Is your resume without any friends?
Do you send out or post resume after resume and get no responses?
When employers are having their hiring party, is your resume, your application, standing all alone in the corner? Or maybe you could not even get in the door...
Take a closer look at your resume.
Better yet, take a really close look at the people at the hiring party.
What did they ask for on the invitation? What types of people did they invite to the party?
What type of person did they describe in the job posting?
Does your RSVP to the party, your response to the posting, your resume, your application, read like, sound like, look like the kind of person they described in the invitation, the posting?
Or are you just anybody, just anybody looking for a party, any party, to crash?
If you do not present, communicate, that you are one of the invitees, one of the persons who meets their basic qualifications for a welcome party goer, why would they let you in, let alone want to party with you, or even talk to you?
Anyone who is looking for anything, any type of job, is a party crasher. Even if you have the potential to be a productive, successful and valuable employee, without making that clear up front, you are likely to be ignored. Employers will not spend the time with a stranger outside the door trying to figure out if it is okay to let you in.
If you think you would spend the time with that stranger, keep that in mind the next time a door to door salesman visits your home. At least that salesman has a pitch that might be of interest. Do you have anything of interest to say to anyone at the employer's hiring party?
At the least, match your resume as much as possible with the same keywords and related experience and education as stated in the job posting. If you don't show even that much interest in, that much consideration for, the employer, your resume will always be kept outside and never allowed into the party.
A resume in search of anything, any job, is a lonely resume.
Don't let your resume be that resume.
Get in touch and stay in touch with us at JVS and let us help you join the party.
Our main website is www.jvsdet.org.
Our job posting site is www.parnossahworksdetroit.org.
And you can reach me by email at wtarrow@jvsdet.org
Get Real and Get Noticed!
Showing posts with label resume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resume. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Four Basic Steps to a Successful Job Search - Step 1
A job search is really very simple.
No secrets, no magic, no special skills or hidden markets...just four simple steps.
BUT you do need to take action. You do need to make the effort. And you do need to keep at it, to stay the course. If you stop, you are the one who quit.
Advisors and experts and coaches are creeping out of the woodwork promising you amazing results by sharing their secrets of how to get your dream job.
But the answer, the way, the method is very simple, very basic and really no mystery at all. And this truth does not get attention, does not sell books, does not fill seminars, does not put money in their pockets.
By the way, what kind of secret, magical method, is it if you tell anyone who is willing to pay the fee?
Step 1 is Make Contacts.
"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." Mark Twain
You get started by making contact.
Start with a website like www.indeed.com and search for jobs of interest. Use the titles and keywords of jobs which you have done, or believe you can do, and in which you have an interest. You can also search using the names of companies for which you would like to work.
Then apply according to the instructions -- online, submit a resume and a cover letter, email, fax, mail, in person, and/or phone.
Just make the contact! Don't delay by continuously reworking your resume, your cover letter. Capture the keywords from the posting, incorporate them into your application, resume, letter and send them on their way.
"If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don't do it, and it won't happen." Joe Dimaggio
Then expand your contacts to any and all companies that are similar to the companies to which you have applied. Even if they are not hiring currently. Especially if they are not hiring currently.
Most jobs are filled before they are ever advertised. Get in before the flood of resumes.
The objective, your goal, in Step 1 of your job search is to make contact with, become known by, and, hopefully, impress, every employer who might sometime have a job for you.
How's that going for you? Are you working toward that goal? If not, then it's time to get to work.
If you need help in making those contacts, make contact with us at JVS.
Visit us at www.jvsdet.org
Let us help.
Walt
Walt Tarrow, wtarrow@jvsdet.org, www.LinkedIn.com/in/walttarrow
No secrets, no magic, no special skills or hidden markets...just four simple steps.
BUT you do need to take action. You do need to make the effort. And you do need to keep at it, to stay the course. If you stop, you are the one who quit.
Advisors and experts and coaches are creeping out of the woodwork promising you amazing results by sharing their secrets of how to get your dream job.
But the answer, the way, the method is very simple, very basic and really no mystery at all. And this truth does not get attention, does not sell books, does not fill seminars, does not put money in their pockets.
By the way, what kind of secret, magical method, is it if you tell anyone who is willing to pay the fee?
Step 1 is Make Contacts.
"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." Mark Twain
You get started by making contact.
Start with a website like www.indeed.com and search for jobs of interest. Use the titles and keywords of jobs which you have done, or believe you can do, and in which you have an interest. You can also search using the names of companies for which you would like to work.
Then apply according to the instructions -- online, submit a resume and a cover letter, email, fax, mail, in person, and/or phone.
Just make the contact! Don't delay by continuously reworking your resume, your cover letter. Capture the keywords from the posting, incorporate them into your application, resume, letter and send them on their way.
"If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don't do it, and it won't happen." Joe Dimaggio
Then expand your contacts to any and all companies that are similar to the companies to which you have applied. Even if they are not hiring currently. Especially if they are not hiring currently.
Most jobs are filled before they are ever advertised. Get in before the flood of resumes.
The objective, your goal, in Step 1 of your job search is to make contact with, become known by, and, hopefully, impress, every employer who might sometime have a job for you.
How's that going for you? Are you working toward that goal? If not, then it's time to get to work.
If you need help in making those contacts, make contact with us at JVS.
Visit us at www.jvsdet.org
Let us help.
Walt
Walt Tarrow, wtarrow@jvsdet.org, www.LinkedIn.com/in/walttarrow
Monday, June 21, 2010
What's the use of resume keywords?
When jobs are posted, incoming resumes and applictions are screened to create a subset of applicants that are somewhat, in general, qualified.
The Good Enough category is necessary to get to the Choice Candidate category.
The overwhelming method of screening is based on determining a list of screener, or key, words. These keywords are used to filter IN resumes and applications that are to be moved along in the process, and screen OUT, eliminate, those that do not have at least a predetermined minimum of these words.
For example, someone with the job title of "secretary" on their resume, although they might be fully capable of performing, and experienced with, the duties of a receptionist, would be screened OUT and not included with the resumes moved along in the recruiting process. Without the keyword "receptionist" on their resume, they would be eliminated from consideration.
Your resume and application must have a majority, if not close to 100%, of those keywords to be included with those not eliminated during the initial screen.
I advised a job seeker about this and he took my advice word for word. He copied and pasted the actual job posting at the top of his resume under his contact information, titled the pasted ad "Summary of Skills" and emailed his resume as such to the company. He did not even delete the phrase "Equal Employment Opportunity Employer" from what he copied onto his resume.
He was called in for an interview within a couple days and offered the job!
Also, if you have an overwhelming number of other keywords not related to the position, you might also be excluded. Since the majority of your experience appears to be in something else or elsewhere, you will likely not fit the profile of a qualified candidate.
Whether or not the process is automated, computerized or manual, it is basically the same.
A job description is created formally or informally and a posting may come from that or be cobbled together on its own.
But, regardless of how this process goes, keywords are the filters, the criteria upon which the search for qualified candidates is based. Especially given the ginormous number of resumes and applications submitted nowadays.
First, foremost and exclusively, the lesson here is to use keywords in your resumes and applications that are not just synonymous but are exactly the same as the keywords in the job descriptions and postings to which you apply. And limit or exclude keywords that are not related to the positions for which you wish to be considered.
Unlike vampires, you must present a personal image which mirrors the image of the target job in order to survive the screen.
And if you think that this process of screening using keywords does not make sense for an employer considering huge numbers of applicants, consider this quote.
"If you think the products don't match what you want from a product, don't buy it." Donald Norman
If you want your resume pre-screened for keywords, please email BOTH your resume and the posting to which you are applying. My email address is wtarrow@jvsdet.org.
And be sure to check out our calendars of upcoming group meetings, seminars and events at http://www.jvsdet.org/ along with our job postings at http://www.parnossahworksdetroit.org/.
Remember, keywords are the key to get you past security and in the front door.
The Good Enough category is necessary to get to the Choice Candidate category.
The overwhelming method of screening is based on determining a list of screener, or key, words. These keywords are used to filter IN resumes and applications that are to be moved along in the process, and screen OUT, eliminate, those that do not have at least a predetermined minimum of these words.
For example, someone with the job title of "secretary" on their resume, although they might be fully capable of performing, and experienced with, the duties of a receptionist, would be screened OUT and not included with the resumes moved along in the recruiting process. Without the keyword "receptionist" on their resume, they would be eliminated from consideration.
Your resume and application must have a majority, if not close to 100%, of those keywords to be included with those not eliminated during the initial screen.
I advised a job seeker about this and he took my advice word for word. He copied and pasted the actual job posting at the top of his resume under his contact information, titled the pasted ad "Summary of Skills" and emailed his resume as such to the company. He did not even delete the phrase "Equal Employment Opportunity Employer" from what he copied onto his resume.
He was called in for an interview within a couple days and offered the job!
Also, if you have an overwhelming number of other keywords not related to the position, you might also be excluded. Since the majority of your experience appears to be in something else or elsewhere, you will likely not fit the profile of a qualified candidate.
Whether or not the process is automated, computerized or manual, it is basically the same.
A job description is created formally or informally and a posting may come from that or be cobbled together on its own.
But, regardless of how this process goes, keywords are the filters, the criteria upon which the search for qualified candidates is based. Especially given the ginormous number of resumes and applications submitted nowadays.
First, foremost and exclusively, the lesson here is to use keywords in your resumes and applications that are not just synonymous but are exactly the same as the keywords in the job descriptions and postings to which you apply. And limit or exclude keywords that are not related to the positions for which you wish to be considered.
Unlike vampires, you must present a personal image which mirrors the image of the target job in order to survive the screen.
And if you think that this process of screening using keywords does not make sense for an employer considering huge numbers of applicants, consider this quote.
"If you think the products don't match what you want from a product, don't buy it." Donald Norman
If you want your resume pre-screened for keywords, please email BOTH your resume and the posting to which you are applying. My email address is wtarrow@jvsdet.org.
And be sure to check out our calendars of upcoming group meetings, seminars and events at http://www.jvsdet.org/ along with our job postings at http://www.parnossahworksdetroit.org/.
Remember, keywords are the key to get you past security and in the front door.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Ten Job Hunting Myths
THE MYTHS:
- Without an excellent resume and cover letter, you'll never beat the competition and get the interview.
- The best way to find a job is by using the Internet.
- Resumes are screened to find the best qualified candidates.
- If you are qualified and you apply, you deserve an interview. If you don't get the interview or even any response, you are not qualified for that job opening.
- If you ask everyone you know to help you find a job, someone will find one for you.
- It's not what you know, it's who you know.
- If you follow up with an employer more than three times, you are being a pest. And pests don't get jobs.
- If someone says "No" to you about a job, they mean "No."
- To win the interview, you have to sell yourself by telling them how wonderful you are.
- I can't find a job because of the economy. It stinks and the best jobs are going overseas.
- Most interviews come from initial contacts without a resume or cover letter.
- The best way to find current leads is by using the Internet. The best way to find a job is by developing other leads.
- Resumes are screened to find keywords and potential problems.
- Being qualified is not enough. First you need to get noticed.
- If you ask and expect everyone you know to help you find a job, you'll lose a lot of friends.
- It's not who you know, but who knows and appreciates YOU.
- Following up the right way is persistence. Following up the wrong way is pestering. And most leads become interviews after a minimum of 7-10 follow ups.
- If someone says "No" to you after an interview, they very likely mean "Not now."
- To win the interview, you have to ask questions, listen to the answers and tell them what they want to hear. Most people can't sell. They talk too much about themselves and don't listen to their customers.
- There are always jobs for people who develop the right contacts, get involved in the business, and show employers how they can improve the bottom line.
You can reach me, Walt Tarrow, at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Posting Your Resume Online
Happy New Year!
I just learned of a website for posting your resume online.
And it turns out that Emurse.com has been on the Net for over three years! And that was even before Globalpitch.com came on the scene.
If you know of other websites where you can post your resume online, please share.
But with so many websites and so much information, how do you choose what's best for you?
You could spend every hour of every day searching for good info, good advice, and find endless amounts of helpful, useful stuff.
What should you consider when using a website, a service, a tool for posting your resume online?
The top consideration has to be if your resume is going to be found and read by the right people.
So, who are the right people? At the very least, the right people should be those who can influence, directly or indirectly, hiring decision makers. Or put you in touch with, connect you with, those with influence.
Or the right people could be the decision makers themselves.
Are they going to visit the depository where your resume is being stored?
I've been told by a number of those decision makers that they don't have the time or the inclination to search for resumes because they already have too many resumes coming after them. Resumes sent to them have overloaded their personal resume banks and folders.
So why bother posting your resume online?
Well, if it doesn't cost you anything, why not?
But, if it does cost you, then you might want to rethink that value proposition.
Posting your resume online on websites like Emurse.com or Globalpitch.com for free might be worth the investment of the time and effort it takes to construct your resume, but don't count on much of any response from the employers out there.
That's up to chance.
Good Luck!
I just learned of a website for posting your resume online.
And it turns out that Emurse.com has been on the Net for over three years! And that was even before Globalpitch.com came on the scene.
If you know of other websites where you can post your resume online, please share.
But with so many websites and so much information, how do you choose what's best for you?
You could spend every hour of every day searching for good info, good advice, and find endless amounts of helpful, useful stuff.
What should you consider when using a website, a service, a tool for posting your resume online?
The top consideration has to be if your resume is going to be found and read by the right people.
So, who are the right people? At the very least, the right people should be those who can influence, directly or indirectly, hiring decision makers. Or put you in touch with, connect you with, those with influence.
Or the right people could be the decision makers themselves.
Are they going to visit the depository where your resume is being stored?
I've been told by a number of those decision makers that they don't have the time or the inclination to search for resumes because they already have too many resumes coming after them. Resumes sent to them have overloaded their personal resume banks and folders.
So why bother posting your resume online?
Well, if it doesn't cost you anything, why not?
But, if it does cost you, then you might want to rethink that value proposition.
Posting your resume online on websites like Emurse.com or Globalpitch.com for free might be worth the investment of the time and effort it takes to construct your resume, but don't count on much of any response from the employers out there.
That's up to chance.
Good Luck!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Should You Pay To Get a Job?
Simply put, NO!
You have two important factors to consider.
First, what exactly are you getting for your money?
Second, can you get it for less or perhaps even for free?
There are people out there in the wide, wide world who want your money, are not concerned about how they get it, and not interested in providing you anything of value, anything that would help you.
You may be confused. You may be discouraged. You might be desperate. You certainly are vulnerable. And there are predators who will take advantage of you.
What exactly are you getting for your money? Is it possible for someone to GIVE you a job? Of course, that is what employers/companies do. But why would some one or some company charge you for the job? They might charge you for expenses such as tools or licenses but be clear about the employment arrangement or contract before agreeing to anything.
Recently, an alledged employment service advertised immediate hiring for delivery and customer service jobs for anyone. Anyone who showed up at their office and paid $30 for a "uniform" which happened to be an oversized T-shirt with their company name on it. The job was delivering the same flyers that brought the people in to pay the $30 in the first place!! And many of these new employees never earned a penny.
Other employment services claim to provide jobs or leads for a fee, but none of these jobs or leads are exclusive to them. You can find these leads advertised all over the Internet or by simply contacting the companies directly.
What exactly are you paying for?
There are employment and career services that will teach you how to create a resume or create one for you for a fee. Even if they create one for you, you still have to provide all your background information. What exactly are you paying for?
And can you get these things for less or for free?
There are many ways to get a resume and look for jobs that cost only the time and effort you put into it. No fee.
Just get in touch with me and JVS at wtarrow@jvsdet.org, on LinkedIn, at 248.233.4231 or check out our job bank at www.parnossahworksdetroit.org.
And it's free!
You have two important factors to consider.
First, what exactly are you getting for your money?
Second, can you get it for less or perhaps even for free?
There are people out there in the wide, wide world who want your money, are not concerned about how they get it, and not interested in providing you anything of value, anything that would help you.
You may be confused. You may be discouraged. You might be desperate. You certainly are vulnerable. And there are predators who will take advantage of you.
What exactly are you getting for your money? Is it possible for someone to GIVE you a job? Of course, that is what employers/companies do. But why would some one or some company charge you for the job? They might charge you for expenses such as tools or licenses but be clear about the employment arrangement or contract before agreeing to anything.
Recently, an alledged employment service advertised immediate hiring for delivery and customer service jobs for anyone. Anyone who showed up at their office and paid $30 for a "uniform" which happened to be an oversized T-shirt with their company name on it. The job was delivering the same flyers that brought the people in to pay the $30 in the first place!! And many of these new employees never earned a penny.
Other employment services claim to provide jobs or leads for a fee, but none of these jobs or leads are exclusive to them. You can find these leads advertised all over the Internet or by simply contacting the companies directly.
What exactly are you paying for?
There are employment and career services that will teach you how to create a resume or create one for you for a fee. Even if they create one for you, you still have to provide all your background information. What exactly are you paying for?
And can you get these things for less or for free?
There are many ways to get a resume and look for jobs that cost only the time and effort you put into it. No fee.
Just get in touch with me and JVS at wtarrow@jvsdet.org, on LinkedIn, at 248.233.4231 or check out our job bank at www.parnossahworksdetroit.org.
And it's free!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
What's the hold up?
Why the delay?
It has been over three weeks since I started this blog and this is only the second entry.
What keeps us from doing what needs to be done?
What is keeping YOU from looking for your next job?
I got stuck because of two things.
Too many demands with too little time...many, many phone calls, emails, meetings and every caller, every emailer wants to be the most important.
And is what I blog good enough, important enough, for someone, anyone to pay attention?
How about you?
How are you managing your job search work, your job search time and all the other demands of life? What are your priorities? How did you handle all those demands when you were working the 40, 50 or more hours every week?
And why haven't you sent out your resume or set up that meeting yet? Is your resume not good enough? Are you not sure if you will make the best impression when you go to that meeting? Are you not prepared?
Well, forget all that.
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." George S. Patton
Do something, anything, now, every day, to keep moving. Something now is better than nothing now.
Take action. Your progress is measured by the number of mistakes you make.
"The man who makes no mistake does not usually make anything." Edward Phelps
By the way, even if you write the perfect resume, only as little as one out of twenty, that's 5%, of resumes ever get read by any real person. That's a 95% chance your perfect resume will go nowhere. That's the resume you worked so hard to perfect...perfect, but neglected and ignored.
Oh, yeah, the odds for your not-so-perfect, maybe even crappy, resume being read by a real person are at least as good as, if not better, than your perfect resume.
It's better to work on making good contacts, connections to the right people, than to work on making your resume perfect.
A construction foreman told me he hired a young man who came to the work site and handed him this resume.
The young man's secret? He went to the work site. He made himself visable. He made the right impression with the right person.
Stop worrying about being perfect and get out there and meet people. Every day. Make at least that your priority.
And don't forget to come over here to JVS in Southfield any Monday evening at 6:30pm or Thursday afternoon at 1:30pm to meet and get help from even more people.
We will be looking out for you.
Walt
Email me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org
Next post: Getting started...first steps
It has been over three weeks since I started this blog and this is only the second entry.
What keeps us from doing what needs to be done?
What is keeping YOU from looking for your next job?
I got stuck because of two things.
Too many demands with too little time...many, many phone calls, emails, meetings and every caller, every emailer wants to be the most important.
And is what I blog good enough, important enough, for someone, anyone to pay attention?
How about you?
How are you managing your job search work, your job search time and all the other demands of life? What are your priorities? How did you handle all those demands when you were working the 40, 50 or more hours every week?
And why haven't you sent out your resume or set up that meeting yet? Is your resume not good enough? Are you not sure if you will make the best impression when you go to that meeting? Are you not prepared?
Well, forget all that.
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." George S. Patton
Do something, anything, now, every day, to keep moving. Something now is better than nothing now.
Take action. Your progress is measured by the number of mistakes you make.
"The man who makes no mistake does not usually make anything." Edward Phelps
By the way, even if you write the perfect resume, only as little as one out of twenty, that's 5%, of resumes ever get read by any real person. That's a 95% chance your perfect resume will go nowhere. That's the resume you worked so hard to perfect...perfect, but neglected and ignored.
Oh, yeah, the odds for your not-so-perfect, maybe even crappy, resume being read by a real person are at least as good as, if not better, than your perfect resume.
It's better to work on making good contacts, connections to the right people, than to work on making your resume perfect.
A construction foreman told me he hired a young man who came to the work site and handed him this resume.
I DO SIDDING
The young man's secret? He went to the work site. He made himself visable. He made the right impression with the right person.
Stop worrying about being perfect and get out there and meet people. Every day. Make at least that your priority.
And don't forget to come over here to JVS in Southfield any Monday evening at 6:30pm or Thursday afternoon at 1:30pm to meet and get help from even more people.
We will be looking out for you.
Walt
Email me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org
Next post: Getting started...first steps
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