Consider a Site

When looking for work and trying to be noticed by employers, do all you can to make sure you are catching eyes. A great way to go about this, in addition to a great resume, is to have a personal marketing website.

Job hunting is all about getting enough of the “right people” to look at your credentials. A “Personal Marketing Website” is a website that presents your universal resume, and sometimes your biography, for those who wish to review it.

Here’s how this works at our firm. When we write resumes, we create a distinctive and professional “Personal Marketing Website.” Displaying one on the web in color, is an impressive way of presenting yourself.

It gives you a fast, no-cost way to get your presentation in front of the right decision makers. How? Because you can simply send out emails with a link to your “Personal Marketing Website.” Through our job hunting information system, all you need to do is get the names of decision makers… and emails of key employers, throughout the U.S., or the world, in industries that are right for you, or in the area where you want to live.

Can this make networking easier? Yes. For people you already know, all you do is send an email to let them know that you are open to new opportunities, and that you put up a new and unique “personal marketing website.” And, when people see your presentation, they will be far more impressed than anything you could say over the phone.

With access to our Job Market Access Center (JMAC), you can even comfortably network people you don’t know. For example, you can quickly get the names of alumni from your school who hold influential jobs, or others who worked with you some years ago, or executives in an industry or metro area… whose advice and referrals you’d appreciate.

Can this website also be used for responding to ads? Absolutely. Mention your link in a compelling email and you’ll have a surefire way to dramatically stand out from everyone else who answers an ad. The bottom line is that if you’re in the market today, and don’t have a “Personal Marketing Website,” you will be searching with an unnecessary competitive disadvantage.

Make sure you do all you can to be impressive to employers, the more work you put into you search, the more they know you will put into your work with them, it will speak volumes.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Contacting Potential Employers

Making contact with employers is the best way in which to get a job. Simply filing out a resume and sending it in may work, but it will not work as well as making contract with people.

Know the best ways to make contact to have the best chance for success. Every day we all receive direct mail. However bad junk mail looks, the ones you see again and again are working; otherwise, the senders wouldn’t be wasting their money.

One thing that makes it work in many cases is that long copy is used. That’s what it takes to motivate all of us to action from unasked-for correspondence.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say a lawn mower shop has a new product. And you and your next door neighbor are both out cutting your lawns on a hot day. However, your lawn mower breaks down. Then, the mail carrier arrives at both residences with mail that tells you all about a new lawn mower. It gives a long explanation of why it’s superior. Now, your neighbor will look at the mailing piece for two-seconds and toss it. He isn’t in the market for a lawn mower. On the other hand, they have reached you at the right time, you are likely to read it. Now when you job hunt, your situation is similar. You need to reach the right person. No one else counts.

Some people don’t believe in direct employer contact. They think that anything you send to an employer is thrown away. Certainly, this has some truth, since the great majority will throw away your materials in seconds.

But if you’ve ever needed someone with certain skills, then you know you want the easiest way to find a good candidate. And if a good resume or letter reached you at the right time, you would take action on it. Sending the right materials, to the right person, will get the attention of some decision makers. But, timing is very critical. You need to reach a decision maker that might be looking for someone like you. Even if your timing is bad, companies scan the resumes of the better candidates into their database. Then, as they develop a need, this is usually the first place they turn. Contacting employers directly allows you to reach potential buyers quickly. If you want, you can reach the entire universe of all your best prospects.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Overcome Weakness

If you are having trouble finding a job, but have a lot of experience in the field you are looking, the problem may be what else is on your resume. You may be showing liabilities that you are not aware of, which are painting you in a bad light to bosses who decide if you are the person for them.

One such liability could be age.

Today there are many dozens of either young or vibrant industries. And, in these industries there are thousands of recently formed companies with young management, and their emphasis is definitely on youth. Despite that, you are likely to fi nd most of them have at least two or three senior professionals who are highly valued.

Don’t forget that several studies have shown senior employees to be more reliable. Many are just as quick to pick up new

information as other age groups. Young management teams often realize that they need to be balanced with the wisdom that extra experience brings, and will prefer an older candidate for functions such as legal, finance and administration.

Another daily reminder should be to review your beliefs and attitudes. Here is a well known fact among psychologists who study such things. We are limited or not limited according to our beliefs about ourselves and what is possible for us, and that generally we are treated by others in accord with our expectations—about how they will treat us.

Because we tend to get what we expect, and because people tend to refl ect back to us the beliefs and attitudes we are projecting, you need to examine your beliefs about yourself and about what’s possible “career wise” at this stage.

If your beliefs are limiting or negative, start working on them. Recognize that all of us fi lter reality through our attitudes and beliefs, so what we perceive doesn’t necessarily reflect reality, but just the way we are seeing it at the moment. If you have held some limiting beliefs related to age, it’s very likely that your “fi lter” has been distorted toward the negative, and has been reinforced by many of those around you. So, consider writing down your beliefs in this area, not as fact, but as beliefs. Start each one with the words, “I believe.”activities require physical exertion, mention them.

If any of them are negative or limiting, then write a corresponding positive version. As you may know, any belief can be justified by the facts, depending upon which facts you focus upon. Use “selective perception” to focus on and write down all the events that support the positive beliefs and ignore any negative ones.

Think Ahead

So you've impressed an employer with your resume, but now comes the interview. You can't let your nerves get the best of you. The best way to go into an interview with the most confidence, is to plan ahead and quiz yourself with questions you think you may be asked. No interview is exactly like another, but some questions are bound to resurface depending on your profession. You might be taken by surprise by some questions, but there are others you should expect to be asked. Go into detail when explaining what you bring to the company with examples from your past. Use these work examples to show why you have all the necessary experience to add to the overall success of the business.

Be direct in the interview. The best way to do this is to think of questions before the interview and answer them in the most detailed explanation, without droning on. No doubt your new job will have stressful times. The interview is a way for your boss to see how you handle stress and being put on the spot. All the other pieces to the puzzle may be there for you to be a great addition to the organization, but there may be another candidate who gets the position because they were more prepared and confident in the interview.

So, to review the plan:

1. Think of questions you have been asked before in previous interviews. Find out from friends in the same line of work what they were asked.

2. Formulate what your answers to these questions are going to be.

3. Know there will be at least one question you didn’t plan on being asked, so when the time comes, you don’t feel completely sideswiped.

Going over your resume and talking about your skills will happen in the interview no matter what. The interview is the time for the boss to see who you are. They want to see what your personally is like and what you will bring to the feel of the business, not just the bottom line. Know that the interview is when you will seal the deal for your next career opportunity.