Painful New Rule for the Federal Resume

‘Back in the day,’ when one applied for a job in the federal government, one was encouraged to load a long resume to cover all the vital data – decades of experience, skill sets, education, training, certifications, publications, and more.  There was no limit to the ...

Five Vital Resume Elements.

There are five elements often overlooked in writing a professional resume. I am not referring to mandatory hard-core data such as telephone number, email address, education, backwards chronologically listed job descriptions, and a bulleted list of years of general job experience. The five unique writing elements ...

Job search is a common sense, not a secret, process.

You ask yourself, ‘What do they know that I don’t that I must know to succeed?’ There are no ‘secrets’ to the process of job search. The word ‘secret’ implies something known only to the marketer. These are psychological operations (psyops) marketing words used to coerce ...

Past Salary History Request – Legal or Not?

Past Salary History Request – Legal or Not? Occasionally, hiring companies will ask applicants for their salary history and/or pay stubs to prove their past compensation. While there is no legal reason for asking for proof of past salary or compensation from candidates offered employment, a ...

Bad Resume Advice: 16 ‘don’ts’ for Resume Writing

What is some of the worst resume advice you’ve ever gotten? Did you naively use suggestions from someone you thought knew best (or worse, you paid for the advice)? Some resumes I’ve reviewed recently make me shake my head. Where on earth did the resume owners ...

Convincing Future Employers to Allow Work From Home (WFH)

A recent Statistics’ Time Use report by the US Bureau of Labor showed a whopping ~35% of all employed persons in the US spent the average work day WFH — up from the previous year (2022) after a slight peak of ~38% (2021). Statistics show ~16% more employees ...

Why it pays to provide recommendations to others on LinkedIn

One of LinkedIn’s most vital, yet neglected, goals is to obtain as many recommendations from past supervisors, bosses, peers, and co-workers as possible to enrich your profile. You can never have enough! If you are undergoing interviews for job consideration, future employers can link to the ...

Are you about to start moving on in your career?

Are you looking to move on from your current career position? (Tips # 3 and 4) Are you about to give notice to your current employer to move on in your career? (Tips # 1 and 2). There are Four Top Actions you need to consider.

Getting through the ‘The Great Resignation’ and ‘Quiet Quitting’: Career Cushioning

The pandemic-kick started Great Resignation is quitting work because the benefits or pay stinks, work hours are too stringent, a toxic environment, or all three. A 2022 survey indicated 81,000 technical workers were laid off that year, including Amazon, Meta, Door-Dash, and H&M. Quiet Quitting, is ...

Noting new COVID-related skills and responsibilities in your updated career resume

Noting new COVID-related skills and responsibilities in your updated career resume. If you haven’t heard of the Corona Virus 19 (or the Wuhan [Chinese] Virus or COVID), you are truly living under a rock.  Folks do not realize COVID has directly or indirectly impacted every employee ...

Job Seeker’s 57 Interview Questions for the Interviewer

Job Seeker’s (57) Interview Questions for the Interviewer   Interviewers are more impressed with questions you ask them versus any selling points you try to make about yourself.  Create questions before each interview you can pose to the interviewer(s) during the process.  Either interject the questions ...

Focus on Leadership Capabilities in Resume

How to focus on leadership capabilities in resume for a career change. Are you describing yourself as a Director, Manager, Supervisor, or a Team Lead on your resume? It doesn’t matter if you are child care professional ‘supervising’ young children, or a nuclear physicist who ‘manages’ ...

Don’t Stop at the LinkedIn Personal Profile!

Don’t stop at the LinkedIn personal profile! You probably have seen the posts, the emails, and the training announcements where ‘specialists’ are horn blowing about building up your LinkedIn profile. They are directing you to get it filled out completely, get certain sections added, and the ...

Research You Must Do Before You Write Your Resume

 Research You Must Do Before You Write Your Resume Yeah – you gotta do it, research your next job before you rewrite your resume for your next job search. But – it’s all good – you’ll be amazed at what you find out, and what you ...

120 Powerful Resume Words

120 Powerful Resume Words For Your Next Job One of the issues I encounter, as a resume writer, when reviewing amateur job seeker’s resumes are descriptions loaded with subjective, misleading inclusivity, or passive language.  Examples are … performed ‘flawlessly;’ … conducted ‘all’ tasks; or ‘hand-picked’ to be ...

Do You Know the Difference Between Old Fashioned and New Methods for A Job Search?

Hunting for jobs is not the same as when your parents and grandparents looked for jobs. There are differences between ‘old fashioned’ job hunting methods and new methods used today in a new world of advanced technology.  

Common Sense Job Search – No Secrets

Job search is common sense, not a secret process.   Marketing gurus advertising ‘secrets’ are selling to fears they are putting in your mind. You are asking yourself, ‘what do they know that I don’t that I simply must know to succeed?’ There are no ‘secrets’ ...

Do You Know What You Need To Know Before Starting a New Job Search

  Do you really know what you need to know before you start searching for that next job search? Watch this video to know what objectives you need to learn before you start your job search …

Building a Government Service Resume

Building a Government Service Resume   Working a government services (GS) job is a dream for many. Everyone is familiar with the outstanding pension and health plans, as well as vacation days as standard packages working for a federal agency or department.  What is not well ...

Answering the Three Most Important Job Interview Questions

Answering the three most important job interview questions.   We have all heard them, read about the possibilities, studied the website sources and books.  We prepare for the interview questions most likely to be asked and questions directly related to the job responsibilities and required skills ...

Using Multiple Social Media for Job Searches

The 21st Century job seeker needs to cover all the bases, and ensure their resume or curriculum vitae is branded in more than job boards, but also in multiple popular social media platforms.

Last Ditch Effort After the Job Application Rejection

Staying within the circle of awareness may pay off in the near future when you showcase your professionalism in your career search efforts.

Name-dropping for your next job: How big is your ‘rolodex’?

Name-dropping – with established associations with decision makers – are important in the world of business. You know the cliché ‘…the good old boy’s club…’ still works today. It is hard to get into a decision maker’s office if they don’t know you or haven’t been recommended by someone they trust. How do you get started if you don’t have a list of names to use for stepping-stones in front of the right people?

LinkedIn: Why you don’t want to miss out on the activity

Do you ever ask yourself – what good is LinkedIn? How can it help me pursue business development or a new career search? What effort do you put into learning about LinkedIn and its advantages? How much time do you spend on LinkedIn daily? What do you do while actively reviewing your account; what sections do you ‘lurk’ in more? Where do you go when you have a LinkedIn question? Do you search in the Q&A, do you ask others in groups, or do you go straight to the Help Desk & FAQs pages?

Job searching? Expose yourself!

When you expose yourself, you get attention, and then you can direct the conversation towards your goals.

PowerBall LinkedIn Training Nov. 7, 2013

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The WIFM (what’s in it for me) Syndrome for Job Search Points of Contact

In every human being, there is an intrinsic part that wants to help others. There is also an intrinsic part that prompts us to reach out to ask for help. When job seekers are looking for new career positions, that reaching out part may go into hyper-drive and could possibly prompt bad decisions or actions. Making cold-calls must be done with a purpose, and with the intent to ‘not’ bother the callee.

How to handle gaps in your employment resume.

That dreaded hole – the one where you were out of work for several months, or years, through no fault of your own – the glaring employment gap when a full time student as a mature adult to get through the degree faster. How do you explain legitimate absences without getting ‘dinged’ for a spotty work record?

Recommendations Up May Get You Positively Noticed

Recommendations from others on your social media profiles gain you attention, but the third type of recommendation can also bring you lots of attention. This is the lateral or upward recommendation. And you are able to manipulate the recommendation to bring attention back to yourself and potentially obtain more eyes looking at your own job qualifications.

How Volunteering Equals Work Experience on Your Resume

Whether you are a teenager with little work experience, but plenty of time to offer charity organizations or a local NPO, or a corporate executive that volunteers on a NPO Board of Directors, the participation and experience gained is a vital and valuable work experience.

Using your network to find a job

The best method to start your advanced career position search is to reflect back on the people you have encountered over the past year and how you have kept up with them. Write notes for a loose script of what information or favors you are asking them for, and keep meticulous notes of the data to refer to if those calls are returned.

Before you lose your job

Hearing whispers in the office corridors about layoffs or future terminations strikes terror and instills worry in everyone – especially in the current economic crisis. If the job is in jeopardy, start taking steps to ensure readiness for that final HR call.

Differences between a resume, a bio, and curricula vitae

Job seekers are somewhat confused with the semantics of what a resume is versus a short biography versus the curriculum vitae. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, depending upon the end goal or objective of the owner. Let’s examine the definitions and the differences.

8 LinkedIn First-Time User Mistakes

LinkedIn is now becoming the norm for job seekers to post profiles as well as recruiters looking for and using the ‘inexpensive’ platform as a sourcing tool. Recruiters are just as discriminatory on what they see on profiles, as they would be in reviewing resumes. Those using LinkedIn for the first time can be in a rush, make minor or major mistakes, and don’t realize they have set themselves up for failure. Here are a few mistakes that can be easily corrected and will assist job seekers in getting the attention more easily from headhunters.

Job competition – staying in or getting in.

Suppose your boss called you into their office and said, “We have to cut back 50% of our work force, it’s between you and one other person. What would you do?

Top 10 things not to have on your resume and 10 alternatives

Many job seekers naively stuff too much information into a resume to attempt to communicate their qualifications for a position. Unfortunately this ‘extra information’ may hinder efforts. Recruiters look for hard facts in a resume – the warm, fuzzy, “…tell us more about you…” comes later in an interview. Here are some facts about how too much information in a resume could hinder a job seeker.

The recruiting game (the real world ‘Hunger Games’)

There is no ‘fair’ to the game – it’s play by the rules or don’t play. Job seekers are desperate to get hired and want to play the game, but need to understand the rules – as they are played by the recruiters – to understand how to play the game successfully as a job seeker.

Can company and recruiter social media and customer service relate to ‘Employer of Choice’ decisions?

Recruiters might be fighting a losing battle convincing the potential new hire to come on board with a ‘loser company’ (unless the job is to fix the company image!). Recruiters need to work hand-in-hand with marketing and PR to ensure job applicants see a positive side of the business and the result is the business is an ‘employer of choice.’

Recruiters Are Not Your Personal Job Finders

It sounds harsh, but it is reality. Finding a job is not a matter of justice or fairness or luck. No one owes anyone a job. Recruiters are your ‘friend’ only if you meet the requirements they need ‘right now.’

Avoiding Internet or E-mail Job Search Scams

Don’t believe any employer is going to offer you free housing, business vehicles, cash in advance of the job performed, or other benefits ‘too good to believe.’ Any company offering to find you employment, but charges hundreds of dollars in advance for those services, are going to do what you can do yourself. Legitimate headhunters charge the employer or the company who is seeking a qualified candidate – not the job seeker. Because someone ‘says’ you are qualified – especially via a mass generated email – doesn’t mean you are qualified.

Questions job candidates should be asking the interviewer

...the hiring manager is looking for something unique and out-of-the-ordinary to set the job seeker apart from the ‘herd.’ Having a prepared set of questions to ask the interviewer will demonstrate preparedness, attention to detail, and professional interest in the position and company. If you feel the need to remember what was said in the interview – employers should not have any problems with note taking...

Resume du Jour: Kelly A. Meerbott – Speaker & Trainer

Kelly A. Meerbott, Speaker & Trainer (Sales/Executives) is an experienced sales-woman, speaker, and done work for corporate execs nationwide - call her!

LinkedIn Training – Beginner’s Class, Sat. 03/23/13

• CREATE a LinkedIn profile to start linking B2B internationally • BUILDING the LinkedIn profile for query results from others • GROUP involvement to get into the discussion for topics related to your interests • GET NOTICED by businesses who want your services/products • BUILD connections to valuable business connections via invites • BUILD REFERRALS from past employers or (current) customers

Endorsements On LinkedIn Help Build Subject Matter Expert Status

I was checking my profile page today and found that I had more endorsements for my resume writing status than I ever imagined! Great SEO, but also acknowledgement from my peers and LinkedIn connections that I DO have great skills when it comes to resume writing!

Sequestration: Fierce competition for current and future job holders

Competition for those few jobs are going to be fierce. You must show you have more and better job skills to compete against others who are trying for the same position. It will revert back to a ‘hiring manager’s advantage’ when it comes to picking and choosing whom to interview and whom to leave on the back burner after the sequestration ends or peters out after the next six months.

LinkedIn Training for Beginners

OBJECTIVE: You walk out excited and have a more than basic understanding about what LinkedIn can do for your business, branding, business development, building relationships with other business owners, and to start your quest for more B2B sales in the future.

Are your ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and ‘ands’ killing your interview(s)?

You might be flabbergasted how many times those words creep into your sentences. If you can’t string a well-put-together sentence to sound intelligent, then the impression to the listener is – you aren’t.

LinkedIn Profile – Vital for a Job Search

Is your LinkedIn Profile at 100%? LinkedIn has just celebrated reaching 200 million users on their business professional platform within the last few weeks (remember when Facebook got excited about reaching their half a billion users?). In researching this social media platform after LinkedIn recently dumped ...

How To Shop For a Resume Writer

There are hundreds of professional resume writers ‘out there’ looking for hungry job seekers.  Some resume writers are very good. Others are so concerned with making the resume ‘pretty’ they don’t do the job seeker any favors. What do you look for in a professional resume ...

Resume du Jour – Stephen P. Terveer – Non-Profit Executive

STEPHEN PHILIP TERVEER Virginia Beach, VA  23454 (757) 869-8037 / (757) 481-1199 steveterveer@verizon.net   OBJECTIVE:   Non-profit Development Leader / SME Consultant / Food Bank Expert   EXPERIENCE SUMMARY:   25 years, Manager/Executive Director, Non-Profit Organization 20 years, Grant Writing, Capital Campaign Leadership 14 years, Food Bank Management and Organization Supervision 4 years, Peace Corps ...

Where Recruiters Source Hires

This was so interesting, I had to share …   2012 CareerXroads Source of Hire: Channels of Influence from CareerXroads

Bad resume advice: 15 ‘don’ts’ for resume writing

In light of the new wave of layoffs around the country, and in anticipation of those workers who will get downsized after holiday sales die down, it is productive to review what to avoid when writing resumes. These tips will help career seekers to avoid the ‘round file’ when creating or updating their resumes.

Why You Didn’t Get the Job

Wonderful insight from another expert in the recruiting industry I’d like to share: Why You Didn’t Get the Job, November 01, 2012 By: Dave Fecak (Link: https://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Why-You-Didnt-Get-the-Job.aspx?pcode=XCRP ) Over the course of my career I have scheduled thousands of interviews with hundreds of hiring managers at ...

Ask yourself…

Two thousand hours. That’s the average amount of time a person spends at work each year. Over the span of a career, that adds up to more than 90,000 hours. Two thousand hours annually of getting up in the morning, driving home in the evening, and ...

How to make oneself more marketable to the defense industry

I recently received a request for information from a job seeker with a Masters in English and a Bachelors in Political Science. This job seeker was having a hard time finding a position in the Northern Virginia (NOVA) area. Either she was told she had too ...

History of the Resume – Evolution Since 1482!

I got a kick out of seeing the historic evolution of a resume from it’s initial form and format back when Leonardo Da Vinci created the first, to today’s social media link packed versions. One thing that is definitely following a trend – if you are ...

The Importance of a Good Resume – How Are You Going To Write One?

Are you asking yourself, “What do I do first to find a job?” or “What do I do first to write a resume?”  Some dream of financial freedom, and others are simply trying to find a job to help them pay the bills.  Are you needing ...

Turn a resume job description into a capability statement.

Many job seekers are not aware their resumes are ‘boring’ and tell the recruiter nothing other than providing a copy and paste version of a job seeker’s most recent job description. The job description may be word-for-word from the most recent company’s compensation plan.  Resume owners ...

So you want to be a Human Resources professional?

So you want to be a Human Resources professional?   Human Resources Management (HRM) is one of the hardest business arenas into which to get established, especially at a management level. So many (predominantly female) have to work their way up through the ranks, including paying ...

SECRETS TO MAKING JOB FAIRS WORK FOR CAREER SEARCHES

SECRETS A PROFESSIONAL RECRUITER SHARES TO MAKE JOB FAIRS ADVANCE YOUR CAREER! FIND THE ANSWERS and SECRET INFORMATION: ·  Why employers still attend and sponsor job fair events ·  Why attending job fairs are an advantage for career seekers ·  What to take to a job fair – other than a resume ·  What to ...

Resume du Jour – Yaron L. Muhammad – Fiber-Optic Telecommunications Line Installer

Yaron Loinel (Edwards) Muhammad Neptune, NJ  07753 (732) 308-8994 Mrmuhammad@optonline.net   OBJECTIVE:  Optic Fiber Telecommunications Line Installer   EXPERIENCE SUMMARY: 13 years, Telephone, Fiber-Optic, Telecommunications Line Installer 1 year, United States Coast Guard (Honorable Discharge)   WORK PREFERENCE:                     Middle East locations SECURITY CLEARANCE:    DHLS (expired)   ...

Writing the Dreaded Cover Letter

Writing the dreaded cover letter I have customers who beg me to help them write cover letters, and I’m amazed how grownups cower in fear of writing this simple communication.  If you remember the rule of threes, then it should be easy to do.  You want ...

Why Companies At Job Fairs Don’t Accept Hard Copy Resumes – find out why…

Ever wonder why those recruiting representatives or hiring / program managers you introduce yourself to at job fairs don’t want to actually ‘accept’ your hard copy resume. Click on the video below to find out why.  

How those Resume Automated Tracking Systems Work:

With sincere thanks to https://resunate.com/ for this graphic. This is one of the better and easier to understand graphics I’ve come across explaining how recruiters use their ‘systems’ to find qualified candidates:

Why aren’t you still learning?

Unemployed?  Only if you sit at home all day and watch TV while you fill out online applications online for jobs posted in the local newspapers or the ‘big boy’ job boards.  While published jobs are less than 65% of the real openings ‘out there,’ if ...

Words to delete from your resume

One of the small mistakes I often see on resumes by inexperienced job seekers are unnecessary words and phrases taking up vital white space, which forces the resume owners to try to squeeze more into their allotted number of pages. Starting at the top of the ...

Electronic Resume – Job Hunting Tips

  PROFESSIONAL RECRUITER TIPS TO ASSIST YOU IN GETTING YOUR “ELECTRONIC RESUME” NOTICED FASTER & MORE OFTEN IN WEB-BASED DATABASE QUERIES E-mail / POC Info.:  Do not put your name, address, e-mails, phone numbers, or page numbers in a header or footer section (MS: Word, Toolbar ...

Cover Letter Best Practices

In this technology-based age, many companies are foregoing cover letters in the electronic uploads for digital resume storage, but some systems allow cover letters to be added separately.  Recruiters may review the cover letter for various reasons, but here are a few discriminators used to consider ...

Job Fairs – Still Useful to Attend – Part 3

Are attending job fairs still useful for employers and job seekers in this electronic age of resume posting? (Part Three – Advantages for Job Seekers) Part one imparted knowledge about why employers attend job fairs; part two related what to do productively at a job fair, ...

Job Fairs – Still Useful To Attend – Part 2

Are attending job fairs still useful for employers and job seekers in this electronic age of resume posting? (Part Two – Advantages for Job Seekers) Part one reported why employers attend job fairs, and this article will explain why job seekers should attend, even though many ...

Job Fairs – Still Useful to Attend – Part 1

Are attending job fairs still useful for employers and job seekers in this electronic age of resume posting? (Part One – Advantages for Employers) There are mixed feelings about whether job fairs are a ‘waste of time’ for employers or the job seekers nowadays.  Job fairs ...

Career Question – Test Task Valid?

QUESTION: I am interviewing for a corporate marketing job, and have been offered job (I think), but asked to do “consulting” marketing feasibility study on a property as an “audition.”  The interviewing company has also asked me to give a four-week notice at my current job. I ...

Beware: Your job applicants may litigate

I have three daughters who were very active in job searching during their high school years who combed the local area for a job.  They inquired at small stores, franchises, and multiple restaurants – dozens of businesses.  As a concerned mom, I coached them as they ...

Social Media Site Got her Fired – Fair or Unfair?

I’m still in shock reading about this story in a “Dear Abby” column.  A candidate for a position was hired, but on her first day of work was called into the Human Resources office to be ‘let go.’  The reason noted was because of photos that ...

Why aren’t you still learning?

Unemployed?  Only if you sit at home all day and watch TV while you fill out online applications online for jobs posted in the local newspapers or the ‘big boy’ job boards.  While published jobs are less than 65% of the real openings ‘out there,’ if ...

Words to delete from your resume

  One of the small mistakes I often see on resumes by inexperienced job seekers are unnecessary words and phrases taking up vital white space, which forces the resume owners to try to squeeze more into their allotted number of pages. Starting at the top of ...

Alumni benefits: What to expect when rehired

Many rehired employees have the capacity to negotiate from a point of strength with employers who wish to rehire them. Smart job seekers can regain benefits, higher salaries, and other tenured perks, if the company has the financial capacity. No company is legally obligated to provide the grandfathering of benefits, privileges, or perks. But offering these in small or incremental amounts could be a deciding factor to hiring back a special skills or unique employee that can give the company an edge against the competition. Alumnus should get everything negotiated in the final interview for an offer of (rehire) employment letter so there is no misunderstanding once onboard.

Recruiter Tips to Assure Your “ELECTRONIC RESUME” Is Noticed (Query Results)

What you don’t know about the recruiting processes used by employers seeking qualified applicants to find a perfect candidate for a job opening can leave you wondering why you weren’t contacted.  You have the skills, training, education, years of experience – so why isn’t the phone ...

Does Your Resume Give Identity Thieves a Roadmap?

Job seekers are eager to give information in resumes to obtain interviews, but many don’t realize too much information can provide opportunities for identity thieves. As a Human Resources Manager, I’ve noticed a trend of job seekers adding unnecessary and intimately personal information to resumes. Social ...

Waffling about buying professional services?

Words to delete from your resume

Words to delete from your resume   One of the small mistakes I often see on resumes by inexperienced job seekers are unnecessary words and phrases taking up vital white space, which forces the resume owners to try to squeeze more into their allotted number of ...

Resume du Jour – Cassandra (Sandy) K. Wilson – Trainer/Educator

CASSANDRA (SANDY) KAYE WILSON Richmond, VA 23236, (804) 432-4882, ckswilson@verizon.net   OBJECTIVE:  Instructor / Adjunct Professor / On-Line Trainer   EXPERIENCE SUMMARY:   16+ years, Training and management experience in educational development, instructional program planning, e-learning, and directing a diversified staff 14 years, Train-the-Trainer (teacher) in best practices of education K-12 (NC/VA) ...