January 28th – The #LetteroftheDay is “S” as in Sell.
Your purpose as a job seeker is to sell yourself. The process of selling yourself starts long before you sit down for an interview.
- Building an online brand in today’s job market is essential, not only with LinkedIn but also with blogging, personal websites, and reputation management
- Developing a résumé that highlights your accomplishments and your unique value
- Learning not only about the company you are interviewing with but about the hiring manager too
- Preparing for your interview by matching the job description to what you’ve accomplished in the past
- Realizing that the interview begins the moment you walk into the office—your rapport with the receptionist matters
- Sending a thank you note and following up after the interview
- Maintaining your level of professionalism throughout in all written, verbal, electronic, and in-person communications
January 29th – The #LetteroftheDay is “T” as in Technology
One concern I often here from more mature job seekers is, “What can I do to hide my age, so I’m not discriminated against?”
There are a few easy things that any job seeker can do if you are worried about “dating yourself,” and it all starts with technology. Do you embrace technology or are you scared of it?
On your résumé, are you using a professional Gmail address or are you still using your AOL address from 20 years ago?
Do you have a fully developed LinkedIn profile with a customized URL that shows employers that you are up-to-date on current hiring trends?
If technology is a component of your job, are you still showing that you have knowledge of outdated software like Windows 95 on your résumé?
Additionally, to help avoid age discrimination remove education dates from your résumé and LinkedIn profile.
January 30th – The #LetteroftheDay is “U” as is Uninformed
One of the worst things you can do during an interview is walk into the hiring manager’s office uninformed about the position and the company.
Here are four tips that can help you better prepare for your next interview:
- Research the company—not just what they do—but where the company is positioned currently and where they are looking to go. Review press releases, earnings reports, and the competitive landscape.
- Learn about the hiring manager. In today’s digital age, it is easier than ever to learn about the person that will be interviewing you. Check out their LinkedIn profile, Google search them, review their company bio. Learn about their background, education, interests, etc. and try to find common bonds
- Research salary data for the role you are seeking. Know your value!
- Review the job description. The job posting is an excellent resource to provide you with insights on the upcoming interview. I suggest for all my clients to make a spreadsheet, listing on the left each competency mentioned in the job description and on the right an accomplishment of yours that aligns with each skill.
January 31st – The #LetteroftheDay is “V” as in Volatile, liable to change rapidly and unpredictable, especially for the worse.
According to a new Brookings Institution report, nearly 36 million Americans hold jobs with “high exposure” to automation – meaning at least 70% of their tasks could be performed by machines using current technology. This change in the job market is not rapid and it is not unpredictable – we already seeing self-serve kiosks at fast food restaurants, hand-held scanners at grocery stores, and self-driving cars – but it is slowly becoming a disruption nonetheless.
If your job is subject to evolving technologies, what can you do to make sure you are not on the outside looking in?
- Get accustomed with new technologies in your industry, know what is causing the disruption around you.
- Learn new skills…now. Don’t wait until your position has been eliminated.
- Focus on mastering “soft skills”. Soft skills never become obsolete
February 1st – The #LetteroftheDay is “W” as in Walk In.
Long gone are the days where you can walk into a potential employer’s office and drop off a copy of your résumé. Even for entry-level jobs at McDonald’s or Kroger, you need to fill out an online application.
When preparing a résumé for online submissions, there is a great deal of misinformation on what works and what doesn’t work in ATS systems. Remember, just because you read something on the internet doesn’t make it true.
Among countless other reasons, in-depth knowledge of ATS systems is one reason to consider using a professional résumé writer.
When I need the brakes on my car changed, I could watch a YouTube video, struggle through it, and save a few dollars by doing it myself, or I could take my car to the shop and pay an expert that knows braking systems inside and out to do it right the first time.
Résumé writers are no different than other service providers. We are highly trained professionals that specialize in our fields. We are up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies. We cut through the myths and help you and your résumé get past the ATS
