We have found that a person who writes their own resume tends to interview better than someone who hires a professional to write it for them.
Let us show you how to write your resume to stand out in today’s competitive job market.
More than 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn regularly. Are you prepared to compete with 100 million people who login to LinkedIn each day?
With a fully completed and tuned profile, you significantly increase the opportunity that hiring companies will find you.
Often the interview begins with, “Tell me about yourself?” Do you know how to answer? Out of practice? Need expert feedback?
We can boost your confidence and increase your control by ensuring that you are prepared for the tough questions and the types of interview situations you may encounter.
Are you on the right career path? Are you trapped in a career you
don’t enjoy? Are you a recent college graduate
We will work together through personal and online assessments,
evaluating your background, skills and competencies to help you
identify your ideal career.
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Virtual interviews have become mainstream since the start of the pandemic. It appears that the initial stages of the interview process will continue to be held using video conferencing tools according to builtin.com. Career Branding Experts can help you sail through both virtual and in-person interviews.
Recently, a Hispanic woman named Leann created a series of TikToks. She said that she didn’t get interviews after applying for multiple positions at a specific company. She disclosed that she is Hispanic in her application’s Voluntary Self-identification section.
After Leann reapplied as “white” in applications for the same positions, she got interviews.
Leann’s experience prompts the question, “Why do companies as for the Self-identification information?”
We all know that it is illegal to discriminate in hiring for specific targeted groups. But did you know that the US government incentivizes companies to hire employees through a Work Opportunity Tax Credit? The US gave $3.8 Billion in Work Opportunity Tax Credit in 2020 to companies of all sizes!
If companies save so much money by hiring people from target groups and it’s illegal to discriminate intentionally, why do some companies discriminate?
When companies violate federal and state laws, it may be attributed to oversight or lack of understanding. Another reason is that some companies may allow managers access to self-identification information, which may enable them to interject their conscious or unconscious bias. There are also instances where there is a lack of knowledge about regulations. Leann also brought up that the Applicant Tracking Systems may be programmed to reject specific candidates.
According to Scott Kukowski from Career Branding Experts, “there is no 100% correct answer since the impact is entirely dependent on the person who has access to the information. Choosing not to identify has a slight risk that they may eliminate your application from companies taking a concerted effort to grow their diversity. Whereas choosing to identify runs a higher risk that someone may discriminate against you.
The Career Branding Experts’ coach concluded by saying, “If you are in a protected or target group and applying in today’s job market, I suggest that you evaluate the company by looking at online reviews or performing informational interviews to assist you in making the decision to disclose self-identifying information.”
Have you encountered discrimination in the hiring process? If so, please leave a comment below.
Over the past two years, we have seen the most dramatic labor market shift in the last century leading to thousands of unfilled jobs and vacant workspaces. The U.S. unemployment rate shot up to 14.8% in April 2020; the highest rate since data collection began in 1948.
The national quit rate dropped by half a percent in early 2020 then shot back up in 2021 with more than 19 million people quitting their job between March and July 2021.
A Microsoft study identified that 41% of the global workforce would consider leaving their job this year. The study also found that 46% will likely change jobs for remote opportunities. Monster found that 86% of workers feel that their career stalled during the pandemic and 80% do not feel their employer offers growth opportunities.
The pandemic has caused a lot of us to refocus and reevaluate our priorities
Low wages and the desire for more flexibility and happiness are primary reasons for resigning. The other reasons millions of people are quitting are due to increased workloads, lack of flexibility, and limited growth opportunities. The pandemic has caused a lot of us to refocus and reevaluate our priorities.
To retain employees, managers need to listen to their employees, especially when it comes to remote work, work-life balance, and salary. And companies need to develop tailored retention programs that correct specific workplace issues and ensure a healthy and productive environment.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I hear from clients that hiring managers are not looking for candidates between November 1 and January 23. This is simply a false statement.
This is actually one of the best times to be pursuing a new job. There is a trifecta of hiring benefits that happen during the holiday season.
First, many people think that this is a bad time to look for a job, so they just stop looking. This means less competition for you!
Next, we are approaching the end of many company’s fiscal and calendar years. For some companies, it’s a “use it or lose it” situation. Thus, if they don’t fill the headcount by the end of the year, they lose the headcount forever.
Finally, many organizations are finalizing their annual budgets right now. Hiring managers are anticipating that they will get new headcount and want to fill up their pool of candidates. So they start interviewing now with the prospect of bringing on the new hire in January 2nd.
So, get yourself out there. Now is a great time to be looking. If you need help with your Resume, LinkedIn, Interviewing, or Job Searching, please feel free to reach out.
LinkedIn released its third-annual LinkedIn Emerging Jobs report, which pinpoints the fastest-growing jobs across the spectrum, skills associated with them, and the locations where these jobs are thriving. Take a look at the detailed report, which covers the United States and 21 other leading countries such as India, the UK, and the Netherlands. Top emerging industries in the English speaking world include AI, Blockchain, Data Security, and Customer Retention. The report is vital to anyone who wants to go further into their careers or are looking to upgrade their skill set.
AI tops all
AI continues to stand as a leading emerging job industry and with that comes emerging positions, some that aren’t even directly tied to AI itself such as real estate and business development roles. AI has created a domino effect and something that will impact many career opportunities in the coming years. For example, Engineering roles are seeing expeditious growth with more than 50% of this year’s list being made up of roles related to engineering.
Why are professionals moving?
Cities like Austin and Portland are among some areas where the cost of living is affordable, emerging job markets are taking place, and companies like Amazon and CVS Health are offering potential employers the opportunity to work remotely. Places like Washington DC are attracting tech talent including Data Scientists, Engineering, and Web Developers. Non-technical skills are also playing a vital role in the emerging job market. Non-automated skills like communication and creativity highly stand out to companies, so if you consider yourself an outstanding people-person, make sure you’re making that visible on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
My advice is for you to thoroughly look through the report, whether you’re thinking about making a career change or considering a move to a new city or country.
Searching for a job in the best of times is difficult. We have moved into an unprecedented job market, and we don’t know what’s coming. We do know that requests for unemployment benefits are at all-time highs, with more than 3.2 million people filing in March. There are likely 100,000s of additional folks that have lost their jobs who worked in gig and consulting positions that aren’t eligible for unemployment.
I suspect that many recent unemployed workers have decided to wait to look for a job until the world settles down a bit. I challenge this approach!
Now is the time to act. We do not know how long the pandemic will last, so you must move quickly to get in front of those seeking new employment.
The good news is that there are options for you to land a job successfully. The other good news is that hiring managers know the reason why so many people are out of work right now, so the adage that “it’s easier to get a job when you have a job” is thrown out the window.
Check out the information below to fine-tune and speed up your job search.
The ‘throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks” technique seldom works. Companies hire people who want to perform a specific job. Managers rarely hire someone who will do anything; they want folks that are specialized or wish to be specialized in a particular career. With 93% of recruiters using LinkedIn to vet applicant resumes, it’s almost impossible to pursue multiple career opportunities at the same time. So, you must define your career direction and tune all of your job search and online branding in one direction.
Update your resume and brand it to your selected career. Use the hybrid resume style to sell your functional skills and use the STAR technique to turn your resume bullets into achievement statements. Update your keywords. Be sure to include an achievement statement that says, “Remotely communicated throughout the organization using tools including Zoom, instant messenger, Hangouts Meet, Slack, or Microsoft Teams, maintaining close contact with leadership, teammates, and customers.”
Copy your resume, word-for-word and section-to-section, into your LinkedIn profile. Utilize keywords and other SEO techniques to raise the visibility of your profile and improve your opportunity to be discovered. Actively network into each company to get your resume seen by hiring managers
Study the job posting, research the company, and practice interview techniques, including the STAR methodology and the Sandwich Technique, to respond to the most common questions. Prepare your response to the “Tell me about yourself” question so that it sells your brand, including your strengths, industry technical skills, and transferable skills. Practice using Skype and Zoom with your friends before the interview. Be sure the room lighting is adequate and that the person on the other side of the camera can only see a favorable setting.
Call or email your friends, family, and LinkedIn network to explain your job situation and ask for help. Use social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to get the word out about your job search. Find, connect with, and contact recruiters and hiring managers in your preferred companies.
Remember, you are not on vacation. Each day matters when searching for a new job. Spend at least 6 hours every day looking for employment and tuning your brand and LinkedIn SEO.
The best job search engines are Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. Put your most substantial focus on the paid job posting (Indeed – Easily Apply, LinkedIn – All, Glassdoor – Easy Apply). The paid job postings are likely still open since many companies will pull down their job posting when they have a strong pool of candidates. Secondly, look for jobs that have been posted in the previous 1-10 days as these may still be open. Be sure to check LinkedIn to see if you have any connections or alumni that may help open a door for you.
Remote work is a valid solution because they offer social distancing and the potential for a full-time job.
Several job boards focus on remote placement, including Remote.com, FlexJobs, and Upwork. You can also find remote jobs on Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. Useful search terms include Remote, Work at Home, Distributed Workforce, and Virtual. As a side note, job scammers tend to use remote jobs as a way to attract potential victims. To avoid being scammed, use your gut instinct and avoid opportunities where they ask for your bank accouyou discovered any newnt or other financial information, use bad grammar and spelling, request you to pay for expenses, or offer quick financial rewards.
Remember, you are not on vacation. Each day matters when searching for a new job. Spend at least 4-6 hours every day looking for jobs, tuning your brand, or performing LinkedIn SEO activities.
Over the course of my coaching career I’ve reviewed or written more than 1,000 resumes. I’ve performed more than 500 mock interviews and I’ve interviewed 1,000+ job candidates.
While interviewing with these candidates, one of the things I was able to identify very quickly was whether the candidate wrote their own resume or if they had someone write it for them. I figured this out, not because of the way the resume was written, but from the way the candidates responded to the questions. Candidates who had someone else write their resume, in general, did not feel comfortable talking about their own successes.
A good resume writer will write all of the resume bullets as Achievement Statements. These achievement statements reflect the actions that you perform AND the results of performing those actions. This process is called the STAR method which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Results. Some resume writers will create results based on a brief interview with you and/or by extracting a possible result based on a bullet that you had in your original resume.
Let me put this another way – I’ve found that clients who use the STAR method to write their own bullets are more comfortable with their resume than those folks who let the resume writer create the bullets.
Over the course of eleven years of career coaching I’ve learned to ensure that my clients are heavily involved in the resume writing process whether I’m writing it for them or they are writing their own through my review process. In each case, I teach the STAR method to my clients and work with them to create their own Achievement Statements. Thus, my clients are able to interview much more effectively and confidently.
Based on your experience, what do you think? Would you interview better if you wrote your own resume or if you had someone write it for you?