Job Search Advice

Stepping Up to a Better Career was created to help job seekers nationwide find fulfilling employment by providing advice on resume writing, interviewing, job searching and more.  For the past year, I have upheld that goal by creating topics that I felt would be interesting to the 100 loyal readers I have each day.

Now I feel it is time to turn over the reigns.  I want to hear your specific questions and concerns and provide you with advice that will aid you in finding fulfilling employment and fast.

Have a question about transitioning careers? Looking for employment while keeping your old job? Networking to find employment? Moving from nonprofit work to the business sector?

Explaining laid-off or fired status? Job searching on the internet? Keeping a job after your company has been bought out or your department is being phased out?

Creating a resume? Formatting a resume? Specific resume samples? Types of resumes?

Following up on an interview? Negotiating your salary? Creating a cover letter?

If you have any questions about your job search…

Contact me!  You can choose to comment directly on this blog or you can e-mail me your questions at Resumes@AyeshaWrites4u.com and see your question appear in my next post.

All I ask is that along with your question(s), you send your first name and an e-mail address where I can contact you to let you know that your answer is being posted on the blog.

As always, good luck on your job search.

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Formatting Your Resume

An often overlooked factor to most resumes is presentation. Whether or not an employer will take a second look at your resume is all based on how the information and wording is presented.  Fail to command his attention in under thirty seconds, he will never know that you have been the governor’s personal assistant for the past ten years.  Have over two formats and he won’t care that you graduated magna cum laude from Harvard.

Why?  Because we are a superficial society that bases most of our judgments on appearance.  If we do not like what we see, then we fail to value it for what it is actually worth.  Don’t believe me?  Show up to work with wrinkled clothes and smelly armpits while being 25% more productive than you’ve been in the past five years at your company.  Will anyone notice your greater efforts and productivity?  Nope.  In fact, you might even be sent home for the day to go wash and get yourself together.

With that said, let’s look at how to create a resume that will shine and give forth a polished, respectable appearance WITHOUT looking like every other resume that your employer will see.

First, pick a font.  Only one font.  This font must be a serif font, such as Garamond or Georgia.  Serif fonts have more curvature than sans serif fonts, such as Arial or Courier and typically look like typewritten letters. Even though all resumes should have serif fonts, don’t feel limited to using Times New Roman.  Most word processing programs have between 25 and 80 fonts to choose from.  Be creative because whatever font you choose will be used throughout your entire resume.  If you need to emphasize headings, important phrases, and titles – you can use other accents such as italics, bold, underlining, and changing font size.  If you feel it absolutely necessary to differentiate your contact information, then you can choose to use a different font for your phone and e-mail with the caveat that the different font is still readable.

Second, you are going to decide how to break up your work history.  If you are applying for an entry-level position, then you should typically use bullets to highlight both your responsibilities and accomplishments.  If you are applying for a C-level position, transitioning careers and worked for smaller, unknown companies,  or have worked previously as a CEO or COO, your resume should be comprised of a paragraph defining your responsibilites and the size of the company and bullets for your accomplishments.

Third, differentiate your headings.  Are you going to use shading to distinguish each section of your resume verses borders?  Or are you going to use the typical format where your headings are to the left and your explanation of each section is to the right?  Most resumes no longer use the latter and will choose between one of the former alternatives to make their format more attractive and appealing to the eyes.

Fourth, define your bullets.  Yes, bullets are a neccessity and every resume MUST have them.  But that doesn’t mean that every bullet has to look alike.  Look in the bullets section of your word processsing program and choose the bullets that are most appealing to you.  Chances are – if you like them, your future employer will like them as well.  I often like to alternate bullet patterns between sections to break the monotony of the same bullets within the document and to keep the reader’s attention.  If you choose this approach, make sure that your bullet choices complement each other.

Lastly, check your tabs and margins.  If you are creating your resume from scratch, you should define your tab areas so that each section is perfectly aligned.  If your resume goes over two pages or takes less than 1/3 of another page, play around with your tabs and margins to keep the resume on the same page.

And there you have it.  My five tips on how to format a job winning resume – or at least a resume that will get you interviewed.  To get the job – you have to put in the work when you get called in for your interview!

As always, good luck with your job search.

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

The ASCII Resume

For any serious job seeker, an ASCII resume is a necessary part of your job searching arsenal.  An ASCII resume, which is pronounced (as-KEE), stands for American Standard Code Information Interchange.  This is the unformatted version of your resume that you can post onto job searching sites, send into e-mails, and onto job forms that require you to cut and paste your resume.

It is also referred to as a plain-text resume, text only, scannable resume, internet resume, and electronic resume.  If an employer asks you to send either of these documents, he is referring to the ASCII resume.

ASCII resumes are  preferred over formatted because the special symbols and tabs used in formatted resumes will alter the flow and be incapable of passing through any applicant tracking system. Also, regardless of the employers computer capabilities, all computers can download and read ASCII resumes.

Even when you are sending your resume by fax, you should use  the ASCII resume.  Why? Because some fax machines cannot handle all of the special characters used on a formatted resume and may not be able to print the document correctly – making it messy and too much of a hassle for an employer to sift through.

So how do you create an ASCII resume?

Most word processing programs allow you to convert your document to text (.txt) or rich text format (.rtf) format.  When you recreate the resume using this format, it will eliminate all of the headers, tabs, and special formatting used within your original resume.  However, before sending out your document, you must ensure the following:

• Special Characters have not been altered into unreadable WingDing formats that will look funny and distract an employer.  Instead, opt for eliminating the special characters or replacing with an asterix (*) or dash (-).
• Tabs have been replaced by space bars.
• Wrapped text makes sense and has not altered the format.
• Each line has no more than 65 characters for both letters and characters.
• The format has absolutely no indentations, shading, borders, italics, or bold.
• Font is sans-serif, such as Arial or Courier.

After creating your ASCII resume, you must ensure that every time you cut and paste it onto a job board or an e-mail that you have fully proofread it and that it has pasted properly onto the website.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

*** Also be sure to go to Ayesha Writes 4 You’s website and schedule your Free Resume Consultation. From now until August 15th, you can take advantage of our Summer Discount and get 15% off any resume package. So go to www.AyeshaWrites4u.com to get started now!

You’ve been fired, now what?

Being fired or laid-off can have a serious impact on your family, your bills, and your own self worth. Yet, there are ways to bounce back from unemployment leading to feelings of renewal and better employment opportunities.   If you have recently been let go from your job, you may feel one of two emotions- despondent or elated.

For the despondent employee, there are several factors that can lead to despair after losing your job. For some, it is a shock to find out that you have been “let go”. Often, an employer is afraid of hurting your feelings and will not tell you that your job is in jeopardy until it is too late. Other times, you may have a feeling that you will be fired, yet, you have this need to hold on to your current place of employment because it pays the bills. Getting fired takes away your security and your ability to provide for yourself and your family, thereby leaving you with feelings of helplessness and desperation. If you find yourself upset about the way you were fired and would like to vent out your frustration, you can share your firing experience on the blog www.howigotfired.com.

On the other hand, you may not have felt despondent at all.  In fact, the minute your boss told you that your services were no longer needed, you might have felt as if a huge weight was being lifted off of your shoulders. If you are elated after being fired, it typically means you were working at a dead-end or displeasing job but didn’t have the courage to move on. Being laid-off or fired gives you the breathing room and the excuse to find more fulfilling and satisfying work. While you may hold some feelings of being betrayed, overall, you feel a sense of relief that you will no longer have to go back to your place of employment.  If you are elated about your unemployment and will like to read about other people who have also chosen to relish their unemployment experiences, you might want to visit the blog www.surviveunemployment.com.

Regardless of which category you fit in, typically, the newly employed will and need to take some time to get their bearings. Check your savings, checking, and investment accounts to determine how long you can reasonably be unemployed while still handling your financial responsibilities. Call your mortgage lenders, car insurance carriers, and utility companies and let them know your current situation. Tell them that you have recently been laid-off or fired and see if there is a way to negotiate lesser payments or a deferral on payments for a set time frame.

If you have the money to pay your bills, you might not want to defer payment, in fear that when the deferred time period is over, you will have an exorbitant amount of debt to catch up on. On the other hand, if you choose to pay your expenses immediately and you fail to find new employment in the time frame you have in mind, you will wind up in dire straights without any emergency reserves. So before making the choice as to which payment plans work best for you and your situation, call the companies and ask what payment alternatives do they offer and how long do they give you to pay on deferred payments. Then speak with your family and friends about how much support they can provide you if you wind up in a situation that is too difficult for you to handle on your own.

Aside from your own personal finances, be sure to apply for unemployment benefit assistance.  The Department of Labor’s website offers a fact sheet to help you determine if you are eligible for unemployment and provides the contact information for your state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency.

Once you have squared away the financial aspect of being unemployed, it is time to make plans.  First, you need to determine if you would like to stay within your current field or change fields altogether.  One way to make this decision is to check your feelings towards your last place of employment.  If you were happy at your most recent job and enjoyed your responsibilities, you may want to start looking for positions within the same industry and field.

If you were constantly depressed while working at your last job, then it might be time to do some soul searching.  Ask yourself, what about your last job upset you.  Was it the work itself or was it the environment?  Oftentimes, when people are upset at their work place, it is problems with coworkers or superiors that lead to this feeling of disillusionment.  If that is the case, then you may want to stay within the same field, but be sure to find companies that are more suitable to your preferable work environment.

If, on the other hand, you hated everything about your last job, then it is time to dig deep and find out what fundamentally makes you happy.  One of the most common used, but sage advice on job searching is to ask yourself, if money was not an issue, what work would you do?  If you have an immediate answer, then you have the starting point for finding a new career.  If you are still uncertain, you can take a career assessment like the Myers Brigg Personality Test, which will provide you with an assessment of what careers fit your personality for a fee.  If you would like to take a free career test, I highly recommend www.free-career-test.com which gives you a series of multiple choice questions about your likes and dislikes, then creates a 13-16 page free analysis of the field that would suit you the best.

Once you know which career you’d like to work in, it is time to create a job search plan.  In this plan, you need to come up with three career choices -

• The jobs you wouldn’t want to do but could help you pay your bills
• The job you are qualified for but aren’t extremely excited about doing
• The jobs that match your career interests and work personality

Once you have these three career fields in mind, it is time to create your career search arsenal.  At the very least, you will need a cover letter, resume, and follow up letter for each field.  This way, whenever an opportunity arises that fits into either category, you can easily apply to the jobs by simply customizing the contact information in your cover letters.  When creating your personal branding materials, be sure that they show-off your unique value proposition and makes an employer excited about hiring you.  You should never mention being fired or laid-off in any of your career search documents.  If you are unsure of how to do this or need assistance, hire an expert.

Remember that the key to finding a new job is to be diligent.  Network with everyone, including friends, family, and old work contacts.  After sending out any resumes, filling out any applications, and conducting any interviews, always follow up.  Be consistent and thorough and keep your family and friends abreast of your progress.  They will be more willing to help you if they have evidence that you are persistently seeking new employment.

As always, good luck on your job search.

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services
*** Also be sure to go to Ayesha Writes 4 You’s website and schedule your Free Resume Consultation. From now until August 15th, you can take advantage of our Summer Discount and get 15% off any resume package. So go to www.AyeshaWrites4u.com to get started now!

One Step to Ace Your Interview

Your interview will get you a job.  There is really no big secret here.  We know your cover letter and resume open the door for the interview.  We know that after the interview, following up will let the employer know that you are still interested and will keep you fresh in his mind.  But really, once you are in front of your employer, it is time to put the nail in the coffin.

So why do people fail to impress their employers during their interview?

Simple!  They forget about their most valuable asset as an employee – their unique value proposition.  Your unique value proposition also known as your UVP is the quality that you possess that differentiates you from the competition.  An employer wants to know that out of the hundreds of candidates applying for a position, you are the best.

How do you let an employer know that you are the best?

Come prepared with your unique value proposition already written out on a notepad.  There are two ways of doing this:

1. List three qualities you feel make you a great candidate such as being visionary, team-oriented, or a trouble-shooter.
2. Come prepared with three scenarios that identify your qualities.  Each of these scenarios should follow the three tiered approach I call problem, solution, impact.  Using this approach, you think of three situations where your previous company had a problem that you or your team solved and the impact it had on the company.

Which method is the best?

I suggest doing both.  When you list your three unique values, under each one should be a Problem, Solution, Impact scenario demonstrating that quality at work.

For example, as a teacher, I felt that one of my strongest traits was motivating children to succeed.

The scenario I would use to demonstrate my unique value proposition of motivation would be:

When I was in the classroom as an elementary teacher, students were not reading the mandated 25 books a year that were expected of them by the school (problem).  After speaking with several teachers, I discovered the problem was that many teachers were only checking the number of books read right before report card time, leaving the children with approximately three months of unaccountability between each report card period. To fix this problem, I decided to hold reading conferences with every child each week and to have them hold on to their books until I had recorded them being finished.  This way, I was able to track their reading and intercept if there was a problem (solution). By the end of the school year, all of my students had read the 25 books and at least one-third had read over 50 books.  Their reading levels also jumped three to four levels and they all left reading above grade level (impact).

Notice that by having your three unique values and those three scenarios written out in this format, you can be prepared to answer several “tricky” interview questions such as:

Tell me more about yourself.

Answer: I often look for situations where I can troubleshoot.  For example…

Can you think of a time you noticed a problem and you solved it?

Answer: Actually, yes.  In fact, just last year there was a situation where…

Why do you think you should be hired above all the other candidates?

Answer: I have the ability to notice a problem and to offer solutions where I can not only utilize my talents, but also unite the entire team to work on a cause.  For example…

What do you think is your best quality as an employee?

Answer: As an employee, I believe that it is my job to support the organization towards increased productivity and effectiveness.  I often look for ways to eliminate problems and to promote efficiency.  In fact…

What is your worst quality?

Answer: I sometimes have the ability to rock the boat if I notice that something is amiss. For example…

With each of these questions, you have an answer because you know your unique value proposition as an employee.  You can ace any interview because you know what differentiates you from the competition.  Your competitors will not be as prepared and will stumble around these questions.  Yet, you will be poised, confident, and prepared, which are all the traits an employer looks for in a prospective employee.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services
*** Also be sure to go to Ayesha Writes 4 You’s website and schedule your Free Resume Consultation. From now until August 15th, you can take advantage of our Summer Discount and get 15% off any resume package. So go to www.AyeshaWrites4u.com to get started now!