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Volume 13, Issue 03 | ISSN: 1528-9443 | Third Quarter: September 2012 |
What You'll Find: Job-Hunting
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Editor's Note: About this Issue...
We're getting back to basics in this issue.
Few things are more basic to our mission than guiding readers in how to get a job, the subject of our featured article by publisher Dr. Randall Hansen.
Also basic is the concept of identifying accomplishments, an activity with which most job-seekers struggle. Rick Gillis tackles this important topic in a special excerpt from his book, Job! Learn How to Find Your Next Job In 1 Day.
We also review Gillis's book, as well as Eric Kramer's Active Interviewing, covering the basics -- and then some -- of job interviewing.
We'll see you again in early November for our Job Action Day issue of QuintZine.
In the meantime, please remember to check out job listings in our new, improved job-search portal.
--Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., Master Resume Writer, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Electronic Career Coach, and editor at kathy(at)quintcareers.com
Feature Article: How to Find a Job: A Job-Seeker Job-Search Guide
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Wondering about the best methods for finding a new job? Whether you have been searching for a new job with little success or are new to job-hunting, this guide will provide you with expert advice designed to show you how to find a new job.
Let's start with breaking some old, and potentially bad, habits. First, if you've been job-hunting and spending most of your time online, it's time to turn off the connection. Second, if you've sent out resumes and never gotten a positive response, it's time to revamp your resume. Third, if you have gotten a few job interviews, but gotten no further than the first interview, it's time to enhance your interviewing skills.
Learn about the philosophy, strategy, and tools you need to get a job in our full article.
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Special Feature: Job-Seeker Accomplishments: Articulating How You Made a Difference in Your Job is Key to Job-Search Success
by Rick Gillis
An excerpt from his book, Job! Learn How to Find Your Next Job In 1 Day.
"How did I make a difference?"
Your ability to answer that question, first for yourself and then for potential employers, is key to your professional success.
In today's competitive workplace, it is not enough to know how to do the job. You must be able to convince a recruiter or hiring manager that you will bring value to your next employer's company. Until someone can verify that you can walk the walk (known as the probationary period), you had better be able to talk the talk to get a chance to prove yourself.
You already know your own stories that will lead you your next opportunity. You just need to uncover them.
Get all the details in the full article.
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Career Maze encourages you to think about tapping your full potential to find your future. Get more information -- or take the test -- at CareerMaze. |
Quintessential Reading: Review of Job! Learn How to Find Your Next Job In 1 Day
Reviewed by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Job! Learn How to Find Your Next Job In 1 Day,
by Rick Gillis. Paperback, 136 pp. ISBN: 0615514537. (Also available in Kindle.) Publisher: The Really Useful Job Search Company. Pub. Date: July 2012.
Rick Gillis is a well-known career coach, guru, and career radio host. I have known him for years and feel he and I are kindred spirits in our quest to help job-seekers find better jobs and lead better lives. So... when he asked me to take a look at his latest book, I jumped at the chance to review it and share my thoughts with you.
The thing I love most about this book is its focus on helping all job-seekers -- from new grad to executive -- on achieving job-search success. Job-hunting is not hard to master, but it does take some key preparation to achieve greater success -- and this book shows you exactly how to do so. Another plus? Anyone can read the entire book in a day; yes, it will take you longer than a day to implement the ideas and concepts in the book, but you won't be burdened with 300+ pages of reading!
Read our full review, including 10 Key Job-Search Concepts and Factors the Reader Will Take from the book.
Check out all our book reviews.
Quintessential Reading: Review of Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job
Reviewed by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.
Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job,
by Eric P. Kramer. 2011. Independence, KY: Course Technology PTR. 320 pages. Paperback. $19.99. ISBN: 1435459741.
Addressing an audience of job-seekers, Eric Kramer cites the availability of some 3,000 books on job interviewing. Still, candidates are unprepared, he says. Worse, interviewing resources regurgitate tired information, failing to present any new concepts. Kramer proposes an "active interviewing" approach, "treating the interview as a sales call and developing a sales presentation."
Kramer's premise is that job interviews -- for myriad reasons -- are "broken." Both employers and job-seekers are responsible for the problems with interviews. Kramer chooses to address the candidate's role in fixing the disrepair of interviews. "Job interviews are broken," he writes, "but you can repair yours."
To fix their part of the broken interviewing system, Kramer asserts, job-seekers need to think of themselves as service providers, communicate their brand, sell results, tout benefits rather than features, distinguish themselves, ask powerful questions, and de-emphasize interviewer questions (given that the number and variety of questions that can be asked is vast, and thus difficult to prepare for).
Read our full review, including the top 5 things you can learn from the book.
Check out all our book reviews.
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Latest Additions:
Some of the New Job and Career Sites Added to Quintessential Careers
Becomeopedia -- a career exploration site that offers information
on "how to become a ___________" on hundreds of career fields in almost every imaginable career field, from the
arts to the trades, including numerous professions, as well as careers in government. Details include job
descriptions, education requirements, and salary information. No cost to job-seekers.
InsuranceJobs.com -- an excellent job site for
job-seekers looking for jobs in the insurance industry (including sales, claims, underwriting, risk management),
where you can search job listings by location or keyword, post your resume, register for job alerts, and find
some excellent career advice and resources. No cost to job-seekers.
Job Application -- an
interesting and easy to navigate tool for job-seekers, where you can locate companies -- with links to the
job application page of their Websites -- by industry, company, and location. No cost to job-seekers.
JOFDAV.com -- if you are a disabled veteran and you are looking
for work, this is the Website for you. Job-seekers can browse (by job category, location) or search (by keyword)
job listings, post your resume, and register for job alerts. Includes additional resources. No cost to job-seekers.
Many other great new additions to Quintessential Careers can be found in the latest additions section.
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Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search and Work Life
- Liz Ryan, in her article, Outwitting the Recruiting Black Hole, recommends the following when completing an online job application:
"In any open comment box your next Black Hole job application form puts in front of you, write something that tells the employer you understand his or her business situation and have lived through the same movie, yourself. The message 'I have an idea of what you're up against over there at Acme Explosives' is a million times more powerful than the lame and oft-repeated messages 'I'm industrious, loyal and creative, a results-oriented professional with a bottom-line orientation.' We have heard that tired, robotic line too many times -- there's no life in it.
You could write something like this, instead: 'I heard about Acme Explosives from my sister Pam, whose company is a supplier of yours. She said you're growing fast and in need of Project Managers to get your new X-15 stick dynamite products out of the chute and onto the market. At Roadrunner Industries, I managed the launch of the Desert Delights birdseed line, which added $14M to revenues in its first year (budgeted for $10M).'"
Why is this approach important? Employers' keyword-searching Applicant Tracking Systems are keeping many perfectly qualified candidates from getting interviews. This additional storied information may give you an edge. - A significant recommendation in Eric Kramer's Book, Active Interviewing, which we review in this issue, is that job-seekers should
ASK powerful questions in interviews. You can find many lists of such questions on the Internet
(such as our own list).
You can see a particularly comprehensive list here. While the list was developed to guide hiring managers in knowing what questions to expect from interviewees, it works just fine as a source for job-seekers to draw from. - Eric K. Auld conducted a fascinating experiment in which he placed a fake job ad on Craigslist. He wanted to look at the
online application process from the employer's perspective. After receiving 626 resumes in one day, a key piece of learning was the following:
"Employers won't notice me by my resume alone. This one I kind of knew already, but I need to actually follow through with my lesson. Am I really going to stand out in a tidal wave of 626 applications? Probably not.
What I should do is figure out methods to grab the employer's attention, whether it's finding out if anyone I know works with the organization, seeking out a personal recommendation, or calling to double-check that the employer received my resume (even though we all know how daunting actual phone calls can be).
Yes. Networking and followup. So much more effective than mindlessly submitting resumes to job boards.
Read the full article.
See our entire collection of Q-Tips: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips.
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For more details (including sample HTML copy), see our Link to Us page.
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