Career Advice Blog – Page 2

How To Job Search When You Are Over 40

So. Unfortunately, you’ve found yourself once again looking for a job. Only this time…you aren’t a young and energetic 21 years old. You’re experienced and set in your ways, you’ve been at this for over 20 years already, most likely. Luckily, even if you are over 40, you can successfully find a new and better career. Here are our top tips to helping you do JUST that.

One: Update Your Resume

Most likely, you haven’t had to update this Resume for quite some time. Resume practices are always changing, so it’s important that you find out what the most current type of Resume is, and tailor yours to fit the bill. If you aren’t interested in learning, or just want to hand that off to someone else, we’ve got you covered. Be sure to check out our packages to find one that fits your experience level.

Two: Understand Technology

You may already be here – and if so, feel free to skip to number three. BUT. If you are someone who just ISN’T up to date on the internet, all things social media, or current technology in general: now is the time to learn. There are so many ways you can learn this info for FREE so you don’t even need to go back to school. Just brush up on the current way things are running at the company of your choice so that you can impress your interviewer.

Three: Network, Network, Network

You most likely know a LOT of people at this stage of your life. Gather all the business professionals you have contacts for and begin your networking. It’s KEY that you have appropriate business cards made to hand out whenever possible and find out if anyone you know is hiring for a suitable position. Knowing high ranking employees can help you get your foot in the door, and put a good word in for you after the interview.

Four: Learn To Adapt

Today’s work culture is VERY different from that of earlier decades. No longer is 9-5 the norm – but more flexible, 24/7 access is becoming more usual. Because of technology, people can get ahold of you any time of the day, so prepare for that. Depending on your job, it may not be one that you clock in and clock out of at the same time every day. Understand that adapting to current work culture is going to be key in finding a new career in 2017.

Five: Battle Age Discrimination

This is going to be your hardest battle because although this is technically illegal, it is still alive and well in plenty of interview situations. Remove your earliest work history and focus ONLY on the work history that is relevant to your work search. You can also remove dates that you graduated from college and entered the workforce, instead highlighting skills and experience as the main part of the Resume. They shouldn’t have a reason to discount your Resume before they’ve had a chance to meet with you.

These tips will help you stand out to future employers if you are over 40, and make sure that you are primed and ready to take on a new career at this stage in your life. It is possible and you can do it. Good luck!!

5 Crucial Ways To Leave A Lasting Impression On An Interviewer

It’s so important to make sure you go into every interview with a sense of confidence and self-assuredness. Understanding the basic principles to really wow your interviewer can be KEY to landing the job of your dreams. Here are my top tips to making sure you leave a lasting impression:

One: Firm handshake, Warm smile

This is probably the most important part. Greet your interviewer with a warm smile, and give a firm handshake. Let them know you are EXCITED to be there and ready for a good interview. Holding a positive attitude the entire time is also key. Even if the interview isn’t going in the direction you think it should be going, it’s important that you stay positive and upbeat the whole time.

Two: Prepare your answers ahead of time.

Look up the most common questions asked in an interview and know your answers inside and out. This also helps with nerves. If you already have the answers to a test, how can you even be nervous, right? Have evidence ready to back up your answers and anecdotes that you want to share at the ready. They’ll be impressed at your promptness and readiness to share.

Three: Always say SOMETHING.

It’s better to admit you don’t know an answer that to BS your way through a question. Instead of lying about your knowledge, be honest and admit that you simply don’t know, but are willing to learn and find out. Use this time to showcase how eager you are to learn and how much of a quick learner you are. Spin this negative, into a positive!

Four: Understand that you have weaknesses.

Very likely, during the point of an interview, you are going to be asked what your weaknesses are. Don’t say you don’t have any, because we all do, but instead be prepared to show how you are actively working on those weaknesses to turn them into strengths! Be ready and willing to share you are work regularly to overcome them in a work place.

Five: Be prepared for the many styles of interviewers you will encounter.

Not everyone interviews the same way. Be ready to go ahead and tailor your style to match theirs. We all generally like people that are like us, but more often than not, you may encounter and interviewer that ISN’T like you. Don’t let that deter you, you can still make a great impression. Be open, honest and communicative!

These tips are easy to follow no matter what stage of life you are in. It’s perfect for you to be able to impress every interviewer you come across and land that perfect job.

How To Get A Job In A New City

You just moved to a new city, and life is about to get awesome. You have a cool place to live, new friends, the works….but now it’s time to get a new job (yuck).

First things first: remove your address from your Resume, unless you already have a new address. Searching for a job in Seattle with a Maryland address will put you at the bottom of the pile for sure. Companies don’t want to pay for relocation, and you may hurt your chances of getting a good job.

Second: change your location on all your social media accounts, especially LinkedIn. This will reflect to your employers that you want to be taken seriously by moving to their location and showing at on your profiles.

Third: Be sure you put the dates you are available to interview. If you are out of town, there may only be a few dates that you can be in town to interview. State them in your cover letter as a sign of courtesy to your future employers.

Fourth: Get to know the city you are moving to. You may be asked relevant, location based questions and it will really impress your employer if you are able to answer those questions with ease. Take a tour of the town, read up on all the important info and wow those interviewers!

Last, work with a local recruiter! They will be able to show you the ropes, get you hooked up with the right jobs and help you learn about the city. It’s all about connections, so the more you can make before you move, the easier it will be for you to find a job.

It’s not impossible to relocate without a job set up – and you can do it with the right tools!

Happy job hunting!

How To Get A Job Even If You Are Told “No”

It can be frustrating when you get told no time and time again. You know the dreaded line “we’ve decided to go in a different direction” or “we’ve chosen to go with a different candidate at this time”. It’s discouraging, and there often isn’t a reason given on why you didn’t get, yet another, job.

There are some things you can do however to wedge your foot in the door even further and keep that line of communication open. Take a look”:

A Thank You Note

This is important. Whether or not you get the job, a handwritten thank you note is ALWAYS the way to go. You should be sending one after every single stage of the interview process. It shows you are grateful for their time and the opportunity to be reviewed by the company.

People Talk

You want to maintain a professional attitude even if you are crushed about not getting the job. Just like in any other field, people talk to each other. This is especially true in smaller companies. Sometimes when they say, “we will keep you on file in case anything else turns up”, they actually mean it. So keep your attitude and actions professional and kind can go a long way.

HR departments aren’t always up front with why they chose to go in a different direction, so it’s up to you to ask. When you follow up with the question, “Can you explain why I didn’t get the position, and what I could improve upon for future interviews?”, it shows tact and class. Often, hiring managers will remember that behavior and are more likely to help you out and explain their decision in more detail. This can lead to a better next interview and possible future employment.

You want to stand out in the pack when you are interviewing for a position. It’s important that you make a memorable entrance. Be kind, courteous and respectful no matter what happens. Shaming the company on social media only makes YOU look bad, and lowers your future employment opportunities.

How Social Media Can Hurt (or HELP) In Your Job Search

We live in a world of instant gratification, easy access to any bit of information we want and the ability to share our lives with the entire world. This social media take over can be both a good thing, and a bad thing, when it comes to finding the right job.

More than half of all employers are active on social networking. They use them on a daily basis – and they definitely use them to aid in their hiring process. 65% of those employers use the social media epidemic to their advantage in seeing whether or not a candidate behaves professionally on their public channels. They look to see if they will fit the company culture, and to learn more about their qualifications.

Many of these companies said they have found reasons not to hire someone because of their social media profile. Inappropriate photos or information, provocative images, drinking / drug use, lack of effective communication skills or the candidate had talked in poor taste about a previous employer. Discriminatory comments related to religion, gender and race are also reasons employers have chosen not to hire people based on their social media profile.

If you opt to go ahead and put all this information out there, it’s best to make sure you are showcased in the best light. Often times, hiring managers actually find things they LIKE about you, instead of the other way around! It’s a great way to get a feel for someone’s personality, saw they were well-rounded and well-liked.

So, don’t be scared of social media profles, because they can actually really work to your advantage. Make sure to create a profile that showcases you in your BEST light. Let your personality shine through and don’t make silly mistakes. Make an impression no matter who is coming to your page.

It’s not enough to just assume a future employer will just glance over your linked in profile – you have to assume they’re going to check all of your pages out: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How To Nail Your SECOND Interview.

Your SECOND Interview.

So. You did the hard part. You sent in your application, you wowed them on interview number one…..it was awesome. But sometimes, depending on the job, they want you to come in for subsequent interviews. You haven’t sealed the deal yet, so it’s crucial that you get everything PERFECT on interview number two.

Don’t let the interviewer do all the talking.

This can be a red-flag for future employers. They want to see that you are invested in this job opportunity. You should be attentive, engaged and asking questions about the position. Come into the second interview with a list of questions about the company, the management, etc.

Articulate your attributes to the interviewer.

Now is your time to really delve deep into your skills. Explain HOW you came to be the number one analyst at your last company. What methods did you use to get there? Did you take specific training courses? These are things you might not have gone very deep on in your original interview that you now get to expound upon! It’s the perfect opportunity to really sell yourself.

Be prepared for the questions that will trip you up.

The second interview will likely be more challenging that the first interview. There will be questions that you might not know the answer to, or have difficulty answering. That’s okay! Explain what you DO know, and don’t let the frustration of a tricky question leave you flustered. Keep your head level and confident.

Really assess whether you will be a good fit.

This is the right time to discover whether or not you will be a good fit in the company atmosphere. Really take a look at how they are treating their employees, how the management speaks to other people, what kind of office space they have, etc. If this will be a place you go to every day, you need to makes sure that you will enjoy the space you’re in. This interview is a good opportunity to see if you will fit in with THEM, but don’t forget it is also a good opportunity to see if they will fit in with YOU.

Send a thank you.

You should have done this already for your first interview, but if you didn’t, now is a good time to do this. You should get a hand written thank you. Or – at the very least – a thank you in an email. Let them know how much you loved meeting with them, and hope to hear from them soon! This will make you stand out in front of the crowd.

Remember, it doesn’t matter if you get offered that job or not. If you landed the second interview, it puts you one step closer to getting your DREAM career.

The Secret To A Great Resume (According To Science):

Having a good Resume that actually makes interviewers want to hire you is really important (obviously). But what is the secret to having an awesome Resume that’ll turn heads? Here it is:

Show Your Impact In Numbers
1. Everyone loves a good statistic and dollar amount. For example, instead of saying: “I ran a large marketing budget for my last company”, say: “I managed a $28,000 marketing budget”.
2. Another example would be instead of saying, “I wrote articles for my last companies blog and website”, you should say; “I wrote 10+ articles for my last company that garnered over 100,000 pages views for their website”.
Show That You Had Competition
1. This one is so often forgotten, but shouldn’t be. For example, instead of saying: “I won 2^nd place at my universities upcoming technology competition”, you SHOULD say: “I won 2^nd place at my universities upcoming technology competition (100+ students competed).
2. Instead of saying: “I was accepted into the management program in my last job, you should say: “I was accepted into the prestigious management program at the last job (that had only a 5% acceptance rate).
Name Drop Big Brands You’ve Worked With
1. For example, “I created partnerships with Ford, KIA and Chevrolet, and followed up with their management and marketing teams.”
2. Another example: “I was in charge of hiring students from Harvard and Yale to make up our prestigious group of interns in our graphic design department”.

These 3 points will INSTANTLY make you seem more credible, put you above the competition and almost guarantee an interview call back. You need to convey authority, social proof and quantifiable results.

Don’t sell yourself short! TALK UP your accomplishments, and don’t worry about sounding cocky or stuffy. Your Resume is the place you need to be talking about all of your awesome achievements.

How To Answer: Why Should I Hire YOU in an interview.

Why Should I Hire YOU in an interview?

This is a hard question that MOST of us dread when we are seated down at an interview. You don’t want to come off as cocky, but not being confident enough can hurt you, too. It’s not easy finding that perfect balance.

BUT it is incredibly important to answer well on this question, because your interviewer will be looking for this when deciding which candidate they need to hire.

So. HOW do you answer? Here are key tips:

Make it ALL about them.

Think of your interview as a first date with someone REALLY selfish. To be honest, your interviewer likely doesn’t care about what YOU want. They care about what THEY want in an employee, and who is going to best fill that slot. Explain exactly why YOU can bring to THEM.

How to do that in 3 steps:

Identify the top 3 skills they need in that job and put them in an ending statement.
Stick to 2-3 sentences per skill.
Close with a thank you for their time (remember – it’s not about YOUR time).

For example:

I know that face-to-face customer service skills are extremely important for this position. I am considered the top salesman at my current job, and often interact with customers face to face. I also understand that initiative in imperative to being successful here, and my references will be more than happy to tell you about my proactive personality and how I take charge of a situation to get things done. Finally, I know you want someone who will be great from the get-to, with little training. Luckily, I am an extremely fast learning and enjoy the challenge of picking up new skills. I’m never afraid to ask for help when I need it, and I don’t make the same mistakes twice.

Interviews don’t have to make you sick to your stomach. You can face them like a champion. Hopefully, with these tips in your back pocket, you won’t need to go on more than one! Good luck!

What To Include In A Resume

Depending on where you are at in your career, it can be totally scary to sit down and write a strong Resume words. If you have had a long career, you have pages and pages of experience to document. If you have just graduated college, you are probably trying to make your half a page of professional experience fill two pages (without sounding like you made stuff up to fill space).

How do you come up with the Professional Strong Resume Words to showcase your talents and abilities to your future employers?

The ideal length for a Resume is 2 pages long, so you’re going to have to figure out what is the MOST important information to include and how to make it sound amazing.

The first step is to decide what kind of job you’re looking for. Tailor your Resume around that. Talk up the points that best fit that job. Flesh out the sections of your Resume that specifically cater to the position you are applying for. It’s ok to have a few versions of your Resume.

The second part is to decide what kind of company you want to work at. Corporate vs start up is very important. They are VERY different. Sit down and make a pro/con list to base yourself off of. Emphasize your past experience and success stories and write Strong and professional words in the Resume about how they make you an ideal candidate.

The third and most important part of what to include in your Resume is to determine your unique value. What do YOU bring to a company? What sets YOU apart from the hundreds of other people all vying for this same job? You need to capitalize on your uniqueness. If you have a special combination of skills that makes you different, write about it. Choose your accomplishments that showcase those skills and add some Strong skills in your Resume. Stick to what they NEED to know about you.

If you are at over 2 pages at this point, it’s time to think about deleted some sentences to get it down. Ask yourself: “If I take away this sentence, will it hurt my chances of getting an interview?” and listen to the answer. If “NO”, it goes. If “YES”, it stays.

If you use these steps to create the perfect Resume, you’ll have a much better chance of landing the job. Of course, if you don’t want to do all this yourself, we can help with that.

Top 5 ways to get through Resume Scanners

You may have heard that the first step to getting a job interview is making it past the stage where a recruiter looks at your CV or Resume and makes a split-second decision about whether to chuck your Resume into the discard pile. So, is your Resume destined to the garbage can? Or will an actual human being get to read it? Many companies have what is called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). There are many brands, including Taleo and Bullhorn. How do you know if a company uses an ATS? How do you get around them?

First, let’s review why employers use these tracking systems. Well, they help employers save time and paper and keep them stay organized. Without them, recruiters would have to spend much more time filing and shredding papers or moving and deleting emails. With applicant tracking systems, there is no risk of an employer accidentally deleting the email containing the Resume of the applicant the company wants to hire. An ATS also makes it easy for employers to keep tabs on the hiring process and to communicate with applicants directly. Just as companies use software applications to keep track of relevant information on their customers, using similar software to organize information on prospective employees makes sense for employers.

Employers also use these tracking systems to review your social media pages. The prevailing sentiment is that having a social media presence helps more than it hurts when it comes to looking for a job, and most job seekers already understand the importance of presenting a professional image on social media. Of course, when it comes to attracting ATS, it is more than just a matter of not posting pictures of your drunken exploits on Facebook. There is social recruiting software that searches the web for specific keywords, and the best way to get noticed is to have a social media profile that includes basic details about your education, work experience, and skills.

Now, what should you do to get noticed and pass the ATS system? The biggest key is to tailor your Resume specifically for each job application you submit. Whether this means making major or minor changes, your Resume should make clear why you are an excellent candidate for that specific job. Every employer is looking for certain qualifications, whether Resumes will first be scanned by a recruiter or by keyword-seeking ATS. You should find out as much as possible about the organization to which you are applying. If current employees of the company have social media profiles, especially on LinkedIn, see if you have similar qualifications or keywords. In addition, recruiters are looking for concrete information.

No one cares anymore if you’re a “team-player” or “out-going” or “dedicated”. Those are characteristics that are expected. You need to focus on keywords – for example, if you’re applying for a restaurant manager position, look-up what a restaurant manager or someone in hospitality is responsible for, and include that in your Resume.

Finally, how do you know if a company is using an ATS system? Well, that’s darn easy once you know. Typically, it’s in the URL or the page their system brings you to, has the Taleo or Bullhorn logo on it.

So when applying for a job online, remember that error-prone applicant tracking systems kill 75 percent of job seekers’ chances of landing an interview as soon as they submit their Resumes, despite how qualified they may be. Job seekers’ only hope for rising through these systems is to understand exactly how these systems work and how best to optimize their Resumes for them. You should be one of them!

How To Job Search When You Are Over 40

5 Crucial Ways To Leave A Lasting Impression On An Interviewer

How To Get A Job Even If You Are Told “No”

A Thank You Note

People Talk

How To Nail Your SECOND Interview.

Your SECOND Interview.

The Secret To A Great Resume (According To Science):

How To Answer: Why Should I Hire YOU in an interview.

What To Include In A Resume

Top 5 ways to get through Resume Scanners

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