career services

What’s the Difference Between a Resume and a Professional Resume?

August 16, 2016 By jenowenby

There are times that I speak with potential clients, and they aren’t clear on the difference between a resume writer and a professional writer. To begin with, it’s the training.

Most resumes I review will list the company, title, years, and job duties. If you’re working with a professional here are a few things you should expect:

A new format that includes an excellent eye-appealing design that can be used as an attachment and also passes through the ATS system without any issues. Also, no Word templates.
Works with you to identify your value and presents it in the resume. This is critical to separate you from the other applicants.
Understands that your document is a marketing snapshot of your expertise and can work with you to identify the key information without over sharing.
Presentation of information─it’s more than job duties, and if your writer is trained well, they know exactly how to do this.
A professional resume writer is up to date on the ATS system and provides a clear explanation to the client about what it is and how it works.
Keywords are a must. They need to be strategically placed throughout the resume to be picked up electronically and through keyword searches by hiring managers.
Position placement is also crucial. Professionals are trained to strategically place information in sections of the document.

I hope this helps you when you select someone to write your documents.

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!

How to Know When It’s Time to Make a Job or Career Change

March 4, 2016 By jenowenby

There’s a saying in the careers industry that you’ll know it’s time to make a job or career change when you start asking yourself if it’s time to make a change.

While there is truth to that, there’s more to making your decision. This guide will help you identify some of the reasons why you may want to make a job or career change and give you practical strategies and tips to help you with your decision.

What May Make You Want to Make a Change?

The first step is to assess the reason — or reasons — why you may want to make a change. Change can be difficult — it usually is — so you want to make sure that the reason you are considering a switch isn’t something temporary that will fix itself if given enough time.

Some of the reasons why you may be considering a job or career change are internal reasons. These can include:

How you feel about going to work. Do you dread getting up and going to work on Monday? Does that dread spread its way into your weekend? Do you start feeling anxious or depressed on Sunday afternoon as you anticipate the upcoming workweek? Do you find yourself complaining about your job to others?
You feel physically or emotionally threatened at work. If you are in danger physically or psychologically at work, you should start developing your exit strategy.
Your skills are becoming obsolete. Technology has had a dramatic impact on almost every industry, and if it’s affecting your job, you may find you have a gap in the skills you need to be successful in doing your work.
You are overwhelmed by your job. If you find yourself constantly worried at work because you can’t handle the responsibilities of the role, or you didn’t get enough training to help you master critical tasks, that can make it very difficult to enjoy your work. You may not have articulated it, but you’re overwhelmed.
You’re bored at work. Maybe you’ve been in your position for several years, and you’re just not excited anymore about the work you’re doing. If you’re not growing in your job, it’s easy to start thinking about doing something else.
There is little to no room for advancement in your current job. Maybe you’ve worked your way up to the top spot you can get in the company. This is especially true in smaller companies, where a limited number of management positions are available.
How you feel about your co-workers and/or boss. Do you like the people you work with? Are you appreciated for the work you do? (This can be expressed in either a “thank you” or in your financial compensation.)
Company politics are affecting your work. For example, you work for a family-owned business, and there is animosity among the family members.
If your job requires you to do something that you no longer enjoy doing. For example, traveling four out of five days of the week might have been fine when you were in your 20s, but it’s wearing on you now that you’re in your 30s and have a family. Or you take customer service phone calls, but you’re tired of being beat up by unhappy customers.
You researched competitive salaries for your type of job and discovered that your company pays less than the industry average. If you’ve previously asked for a raise and were turned down, you may be motivated to seek out better compensation elsewhere.
There is little or no opportunity for increasing your salary significantly in your current position. How are raises or requests for salary increases handled at the company? Is there a regular performance review process? Are there opportunities to increase your salary much beyond 2-5% annually?
You realize you’re not getting any younger. If the thought of working for this company for another year — or five years — makes you feel your mortality, it may be time to make a change to a different path.
What you’re doing now isn’t your passion. Is there an opportunity for you to turn something you’re doing as a hobby into a full-time job? Or could you start a business of your own — either doing something related to your current work, or a current hobby or interest?
You have a different plan for yourself. Maybe you didn’t see yourself staying at this job, or in this career, for this amount of time. If your long-term goals aren’t aligned with what you’re doing now, it may be time for a change.

Download this free EBook and learn how to negotiate your salary!

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

Everything I need to Know in Life I Learned as a Recruiter

February 25, 2016 By jenowenby

Okay, so the title might be a slight exaggeration, but I learned more as a recruiter concerning life and work than anywhere else. I met amazing people, worked hard, laughed hard, and perceived every person I interviewed as a human being with feelings, skills, and something to share. My job was to match a candidate with a position that was a great fit for them and the company. I was part of win-win situations that changed people’s lives every day.

At the beginning of each day the staff would gather in the conference room, review job openings, recommend people who were rock stars, and give a heads up concerning the ones that weren’t. In case you’re wondering, most recruiters keep a list of strong candidates to call first. So, if you’re thinking interviewing well at a staffing agency isn’t as important as at a direct company, I’m here to tell you, you’re sadly mistaken.

Here are a few amazing and not so amazing things I learned from candidates, companies, and co-workers.

How to get fired:

Hide beer in the back of the toilet and drink while on the job.
Write swear words on packing peanuts and then ship the product to the customer.
Fail a drug test and give the excuse that your roommate stuck cocaine up your nose at a party. Guess what? You need a new roommate, but you still have to pass a drug test to get the job.
Email a co-worker concerning another co-worker calling them obscene names and then accidentally sending it to the person you were talking smack about.

Things that will get you remembered and not necessarily in a good way:

Hearing an applicant play the flute during an interview.
No call / no show for your job and then arrive the next day as though nothing happened.
Go to work 15-20 minutes late every day, allow your co-workers to pick up the slack, and then ask them for a favor.

The truth about teamwork:

Realize a team of strong-minded women can work well together, create a positive atmosphere and celebrate when the plan comes together.
Every person can teach you something of value if you stop and take a moment to listen.
Everyone is a leader in their own way.
A co-worker tripped, and cottage cheese splatted all over the floor. Several of us grabbed spoons, crawled around on our hands and knees in our suits, and scooped the contents into the trash. That’s what teamwork is all about.

Things I don’t recommend doing when dealing with a difficult candidate:

Don’t jam the copy machine while printing documents for an irate candidate that is swearing at you.
Telling an applicant, they aren’t qualified to work with the company due to the attempted murder charge on their background check.

The importance of keeping an open mind:

Keep it simple and reserve your personal opinions for another time – can they or can they not do the job?
Not every culture is the same. Some applicants bring their entire family of 12 to the interview. Take a breath and smile because you might fill additional positions.
Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself. You will be more productive if you take your breaks, step away from your computer and breathe.

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

Jennifer Owenby offers her combined expertise as a recruiter along with training as a professional resume writer. Please visit ONB Professional Resumes and LinkedIn Services for additional information and scheduling an appointment.

Gasp! Is That An Objective Statement On Your Resume??

February 14, 2016 By jenowenby

There are two things you should immediately remove from your resume, an objective statement and your street address. Save your street address for the application, not online for the world to see. However, leave your city and zip code since hiring managers search by both of those criteria.

The objective statement is outdated so don’t get caught with it. Instead, learn to write a branding statement. Here are some tips to get you started in the right direction.

To help you create your positioning, I recommend a brainstorming exercise. Make a list of possible attributes, values, and differentiators. Brainstorm first — don’t judge or evaluate.

Then, you get to decide what your personal positioning is. Look through the words and phrases you’ve identified, and see what stands out. You may be many things, but pick one to emphasize. It may help you to ask yourself: If I were creating my ideal career, I would ____________.

If you are still having trouble identifying your positioning, use this idea from Brian Kurth, author of “Test Drive Your Dream Job.” Create a collage of your interests — quotes, photos, words, and inspiration from magazines, newspapers, and materials you find online. You can even create a Pinterest board for this. Then, mine that information to find the “theme” to your personal positioning.

When developing your positioning statement, consider these five areas:

Who is your target employer? (industry, size of company, public/private/non-profit)
What problem or issue are they hiring to solve?
What results can the employer expect by hiring you? In other words, what solution do you provide?
What proof do you have that you can deliver results?
What sets you apart from other candidates? What makes you different or memorable?

Be sure to include:

A target audience — who are the clients or customers you work with?
Your employer/industry — where do you want to work? Who do you want to work for? You can even include your desired employer’s name.
A point of difference — what sets you apart? What is the most compelling reason to choose you as a candidate? (This can be included in the “Achievements/Results” section of the personal positioning statement.)

But don’t try to stuff too much information into the statement. The positioning statement is “overstuffed” if you have more than one conjunction per sentence, or more than two punctuation marks (commas or semicolons).

Also, don’t confuse big words with effective positioning. Choose your words carefully. When possible, incorporate in keywords — nouns or phrases that can be picked up through online searches and are prominently used in applicant tracking systems.

If you’re ready to move forward and make changes in your life contact me today for your free strategy session. Click here to schedule your free strategy session today if you’re located in the U.S. or Canada. If you enjoyed the post, please click the thumbs up icon above and let me know!

Click here to download my free EBook concerning salary negotiation today!

Jennifer Owenby offers her combined expertise as a recruiter along with training as a professional resume writer. Please visit ONB Professional Resumes and LinkedIn Services for additional information and scheduling an appointment.

What’s the Difference Between a Resume and a Professional Resume?

Want the Job? Do These 4 Things Before Your Interview

How to Know When It’s Time to Make a Job or Career Change

Everything I need to Know in Life I Learned as a Recruiter

Gasp! Is That An Objective Statement On Your Resume??

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