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

California Man Cuts the Crap, Gets Hired

Last Thursday, I posted the article Get Interviewed about tactics you can use when your resume  fails to get you the results you deserve.   The following Friday, I saw a video created by Kevin Donlin, co-creator of The Guerrilla Job Search.  I was so impressed with Kevin’s innovative ideas of using the same tactics as guerrilla marketing for your own job hunt that I asked him to share some advice as a guest blogger.  He agreed and below is his first post.

Be sure that after you read his post, you click on the link below to view his FREE video.  This video plays out step by step some of the ways you can begin your own Guerrilla Job Search.

As always, good luck on your job search.

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

California Man Cuts the Crap, Gets Hired

By guest blogger, Kevin Donlin

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, right?

And the shortest distance between you and your next job may lie in your making straight for the hiring manager.

In other words, if you decide to cut the crap, stop jumping through hoops and just go meet your next boss, you may get … hired.

That’s what happened to one “Guerrilla Job Hunter” who shares his story below.

Matthew Ringue, a Career Services Advisor for Heald College in Concord, Calif., got hired by his current employer after doing something unexpected.

“I saw an ad online for a position as an admissions advisor. I submitted my resume but I normally didn’t get a response from doing that, so I decided to walk my resume in. I found the college, went up to the receptionist, and said: ‘I applied for a position online and I was hoping there was someone I could talk to about it.’”

The receptionist’s reaction?

“She said, ‘Oh. Let me see if someone is available,’” says Ringue.

It turned out that nobody was available.

But the receptionist suggested Ringue come back the following Tuesday. Upon his return, he was again unable to meet anyone. So he politely asked for and received an appointment. On his third visit, Ringue got the meeting he wanted with a decision maker.

How did it go?

“Very well. The hiring manager said, ‘I really appreciate your being persistent. I think it’s great that you came in a couple of times and pushed for an interview,’” recalls Ringue.

He was eventually hired, but not for the job he first applied for. It turns out that the college no longer had an opening for an Admissions Advisor. But executives were impressed enough by Ringue to hire him for another position, the one he now holds, Career Services Advisor.

Your takeaway lesson: Always try to apply in person at an employer, even if they don’t expect you.

You can take the direct approach by walking up to a receptionist and asking for a meeting, or you can get referred by an employee first. In either case, persist until you get a meeting.

However you do it, know that every time you meet with an employer, you’ll have no competition from ordinary job seekers, who are content to sit behind a computer keyboard and fire off resumes electronically.

Also, know this — asking to meet an employer is not pushy or aggressive, unless you are.

Remember why an employer buys online job postings in the first place: To hire the right people. And before anyone can hire you, they have to meet you. So, by meeting with employers — whether they expect you or not — you demonstrate initiative, persistence, and a bias for action. Who wouldn’t want those traits in a new hire?

Put another way, it’s perfectly reasonable to take the ordinary approach and not apply in person for a job posted online. But how has “ordinary” been working for you?

More “extraordinary” job search tips like this in our free Guerrilla Job Search audio.

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Executive Job Searching through the Internet

My last few posts have been all about utilizing networking and researching industries to help cultivate job opportunities. Does this mean that you do not post on the major job boards? Of course not!

While most of your time should be spent networking and following up on your contacts, you should still spend about 20% of your time looking on industry websites to help you find a job. Industry websites are different from major sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com because industry websites have positions and information only relevant to your field. Many companies are more likely to post on industry websites because they have the feel that people who come to these websites are more knowledgeable and serious about their job search.

If you are a c-level employee (CFO, CEO, SVP, etc) five sites of interests are-

• 6 Figure Jobs provides relevant career information and job postings for positions of $100K or more.

• Korn/Ferry International is a recruitment firm that matches executive candidates with their clients’ job openings.

• ExecuNet.com advertises job posting for positions of $150 K or more. They also support communication between executives so they can connect with each other and share business ideas.

• MBA-Exchange.com is a website dedicated to connecting top-level candidates with executive recruiters both nationally and internationally.

• Netshare is a subscription based service that posts openings for positions of six-fugure salaries.

Use these websites to help you locate job openings relevant to your position and expertise. Be sure to follow up just like you would with any other job inquiry. Most importantly, make sure your resume is professional and highlights your unique skills and accomplishments in the best way possible.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4U.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

Visit me on LinkedIN

(866) 620-2741

I need a job – Help!

There has been a national cry of doom from national retailers going bankrupt to the media spotlighting the 8.1% unemployment rate.  The words echoed across our nation?  I need a job!

How ironic is it that the people who most often say they need a job are the very people who have jobs?  Most of my clients are people who are already employed, but are looking for something different.  It is odd to me to notice this phenomena.  While the media proclaims thousands upon thousands of people are being laid-off every day, these are not the people proactively hunting for jobs.  Why?

I wonder if after being laid- off, many people feel it is time to relax and breathe.  Or maybe the shock of losing a job they’ve had for 5, 10, 15 plus years has made people bitter and timid of stepping back into the world of job searching.  Or worse yet, people have forgotten how to conduct job searches and have become complacent once they’ve realized the world of the typical chronological resume being sent to an employment agency and garnering a permanent position within two weeks has all but disappeared. So what can you do?

For starters -

• Don’t blame yourself! It is not your fault that you were laid-off.  The economy is bad and employers are conducting cuts across the board to save themselves money.  So unless you were painting your nails or taking two coffee breaks each hour, you are not the problem!

• Conduct a skills analysis. Take a look at your skills and traits and conduct an inventory.  What new skills have you learned as a result of your most recent position?  What were your accomplishments?  Would another company be happy to have an employee as skilled and trained as you? Are any of your skills or traits transferrable to another occupation or field?  Write down your thoughts.  Find the two or three most prominent successful traits you have and use those as your selling points.  These are your unique value propositions (UVP’s).  You will be using them to help you network and to update or write your resume.

• Begin networking immediately! Let people know you are in the market for a job and if they know of anyone interested to please contact you or give you the information of the person to contact.  Many people have successfully used social networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook to find their jobs.  But you still need to conduct some face to face networking, such as using your local Chamber of Commerce or using a rotary group such as Kiwanis.  Just be sure to keep going back to these groups, so that people get used to seeing your face and begin to establish relationships with you.

• Update your resume. Dust it off.  Read it.  Make sure that the skills you have are pertinent the job(s) for which you applying. If you are applying for different positons, then you should have a separate resume catering to each position.  Employers are turned off by reading resumes that are “One size fits all” and fail to explain how an employee can help establish their specific company’s goals and needs.

• Follow up! If you have sent out your resume and after two weeks have failed to get a response, you should call the company and ask about the status of your resume.  Practice this call with a friend first.  Be sure to explain that you are very interested in working for this company and then explain two or three traits that make you perfect for this job.  Ask if they have begun interviewing yet and if you are a viable candidate.  Yes, some employers will be turned off, but many are impressed by the initiative shown by persistant (not pesky) candidates.

• Remember your manners! If you have had an interview or received a referral from someone in your network, then be sure to send a personalized thank you note.  These notes show the employer or contact that you respect their time and appreciate their consideration of you and your skills.  It also keeps you on their mind.  Employers interview dozens of candidates and you want to be the candidate that stands out.  A thank-you letter helps you do just that.  In the case of contacts, by sending a thank you note and keeping them updated on your job search, they will know you appreciate their efforts and will continue sending you more referrals.  So 24 hours after receiving your interview, send a type-written note thanking the employer and/or contact for their efforts and consideration.  Be sure to remind them of two or three positive traits you possess as an employee.

• Be flexible! If the larger companies in your field are not hiring, then don’t be afraid of trying out start ups or smaller businesses.  If you have over ten years experience, you might even look into starting your own entrepreneurial ventures to offset any monetary losses from your current unemployment status.  The key here is to think growth.  You might be able to garner more experience working at a smaller firm with the potential of growing, then you will at a larger company, where you are focused only on your own occupational tasks.

• Stay positive! Finding a job is hard work.  When you are “unemployed”, you are still working.  Your occupation is finding a new job.  If you feel yourself getting depressed over lack of response to your resume or failure to ace your interview, take a break.  Spend some time with friends.  Maybe have them conduct mock interviews with you to help you find areas of weakness.  Contact a career coach who can help you through the process of finding a job.  But don’t let negative responses change your perspective.  You will find a job – you just have to be willing to stay committed to your job search. Many senior level executives don’t find a new satisfactory position until 6 months after they begin.  Just imagine what would have happened if they gave up after only a few weeks of searching.

Finding a job is hard work, but is a lot easier if you stay focused and persistent.  Don’t accept the first job offer you receive just because there is a doomsday cry of a latent economy and you are afraid of being unemployed.  Yes, jobs are being lost, but there are also a lot of jobs out there as well.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4U.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

Visit me on LinkedIN

(866) 620-2741

Halloween Scare

The economy has record numbers of unemployment, homelessness, and foreclosure.  But of course you knew that.  So why am I wasting your time by posting this blog?

Simply put.  Even though we know it’s getting worse, we are still a big part of the problem.  On speaking with employees in transit, education, and retail in New York, I’ve noticed that none of the people I’ve spoken to have tightened their belts.  Even though they know there are a surplus of looking, qualified unemployed people (compared to job openings) most have admitted to showing up late to work, not going to meetings,  and calling out for non-emergencies.

Now I can understand that the newspapers make it seem like only Wall Street is under financial failure, but just wanted to ground a few of my overly confident buddies out there with some earth-shattering statistics:

• In the month of September ONLY, 1,464 newly admitted homeless people have entered the shelters in New York City, reports the National Coalition for the Homeless.
• The national average of unemployment is at 6.1% and in New York it is 5.6% with the gap continually closing.
• With rising transportation costs and rental prices, store owners have had to raise the cost of household products – causing us to push our pennies even further.

So if you are a member of the “I don’t care” group – my job is safe and if not I can always go on unemployment, you might want to think more carefully.  Unemployment for a lot of people lasts anywhere from 6 months to a year.  In times of economic uncertainty, that time nearly doubles.  Your unemployment benefits end in your sixth month.  So let’s be professional, hard-working, and a little more eager to please in this decaying economy.

And if you are forced out of your job, be sure to not waste time trying to do everything on your own.  Seek guidance immediately.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Ayesha Long

President of Marketing,

Ayesha Writes 4 You

www.ayeshawrites4u.com