Who Is Your Competition for the Job?

When you think about the job you’re trying to get in your career field, who is your competition for the job?

Your competitors are anyone who wants the same job you want!

Most of the time, it’s going to be people who are about the same age as you are with a similar educational background.

So…. Why should the hiring manager hire you instead of your competition?

You have to give him a reason — a really good reason. By who you are (your appearance, your words & how you speak them, your ability to look him or her in the eye and answer questions, etc.), what will compel them to hire you instead of one of your competitors?

Be sure you know what they’re looking for in a new employee before you set out looking for your next job.

If you’d like to check out more job search tips, click: http://jobsearchsecretstheyforgottotellyou.com/category/blog

 

Author Byline: Glory Borgeson
Author Website: Glory Borgeson

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Job Candidates – Recruiters are Searching for you on the Web

News flash. In case you have not heard, social media is not just used for social reasons anymore. If you are looking for a job these days or a better chance of finding one, then you may want to consider using social media websites. By doing so, you can create an online presence that gives you more exposure as a job candidate and makes you more accessible to recruiters.

One article mentioned that in a recent survey of hiring managers in the United States, about 66% of them explored LinkedIn to seek ideal candidates for positions. Therefore, it may be wise build your professional profile on this website. Be sure your profile is honest and represents a professional appearance. Remember, you are trying to make connections that will benefit your job search. In addition, update your profile, as you would do for a resume.

Because recruiters only have a limited amount of time to search for candidates each day, you need to make your online profile easy to find. Include a link to it on your resume, below your contact information. By being on LinkedIn or other social media sites, you will give yourself a better chance of ranking high when recruiters search them for candidates.

Using social media doesn’t have to be exclusively for social purposes; it can also benefit you professionally. Job candidates can obtain more exposure and be more accessible to today’s more tech-savvy recruiters.

-Source-

http://thecareernews.com/newsletter.php?news=2456

 

By: William Frierson is a staff writer for CollegeRecruiter.com., http://collegerecruiter.com/

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Should Job Seekers Follow Up After An Interview?

Clients often ask us if they should follow up after an interview.  There can be a lot of doubt and confusion about whether following up is a proper job search strategy.  But the answer is:

YES!

The majority of candidates will never follow up after an interview.  I would say that for every ten people I’ve interviewed, only one has followed up after the interview.  Job seekers as a whole underestimate the effectiveness and benefits of proper post-interview follow-up.

WHY SHOULD I FOLLOW UP?

It makes a great impression!  When you follow up after the interview you remind the hiring manager of who you are and of your interest in the position.  It’s always the polite thing to do.  By following up with the hiring manager, you show that you are detail-oriented, have proper business etiquette and respect, and that you demonstrate your gratitude.  These are three traits any business would be thrilled about having in an employee.

The next time you have an interview, don’t forget to follow up with the hiring manager or hiring committee.  It’s a great way to show them your interest and make a great first impression.

Author: Jessica has a true passion for the job seeker, evidenced by her desire to share everything she can with everyone she can about resume writing and interviewing.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Universally Transferrable Skills For Career Changers

I rarely go a week without hearing from a client who is changing industries, fields, or general direction. The biggest problem that they’re running into is what they perceive to be a lack of transferrable skills. They are under the impression that there is a huge barrier that keeps field experts in and everyone else out, but there are several universal skills that – in well written resumes – successfully portray the candidate as having valuable, adaptable talents that increase their impact and reduce training time.

About the Author: Cathy Eng, CARW, Owner of Resume Rocketeer, Inc. Visit http://www.resumerocketeer.com for more information.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Working Like a Dog – Job Search

“It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog” – Lennon/McCartney

I never really did understand the phrase “working like a dog”. I don’t know about your dog, but mine seems to sleep most of the day (unless I’ve got something important to do, then he is bothering me). We all know that the phrase means working really hard and almost anyone I speak with tells me that they are “working like a dog”. Now if you are out of work, you should be working like a dog looking for a job. If you still have a job, your time to spend job hunting is limited so you will need to make the best of it (like reading CareerAlley). So, to help you out, today’s post is all about lists (read on).

• 93 Most Linked To Articles of Top Job Search and Career Blogs – A great list of articles from JobMob, all the more better because one of the articles is from CareerAlley. The list is organized by category (such as Job Search Strategies, Resumes, Job Interviews and more) and each category lists four or more related articles. One consolidated list with all of the categories you could want. Definitely worth spending time to read through those articles that will help you with your job search.

• 10 Ways To Signal Strength In A Job Interview – When you finally get your interview, don’t blow it. This article is from Tim’s Strategy (timsstrategy.com) and it’s a must read before you go on your interview. Tim’s tips are really spot on, and for anyone who has been on an interview and left feeling less than confident, you will find a few tips (hopefully not all ten) that would have helped you ace the interview. But that’s not all, don’t forget to check out the embedded links for additional advice.

• 10 Things Recruiters Won’t Tell You (But I Will!) – Whoever said “what you don’t know won’t hurt you” probably never had a failed interview. This article, posted on Careerealism.com tells it like it is. If you are like me, you will probably recognize some of these flaws as your on. Of course, recognizing your shortfalls is way more than half the battle. The author provides a suggestion on how you can fix most of your shortfalls. Finding someone who will be honest with you is not a bad fix either.

• Top 10 Most Secure Jobs in 2011 – If you are going to go through all of the trouble to get a new job, get one that’s secure! This article, posted on AOL Jobs, lists the most secure jobs for 2011. Now I don’t want to give it away, but the fact that many of these jobs are on this list will not surprise you. Even better, not only do you have the list, but there is an embedded link so that you can job search against these jobs. Take a look, with any luck one of these jobs will match your skill set.

• Top 10 Worst Job Search Tips – Advice Job Seekers Should Avoid – It doesn’t hurt to know the worst tips even if only to avoid them. This list comes from Resumark’s blog and is also worth the read. A few of these tips are obvious, but many are not. My favorite (and certainly good advice) is don’t wait for their call. On the contrary, you should be working like a dog looking for a job.

Good luck in your search.

 

Guest Author: CareerAlley
Website: http://CareerAlley.com

5 Ways to Improve Your Cover Letter Introduction

Creating a proper introduction is perhaps the most important part of writing a cover letter because it introduces hiring managers to you and helps them decide whether they want to know more about you. There are often a lot of mistakes made when writing cover letter introductions. To help you avoid them, let’s look at what some are and how you can make the changes necessary to improve your cover letter.

Avoid Starting with “Hi,”

Starting your cover letter with “Hi,” shows the hiring manager that you have no idea who to address within the company. Instead, find out who is hiring or conducting interviews for the position then start your letter with “Dear (insert name),” to show you want to directly address the person you hope will hire you. If you research and still don’t know who to address, try “Dear Hiring Manager,” as a backup option.

Sidestep the Blanket Opening Statement

Writing an opening like “I want to express my interest in applying for your Communications/Public Relations position” expresses the obvious to a hiring manager and is a statement made by dozens of candidates.

A great way to sidestep the blanket opening statement is by diving in and talking about who you are as a candidate and why you’re qualified for the position. It sets you apart as a candidate, which does wonders for personal branding.

Try Not to Make Your First Sentence Too Long

Hiring managers read cover letters and resumes all day. They’ve seen it all and can become bored quite easily with long, run-on sentences. So if you make your first sentence the length of a paragraph, you’re sure to lose the hiring manager’s interest and decrease your chances of having the rest of the document read.

Don’t Start With a Narrative

You may feel that your professional history is so compelling that it deserves a narrative, but that’s best saved for your autobiography, not a cover letter introduction. If you start the letter with “Beginning in 1995 with (insert company name), I always knew I wanted to excel in public relations,” you may receive an email from the company that begins with the current date and ends with “we’ve found another candidate who is more qualified.”

Proofread Your Document (Especially the First Sentence)

There’s nothing worse than reading mispelled werds in a profesional documint, right? (See, it’s not too fun, is it?). So be sure to thoroughly check for typos, grammar issues and misspelled words. This way, your resume won’t be tossed in the trash over avoidable mistakes.

Cover letters open a window into your professional background and give you the opportunity to add the depth you can’t provide in a resume. So handle your introduction with care to ensure all hiring managers who read your letter will want to learn more about you.

 

Author: Jessica has a true passion for the job seeker, evidenced by her desire to share everything she can with everyone she can about resume writing and interviewing.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

How To Disguise A Checkered Work History

Many of us have, even through no fault of our own, had a bumpy work history. This may be due to lay-offs, illnesses, temporary contractual work, staying home to raise children, career transitions, or a myriad of other situations. You may have perfectly legitimate reasons; however an employer may not understand why you have short tenures or gaps between jobs – they just want the best candidate for the job.

But have no fear! There are some ways to format your resume so that employers notice your excellent skills and qualifications rather than circumstances in your past. It starts with functional formatting, which means bringing your skills to be beginning and expanding on them, and moving your simplified work history to the end, which downplays your work chronology.

How exactly does this work? Here are the parts of a functional resume:

Introduction: Start with a career summary that gives an overview of your strongest selling points, including unique skills, certifications, corporate awards, etc. This immediately catches the eye of the reader and draws them in. You may also choose to include a list of relevant keywords and a personal branding statement in your introduction.

Summary of Skills: This is where a work history might traditionally go. However, your strengths lie in your skills rather than your work history so displaying a detailed, categorized breakdown of those skills is a great use of space. For example, if you’re a retail sales manager, you may choose to break your skills down into sales and marketing, leadership, retail planning and purchasing, and operations (HR, accounting, etc.). It’s important to be specific here; listing generic skills wastes space and bores readers.

Work History: Use this section to simply list your job title, company name, location, and dates of employment for each job you’ve held. Don’t draw attention to this section by expanding on each job. You may also choose to leave dates off of positions you held more than 10 years ago as they lose relevance after that amount of time and indicate candidate age.

Additional Sections (education, certification, affiliations, etc.): It is important to place these features carefully according to your situation. IT professionals may choose to list their technical certifications at the beginning of the resume. Recent graduates may opt to do the same with the education section. Either way, I would recommend leaving one of these sections at the end of the resume so as not to stop with your broken work history, which ends the resume on a sour note. No matter the order you choose, be sure your skills and qualifications outshine your job chronology.

While this method is a great alternative for those who need it, it is by no means perfect. Recruiters and hiring managers are well aware that candidates use a functional format to hide questionable work circumstances. Therefore, it is important to be prepared to address your work situation. But don’t dwell and give excuses; keep it positive and focus on your skills rather than your past. And remember, you are not defined by your work history!

 

Guest post by Cathy Eng.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

How to Flawlessly Capture the Right “Details” on Your Resume

If you follow our blog regularly, you know that we stress the importance of including detailed descriptions of your previous professional accomplishments in your resume. While this is a simple idea, understanding how to execute it effectively trips up a lot of people as they write their documents. With that in mind, let’s play a round of “Good details vs. Bad details”.

Good details

The types of information resumes should include—but often do not—are things like the following:

-How many people report to you?

-How much money did you make for your last company?

-How have you saved your employers money in the past?

-Were you recruited or promoted by previous employers?

-What special projects or tasks have you been chosen to complete?

-What have you accomplished that was above and beyond your job description?

Bad details

When people include too much information on their resumes, it typically falls into these categories:

-The verbatim name of the department and supervisor you reported to. Unless you report directly to Mark Zuckerberg or someone equally famous, you can use a general title like VP-Marketing or Director of Branding to convey your status in the company.

-Outdated details about your college experience. If you’ve been out of school for ten years, your college GPA is old news. Ditto the name of the specific school of your university that you attended, unless it’s a highly ranked, nationally recognizable program, e.g., the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.

-Personal details about your life. If gaps on your resume are due to something like taking personal time off to care for an ill family member, it doesn’t matter what his or her diagnosis was. Keep your explanation as brief as possible.

An effective resume strikes the right balance between providing specifics that clarify how valuable you are as an employee, while at the same time generalizing your accomplishments in a way that makes sense to a wide audience. To be sure your resume doesn’t include bad details, make it a point to let another set of eyes proofread it.

 

Author Byline: Jessica has a true passion for the job seeker, evidenced by her desire to share everything she can with everyone she can about resume writing and interviewing.
Author Website: http://www.greatresumesfast.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Using Rejection to your Advantage

You landed the interview.  It went well– or so you thought.  The thank you note was sent.  All indications looked good. But, after 2 weeks of waiting, you get an email that says the job went to someone else.  Now what??  This scenario plays out all too often for job seekers.  Not getting the job you wanted is difficult but you can use that rejection to your advantage.

 

First, take a good hard look at the interview.  Did it really go as well as you thought?  Were you as prepared for the interview as you could have been?

 

Next, understand that anything can happen so you can’t take it personally.  Maybe the job was pulled at the last minute.  Maybe the senior person has a neighbor whose daughter needs a job.  It can be any one of a dozen reasons why you were not selected.

 

If you really believe that the interview went well, consider contacting the hiring manager — by phone. Ask them for feedback.  You might say, “I thought the interview went well.  I respect your decision but was hoping you can give me some feedback on my candidacy so I’ll know more the next time.”  Be sure to be polite and respectful; you don’t want to hinder your chances should another position be made available.

 

You may be surprised with what you hear.  One of my clients recently had that experience.  He called the hiring manager and found out that he had inadvertently received the wrong email; he started with the company 2 weeks later.  Another client was told that he didn’t have enough writing experience for the job. He promptly sent a package of writing samples to the manager and was granted another interview.  Of course, not all situations end happily but if you don’t ask, you will never know.

 

Finally, if you are lucky enough to get some concrete feedback on your candidacy, use that information to your advantage and fix the issue the next time.  Oh, and a thank you note for the feedback is definitely in order.

I’m giving away three career coaching scholarships!

I am giving away three career coaching scholarships through my organization, The Opportunities Project! Each scholarship includes five one-hour free career coaching sessions (given by Skype or phone) to help you with your job search and career growth. The three scholarships are each in a different category: the College Student Scholarship, the Young Professional Scholarship (graduated college after 2008), and the Female Veteran Scholarship (any experience, but must be trying to transition into the civilian sector).

Applications are due Friday, April 8, 2011. Good luck!

 

http://opportunitiesproject.com/news-and-events/promotions/scholarship/