Monthly Archives: September 2011

Sample Job Resume

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So you need a sample job resume so you can write you own, yes?  That is fine with me but keep in mind a few things when you are writing your own job resume:

1. You might be thinking too much about Y-O-U.  Most people write their own resumes from their perspective which is wrong.  How can this be wrong, you are probably saying.  It is plain wrong because the resume is really not about you.  It is about what the hiring manager is looking for not what you have to offer.  Some of you think I am crazy (that might be the case) but really it is true.  A good resume is not about you.  It should be about what the other person is looking for.  For example, you may have had three or four jobs in you life so far.  Each probably started out with you doing one or two types of work.  As you were at the company longer and longer, you probably started exploring different types of work within your current job.  Because there are so many different job functions you can put in a resume, you don’t want to talk about all the things you did there.  Your best bet is to select just the items that ARE RELEVANT to the job you are looking for.  Relevancy is what the hiring manager is looking for first and foremost.

2. You might be too critical (or not critical enough) of Y-O-U.  A resume needs to be given a once over by someone who is not emotionally tied to you in any way.  Your feelings are not at stake here but your ability to sell and market yourself to hiring managers is.  Finding multiple people who will give you good advice on the layout, design, messaging and format of your resume is more important than your feelings.  Give your resume to your harshest critics and make it better.

3. There is no sample job resume which you can just plug your information into.  You need to create the language or “feeling” of a resume on your own.  Now you can get some help with it, no problem.  But at the end of the day you need to be the writer of it otherwise it won’t speak of who you are.  I think it is good to have someone who can help you write a good resume or someone who can get it started and then you put your own style into it.  That is fine.  But DON’T let a resume writer write you something that sounds eloquent if you are more casual.  Writers will put some makeup on your resume but at the end of the day the hiring manager will have to see you for who you are.

Why not put the energy into writing something you are proud of at the end of the day.  You are who you are.  Be excited about that.  Be confident in that.  Use the sample job resume’s you find but write your own resume.  Writing your own resume will teach you things about yourself you didn’t know existed.  Take a few days, pick up a few books, review what is online and then get to work without any distractions.  Write your own resume in your own voice.  It is worth the effort.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Take A Survey

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Don’t take my word on some of these things.  Go find out for yourself if this information is correct.  Taking a survey of your friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, and people you run into is a great way to learn more about what has worked for them and how you can apply it to yourself.

Job opportunities for most people are not easy to find.  Job searching is not an easy activity to do.  It requires a little bit of sales, marketing, guts, and determination to accomplish successfully in the time you want it.  Instead of giving you a laundry list of things you should or should not do to find opportunities, you are empowered to ask others how they did it.

The following list of questions will help you uncover some of the keys to finding the right job for you.

1. Ask those who you know enjoy the work they do how they found what they love to do? 

The answer to this question will help you think about how you are going about finding the career path that is right for you.  Don’t go asking people who hate their jobs or those who are just ok about what they do.  That’s stupid.  Find people who love what they do and ask them how they found it or figured it out.

2. Ask people who you run into how they found their current (and maybe even their previous job) job.  Ask them to tell you the whole story from
start to finish. 

The answers you receive to this question will surprise you.  Expect to hear that most people who found their last one or two jobs found them by either casual relationships or from people who know them.  Securing a job is easiest when you have someone on the inside advocating for you.  This “foot in the door” assistance will help you in ways you could never have imagined.

3. Take this test…select a famous person who you would like to meet.  Contact all of your friends, family members, acquaintances, co-workers and everyone in between and ask them these two questions:

Do you know _______________ (famous person)?  If they say yes, you are done.  If they say no, then go on to the next question.

Do you know someone who might know how to get in touch with ______________(famous person)?

These two questions are critical to understanding how interconnected we really are and how to best build your network.

Those main three question groups will greatly enhance your ability to learn from the inside about successful career information most job seekers will never learn about.  Answers to these questions will not only change your career direction but also change you personally from the inside out.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Where The Jobs ARE

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Job opportunities are everywhere.  Literally they are coming out of every nook and cranny of most businesses and organizations out there.  Now obviously not every business is on the success track.  Some industries may be moving off shore or starting to lose their footing.  Not every company or business is looking to hire people at any given moment.  But what remains constant is potential job openings are in the minds of hiring managers right now.

Yes, jobs are currently in the minds of hiring managers; right now.  Most managers are always keeping an eye out for new people to add to their teams, especially if they have high or even moderate turnover.  One of the most important functions of any manager who is in a position to hire people, is finding people they can trust who will do the job they need done without many issues.

So, the problem is not that there are not enough jobs out there.  The problem is how do you tap into the reserve of jobs out in the marketplace before the other guy (or gal) gets to them.  Before we describe the competitive environment out there let’s first explore where the jobs are:

-         In the mind of hiring managers or company leadership.

-         Waiting for approval.

-         Part of a new company or departmental initiative.

-         Part of an expansion plan.

-         As a temporary assignment to see if a new program will work.

-         Part of a hiring program but just cannot find the right person.

These six examples describe where jobs opportunities abound.  Finding a new job is not just about what is published but what is unpublished.  Unpublished jobs have greater potential to be just for you and what you are looking for.  Unpublished jobs are what you should be looking for all the time.  They are not easy to find.  They are easy to uncover.  That is for another post.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Swirling – Stop Being “Confused” About What Is Next

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Staying grounded while you job search can be tough to do.  What makes it tough is not the actual job search but all the other “stuff” that influences your decision-making process.  Everyone makes important decisions in different ways.  Some do it quickly while others consider all the possibilities.  Big decisions like where you want to take your career and what you want your working life to look like can be tough to make no matter what stage in life you are in.

Swirling is that state of mind when you are deep in the decision-making process, confused and you feel like no matter how hard you try you cannot get out.  Sometimes you feel stuck with no way out.  Maybe you are trying to figure out what job you want to take or what direction is best for you.  Everyone you ask and everything you read doesn’t help.  Instead it feels like you are being turned and twisted in several different directions and you are no closer to where you want to be then when you started; you might even be farther away than before.

Being pulled and turned in many different directions can really take a toll on your emotional state of mind.  It can play tricks on you and your mind.  Those of us who are swirling can easily start down the path of minor (or major) self-destruction.  Not the type of self-destruction which can end a life but self-destruction that can undermine a well planned and orchestrated job search.  Examples of self-destructive type behaviors include telling yourself you are never going to find a job; thinking you are not good enough or you are never going to amount to anything; and even that you are going to go bankrupt and lose everything.  When these thoughts start to creep into your mind, recognizing them for what they are…W-R-O-N-G.

These thoughts can start to creep into our mind during a time of swirling.  The main reason swirling happens is because we have lost our grip on the one or two things that can give us stability.  Stabilizing forces can be a number of things from our friends and family, our religion, or a goal.  The swirling phase is actually a tremendous personal growth time when you can start to better understand who you are and what you need.  Everyone needs something to hold on to; it is a natural desire within us all.  During some of the toughest and most confusing times in our lives, what we need most can bubble to the surface and smack us in the face.  Don’t run from helpless or frustrated feelings.  Instead recognize them when they present themselves and begin to better understand you as you were created.  Yeah, you were created not spontaneously generated…that for a later time.

Stop the swirling by grabbing hold of one or two things.  Reconnect with a friend or spouse like you have never done before.  Grab hold on one of your goals in life and dig deep inside yourself to use it to help pull yourself out of the swirling vortex.  It takes a lot of strength and determination but you will do it one small step at a time.  Stop the swirling and start to see yourself in a new light.