer you a free coaching tip to help you expand your network in a way that cultivates a relationship. I truly appreciate your inquiry but will tell you that networking is always and will always be about establishing a bond with the other party first. Networking is NEVER ABOUT YOU or your needs, but the other person. It works because you are offering them something of value that has nothing to do with your work or what you want. It’s also not an item or article you or a person you are in business with created. This “value” could be a networking contact you think might be useful to them (outside of your business partnerships), a referral, tip, hint, lead, etc., to open the door to an initial conversation, and then you can approach them after a real affinity is developed, but not until then.  
Linking with someone and immediately asking for referrals, business or connections without the foundation of a relationship is no different than walking up to someone on the street and asking them for any of the above. It is the rapport that builds trust and gives a person the proper context to offer help, and it is both give and take. 
While I understand the reason for the InMail, many won’t be as understanding, and it could ultimately work to alienate you instead of creating a connection. Since I coach people on how to network, I wanted to share this free tip with you. I am hoping this will assist you in building a dynamic and worthy network of connections and create a true rapport with others that could lead to your next opportunity. Best wishes and many blessings, Karen Silins

Nice Refusal:

I am very happy in my current business, and love what I do, and do not desire to increase my workload at this time. I greatly appreciate your inquiry and wish you many blessings in your business. Karen

Believe it or not, most are very kind about it or don’t respond, though we remain connected. Sometimes they even reach back out to let me know they are changing their approach. However, I did recently get a response from someone saying. “I know you are a business woman!!  But I would be a jerk for not sharing this!!! Can’t you afford three minutes to help your clients, etc., etc.” Hmm, snarky and unpleasant – not going to get my positive attention that way, oh, and I disconnected from you. This whole exchange started with a common ruse of “I need your help, can I get a few moments of your time” or something similar. My colleagues and myself must respond to these requests, as it could be a person wanting to discuss services or just has a very quick question that we can help them with, but too frequently it is a spammer. Nevertheless, the initial trick of needing my help is not an introduction to do business. No relationship has been developed.

Remember, the acceptance of a connection is not an tacit invitation to start asking people to help you without formation of at least an initial rapport. Immediately sending out an article, white paper, software trial, etc., that you, your friend or business upline/connection authored is not a proper way to cultivate a client either. The resource or other help you provide must always be external to what you want to sell or the advice you seek. Furthermore, the initial contact email or InMail saying you are looking to connect with “like-minded” coaches, business owners, or wanting to learn more about my business, etc., is not a relationship builder either, it’s just spam if all you want to do is sell them something. 

Know that wanting help or business immediately and for free from a new contact is improper and will definitely get you uninvited/unfriended from many a social media connection. Finally, please consider that you are taking people’s valuable time when you ask them to read your marketing email or want help, but in no way want to repay them for the help. Furthermore, the supposed “I will pay you later after I get a new job or you just have to see this business venture I am offering you,” is not a payment. In most cases you are chasing away leads and losing links to others because many of my colleagues, clients and acquaintances just delete you. That is no way to run a business or a job search. Help yourself by helping others first, and be of value, it will result in your business and/or career thriving!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Business Coaching, Career Management, Careers, Job Search, Networking, Opinion
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Kindness: A Daily Event

February 22nd, 2019
Kindness: A Daily Event

Random Acts of Kindness Day was Sunday, February 17 and Valentine’s Day just occurred a few days prior.  What have you done recently to make someone else’s life better, happier, or just to brighten a stranger’s day?  Money has nothing to do with this challenge.  Just smiling at those you meet and saying hello to those that smile back can make a person’s day.  All it cost you was a facial expression.  For those of you wanting to do more, donate all those excess clothes or some old but still useful furniture, or pay for the person’s order behind you at the coffee shop, fast food restaurant or the dry cleaners.  See a struggling Mom or Dad in a store with a child who is fussy.  Of course, everyone else seems so “annoyed” that a child might act like a child and be grouchy.  How about being the one to sympathize, empathize, or even try to entertain the child a bit with a smile.  How about a handwritten note or handmade card for someone you care about who needs a pick-me-up? 

Look up from that phone, or even better, purposely don’t make calls or texts while you are running around on errands, and spend time noticing who might need cheering up.  Random acts of kindness should be every day, not just on a special day of the year or around Christmas and New Years’ time.  Take time for someone else today, it will make your day too!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Career Management, Inspiration, Opinion, Personal Branding
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Why You Should Still Give Notice

January 14th, 2019

I just read articles on LinkedIn and again in the HR Executive magazine last week, stating that giving notice to an employer is becoming somewhat passé. Really, hmmm. Politeness is lacking enough in our society, and now employees are becoming so numb to simple courtesy that they can’t give a two-week notice. I can hear it now, but Karen, they don’t treat me well, or my new job starts in a week and they didn’t want me to give as much notice, or they will send me home when I give notice anyway. And…., you can still act like an adult and give notice. I am sorry if that seems harsh, but if you think that behavior is appropriate, I guarantee it will come back on you at some point. 

Let’s take the employer who wants you to give limited or no notice to your current employer because they need you to start next week. Do you really think that employer will give a damn about you and your needs, ever, if they are that disrespectful of other employers and your reputation? You are just biding your time at that company until a manager fires you for no reason or downsizes you. 

Consider the employer who you feel doesn’t treat you well. Now, like an impertinent child this is how you get back at them. No, instead you go on Glassdoor and tell the truth about your experience, without using words like mean and unfair, and instead talk about the lack of pay or too many hours of overtime, limited or no benefits, etc., but make sure your complaint is true and not just something you didn’t like, When you leave the company however, you still show you are a class act, and give formal two-week notice.

The last one I posited above concerning employers that often don’t let their employees complete the two weeks still doesn’t let you off the hook. You can just let your new employer know that frequently your current and soon to be past employer won’t let employees giving notice stay in order to protect confidential information and avoid office drama and theft. Trust me, they understand.

Have I ever said to someone “don’t give two-weeks of notice?” Yes, I have, and that was due to the potential of retribution by the employer, and there was proof of that retribution before with other employees. The notice was not withheld to be rude or because my client was lacking common courtesy. Unless the former is the case, a formal two-week letter of notice is always recommended. 

Accordingly, have I always given a two-week notice – YES, and then some with one exception. Every summer during college I always let them know at the beginning of the time I started with them when I would leave and reminded them a month prior. When I started working in the full-time corporate world the jobs received one month, and the last one, three months prior to my leaving. I respected my bosses enough to give them time to find someone to fill my spot and still give me a little time to train them. The only job for which I did not give notice was one where everyone smoked indoors (this was before the law changed) and due to my asthma and the problems I started having health-wise my physician essentially demanded I quit the day of an appointment. I had a discussion with my manager and the owner and let them know why, had a doctor’s letter with his request they call with any questions, and everyone seemed satisfied this was the best choice for my health. They wrote me a wonderful Letter of Recommendation despite my only being there a very short time.

I realize it can be hard to stay in a place you don’t care for, with a boss that might be difficult to work with, or coworkers that are unprofessional, but it will only be for two weeks and then you can leave with your head held high. Furthermore, you don’t get a reputation for leaving employers in a lurch, something that can follow you, especially within an industry. 

Take the high road, give formal notice of two weeks to every employer. This isn’t about how they handle it, it’s about you and your career!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Career Management, Careers, Job Search
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A Worthy New Year’s Resolution: Invest in YOU!

December 26th, 2018
A Worthy New Year's Resolution: Invest In You

Now is the time we all make that New Year’s resolutions list.  My question to you is how often list includes investing in your personal and professional development?  I’m not talking about buying yourself a present or an espresso, losing weight, exercising more, or the myriad of typical resolutions.  I mean true investment in your career and life?  While many in the workforce claim they want this benefit from an organization they work for, when offered it is often not utilized unless companies force the issue and require training.  This article is to steer you towards investing in yourself for 2019. 

Just like you lose money and essentially work for free a part of each day if your company offers a 401K with a match and you do not take advantage of the “free money,” the same goes for personal and professional development. From taking a cooking or photography course to Business Writing, Microsoft Excel or Stephen Covey’s Seven Habit’s course, you gain insight into you, learn something new, expand personal or professional horizons, and, if professional development, bolster career potential, possibly preserving your job in difficult times.

So, do I follow this rule. Yes, I practice what I preach and hold 17 separate certifications, take several webcasts annually, and I am about to hold gain another certification. Do I advertise all of them? No, as many are antiquated and no longer apply, but I do certainly maintain several of them, and look to strengthen my skillset when possible with new training. Before you think, wow, she is addicted to training. I have been in business over 19 years and some of the certifications took six to eight weeks and some six months, so I don’t spend all my time obtaining them. I do however understand several things very important to coaching. One, I must realize I don’t have all the answers. Two, I must be willing to constantly challenge myself and learn new techniques, assessment types, ways of viewing a client issue, etc. Third, I must be willing to be coached and critiqued if I am to be an effective coach and writer to others. This means professional and personal development and having a coach. Soon, I will be participating in a mastermind group, and look forward to seeing how that might strengthen my business as well.  Of course, that will probably prompt another article.

Where do I find the time? Well, to put it simply, I make the time, and so can you. We choose what we make time for in our lives. I will give you a couple of examples of friends who do this effectively. I have a friend who has four children, all very engaged in a variety of school and personal activities, she takes care of an elderly relative in her home, has a husband who works a great deal of overtime, works a full-time job herself, and is going to back to school to get her masters. Oh, and by the way, she is setting the grade curve in all her classes with her awesomeness. I am, needless to say, truly proud of her.  Where does she get the time?  She decided to make the time.

The second friend is a business woman, has two young children, a husband who runs his own successful business, is highly involved in volunteer activities, and she trains others in her business as well. Both ladies are more than full time, and both make it work because they made a decision.

We are the “excusitis” crowd in this day and age (yes, I made up the word), a multi-generational group constantly saying we don’t have time. Yet, we watch too much television, sit on iPhones and digital devices wasting hours of time, and run ourselves (and our children) ragged with excess activities we have no need to do. Whether it is just hard for you to say no to something or you are someone who simply cannot have downtime, you have created this situation! Stop saying you don’t have time for something as important as your career and personal development. Make time, it will pay huge dividends. That television show you miss, phone or digital device time you give up, or extra activity you should never have said yes to in the first place will not suffer, but if you don’t make time to improve yourself, your life and career will be impaired.

So, I ask, will you make the decision/resolution to create a little extra time in your schedule to be a better you in 2019, both in your career and personal life?  To paraphrase a popular commercial – are you worth it?

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Business Coaching, Career Management, Career Transition, Careers, Job Search
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The Illusion

December 10th, 2018
The Illusion of Social Media, Phone and Digital Device Use
The Illusion of Social Media, Phone and Digital Device Use

Did you watch the television news magazine 60-Minutes last evening (12/09/18)? One of their feature pieces was on how electronic devices are particularly habit forming, and social media plays on that dependency, serving to severely depress many teens. Despite our knowing inherently that social media comparisons are unreal, anxiety inducing, and limiting to your life, many still believe all that they read. That impression you are often reading of the “incredible” relationship, busyness of every meal cooked, places visited, and chores completed, supposed sadness or happiness, and all the other minutia can quite often be to garner sympathy, jealousy or merely to portray a false narrative. For the addictive mind or teenage mind, it can be life altering. Many a study has been done showing how teenage minds and those with habit forming behaviors can suffer from compulsive social media use (see list of articles with studies cited below). These sites can trigger ADD or ADHD or send an already addictive personality spiraling into the morass of seemingly fun, but ultimately harmful obsessive use. 

Here are several other articles specific to ADD, ADHD and addiction, and other articles related to social media use and its impact on our life, lest you think this is merely an opinion piece. These articles cite studies with links or specific info on who did the study with results, and anecdotal evidence as well. I also provide full links, so you can view the variety of organizations and publications offering this info online. Whether you choose to view the articles is up to you:

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/adhd-zoe/2013/01/social-medias-hidden-adhd-challenge/
https://www.newsweek.com/adhd-linked-social-media-texting-and-other-digital-media-study-1027662
https://psychcentral.com/lib/social-medias-impact-on-relationships/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/13/social-media-addiction_n_6302814.html
https://www.pcmag.com/news/363763/how-social-media-addiction-is-changing-teen-behaviors
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3014439/internet/social-media-addiction-is-a-bigger-problem-than-you-think.html
https://www.ultius.com/ultius-blog/entry/social-media-and-its-effect-on-addictive-behavior-and-mental-health.html

So, here are some helpful tips. Avoid using social media and digital devices in general during work, on every break, and throughout the evening at home. Set strict time limits and stick to them to keep it from taking over your life. NEVER USE YOUR PHONE OR DIGITAL DEVICE WHILE DRIVING (frankly the fact I had to put this in the article makes me sick). Take the phones and iPads/digital devices out of the bedroom at night to avoid temptation. Don’t allow use of the phone by teens at night, or quite frankly in the evening, where you can be making dinner, sleeping or out running errands, and they can be sitting on their phone texting and perusing social media sites and YouTube videos ad nauseum. Keep the phone until the teens head off for school. If necessary, find the affected person a counselor to prescribe a program to reduce time spent using social media and to calm the obsession. 

With the increase in teen and adult suicide, depression, and anxiety, reducing social media influence in your life and theirs is a win-win. Your life and theirs will be better for it. Lastly, let me share what a wise (both sage and smarty pants) friend once told me: “Karen, here is what I want from a phone… when I talk into it, people can talk back to me, if I need to text, it will send it and I can receive one, people can leave me a message, and occasionally, I may want the GPS app, beyond that, it is just wasting my precious time, and life here on this earth is too short already to spend on my phone or digital device.” Well said!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Uncategorized
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Tips to Prepare for a Telephone Interview

September 20th, 2018

Tips to Prepare for a Telephone Interview

My recent feature in the National Resume Writers Association (NRWA) “Ask the Experts” forum 09/10/18

Karen Silins, A+ Career & Resume, LLC

To prepare for a phone interview, have the following items ready: 1. Your resume, job ad, and company research. 2. Question(s) you want to ask. 3. Glass of water. 4. Turn off call-waiting. 5. Talk on headset or landline, no speaker phone. 6. Take notes by hand to avoid typing noise in background. Interview in distraction-free, closed door environment, no children, dogs, television, etc.

Tips to Prepare for a Telephone Interview

Categories Interviews, Job Search, Personal Branding
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Want Versus Need?

June 5th, 2018

Want Versus Need

 

Nearly every job applicant has seen them.  Nearly every HR Manager has written them.  What are they?  “They” are the dreaded “wants” job posting.  From a better economy to a paradigm shift to non-traditional candidates, we have constant changes to our workforce, but not to our hiring approach.  We seem to struggle in writing ads that attract because they are either too general (the focus of a future post) or too specific.

Furthermore, we need to embrace career changers, the workforce subset of “Gig Economy” 1099 contractual or project-based workers, returning veterans, and those without a traditional four-year or two-year degree, or we will lose out on great employees.  Business today struggles to find qualified workers, particularly in all manner of technical positions, so rethinking our search methods and hiring process will lead to a larger pool of capable candidates.

In this post I would like to touch on crafting job postings that have specificity, but not to the point of ridiculousness, and I use a real example found in recent months online to portray my point.  Below is a partial posting located on a large, well-known job board as to technical requirements for a programming position titled Java Programmer.

 

JAVA PROGRAMMER WANTED

DB2 or Oracle

SQL

SVN

R

Junit

Eclipse

Java

J2EE

JSON

JSP

JSTL

UMB

Data Modeling

Spring Web MVC

Model Integration

Spring Tags

Squint

IBM AS400

SAP

Workday

Microsoft Office

 

Can we say unrealistic, oh, and not just a Java Programmer position. Furthermore, the job required  at least five years of programming experience, a preferred Masters in a computer-related field, preferred OCPJP or SCJP certification, and preferred experience with Tomcat or tcServer, all in a 24/7 on-call environment, and with a multitude of additional supposed needs, like multitasking.  I GUARANTEE the company does not have all the technology listed above or need it.  Strangely, this ad is eerily similar to three other job postings on the same job board page for other non-related organizations.  I also did a search for Kansas City, Missouri (my hometown) and found several similar ads.  Two cities, multiple ads, and nearly identical in many ways, except job titles. Clearly we need a better approach.

Many of these companies appear to “want” a person that may not exist, or as many IT professionals call it, a Unicorn, and are literally scaring away a good portion of qualified jobseekers.  Undaunted by a lack of qualified applicants, these job postings occur frequently within the tech industry.  My tech resume clients regularly tell of applying for these positions and finding out during an interview the company doesn’t need most items they listed.

Companies must to determine WANTS versus NEEDS in both job postings and hiring, and realistically assess what they do and don’t have technology-wise to avoid creating laundry lists.  The use of formulaic templates and copying and pasting from competitor ads needs to stop.  Write from scratch and create a posting describing the true requirements of your job.  You can use a quasi-template for how you write a job ad, and still be quite distinct from all others.  Collaborate with the hiring manager and if possible, another person within that department in a similar capacity to the job being posted.  What applications and systems do you actually have, and which of those will the applicant work with precisely.  Only include the necessities.

Lastly, as I have pointed out in prior articles, many of your applicants don’t have a degree but do have experience or training from legitimate educational organizations in the very areas you require.  Let’s not discriminate against nearly three quarters of the population because of “shiny object syndrome” and instead pursue qualified candidates regardless of their possessing a four year degree.  Ask for proof of ability in the interview process, inclusive of applicant demonstration of skills and career portfolios of work, to increase your quality of hire.  By developing accurate postings, and treating your candidates with respect through ongoing communication, you will cultivate a valuable group of applicants who no longer shy away from your job postings and become an advocate for your company.

 

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Career Management, Careers, Human Resources, Interviews, Job Search
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HAVE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ALREADY COME AND GONE?

February 15th, 2018

Every year we set resolutions to achieve, and most of us are already done with them by the second week of January. Below, I have given you six tips to breakthrough your struggles and make your New Year’s Resolutions, or any goals you set, stick. These tips have worked for me personally, and will help you continue to set attainable goals in the future.

1)     Write them down by hand first, put a pen or pencil to paper. Writing goals down by hand helps you to clarify thoughts, makes you spend more time crafting your objectives, and offers your mind a more physical and tactile process. Typing can become mindless and discourage the creativity that physical writing can provide.

2)    Make them specific.  General goals such as “I want to lose weight” offer no definite goal, but a precise amount by a particular date can help you plan accordingly to meet your objective. “Exercise more” sounds wonderful, but “exercising three days a week for 30 minutes per session with a combination of cardio and stretch” is far more doable, and gives you a true goal to reach for, not just a vague aspiration.

3)    Make them realistic. Losing 50 pounds in two months isn’t going to happen unless you are on “My 600 lb Life” and being treated by a doctor while adhering to a seriously strenuous diet. Setting a goal of losing five pounds per month could definitely happen, and simple dietary changes along with exercise could see that number go beyond your monthly target.  Getting a job in one month is most likely unrealistic, but looking at changing or obtaining a job in the next six months gives you purpose and pragmatism in a job search.

Likewise, don’t set too many goals that will overwhelm you and cause you to give up. Try setting one goal in each area of concern. For instance, set one goal for health, one for finances, one for relationships, and one for the workplace. Four goals are more than enough to pursue concurrently, but not so many they can’t be accomplished. Remember, once you have completed a goal, you can replace it with a new one.

4)    Get an accountability partner. Don’t do it alone. Tell people about your objectives who will support you and encourage you to meet your goals.  Let your supporters know your specific intentions to keep you accountable. Even better, find a buddy who has a similar goal and use the opportunity to collaborate and compete.

5)    Keep the goals in front of you and track progress regularly.  Putting them on paper and perhaps on computer is great, but then rarely or never looking at them and not tracking your progress will eliminate all chances of success. Post them on the refrigerator, next to your home computer, put them on your smartphone, but wherever you place them, make them constantly visible with definable results you can track.

6)    Reward yourself for hitting a goal. Rewards don’t have to be costly. From an outing at a new museum or garden in the area (with free admission) that you have been meaning to visit, to a dinner at a new or special restaurant with a significant other or friend, or a new out outfit to celebrate a weight loss success, having a reward can make your goals more tangible.  When you know there is an incentive on the other side of an objective, something you truly want, it can spur you on to achieve it to “win the prize.”

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Just because you didn’t fully accomplish a particular goal doesn’t make it a failure. If instead of losing 30 pounds over the next six months, you only lost 20, is that really a catastrophe? 20 pounds is still a great feat, and your health will benefit. Now set a new goal to lose the last 10 pounds. It is the constant chipping away at a goal that gets you to the finish line, not a sprint, but a marathon. Taking each goal in bite-sized chunks that can be realized, instead of viewing the end goal in its entirety, will ultimately mean victory.

 

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Business Coaching, Career Management, Careers, Inspiration, Job Search
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What is a Waste of Space, Unprofessional or Inappropriate on Your Resume?

November 29th, 2017

What is a Waste of Space, Unprofessional or Inappropriate on Your Resume?

I found the above picture yesterday in a search for graphics, and it immediately struck me as perfect for my article. While everyone writing their resume is doing so in earnest and with the best information they have, often the person writing it may have received bad resume advice from friends and family, used poorly written sample resumes or just be winging it to get their resume done for a potential job.  There are several items that jobseekers put on their resumes that are unnecessary, take up excess space, and look unprofessional.  Here are a few I see on a regular basis:

–An Objective:  Instead of putting a tiresome, repetitive objective about how you want to work for a company that loves you and hugs you and will take care of you forever, how about the job title for the specific job you are applying for, and for which the resume is tailored.  There will be no doubt by the reader what you are applying for, and the job title is most likely a keyword in their system.  Then add a list of job/industry related keywords, or three bullet points highlighting great accomplishments, or a one sentence statement of purpose.  Make sure anything you use at the top of the document with your job title is also communicated in the body of the resume.

–References Available Upon Request:  The interviewers already know this, just bring your reference listing to the interview.

–Your Picture:  A picture on LinkedIn is great, but not on your resume.  Not only is there a potential for discrimination but the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) don’t work well with pictures.

–Fancy Graphics:  Similar to above; this is great for handing your resume to someone, but not for the ATS.  Chances are the ATS won’t be able to read the document, or it will place a multitude of unrecognizable symbols in your resume.

–Personal Information:  I have actually seen the following on resumes:   person is in “good health,” has 10 children, height and weight numbers,  hobbies that are a little too personal and don’t relate to the job or create interest, and spousal details.  Again, there is discrimination potential, and these items are not appropriate for the document.

–Obvious Skills:  Microsoft Office; it is always better to give the specific programs – like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.  You can also do the following:  Microsoft Office:  Word, Access, Excel and PowerPoint, and then you have all the potential keywords.  Phrases like detail oriented, email usage, and problem solver can go away too, they are blaringly general.

–Be Detailed:   Never use general information and vague keywords when you can be precise or explain something in a reasonably short bullet point.  However, let’s not use too short of a bullet point.  For instance, I see the following constantly on resumes: “Answer Phones.”  That isn’t a bullet point, it is a very short statement.  Here is a bullet that describes answering phones.  Answer five-line phone system, including distribution of calls to appropriate parties, and fielding of general inquiries.  A five-line phone system is a whole different animal, and tells a potential employer that the company you worked for was probably very busy, and you had a lot phone calls to manage.  The other merely says you know how to answer a phone.  In this case, more is better.  Avoid one and two word bullet points, they tell the reader nothing.

–Use of Responsibilities or Duties include:  Okay, I will come find you and tear up your resume if you use these phrases to begin a bullet point.  HR hates them, recruiters hate them, resume writers hate them.  Why, because they are overused!  Enough said, find a thesaurus for better action verbs.

–Unprofessional Email:  I actually saw this email address on a resume at a career fair – CMYNPPLRNG, yes, it says “see my nipple ring” in vanity plate parlance.  Also avoid your name and the year you were born – let’s not just give things away.  How about using your name and the last four digits of your phone number or the numbers in your home address?

–Professional development or civic and professional memberships:  Want to provide meaning to your professional development, and professional and civic involvement, put a year, or year-to-year with it.  The date offers context to the reader as to how relevant and recent it is in your career.

–Outdated professional development:  Do you really remember that 1995 Project Management course – probably not.  So, instead go with the last 10 years, and only list the best of the best.  You can always take an addendum to the interview with a comprehensive listing of professional development, if in the last 10 years there are copious amounts.

Space is precious on a resume, whether you have a one-page or three-page document, you want everything on the document to be useful to the reader.  Remember, if your resume makes it past the ATS, and the initial 10-15 second screening, it will be read – make it all count!

 

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Careers, Job Search, Personal Branding, Resume Writing
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Answering the Question: What Makes You More Qualified Than the Other Candidates?

November 16th, 2017

Answering the Question: What Makes You More Qualified Than the Other Candidates?

 

This is a common question my clients are regularly asked in an interview.  There is worth to the question, despite what you read online, and I do understand the logic behind it.  So, here is how you handle it:

First, tell them you don’t know the other candidates’ qualifications, nor do you have their resume, so all you can speak to is your own qualifications for the position.  Not only is this true, but you avoid saying anything negative about the other candidates – this is one of the reasons an interviewer asks the question.  Be careful to address this at the beginning of your answer, as you don’t want the interviewer to feel as if you ignored a portion of the question.

Second, before you ever walk into that interview, fashion an answer.  Being perceived as caught off guard by an inquiry that is commonly used will certainly be a negative.  This is essentially another way of asking “what makes you qualified for the position.”  It doesn’t matter which of these questions you get, the answer will be primarily the same except for what I provided in the “first” part of the answer.

Speak concisely about how your skills, education and experience, with a couple of pertinent examples, relate to the job the interviewer is hiring for specifically.  Keep the answer to less than 90 seconds, so you have enough time to share some details, and connect them to the job, but not so much you bore the interviewer(s).

Use your biggest and best skills and experience, and only relevant education (if used at all) in the answer.  This is not the time to talk about your phone prowess as an IT Director, or how you helped your frat organize a “party” for an entry level bank teller job (or any job for that matter).

What is the organization truly looking for in this position regarding experience and skillset?  What will your typical tasks be day-in, day-out?  What unique capabilities, education, certifications, or experience are they desiring that you already possess?  Depending on the level of, and detail provided about the position, you can offer quite a customized answer to the interviewer(s).

Keep a cheat sheet on hand of this answer in your notebook or portfolio for the interview.  Now you will be prepared, and have a great answer that truly offers value, while setting yourself apart from the competition in a professional and likeable way.

 

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 30-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Interviews, Job Search, Personal Branding
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