How to Choose Among Career Services That Sound Similar

Understanding exact capabilities and knowing what questions to ask

Selecting a firm to help advance your career is an important decision. The field includes firms ranging from career and outplacement counselors to various types of marketing companies. When they speak of their capabilities, some might give you the impression that they do the same things we do.

This is one reason we go to great lengths to educate you with our videos, literature and high-content website. We want you to fully understand what we can do for you and our specific guarantees. While we have a close personal relationship with clients, we are far more than an advisory service. We do most of the hard work of job hunting for you, including all of the writing… supplying the openings you need… the contacts you need… and the leads you need. We also distribute your credentials… and do much more. If you are choosing a career service, this guide will make sure you ask the right questions.

1—How will they collect your background information?

If you’re told to write everything out longhand… be concerned. The most comprehensive way to gather everything that’s critical about you… is to do it through a highly structured series of online forms supplemented by personal discussions. This allows several staff members to review the information... and it gives you a valuable document for permanent reference.

The specific online profiles we use include n Our marketability profile; n Our career history profile; and n Our industry characteristics profile. Together they give us the information we need to get started on a personalized marketing plan for you, as well as all the resumes and letters we write.

2—Will they help with what needs to be done… before you start a search?

· Your career / industry options should be identified.

· The goals you should pursue need to be clarified.

· Solutions for liabilities must be provided.

· The specific transferable skills you should market need to be pinpointed.

· A weekly campaign action plan to guide your search should be provided.

Too often counseling firms will claim to address these issues, but they do so only with a broad brush. These are all critical to the speed and effectiveness of your search. They need to be addressed with specificity and clarity. And, some of these items should be provided to you in writing. We will provide you with a personal marketing plan. As part of it, we review your career and industry options and recommend goals. And, we supply your solutions for liabilities, pinpoint your transferable skills and give you a customized weekly action agenda… all in writing.

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A Good Attitude

A good attitude goes a long way when looking for a job. You may start out with your hopes high and feeling confident, but after a few times of hearing “no,” you may start to get down and feel sorry for yourself. This is a mistake that will take its tolls on how you present yourself to companies while trying to find gainful employment.

It is tough out there right now, so you have to keep plugging away and know that you will have to fight for every opportunity you are presented with. With so many looking for work right now, you have got to make sure you stand out. You, like everyone else, will hear “no” sometimes, but you need to learn for the situation and keep moving forward until you are hired.

Being bitter, and other negative feeling for yourself or businesses, will not do any good. They will hold you back and take effect on how you go about finding a job. You may even get to a point where you just give up because you think you won’t catch a break, this is a terrible idea. So don’t go down that slippery slope. Have you head in the game the entire time you are looking for a job.

Look at every opportunity you are given when going after a certain job and take what you can learn from it. If a business likes something on your resume and the way you presented yourself, then you know that is in good shape, but if you are told you could have done something differently, or feel as though you could have expressed an idea or skill better, then make sure you do so next time you are in front of a possible future boss.

If you start getting bitter or angry, it really will start to come through when you are presenting yourself to people. You may not even realize it, but your demeanor does change and people can pick up when something is a little off. Negative emotions tend to give a certain impression, no matter how good you think you are at hiding them. So, if you keep a good outlook, than this wont be a problem and you will have a greater chance of finding that new job at a quicker pace. Learn all you can when you hear “no,” and have a plan of attack when you are ready to move forward to hear, “welcome aboard.”

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!

How to Uncover Job Leads

Everyday events occur that cause decision makers at companies to start privately looking for new employees. The key to successfully uncovering these job leads is to know what kinds of news events are signals to emerging jobs. Employers will often start the process of hiring when these types of events appear in the news:

· An employer receives a new capital.

· A firm kicks off a new product.

· There’s word of new local business operations.

· New contracts are being awarded.

· Relocations are planned.

· There are major licensing agreements.

· Growth expectations or record sales and profits are announced.

If you are able to uncover leads in the news, you most likely can get in the door first and generally, these positions will be less competitive than published openings. If you’re looking for a job, acting on leads should be one of your key strategies. After you uncover a good lead, your next step should be to write a letter or a brief memo or email, linking to your personal marketing website or attached to your resume, in response to a news event. Consider the following examples of brief memos.

· Today’s news indicated that you’re expanding to Georgia. Maybe I can help. As you can see from the attached resume, I’ve had five years of solid experience in plant operations.



· I would like to have the opportunity to tell you how my energy, plus years of experience in your field, can be a winning combination for you.



· My background is a perfect match for the qualities you are looking for to manage the new division. My resume will support this, and I am very much interested in your company.



· Your company was recommended to me by a friend who saw today’s article in the Chicago Tribune. May we have a brief talk?

Have a Game Plan

For a company, a marketing plan outlines the specific actions they intend to take in order to interest their target audience in their product or service and persuade them to buy the product or service they’re offering. Similar to any company who is about to market a new product with a marketing plan, a personal action plan can help you communicate your value to your target audience – employers.

Entering a job search with a good game plan can cut job hunting time in half, save you money, and often can mean the difference between landing your next great job or remaining unemployed. In today’s competitive job market, a personal action plan can be especially beneficial. Most people will never get enough interviews with a hit-or-miss approach because it leaves too much to chance.

A personal action plan is your blueprint for marketing yourself to potential employers. It’s your step-by-step track to follow on your job hunt that should consist of the following facets:

Surface the right information about yourself and set clear goals. Set goals that will increase your chances of landing a job and advancing your career. These goals can be anything from specific job titles to income goals.

Pinpoint what you should be marketing, especially your transferable skills. All of your assets and skills need to be identified. Then, they need to be incorporated into your resume, cover letter and personal marketing website.

Identify industry alternatives to target. Look into what else is out there. The key is to identify industries with characteristics that match those where you have experience or where your degree can translate.

If you have liabilities, you need strategies to neutralize them. If you have liabilities, such as little related work experience, that may restrict your success in the job hunt, as part of your personal marketing plan, arrive at ways for minimizing their impact in all written materials and conversations.

You need a step-by-step game plan to get your story told to all the right people. You want to lay out a step-by-step plan that will guide you in a search. This should be a weekly agenda that includes a plan for how you will search and a plan for interviewing if you are given the opportunity.

Often when it comes to job searching, equally talented people can produce widely varying results – one will struggle while the other moves with speed. The ones that see results rapidly during their job hunt usually have the benefit of a good game plan.

Unconventional Job Hunting Advice for Today's Unconventional Job Market

All too often, you’ll see a lot of the same tips when it comes to job hunting in today’s job market. How to dress; what to include or not include on your resume; how to answer questions; etc. Here, we’ll offer up some of the things you won’t hear all that often in your career search but still is helpful everyday advice that you can actually use.

Monday’s Too Tense and Friday’s Too Casual: Hit the In-Between Days

Haven’t heard from an employer and are nervous about when to contact them? It happens to everybody. The general rule is to give them some breathing room before contacting them even after they’ve said they will contact you. If they say they’ll contact you on a Monday, give them a week or so before you rush into that phone call. But more importantly, choose your days in which to contact them wisely. Nobody likes Mondays, even employers. And Fridays are one of those days where the attitude is going to be as casual as the dress code. Instead, opt for the days that are in-between. Tuesdays and Thursdays are those days when people are focused and into their work, so they’ll make perfect days to make that phone call to inquire whether or not they’ve come to a decision and to remind them of your strengths.

What’s Your Name Again?
Going into a new place (any new place!) can be difficult and confusing. You’re meeting new people on a minute-by-minute basis and often in flurries. It’s difficult to keep in mind and remember the name of every new person who crosses your path. However, remember one’s name shows that your personable and personal – people just like it. And while it seems small, it can go a long way in making an impression. If you’re one who finds it difficult to remember people’s name, associate a person’s eye color with their name when you first meet them. Studies show this association helps in memory retention, and later, you’ll be able to recall their name simply because you recognized a color during that first encounter. If all else fails and you find yourself in an interview unable to recall who’s sitting across from you, look for nameplates, diplomas and other items that might shed a little light on their identity.

Don't Come in Early (But Never Come in Late)
Interviews are always tricky situations. What to wear, what to bring, what to say - everything feels premeditated, and it should! But adding awkward onto awkward isn't going to help the situation out either. And timing is crucial to everything. While it's good to show up to an interview early (and always prepared) it's never a good thing to show up too early, and it's never a good thing to show up late. Instead, exercise moderation. Walking in seven minutes before the scheduled interview is the perfect time to insure that you won't be waiting long and you'll still be punctual.

6 Ways to Go Beyond Your Current Network in Your Job Search

There are a lot of discouraged job seekers out there and with good reason. The unemployment rate has remained relatively unchanged for quite some time. If you don’t have much of a network and you’re not getting any responses when you answer advertisements, here are six things you can do.

1. Get Active; Don’t Just Do What Everyone Else Does

Answering advertisements and going to recruiters are passive approaches. All you’re doing is throwing your hat in the ring with hundreds of other job seekers. The odds are high. Why limit yourself to them?

Instead, take the initiative. Contact employers who have not advertised, but are most likely to need your talents. Jobs are often filled by referrals, networking, recruiting from competitor firms or a letter hitting the desk of a decision maker at just the right time. It could be yours, but simply applying to advertisements isn’t enough.

2. Make Enough Contacts

How many you need will vary. But whether it is answering ads or contacting employers, you need to beat the high odds by making a lot of contacts. Only one person will get hired out of 300 candidates and only two or three out of 100 employers will have a need at the moment you contact them.

3. Get Creative in Your Networking

Instead of just asking a few friends to let you know if they hear of anything, get creative. Develop ideas about how you can make contributions to employers, especially in light of trends in their industry. Then identify key people in companies in the industry, and write them, letting them know you’d appreciate feedback from a knowledgeable source as to whether your ideas would be beneficial.

Follow up with a phone call, and when you do, even if they don’t think much of what you proposed, you’ve added to your network! You can thank them and ask if there is anyone else they’d advise you to talk with or any actions they’d recommend.

4. Pay Attention to Events

When you read business news, ask yourself, might this signal an opportunity for me? Research companies making progress or changes and send a short note mentioning the event to a decision maker in the company with your résumé attached. It makes a positive impression and you might get in the door for an emerging job before there is any competition.

What kind of events? Almost anything – new products, new contracts, expansions, reorganizations, relocations, leases signed, profit increases or even problems can be a sign of a job in the formative stages.

5. Contact More Recruiters

Don’t limit yourself to just a few you know about or those who have advertised an opening. The chance of one recruiter having a job right for you the moment you contact them is very small. As with ads, events and employer contacts, you can increase your chances for success by contacting dozens or hundreds.

6. Contact Growth Companies

Why? Because they are adding people in many functions when other companies are not.

Don’t worry if you are not in their industry. They are often in newer industries, and can’t find enough people with industry experience. So they are forced to look elsewhere for people with the right skills. Just be sure to sell yourself to them about how you will contribute and how the skills you’ve honed in other industries can work for them.

One quick way to identify growth firms: find out its SIC or NAICS Code, then go to the library and look up all the companies in your area who are listed under that code. A reference librarian will guide you.

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