Seattle Washington resume writer

Keys to Assist With a Performance Review

October 28, 2017 By jenowenby

The purpose of the self-assessment is to help your manager understand your perspective concerning your work performance and accomplishments. When responding to questions on the self-evaluation form, look at the list of activities, projects, and accomplishments you prepared and use that information to substantiate your responses. The self-evaluation form allows you the opportunity to provide additional insight about your contributions as part of the performance review process.

Even if your manager doesn’t give you a formal self-assessment to complete, reviewing your own performance is a necessary part of preparing for your review.

As part of your self-assessment, you should identify areas for improvement or development during the review period (i.e., the next 12 months). These may include:

• Things you’ve struggled with

• Where you’d like to expand your skills, experience, and/or expertise

• What you need — training, coaching, mentoring, a specific course (or degrees), special assessments, job shadowing, or volunteer work

As part of this exercise, you should also prepare your goals for the upcoming year. The goals should be specific assignments to participate in, learning objectives, or aligned with ongoing or future projects.

Your goals should be S.M.A.R.T.:

• Specific: A clearly defined outcome that you want to achieve

• Measurable: Using numbers, specify how you will measure and track your progress towards completion

• Achievable: You should stretch to reach the objective, but it should still be within reach

• Realistic: Consider the available resources you have (time, money, people)

• Time-Sensitive: Set a due date for the achievement of the goal

Another part of the assessment process may be a “peer evaluation,” where your co-workers are given the opportunity to provide input on your work performance.

What To Do With This Information

Ask your manager their preference — do they want to review the information before your meeting, or should you bring it with you to the meeting?

Questions to Ask in Your Review

Here is a brief list of questions to ask in your performance review:

• On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is someone about to be promoted, and 1 is someone about to be fired, what number would you rate me?

• How are you measuring my success in this position?

• What individual and company goals should I be focusing on?

• What aspects of my performance stand out?

• Which areas should I focus on for improving my performance?

• Can you provide me with specific examples of a time when my performance did not meet your expectations? How would you prefer I had handled that situation?

You may find that your boss sees situations from a different perspective, which can help you improve your performance, even if you don’t think you handled a situation poorly, to begin with. Because your boss is the person evaluating your performance, you want to make sure that your performance aligns with his or her expectations. If you disagree with the criticism, don’t get into an argument with your boss about it. Instead, think about what you are hearing. In particular, if you are surprised by what is brought up, take the time to think through the situation instead of responding defensively during the performance review.

Remember that “perception is reality” when it comes to your performance. Determine whether this issue is something that could put your job in jeopardy or put a promotion and/or raise at risk. Ask your boss, “What can I do to improve this situation going forward?”

If you’re located in the U.S., 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.

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!

Job Search Not Going So Well? Try This Instead…

January 7, 2016 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 100companies 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!
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.

5 Crucial Action Steps You Need To Land Your Dream Job

June 23, 2015 By jenowenby

It’s estimated that 90 percent of our daily lives are spent doing routine tasks. But a habit can be a bad thing, because “if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to keep on getting what you’ve always got.”

One of the most important things you can do is to take the time to plan your career roadmap. Whether you want to change jobs — or careers —or simply get more out of your current job, a career plan is essential to helping you reach your goals.

This exercise may take you 20 minutes, or you might devote a few hours to planning where you want to go. If you want your life to be different in the next 12 months, especially your career, take the time to work on your career roadmap.

Action Step One: Take Stock

The first step is to assess where you are. To figure out where you’re going, you must first look at where you’ve been.

Here are some questions to help you assess where you are:

What are you most proud of this past year — personally, and professionally?
What went right this year?
Did you receive any awards or recognition this year?
Did you take on any additional responsibility this year? If so, what?
How did you take the initiative in your job this year?
Have you learned any new skills?
Did you earn any certifications or licenses?

Record this information in a success journal. A Microsoft Word file on your computer, Evernote, a series of emails you send to yourself or even a physical notebook will work. And in the coming year, take the time to record your accomplishments as you go through the year instead of waiting until the end of the year.

Next, look for opportunities for improvement in your career. How does your salary stack up against your peers? Is your current position in alignment with your priorities and your core values? Where is the change needed?

Action Step 2: Articulate Your Goal

Decide what you want and visualize it. Get specific: What does it look like; what does it feel like? You have to really want it to invest the time and energy to follow your dream. Describe your ideal job:

What is your ideal employer? (size, industry, culture, location, structure)

How much would your dream job pay? (Realistically)

What are the most important benefits — other than salary — that would prompt you to go to work for a new company?

Describe your ideal job — the position you would most like to have. What is the job title, responsibilities, who you would report to, who would report to you? Would it involve travel? Do you want to work independently, as part of a team or both? Do you like short-term projects or long-term projects?

What do you want your next job to do for you that your last job didn’t do? In other words, what will be different about your next job? Is there anything that you do in your current job that you don’t want to do in your next job?

Think about the person that you want to be, and imagine the possibilities. Then, identify 2-3 goals you want to tackle. Use the S.M.A.R.T. goal system to articulate your goals — goals should be “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented.”

For example, let’s imagine you have worked as an accountant for the past three years, but you really want to work in marketing. Your goal might be: “By Jan. 1, 2016, I will be working as a Marketing Assistant in a Fortune 1000 company.”

You should also write down why you are interested in making the change. In other words, what is your motivation for taking this path? Another good question to ask is, “How will I know when I’ve achieved my goal(s)?”

Action Step 3: Make a Plan

Part three of Building Your Career Roadmap. Take the time to prepare a game plan for how you will reach your goal. But don’t use planning as an excuse to procrastinate. You want to get to Step Four as quickly as possible because actions create momentum.

Take each of your goals and write down the list of steps under each of them that you will need to take to make the goal happen. The more individual steps you can map out, the easier it will be for you to reach your goals. The steps should be practical tasks that will lead you to achieve the goal.

For example, with our goal of making a career change from accounting to marketing, here are some sample steps:

Research job postings for entry-level marketing jobs. What are the skills, education, and experience required?
Join the American Marketing Association and attend one virtual event or in-person boot camp in the next 90-120 days.
Enroll in semester-long online marketing course focusing on marketing principles.
Identify a volunteer opportunity to put marketing skills into practice — either in current job or with a community organization.
Assess transferable skills from accounting that would be useful in a marketing role (project management, analysis, financial management, client relations).
Work with a professional résumé writer to create a targeted marketing résumé.
Join three marketing-related groups on LinkedIn, and follow 5-6 Fortune 1000companies in the area that have company profiles on LinkedIn.
Assemble people in a network to act as references for marketing interview.
Connect with 2-3 contacts at Fortune 1000 companies in the area.
Identify possible employers and submit résumés.

Give yourself milestones so that you can measure your progress. How will you know when you’re on the right track? Include specific dates and numbers in your milestones.

Action Step 4: Building A Career Road Map

With the tasks you’ve outlined in Step Three, this gives you a checklist of items to use to take action. If you are working through the steps and discover you need to add additional items, update your task list. You may also discover additional projects that need to be completed to make the next step — and the overall goal — easier to accomplish. You may also find that you need to make adjustments to your timeline.

For example, if you discover that a six-month program to learn about social media would help you land your new marketing job, adjust your goal deadline. This would give you time to put some of the new skills into practice before you put them on your résumé.

As you work your way through your task list, focus on the actions you are taking, realizing that if you are taking the right actions, these should eventually lead to the results you seek. If you’re not getting the results you want, change the plan, not the goal. Re-examine your tasks and see if there is something you are missing.

It can also be helpful to get outside feedback. Enlisting the help of an accountability partner — a friend, family member, coach, résumé writer, or therapist — can provide valuable perspective on your progress. This individual can also keep you on track, making sure you are working through your task list. And if there are specific areas where you need help to cross the task off your list, make sure you ask for assistance.

For example, writing a résumé to support a career change can be difficult. Enlisting the help of a professional résumé writer can help you cross that task off your list.

Action Step 5: Building Your Career Road Map

When you’re on a journey, it can help to periodically assess where you are to make sure you’re on the right road. If you miss a step along the way or take a “wrong turn” — you can find yourself a long way from your intended destination. So plan periodic assessments of your progress along the way. This can be a monthly “check-up” where you review your plan and make any necessary changes, or a quarterly review.

Taking the time to think through and plan out your career roadmap is an important step in helping you create the career you want for yourself. If you don’t, you may find your career stuck or stalled. Or you may wake up five years from now and wonder, “How did I get here?” If you want to achieve more in your professional life, invest the time and effort in completing the Career Roadmap Worksheet.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” – Author Lewis Carroll

STEP ONE: TAKE STOCK

Current Job Title:
Start Date of Current Job (month/year):
Current Salary:
What I Like Most About My Current Job:
What I Would Want to Change About My Current Job:

STEP TWO: ARTICULATE YOUR GOAL

What Is Your Goal?

STEP THREE: MAKE A PLAN

What Are the Specific Steps (Tasks) You Need to Take To Achieve?
Your Goal?

STEP FOUR: TAKE ACTION

What Help (Outside Assistance) Do You Need to Reach Your Goal?
Who Is Your Accountability Partner?

STEP FIVE: MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS

How Close — or How Far Away — Are You To Reaching Your Goal At This Moment?
Do You Need to Make Any Adjustments in the Goal, Tasks, or Deadline?

Click here to schedule your free strategy session today!

Did Your Career Choice or Lack of One Take You Down the Wrong Path?

June 15, 2015 By jenowenby

I’ve read some fantastic articles concerning what we would tell our younger self and possibly do differently in life. After taking some time to reflect I identified my frustration during those years and my career path, but it was more than that. I realized that I had lost my goals completely.

I was a single mother of two for almost ten years, and it was the hardest job I ever had. I was consumed with day-to-day living, food on the table, and shoes for the kids; I lost my way concerning a career path. I worked two jobs, and there just wasn’t enough time and energy left for what I wanted. Even if I had figured it out, I needed guidance. I needed someone to believe in me and give me a boost in the right direction.

I realize many of us choose a career due to an experience or experiences in our lives. It took additional time for me to find my career path, but when I did, I could see where my passion for helping others stemmed from. My passion is to help others land a great job, advance their careers, earn more money, and be happy. I struggled with all of those things and needed someone during those years in my life to give me hope and stable direction.

I needed to see myself in a different light, be presented as a capable and intelligent person who could do an excellent job. Eventually, I did land the right job that led me to my own business. I now have the ability and training to help people where I struggled. We all realize that if you are not happy with your job it affects every aspect of your life including finances, health, and relationships.

In a nutshell, I would have told my younger self these things:

Your work experience is just as important as your education.
It is okay to focus on a career even while you have a family.
You can research a career, but it is when you are getting your feet wet that you gain valuable understanding and your passion lines up.
Reach out for guidance and help from a professional. This will help you streamline the process, gain clarity, increase your income, and reduce your job search time drastically, allowing you to reach your goals sooner.

Writing accomplishment based resumes is not just about words on a page, it is about bringing an individual to life on paper. This moves beyond listing job duties. This is about connecting people with the right job and right company. It is about boosting someone above the competition and preparing them for an interview through the process. A good resume is about bringing someone’s best self up front and center stage and finally being recognized for their talents and abilities. The right resume can change your life.

If you are in the same position, I was years ago, and you are ready to make a change schedule your free strategy session with me today and let’s make a difference together.

Click here to schedule your free strategy session today!

Keys to Assist With a Performance Review

Want the Job? Do These 4 Things Before Your Interview

Job Search Not Going So Well? Try This Instead…

5 Crucial Action Steps You Need To Land Your Dream Job

Did Your Career Choice or Lack of One Take You Down the Wrong Path?

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