A reference is a crucial tool that helps persuade employers that you are the candidate they need by illustrating your performance in past positions. So how can you get persuasive references? Choose between three and five professional colleagues (managers, fellow employees, vendors, customers or other stakeholders) who appreciate your work and can speak to it [...]
The most crucial part of your resume is its summary section. Or, as I prefer to call it, the profile or ROI section. HR surveys consistently tell us that most hiring managers take only 6-20 seconds to read a resume before deciding whether to put it in the to-be-interviewed pile or the circular file. Unfortunately, [...]
How do you explain to a prospective employer that you want to leave your present employer because of its smelly ethics? One of my favourite employment resources, Nick Corcodilos of asktheheadhunter.com, recently discussed that question. His post and readers’ responses are found at, (www.asktheheadhunter.com/16596/explain-unethical-company) but I'll give you the highlights with my comments. Nick’s answer [...]
What’s Different About Executive Resumes? An executive resume must cover more ground than a resume for managers. In addition to documenting the executive's ability to deal effectively with financial management, develop new marketing initiatives, improve processes, cut bloat, and mentoring juniors etc., an executive resume must show excellence in at least three additional areas wherever [...]
What more am I doing than others? That’s a searching question for anyone seeking new employment opportunities. Twenty years ago, the conventional resume gave out the writer’s contact information, education details and job descriptions. And many people still rely on this kind of resume. But today, with the internet enabling more people to apply to [...]
Whether you’re an executive, a mid-career manager, a professional, or an eager graduate setting off on your career, one of your most important success tools is a great resume that opens job interview doors. Many of us, however, have had bad teaching in this area and our resumes don’t produce interviews consistently. In fact, some [...]
A new study discovered that job seekers who use professional resumes are: 32% more likely to find a job, are likely to find it in at least 40% less time, and are 42% more likely to move to a higher position. That’s why I say it makes dollars and sense to invest in a [...]
Just about every writer on finding a new job will say that networking is the best way to do it. And they’re right. Researching potential employers in depth, deciding on the companies you want to work for, cultivating relationships with people who work there, and then leveraging those relationships to connect with the hiring managers [...]
Want to start a vehement discussion in a crowd of career professionals? You don’t need to throw a golden apple. Just ask whether job seekers should still write cover letters. Here are some of the many arguments in favor of the practice: The cover letter is an expected part of business etiquette. If you don’t [...]
You’ve studied state-of-the-art resume writing and you’ve cut your job descriptions to the bone. You’ve selected accomplishments that match each job ad’s requirements and presented those achievements in ways that highlight all the benefits you’ll bring to your next employer. If you’ve done all that, congratulations! You are now among the five per cent of [...]
