Career Rocketeer
Career Rocketeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14906162015790554668noreply@blogger.comBlogger543125
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Dress for Success: What to Wear in an Interview
You’ve heard it before. Your first impression can make you or break you when it comes to a job interview. And when it comes to making a dynamic first impression, it’s key you dress for the job you want. Making sure you look the part not only packages you as a ready-to-hire employee, but it can boost your confidence as well. Here are five things to keep in mind when you’re choosing the right outfit for your big day:1. Err on the side of dressing up, not down.It’s important in a job interview... |
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Job References: Don't Lose at the Finish Line
The purpose of providing references is to close the deal. It isn’t to discover if you are telling the truth about your dates of employment, verify that you’ve demonstrated the proper skills for the job, or even to assure the hiring authority that he’s making the right decision to hire you -- though each reason contributes. If a company is having difficulty deciding which of two individuals to make an offer to, references are usually the deciding factor. If more job seekers understood this,... |
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Are You A Resistor?
Over the past 5 years, having taught over 20 – 8 week classes on job transition skills, I’ve consistently seen many people resist applying the ideas and techniques I talk about.Although they nod in agreement in class, they rarely, if ever, change any of their activities throughout the week. They continue doing the same things they’ve always done and expect different results (isn’t that a definition of insanity?).Why do they do that? And how do you change if that’s been you? Do you know... |
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A One-Size Resume Does Not Fit All
I recently went car shopping this week and man, what an experience that can be. I looked at so many different cars, they all started to blur together. I set out with specific criteria in my head of the features and options I wanted included with my next vehicle—some of which came from experience with my current vehicle—which happens to produce some really loud road noise. It’s one of my pet peeves about the SUV I drive, so one of my main goals for my next vehicle (among others) is to... |
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How to Deal with Headhunters
In addition to my current practice as a resume writer, career transition coach and social media strategist, I have spent 20+ years as an independent talent acquisition specialist, the 21st century name for "head-hunter." So I am qualified to say that relying on recruiters should not be at the top of your list of ways to find a new position. The reasons, of which there are many, we can discuss at another time. The most obvious being recruiters get paid by and therefore owe their allegiance to the... |
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How Best to Work with a Recruiter Today
Back in the day when job hunting was easier, job seekers had the upper-hand. Whether it was applying directly to a business online or registering with a local staffing firm, oftentimes it was a quick and easy process. Today – not so much.It’s a New World. Businesses that ARE hiring in today’s climate are trying to save money wherever possible. Spending budgets have been depleted. The utilization of external recruiters is way down. Simply put, staffing firms are used much less than before.... |
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Top Job Search Strategies You’ve Probably Never Tried
1. Identify Your Target Industry or Field of Interest- Most industries have multiple subfields and further, departmental differences between job descriptions, duties and responsibilities. Make sure you are aware of the variety of positions within each industry sector. Use the Occupational Outlook Handbook (www.bls.gov/oco/) to research job titles.- Take some time to envision yourself performing each task associated with a position – could you see yourself performing this task eight hours a... |
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7 Steps to Succeeding in Corporate America
Having been a member of Corporate America for over 10 years, my passion for growth and advancement in the job market has thought me quite a bit. There are many different ways to look at Corporate America, every position within an organization carries its own perspective and introduces you to an entirely different experience. There is however some key areas you can focus on to ensure you are not kept from moving up into the role you desire. Most of what we’ll cover here can apply to almost any... |
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Dealing with Inappropriate Interview Questions
In your job search, if you are interviewing regularly, it’s highly likely that sooner or later you will be asked a question that may seem inappropriate or legally dubious. How you view that question, and how you respond will very likely have a great impact on your success.I recently had someone in my job search class tell me about an interview he had at a small company. The hiring manager asked what year he graduated from college, as it wasn’t on the resume. The candidate told him it was... |
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Put Down the Objective and Back Away Slowly
It is beyond me why, in this day and age, job seekers still insist on using an objective statement. I can understand if you’re a new grad or fresh out of high school; in these situations an objective is permissible. But if you’re a professional, seasoned job seeker, or have more than two years of experience, put down the objective and slowly back away.What’s wrong with an objective you say? Hmmm ... where should I start. First, it’s overused. Second, it’s all about you. Third, it absolutely... |
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Personal Branding Basics
A lot of my people tell me that they hear and read a lot about the personal branding in a job search but don’t really understand what it means.To me PERSONAL BRANDING is how you differentiate yourself from your competition and let people know how special you are.So here are a few ways to establish a personal brand on your resume, online and in person.1: Create a tag line that sums up who you are in one or two sentences.For some it can be a very simple statement and for others something a little... |
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FREE BOOK - Launchpad: Career Search Strategy Guide
Launchpad is YOUR ultimate career search strategy guide, printed and published quarterly with exclusive articles by the top career experts in the industry.In preparation for the "launch" of Launchpad (Vol. 3) later this month, Career Rocketeer is proud to offer you a FREE, downloadable version of Launchpad: Your Career Search Strategy Guide (Vol. 1). This complimentary volume features 152 pages of articles from 20 top career experts including: William Arruda, Meghan Biro, John Crant, Maria Elena... |
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Why Invest in a Professionally Written Resume?
In a perfect world, interview candidates would be selected based on their strength and experiences. In reality, this isn’t how the process works. Typically, a recruiter chooses the short list of candidates from a pile of resumes. The trick is to be on the short list.The Rise of the Machines!Don’t assume your resume will be read just because you sent it through. Resume tracking software used by HR departments is a unique technology. This filtering system allows HR recruiters to set certain... |
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Finding a Culture for Success
If you’ve ever found yourself in a company that doesn’t value your skills, then you’ll appreciate the discussion on finding the right corporate culture for the skills and talents you bring to an organization. In this post, we’ll take a quick look at how you can overcome a very common barrier for moving your career to the next level.A big issue for many working professionals is in finding a good fit for success within a company. Fit is usually broken up into two factors: job and organization.... |
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3 Things You Should Never Mention on Your Resume
Many job seekers write their resumes under the belief that they have to "come clean" on everything regarding their careers, from what they have achieved, to the reasons they left previous jobs, to what they want to do well into the future.But a resume is not a tell-all autobiography of your career triumphs, tragedies, and non-essential trivia. It's a marketing document that tries to position you as a prime candidate for whatever job you're applying for. While your long-term goal is to get the... |
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Resume vs. Online Profile: What’s the Difference?
I was recently asked about the difference between a resume and an online career profile. Is there a difference? Should there be a difference? Are they considered in different ways? What should be included or avoided? Good question… short answer… YES! They are different.There are a number of things to consider when creating a professional profile online vs. creating a resume to email or present to a company, or when applying for a specific role.Here are some thoughts that can help…When creating... |
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30+ Strong Action Verbs to Spice Up Your Resume
If you use the phrases “responsible for, duties included, or worked with...” you are selling yourself, your experience and your resume short. These passive terms do absolutely nothing for communicating the value and benefits you offer an employer.These phrases are boring and repetitive because most every job seeker uses them. Hiring managers need words that jump off the page and captivate them. Here are a few examples of my favorite action words:AcceleratedAuthoredCaptivatedCapturedChampioned... |
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Word of Mouth 2.0: Personal References by Google
When I started Vizibility last year, we hired accountants, lawyers and other professionals to help us get the business going. Very few of us choose a lawyer or doctor or realtor or [fill in the blank] based solely on the company’s television ad or website or phonebook ad or referral alone. We may start with one of these, but we validate what they tell us by getting input from friends, family, and past and current clients.And Google.For service professionals, the best way to find new clients... |
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Open Networking: What’s Your Verdict?
When I joined LinkedIn during my job search, I did not yet have a large network of first-degree or second-degree contacts within my chosen industry and found it very challenging to reach any potential career stakeholders. I turned to open networking as sort of an experiment to see how it would serve me in my job search efforts by joining a couple LinkedIn groups for LIONs (a.k.a. LinkedIn Open Networkers).As I gained more first-degree contacts, I gained more messaging access to them and their... |
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5 Easy Steps to Finding Passion
Many people, particularly as they accumulate years of work experience, find they have a growing desire to put passion into their life and career. My observation about why this takes place is that as we grow in life experiences a lot of the excitement or “newness” diminishes. We simply have been there and done that enough that our threshold for what will rock our world continues to go up. It’s increasingly harder to get that same level of excitement.As we recognize that this element of excitement... |