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Browse published articles attributed to Don Goodman, with full-archive search.
How do you know how much you should expect in a job offer? This is especially difficult for candidates to assess when one is entering a new field, making a career change, moving to a new location, or entering the workforce as a recent graduate. It is also a question you should have an answer to before accepting a job offer.
Even when you have the education and professional background to qualify for the job, don’t count on it as a sure win that you will be asked to come in for an interview. In fact, your qualifications may hinder your chances. It’s very common in today’s market for employers to dismiss a job applicant’s application and resume because they are “overqualified.” Yes, you read correctly. It’s not a matter of being under qualified, but overqualified. The fact is today’s market has an abundant supply of highly qualified candidates but not enough jobs to go around for everyone.
Networking is not about how many resumes or business cards you hand out, but how you establish rapport and build a relationship that can lead to opportunities. Attending a networking event is only the beginning of the networking process. Effective networking takes time and builds lasting relationships where both parties can help one another. Many job seekers I often speak with are intimidated by networking events. It’s not that they do not want to network; it’s that they don’t know how to approach people they don’t know.
A job interview can be a nerve-racking experience, especially when you have been removed from the job market for an extended period of time. It is one thing to sell on paper with the resume and another thing to sell in person at the interview. Regardless of whether you have been out of a job for an extended period of time, are looking to change careers, or are still employed and seeking a better opportunity, the key to conducting a job interview successfully is a result of a collective number of factors. However, one of the more defining factors is the relationship you establish.
120 seconds. That’s how long it takes for an interviewer to decide whether they want to hire you or not. First impressions set the tone for the interview and in the majority of cases, once that impression is set, it is not usually turned around. Here are some important tips you can use to ensure you make a great first impression. Energy level. Show some bounce in your step. Act like you are excited to be there and are filled with ideas.
When an employer scans your resume for 20 seconds, what will they see? If you have had a series of jobs lasting 1-2 years, then you may look like a job hopper and these are big red flags on your resume. Securing a candidate takes time and money for employers, so a candidate that has a record of job hopping does not leave a positive impression and sways employers to move on to consider other candidates instead. Short periods of employment generally indicate that you were terminated due to lack of performance and that is not the impression you want to convey.
No one ever said finding a job is easy. It can be a lengthy process and include several rounds of interviews before you land an offer that is right for you. The good thing is that if you are receiving positive responses and getting interview opportunities, your resume is doing its job – reeling in opportunities for you to further make the case that you are the most qualified candidate for the job.
Professional resume writers take on the mindset of the employer and recruiter when crafting and editing resumes. To edit your resume like a professional, you have to develop a fresh mindset. If that means taking a break from your resume for a day or two before going back to it, that’s what you will have to do.
Your cover letter and resume has made a positive impression on a potential employer and they’ve called you in for an interview. Now you need to ensure the employer stays impressed with you and your potential in their organization.
Just as important a resume is to helping a job seeker secure opportunities, so is the cover letter. A cover letter helps you hone in on important messages – to create a “conversation” – and gives the employer a sense of your personality that is not always captured through a resume alone. Yes, there are employers who may completely ignore cover letters, but you put your chances for a response at greater risk when you don’t include one.
So you’ve gotten through the hurdle of securing an employer’s interest with your resume, but now the real challenge begins – the interview. While an interview is no guarantee to a job offer, your chances at it are much improved if you properly prepare for it well ahead of time. Here is information you should have on hand before stepping through the doors of any employer to create the best possible impression. - Understand the organization’s mission.
According to U.S. News & World Report’s article on “The 50 Best Careers of 2011,” many technology positions made it into the top 50 list of careers providing overall satisfaction. They include computer software engineers, computer support specialists, computer systems analysts, and network architects. So how are you making yourself stand out from the crowd of other resumes that employers are reviewing?
Long gone are the days where employers review all resume submissions manually. And even if there are still a few who are doing that, their eyes are quickly scanning over your resume for keywords that align with their view of the position.
By now you've learned the traditional ways of job searching don't work anymore. A few years ago you could put your resume up on Monster and Career Builder and wait for the phone to ring. Those days are gone. So here are 5 things you can easily do that will quickly improve your job search results.1. Scan your resume for 15 seconds - what message does it send?
Fortunately, one’s career and life success is not based solely on obtaining a college degree. Just look at the rise of Bill Gates of Microsoft, Michael Dell of Dell, and in more recent days, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. These high profile and successful businessmen chose to pursue business over completing a college education. That decision hardly stopped them from succeeding.
We often hear that employment gaps in a resume can hurt a candidate, but did you know long term employment at the same employer can also be perceived negatively? Having stable employment is certainly not a bad thing. However, if it is with the same employer and your resume doesn’t show you made progress, it is not an impressive mark for a potential employer viewing your resume.
Whether you are putting together your resume from scratch, editing an existing version or seeking the help of a professional resume writer and giving it a final review, there are simple and quick fixes to apply to give your resume an improved quality. Remember that employers will only give a resume a brief glance so make sure you follow these rules. 1. Resume Length
What used to work just doesn’t work in this market as the resume writing rules have dramatically changed. Seven years ago, when unemployment was 5% and LinkedIn and other tools weren’t prevalent you could get interviews with an older style resume. Today you must follow these 5 rules. 1. Showcase your brand or theme. The Objective that says “Here is what I want” is dead and replaced with a simple headline like SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER. This must be followed by a well-written description of what you do best (brand) which is designed to differentiate you from the many other candidates.r
Making a career change is a tough decision for most people, especially if you are already mid-way or more into a career in another field. In some cases, it can feel like having to turn back time, starting at a level alongside interns or entry-level professionals with lower pay than what you already have going for you. But, it is a decision many of us go through to achieve satisfaction and balance in life and work.
People hire people they like. So while your skills and experience are important elements to securing a job offer, just as important is your ability to build rapport that is natural and engaging with your interviewer. The rapport you establish during an interview can greatly impact the impression you leave behind.
Employers looking to fill a retail manager position will seek a candidate with experience, skills, and success in areas related to operations, employee management/training, costs control, customer relations, merchandising and marketing. To craft a resume with impact for retail management, you have to demonstrate results. It is not enough to simply outline responsibilities you’ve held. You need to highlight specific accomplishments and/or contributions that directly impacted the success and profitability of a business.
20 seconds. That’s the average amount of time that an employer will spend scanning your resume. The phrase “Less is more” has often been used for design purposes, but it can apply just as well to your resume. The point is to keep only information on your resume that is clear, simple and that supports your brand /message. It is a balance of having just enough information to draw the interest of an employer, while leaving room for you to further explain during an interview. The more irrelevant information you add to your resume, the more it dilutes your key message.
If all an employer cared about is the IT skills and technical knowledge a candidate has obtained, then there would not be the need for an interview. The fact is, in addition to looking for specific skills and knowledge, employers want candidates who are passionate about the field and who have demonstrated a track record of success and progress. A resume alone does not necessarily help demonstrate these additional attributes. This is where the cover letter critically comes into play to help secure your chances for an interview.
While the Internet is a great resource to find templates of resumes and to view other individual examples, it does not necessary help you create an effective resume for yourself. Reviewing these examples help you determine what structure and order is best to use with your own resume, but it will not help you effectively develop the most critical core elements necessary to showcase your professional experiences and passions – the content and brand that differentiates you from other candidates.
We see recent graduates testing the water frequently. They graduate with a specific degree and career path in mind – to be a jou alist, to be a white-collar crime analyst, to be a genetics researcher, etc. They land an entry-level position and soon realize it’s not the career they expected. For recent graduates and individuals just starting a career, making a change in one’s career path is not as challenging as it is for those who have established themselves as an experienced professional in their field(s).
Every week I see hundreds of resumes sent to me for a free evaluation. Most of them start with an Objective indicating what that individual is seeking. Then they list the various roles and responsibilities they have held in the past. Where this style of resume was successful 5 years ago, it isn’t going to work in today’s market. You used to be competing with about 200 other resumes for the interview. Now you are competing with about 600. Companies can’t bring in 100 people for interviews and they can be choosy, so your resume better make you stand out.
You sent out the resume – you’re a perfect fit – and yet no one calls. Sound familiar? In fact, a majority of candidates today do not receive a response on a submitted resume. So the big question is, “When is it appropriate to follow up with an employer on my submission and how do I do it?” There is no answer that will fit every scenario, but there are general rules you can follow. Here are some general rules.
Imagine stepping into a deep conversation with a friend. You may share the same posture, hand gestures, tone and rate of speech. You can also tell when other people are in deep conversation by similarities in body language. What is happening is mirroring. It is subconsciously helping those in conversation maintain rapport through similarities observed from body language. There is a sense of ease talking with one another and a sense of the same mood.
Your resume has to tell potential employers what you can do for them. Yet people still fall into the trap of writing sentences that describe their job duties instead of their skills. A simple way to avoid this is to use the “so what” method of writing a resume.
Writing a resume is more than just articulating your skills and accomplishments. Perhaps the most important part of the resume writing process is to start by defining your brand or positioning statement often called the “elevator pitch”. (An “elevator pitch” is what you would say to Bill Gates if he got on an elevator with you and you had 20 seconds to tell him why he should hire you before the elevator doors open at the lobby). And in the process of defining your positioning statement, you need to give some thought to your overall search strategy.
Doing well in a job interview is the result of many things, ranging from the first impressions you make with your physical appearance (body language) to how well you communicate and respond to questions. There are the predictable questions, such as “What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?” and then there are the offbeat questions that may make your nerves rattle and leave you dazed as to how to respond diplomatically and professionally.
Have you ever noticed that the person who gets promoted is not always the most competent for the job? Or how about the person who did all the work not being recognized as much as the person who talks about it? Or what about the person who is career-stunted because they once said the wrong thing to the wrong person. These are all symptoms of not managing your career. Many hard-working people suffer in their career growth solely because they have not spent the time to identify the factors and people who most influence their career. Here are 3 simple tips to help you get going:
Just when you think you’ve aced the interview and have reference contacts lined up with many good things to say about you, take a deeper look. The fact is many employers today are resorting to social media sites to screen candidates. In fact, recent studies indicate that 85% of employers and 100% of recruiters will look you up on LinkedIn before calling you. So if you are a user of any one of the social networking sites that have proliferated in recent years, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, there’s more than a likely chance potential employers have scoped you out.
A sales professional’s resume needs to succinctly demonstrate achievements and results that immediately state to employers: “I can beat your goals.” Sales is very measurable and your resume must highlight both your quantifiable accomplishments as well as certain soft skills. There are different metrics that you can use to quantify results and demonstrate sales success on a resume to impress employers. Consider the following: • Meet and/or Exceed Sales Quota
Many employers have found a new way to save time screening applicants. Today, more employers are first resorting to a telephone interview before inviting a job candidate to an in-person meeting. With more applicants available for each opening, employers do not have the time to invest in a meeting for every candidate that simply looks good on paper, so the telephone interview is used to screen a candidate and determine if he sounds as good as he looks on paper.
Would you walk into an interview blindsided – not knowing what the employer does or what’s involved in the role you are applying for? For those who want to succeed and be effective in an interview the answer is “No.” You should always go into an interview prepared with key messages in mind to help you demonstrate why you are the best fit for the company and position. This same rule should apply for your references.
Especially in this economy, employment gaps are typical. Employers generally view a gap in employment negatively, however, it does not have to be this way. In these cases, it is important to indicate why you took the time off.
Whether you are starting to write a resume on a fresh sheet of paper or building off of one that you already have, make sure the information you present is targeted and concise to attract employers’ interest. It’s not just about how a resume looks, but the information you present that can make a resume come off as cluttered and simply too difficult to motivate someone to carefully review. You have to ask when writing a resume if the information is relevant and presented in the most concise way.
Once your resume is in the hands of an employer for review, you only have a few seconds to make an impression that shows you are “the candidate” for the job. In fact, the opening of your resume is the most important real estate on the resume page and describes your brand or value proposition. If an employer can’t quickly see what you have to offer in terms of specific experience, skills, and knowledge the employer can benefit from, it is unlikely he will continue to read on.
People get fired from the job for various reasons. However, to a potential new employer it may leave an unfavorable connotation on the candidate. If you find yourself in such a situation, you may have a number of questions conce ing how to address the adverse reactions a potential employer may pose. You may have questions, such as: - How do I impress an employer give I was fired from my last job? - Do I include the job on my resume? - How should I answer when asked the reason for departing my previous job?
Poor body language can derail an interview regardless of how confident and well-spoken you are. Body language is as much a part of your communication style as what you say verbally – it’s really about how you say it. Impressions are made within seconds of reviewing body language.r
Many word processing programs offer the option to check spelling and grammar in your text. This can be a terrific time-saver to help eliminate many common errors in cover letters and resumes. As long as we don’t see the red or green zigzag markings under words, the document is good to go, right? Think again! Spelling and grammar checks through software can never replace a human set of eyes that review for syntax and other errors in a document. That’s why an extra set of eyes, or the help of a professional to proofread your cover letters and resumes, are especially critical.
If you are not receiving a response back from employers about the resume you submitted, there could be a variety of reasons. Perhaps you do not have the particular qualifications the employer is seeking. Or, it may be that you are not properly communicating your strengths, experience and skills.
An electronic resume is what most of us rely on today to initiate communication with a potential employer. It may be in the form of a Word document, PDF file, on your website, on job board websites or pasted into the email you send.
So you’ve completed the process of searching for a job and sent out your cover letter and resume. Now, you’re invited to come in for an interview. An interview is a critical point in the job hunting process. It helps you and the potential employer get a sense of whether you are the right fit for the position and company culture. It also directs the next step – a second interview, an offer, or the need to go back to step one with a continued search.
It’s easy to conclude that taking a lower-level position means putting the brakes on the career track or even taking a step back, but in fact, there can be a lot to gain in such a decision. Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to take a step forward in your career. There are a number of practical reasons to why taking a lower position makes sense.