career change

Job Search Not Going So Well? Try This Instead…

January 8, 2017 By jenowenby

Did you know that hiring managers view hundreds of resumes and online profiles per available position? After a few hours of reviewing cookie cutter resumes and profiles, their eyes burn, glaze over, and yawns are coming more rapidly. And, although you might qualify for that new job they want to fill, you didn’t make the interview list due to an understated resume and/or poor LinkedIn profile.

Need proof that recruiters use LinkedIn? Journalist Jessi Hempel reported in the July 2013 issue of Fortune Magazine LinkedIn had developed into one of the most powerful business tools in existence. Approximately 88 of the Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn’s licensed recruiting software to search for job candidates.

Today, more than 89% of all recruiters report having hired someone through LinkedIn! LinkedIn profiles account for more than 73% of online candidate screenings, making it the most utilized resource leaving Facebook and Twitter behind. It’s reality that your information will be Googled and researched. Social media is now a cutting edge tool used to hire great candidates.

Elements of a Successful LinkedIn Profile:

Your profile should offer a unique perspective on who you are as a person, employee, and what you can offer an employer. What your LinkedIn profile should NOT be is a copied and pasted version of your resume. Many LinkedIn members make this mistake and are often passed over for a new position. Is that you? Is your LinkedIn summary strategically written to appear in recruiters’ searches? Does it showcase your personality and highlight your experience? Could your boring and cliché marketing tool use a facelift?

A Solution to Your Conundrum:

With a background in recruiting and a published fiction author, I understand how to write a strong marketing piece that gets you noticed right away. If you’re ready to catapult yourself past your competition, then schedule a time with me to review your options. Steer your career in the right direction with a professional resume and LinkedIn profile that will grab the attention of top recruiters and employers and stop you from ending up in the slush pile.

Are you ready? If you’re located in the U.S. or Canada, click here to schedule your free strategy session today!

Key Strategies To Stand Out In The Competition And Increase Your Job Search Results

September 14, 2016 By jenowenby

To cultivate the positioning that will help you reach your career goals, you must understand and be able to communicate what makes you exceptional and compelling.

You must find a way to stand out in a crowded job search. If you’re not known for something, you won’t be known for anything. One size does not fit all.

Finding a job is a lot like dating — it’s about finding a match between two parties (you and the company). It’s not just about money — although that is important. It’s also about helping the company meet a need that it has.

Companies hire because of their needs. This is true for all jobs — from entry-level administrative positions to the CEO’s job.

Understand the emotional motivation behind the job opening. What problem is the company trying to solve? Solving the problem can be about saving time, or building customer relationships. However, it’s crucial that you position yourself to solve their problem.

The question you want to answer for the employer is, “Why should you hire me?” When employers are hiring, they really want to know: “Why should I choose you instead of someone else?” Positioning is an important part of answering this question. You can’t be all things to all employers, so you need to figure out what sets you apart.

Personal positioning is unique to you. Figure out what makes you different. Consistency in your messaging will help you throughout the job search and interview process.

You need to express: “I am this.” Someone who is reading your résumé or LinkedIn profile should be able to recognize you in it.

The most difficult part about positioning is sounding original. Be specific about what distinguishes you. Your positioning is not your job title. Also, if your position could be said about almost anyone with your same job title, it needs work.

It’s important for a job seeker to stand out from the pool of applicants in order to receive serious consideration as a candidate. Personal positioning allows you to establish a clear message of who you are, the experience you have, and how you can be an asset to the employer.

Make sure your personal positioning aligns with your target company’s wants, needs, and/or values. Remember: Employers hire for their reasons, not yours!

You have to get the reader’s attention quickly. Your positioning is often the first impression an employer has of you, so make it count! (And speaking of first impressions, remember that how you dress is also part of your personal positioning.)

Benefits of Positioning

The ability to communicate “why you” is important in the job search. It can help you stand out from other job candidates. It can make you memorable. You want the interviewer to say, “Oh, I remember (him/her)!”

You will also use your positioning in many ways throughout your job search. Your LinkedIn Headline can be your personal position tagline. Your tagline can also be used on your résumé and as your tagline on your Twitter account. It can also be used as the subject line in an email to a prospective employer, hiring manager, or recruiter.

Your full positioning statement can be included in your LinkedIn Summary section, worked into the Qualifications Statement or Summary on the résumé, or incorporated in your cover letter. When networking, your positioning statement can be the answer to the question, “What do you do?” In an interview, your personal position can be used when asked, “Tell me about yourself.”

Knowing your skills and professional qualifications — and being able to articulate them — will also help you navigate applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Position yourself effectively to attract connections, opportunities, and job offers.

How to Develop Your Positioning

To identify how to position yourself, it helps to examine a couple of key issues:

What is the Company’s Need? What specific problem are they trying to solve with this job? Are they trying to make money? Save money? Save time? Keep existing customers? Acquire new customers?
What are your Core Abilities? What special abilities do you possess that separate you from other candidates for this position?
What are your Values? What is your belief system (behavior and ethics) that is inherent to you? Does this set you apart?
What is your Connection to the Company’s Need? Do you possess something special that solves your target employer’s problem?

Be aware of the kind of work you are willing to do, and the kind of work you don’t want to do. Make a list your likes and dislikes. Most of the time writing this list offers clarity.

Look at your work history for clues to your positioning. What in your work history did you do to make things better? Look for instances where you showed leadership and accomplishments.

Check out your existing online profile. What comes up when you Google yourself? What is your social media presence? What are you known for online?

Begin with the end in mind: What job do you want? Then figure out what qualities, attributes, and skills are required for success in that job. Do you possess them? How can you demonstrate that?

**Are you about to interview and dread the “what’s your salary requirement” question? Do you want to ask for a pay raise, but not sure how? Download my free EBook today and find out how to successfully ask for more money. Just click here.

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If you’re located in the U.S. or Canada, click here to schedule your free strategy session today!

How To Fix Common Resume Problems And Increase Your Job Search Opportunities

September 6, 2016 By jenowenby

Due to differences between computer systems and software compatibility issues, you will likely experience formatting issues that cause your Microsoft Word résumé to look different from the Adobe Acrobat PDF file of your résumé.

This is normal in Microsoft Word as the software adapts to the printer and formatting settings on the recipient’s system. Most employers and recruiters are equipped to make the necessary changes to get your file to work with their systems. (If they express formatting concerns to you, you can offer to send them an Acrobat Adobe PDF instead.) Because each user’s system is different, I cannot provide technical support.

I recommend copying the files onto your hard disk and also creating a backup (on CD, DVD, or flash drive). For confidentiality reasons, do not copy these files onto your employer’s computer system.

Using Your Adobe PDF File

You will not be able to make changes from this file; however, if you open it, you will be able to print a copy of your résumé that can be used as an “original” and printed on résumé paper, or the PDF can be used for producing high-quality photocopies, if printed on a laser printer. Double-click on the PDF file. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for FREE from www.adobe.com.

Using Your Microsoft Word Résumé

First, open Microsoft Word on your computer. Then, choose “Open” from the “File” menu and locate the file. Make any changes necessary to correct font substitution and line spacing problems. (See below.) Note: You must have the Microsoft Word software application installed on your computer to manipulate the Word file.

Common Fixes to Problems with Your Word Résumé

After saving the file to your hard drive, open Microsoft Word FIRST. From the “File” menu, choose “Open,” and select the file from where you saved it on your computer.
For font substitutions, highlight the affected text and choose a font from your computer system to use instead. If the font that was substituted is too big (for example, your one-page résumé now runs 1-1/2 pages), go to the “Edit” menu and choose “Select all.” Then choose a smaller font (for example, Times New Roman). See if that fixes the issue.
If the résumé is running just a couple lines onto an additional page (or pages), adjust the document margins. (If the existing margin is 1 inch, change it to 0.9 inches and see if that makes a difference.) If that doesn’t work, change the margins again or choose a smaller font.

Sending Your Résumé as a Microsoft Word E-mail Attachment

Open your e-mail program. Address an e-mail and indicate in the body of the e-mail “Attached is my résumé, prepared in Microsoft Word. If you would prefer to receive my résumé as a text-only file, please contact me.”

Click on the icon to “attach file” and select the file.

Using Your ASCII (Text-Only) Résumé

This is the version of your résumé you should use when you are using a career website that asks you to paste in a copy of your résumé. Have your text-only file open (first open your word processing program or text editor, then choose “open” from the “file” menu). Copy the text from your résumé and paste it into the space provided on the website.

If you’re located in the U.S. or Canada, click here to schedule your free strategy session today!

Want the Job? Do These 4 Things Before Your Interview

June 25, 2016 By jenowenby

What you do before, during, and after the job interview can significantly affect whether you are offered the job. This post is designed to help you maximize your chances of being offered the job you want.

Just like the purpose of the résumé is to get you an interview, the purpose of a job interview is to get you a job offer. The interview helps the decision-maker identify your qualifications for the position, but also assess things like personality, cultural fit, and your ability to do the job.

Before the Interview

First, let’s examine things you can do before the interview to improve your chances of securing a job offer.

Research The Company

Before you apply for a position, you should research the company. Not only will this help you tailor your résumé and cover letter for the job, it will also help you identify the real hiring decision-maker(s) — especially if the job posting directs you to apply to the human resources department.

At a minimum, you should:

Review the company’s website.Pay particular attention to the “About Us” page — and, if it’s a publicly-traded company, look at the information for investors. You’ll find a wealth of information about the company’s people, performance, and plans in the company’s reports.
Google the company.Conduct both a regular Google search as well as a search on Google News (http://news.google.com/). The Google News search will identify any recent news articles featuring the company. You can also set up a Google Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) for the company so that you will be notified via email when there is something new about the company online.
Assess the company’s social media presence.Check out their Facebook business page, company page on LinkedIn, and/or Twitter account. They may also have a company Google+ page, Instagram account, or Pinterest boards. Take the time to look at what the company posts on its social media accounts. This will help you get an idea of the company culture, and may give you a clue as to how the employees dress, as well as what kind of community involvement the company supports.
Check out the company on Glassdoor.com.On Glassdoor, you’ll be able to get “inside” company information from employees and folks who have interviewed at the company. There is no charge to join the site, but the site uses “crowdsourcing” to collect data, so you will be asked to provide information on previous or current employers to add (anonymously) to the Glassdoor database.

Once you have been contacted for an interview, ask for the name of the person who will be interviewing you (if it’s not the person who contacted you to set up the interview). An easy way to do this is to ask, “Who will be conducting the interview?” You can also ask, “Will anyone else be participating in the interview?”

Make sure you get the correct spelling of the interviewer’s name. Conduct a Google search on this person, and look them up on LinkedIn. If you are going to be interviewed by a committee or group, ask for the names of all participants if possible.This will also give you a list for thank you notes afterwards.
Click here to schedule your free strategy session today!

Underpaid? Get the Salary You Deserve

March 23, 2016 By jenowenby

70% of Americans are unhappy with their job, and more than half are underpaid. Whether we like it or not, money affects every area of our life.

Money is usually the most sensitive issue in the hiring process. Discussing compensation often causes anxiety for both employee and employer.

Money may seem like the biggest factor in accepting a job, but it can often cloud your decision-making process. Don’t accept a job that you’re not enthusiastic about simply because the starting salary is a few thousand dollars higher than what you’re currently making. It’s probably more important to find a job that lets you do something you enjoy. Ask yourself whether the position presents a career path with an upward movement and long-range income potential.

Confidence is important in negotiations. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Negotiate from a position of strength.” Strength comes from confidence. Confidence comes from being prepared (doing your homework), reaching the right decision-maker, having the right timing, and knowing what you want out of the negotiation. One of the best things you can do to boost your confidence is to practice (role play) your salary negotiation with someone. Ideally, practice with someone who has negotiation experience — for example, a friend or neighbor who is in sales, or who is a lawyer.

Even in a “bad” economy, it is worthwhile to negotiate your salary. In fact, in a 2012 survey conducted by Robert Half International, a global staffing firm, more than one-third of executives interviewed said they are more willing to negotiate salary with top candidates than they were a year ago. In a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, four out of five employers (80 percent!) said they are willing to negotiate compensation.

If you’re getting a job offer — and salary discussions usually don’t happen unless you’re a serious candidate — negotiation is an expected part of the process.

What’s the worst that can happen? You may not get all that you’re asking for. You may only get some — but that’s more than you started with. It’s rare (extremely rare!) that a job offer would be rescinded simply because you ask for more money.

Have a positive attitude about salary negotiations. Negotiation is basically a process which could benefit both parties. Understand your needs and those of the company. It is possible to reach a win/win solution. Don’t be aggressive or demanding when negotiating salary or a raise. Keep your tone friendly, civil and respectful.

Negotiating a higher starting offer initially can make a big difference in your pay over the long-term. In addition to getting more cash up front, your annual raises will also be based off a higher starting salary.

To find out more download my free EBook concerning salary negotiation atwww.onbproresume.com!

Job Search Not Going So Well? Try This Instead…

Key Strategies To Stand Out In The Competition And Increase Your Job Search Results

How To Fix Common Resume Problems And Increase Your Job Search Opportunities

Want the Job? Do These 4 Things Before Your Interview

Underpaid? Get the Salary You Deserve

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