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Your Best JobReferences

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How to Choose, Prepare and Deliver

I would suggest you have five pjob references. Why five? It’s always good to have an odd number. The five job references should be from specific types of people as listed below.

Five Job References

  1. From your boss. Preferably I know it’s very difficult to get a reference from your boss, but maybe you have a boss who’s retired or a boss who has moved on to another appointment and is willing to give a reference for you.
  2. The next one should be somebody lateral to you or, in other words, somebody on the same level as you, who has worked intimately with you, knows your ins and outs, and knows your attributes. They would be able to speak to your character, etc., and are willing to give a reference for you.
  3. Another one should be an employee. Pick an employee that you’ve worked with and they’ve liked your leadership. They like your management and you believe they can give you a great reference.
  4. The next one should be a supplier or a vendor.
  5. The last one should be a client or customer.

You should also have your personal references typed up so they’re ready to take with you in order to give to the interviewer. If you’re on the zoom call, you need to email your references and then they can start checking.

But also here’s an addendum…

You also need to have plenty of recommendations on your LinkedIn profile because one of the screening processes that the executive recruiters and those who are hiring look for on a LinkedIn profile are looking for is recommendations.

If you’re totally void of recommendations, what message does that send?

My recommendation to you will be to have five recommendations per job held. Now, that may seem very daunting and it’s not the top of everybody’s list to give a recommendation, but go and solicit as many as you can, the more the better.

If you are in a career transition or want to manage your career, I can help you. Please look me up on social media. I am active on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. So go and view my LinkedIn profile and go and view my website, www.aneliteresume.com.

Is a Career Change in the Cards for You? 6 Steps to Consider

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6 Steps to Consider When Thinking About a Career Change

Is a Career Change in the Cards for You? 6 Steps to Consider

If you have been working in your job for more than a few years and feel it may be time to contemplate a career change, take some time to think about your passions, the type of work you would find personally fulfilling, and how you can upgrade existing ones to bring your dream to reality. Work through the following steps when considering how best to move forward with your decision.

1. Envision a Bold New Future.

We all have career aspirations. If you know how to manage your career, your dream job may be just around the corner. Try to figure out what you enjoy and do not enjoy doing — note your strengths, weaknesses and where you would be happy. If you do not have a clear objective, try vision boarding or seek the help of a qualified career coach. They will help you uncover your attributes and partner with you on a defined approach to meeting your next challenge.

2. Explore Your Options.

Ask yourself what industries or sectors would be best suited to your skill set, personality and values. Then advance to a due diligence stage and ask people who are already working in that industry role for their perspective. Generally, people are willing to share their experience. Finally, make a dream job list, setting defined targets and job titles and potential employers. Opportunities beckon for you all the time.

3. Update Your Resume and Social Media Accounts.

The foundation in a job search is a resume. It is considered the most important sales and marketing tool you will have to portray your accomplishments, skills, and character. Be aware that resumes are rarely read by human beings today. We are in a technical age so complying with the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) is vital. Be bold, confident, and be articulate. Craft a strong message showing exactly who you are personally and professionally. This would be backed by accomplishment driven stories utilizing facts and figures, to entice the ATS and the reader to call you for an interview.

Combine your ATS compatible resume with a significant social media presence, preferably utilizing Facebook, Twitter and without doubt, LinkedIn. Always have a powerful, resonating and performance driven LinkedIn profile that tells a compelling story about you. This will contribute to calls from decision makers wanting to know more about your talent and personality. Don’t duplicate the content from your resume on your LinkedIn profile but realign the stories to advance to a conversation stage. Be sure to fill this pageless profile to the maximum including a professional photograph, customized LinkedIn URL, enticing introduction, full keyword summary, recommendations and multiple success stories.

4. Network, Network, Network.

Nothing beats in-person networking. Yes, it can be an onerous task to some, and in particular for introverts, however, brace yourself and get out to the multiple events that await you. While it is never too late to start networking, you should get on the bandwagon early and never stop moving along. Networking is for all, whether you are in career transition or gainfully employed. Never omit this important aspect in building your reputation and brand. It doesn’t matter where you live in the world, the bulk of lead generation to secure interviews is through networking. The statistics are enlightening:  79% of job leads in Canada are generated through networking; 69% in the US and similarly around the rest of the western world. Don’t ignore networking when considering a career change.

5. Craft an Exciting Cover Letter.

A cover letter is still a crucial component when applying for a job. It would be written in the personal pronoun, and so it matches your qualifications to the job specifications. You use your most persuasive vocabulary in this single page document to create excitement and show your commitment to work. Share some examples of how your knowledge of the job and the potential employer will benefit the company. Use some of the keywords from the job notice in the cover letter.

Do not ignore other types of cover letters. In addition to the job posting, cover letters are used for introductions to executive recruiters. They generate conversation as a result of a network lead, direct mail to someone who might be your future boss, or your boss’ boss. Finally, a pain cover letter, where through your network and due diligence you have uncovered some business issues that you believe you can resolve.

6. Seek Out Industry Peers.

Each sector and industry organize national and regional conferences. What better way to gain an understanding and knowledge of a particular industry or role, especially when you are changing careers, than to attend a convention or trade show. These events provide you with the opportunity to meet with multiple persons to solicit feedback on your LinkedIn profile, resume, cover letter, poise and deportment. You may even meet someone who might be influential in hiring you. Also, use trade magazines and papers, published articles or an online search engine like Google to seek out industry peers.

Remember, career change is acceptable. You can do it. But you need the tools and tricks, and sometimes the education and designations, to fulfill those aspirations. If you are anxious to advance your career, I would be thrilled to provide you with a joint LinkedIn audit and free resume critique.

The Benefits of a Personal Brand

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Do you know the benefits of a personal brand? Here are my top three. I’m fascinated by personal branding. It excites me when I work with my clients in partnership to define it because so many people don’t know even what a personal brand is. You are a product. You are sending that product to the market, and you have to define your personal brand.

1. Your Personal Brand Makes You Memorable

You need to resonate with the audience in the career world where you’re going to apply for a job. Make yourself stand out.

2. Your Brand Sets You Apart

Your personal brand sets you apart and it fortifies your competitive edge. We’re all a product. You are a product. I am a product. Personal branding also sets you apart as an authority or an expert in your field. Spend a lot of time thinking about what is your personal brand that is going to resonate with an audience and sets you apart from the other people in the competitive market?

3. Branding Makes You More Money

We all want more money.  The statistics tell us that if you have a personal brand, more people are going to collaborate with you. More people are going to be intrigued by you, and the larger audience you get, the more people will tag on to you, and the more opportunities will come your way, and therefore the more interviews and offers will come your way. I love working with my clients to define their personal brand. We go through a set process. It can be somewhat lengthy, but you will learn a lot about yourself just as I learned a lot about myself when I went through the same exercise when I took a certification in personal branding. So what is so special about you? Think about what is so special about you?

Why should I, if I was in a hiring position, choose you over Mary, Mark or Paul. Your personal brand is your differentiator, your value add.

I’d love to help you. Please email your resume on LinkedIn.

How To UNCOVER the Unadvertised Job Market

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Where Do I Find The Unadvertised Jobs?

Today’s topic is, ‘How to Uncover the Hidden Job Market; where do I find the Unadvertised Jobs?’

How to Find Unadvertised Jobs

So it’s a complete fallacy that all jobs are advertised. So many people think that close to a hundred, if not, 100% of positions are advertised.  It’s not true. Here in Canada, only 8 or 9% of jobs are advertised while in the USA, only about 19-20% and in the UK, it’s approximately 28 or 29%. Each country has a different percentage, but I can tell you, it doesn’t matter where you are anywhere in the world, the bulk of the jobs are hidden.

Do Some Detective Work to Find Unadvertised Jobs

So, what do you do? You must spend a voluminous amount of time doing your research. Are there companies where you know that you would like to work? You might have companies that you liked their products or their service offering or their culture. There may be a company going IPO, and you want to help them go through IPO, because you want to cash in at the other end, but you need to be like my old trade. You need to be a detective. You need to go and hunt those jobs. So it’s a job search; the more hours you put in, the more rewards will come your way.

You need to use LinkedIn and other platforms such as corporate websites, and you need to go and find out who would be your boss or your boss’s boss because so many jobs are unadvertised. They’re hidden.

Find a Decision-Maker

You need to find a person who is a decision-maker. You never know. They might have a vacancy for you right now. And that influencer, that boss or that boss’s boss will then go to human resources, and they will say, “Oh, I’d like to interview this person and I think he will be an ideal candidate to fill this position that I have in my department.”

So the number of hidden jobs is vast. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that all jobs are advertised.

Another section to this job search wheel that you should also use is executive recruiters, but executive recruiters aren’t a big percentage of available jobs. They are normally between 10 – 15%, maybe 18% of the overall job search wheel. What I want you to concentrate on are the hidden jobs.

So if you are in career transition or want to manage or advance your career, I can help you. For a free, no-obligation, no sales pitch resume critique please visit me on my LinkedIn profile. And also my website, www.aneliteresume.com.

Top 8 Telephone Interview Tips

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To streamline and strengthen the interview process, Human Resources departments and Executive Recruiters are using telephone or Skype interviews as a major component of the screening process. Could you use some telephone interview tips?

Here are my top 8 telephone interview tips to embrace:

1. Practice, practice, and practice

The same principle applies for an in-person interview — the more you rehearse, the more confident and eloquent you will be. Consider answers to the most common questions beforehand. You cannot be too prepared.

2. Find a comfortable and quiet location for the telephone interview

If you are on your phone, ensure that your reception is good. Test it out with someone five minutes before the scheduled interview. Position yourself in a quiet setting; not somewhere where background noise could deflect and distract.

3. Research

Don’t enter any interview without looking into the potential employer history, leadership team, culture, products, and/or service. The more you know about the company, the more confident and convincing you will be in delivering a powerful message. Follow and comment on their blogs the week before and after the interview.

4. Hunt the interviewer

When setting up the interview appointment, ask for the name of the interviewer in order to find that person on LinkedIn and do your homework. You never know, you might have attended the same school or been employed at the same company. In conclusion, the more you know about the interviewer, the better.

5. Dress appropriately

Yes, you may think this is strange for a telephone interview, but dress as if you are attending an in-person interview. This will increase your esteem and confidence, and place you in the right mindset like you mean business.

6. Smile

Again, sounds a little strange? No. Smiling helps generate inflections in your voice and keeps the boring monotone away. People can sense your smile which strengthens the positive thoughts about you at the other end of the line. Chuckle, chortle, grin and laugh!

7. Warm up your voice

There is nothing worse than freezing or being boring and monotone throughout the conversation. In order to avoid that, the 7-minute vocal warm-up app will lead you through several breathing exercises to increase your voice inflections and strength.

8. Keep your documents handy

Ensure your resume, cover letter and job descriptions are at your fingertips. You need them for reference, and make sure to try to highlight some of the hard and soft skills from the job description in your interview.

Finally, show excitement and engagement in the prospective job. Doing so will express genuine interest and ask some questions of the interviewer.

Please visit me on LinkedIn for more tips and information

Why Should I Hire You? An Intriguing Question

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Are You the Best Person for the Job?

An interview is a psychological assessment of you. From the start, the interviewer is assessing you for one thing:  to find our if you are the best person for the job? One of the most common interview questions you will be asked is, “Why should we hire you?” You need to have an answer prepared for that question. Are you confident in delivering a resonating and memorable message? An executive recruiter recently shared with me a candidate’s reply to this question. “Because I need a job.” How unprofessional of an answer is that! Yes, of course, you need a job. You wouldn’t be in the interview if you didn’t.

Provide a Solution to the Employers Problem

When putting together an answer to this question, you need to provide a solution to the employer’s problem while outperforming the other candidates who may be just as good, or even better than you. Prior to the interview, research the potential employer. See if you can connect with other people in that company through LinkedIn to gain an understanding of their issues and culture. More importantly, use LinkedIn to connect with people who have left the company in the last six months and ask them about the company. They have no allegiance to their ex-employer and are often willing to spill the beans and tell the truth. You can use this as ammunition for an eloquent and engaging answer. Look at the job posting, if it is published, and use some of the words in your oral response.

Why Should I Hire You? An Intriguing Question

What Will You Deliver?

Firstly, address the fit. There must be a fit in many ways, but especially, with the company culture. This is where networking with current and former employees can help you with your answer. Avoid skirting around the problem or using clichés like, “I’m a good worker,” or “I’m reliable,” or “I’m ambitious.” Instead, highlight the attributes, skill sets, and ambitions you WILL deliver on your appointment. If you have uncovered a problem with that company’s finances, operations, processes, or customer service, among other things, be sure to bring them up as a compelling reason why you should be considered as the number one candidate.

Secondly, don’t hold back. Be forthright, engaging and excite the interviewer through your delivery. Leave them with the impression that you are the best person for the job.

Finally, an interview is a two-way street. You are also there to ask probing questions and make the interviewer think. Happy interviewing!

Is Getting a Job All About Who You Know?

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Consistently, the message is that networking is so important because it is about ‘who you know’ that gets you the job. However, what happens when you try to break into an industry in which you have little to no contacts?

Is Getting a job all about who you know?

The messaging that it is ‘who you know’ that counts seems a little misleading.

Instead, the most important factor when trying to find a new position is that people within your own network know that you are looking for a new position in a specific industry or role. 

Hiring managers do look internally when filling positions, that’s true. However, when that does not generate leads, they look within three degrees of separation to look for referrals.

Therefore, if you are looking to explore a new industry or position, you must get onto the radar of those who may have influence and knowledge of open positions.

Use these tips to get on the radar of those who can help you break into a new industry:

Utilize LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a valuable resource to help you advance your career and get the message out there that you are exploring positions in new industries. Start researching the industry via LinkedIn. Post and comment on articles related to your coveted industry. Doing so will connect you to those within your network who have connections to that particular industry.

Expand Your Network

Breaking into a new industry is also a great time to expand your network. Make new connections with people within the industry you are interested in. Get to know these new connections and communicate your experience, expertise, goals, and the value you could bring. You may want to consider networking with executive recruiters who have inside knowledge and can help you manage your career.

Investigate Your Network

You can also use LinkedIn to search your network for connections to people within the industry in which you are looking. It is likely that you have more connections than you believe. Once you find them, you can contact them to let them know you are looking for a new position.

Tips for Your Executive Job Search

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It can be overwhelming and disheartening to find yourself in an executive job search unexpectedly or for an extended period of time, especially if you are not seeing the response you hoped for.

Tips for Your Executive Job Search

It can be difficult to maintain the momentum and excitement that comes with the new possibilities of a job search when you’re in a prolonged job search. Therefore, there may be a time where you have to refresh your executive job search to continually invest your time and full effort.

Tips to Bring Fresh Energy into Your Executive Job Search and Maintain Your High Level of Motivation:

Assess Your Long-Term Goals

A job search is a great time to look at your goals and ensure that you are on the right track to achieve them. In fact, it may be time to reassess your goals and truly consider the industry and positions you’re targeting. You want to ensure they will help you pave the path you want in your career. This time of reflection may prove valuable in deciding whether you want to continue down this path or if you are perhaps ready to change the direction of your career completely.

Reformat Your Resume

Decision-makers are constantly deluged with resumes. Therefore, it is beneficial to ensure that yours stands out from the rest. Think of your resume as a story, and, through it, tell the story of your career—your experiences, your skills, your values, and your expertise. Showcase the relevant details of your career that illustrate how you will contribute to your next team and stand out in your executive job search.

Consider How You Can Boost Your Personal Brand

Is your personal brand is consistent? You need to take a good look at that. From your email address to your values, be sure you have uniformity. Then, consider options to boost your personal brand. Are there ways to showcase your expertise besides your resume? Use social media to get your voice, ideas, and knowledge out there to set yourself apart as someone who is not only informed but also passionate about the work you do.

Be Active on Social Media

Professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook are highly beneficial in reducing a prolonged job search. Through LinkedIn, you can connect with professionals within your industry and others if you choose to expand your search and focus on referrals to penetrate the hidden job market vs lingering on job boards. Therefore, it is in your best interest to invest time in networking to promote yourself, your personal brand, and land the job you desire. Just be sure to avoid these LinkedIn profile mistakes that can cost you.

Avoid These Actions on LinkedIn if You Want to be Noticed

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Apart from the resume, LinkedIn is the most important tool or platform for you to promote yourself to key career decision-makers. First impressions count, and one error could raise red flags. Your credibility and professionalism are crucial. Avoid these actions if you want to be noticed on LinkedIn.

Showing your political leanings and ranting incessantly.

We are living in an interesting age where politics appear to be a divider more than ever before. Yes, we all have our own opinions of the way politicians should run the country. But stay clear of posting political messages, whether they be your positive or negative opinions. Hiring authorities also have their political inclinations, and your leaning maybe opposite to theirs. Yes, discrimination still exists.

Posting personal photos.

LinkedIn is a professional site where you will be judged accordingly for all your activities, posts, shares or other comments. A picture is worth a thousand words! Perhaps we should equate that to a salary? A picture is worth $400,000? Could be more, could be less.

Posting personal, family or other social pictures should be left for other social media platforms and pictures from your college activities are certainly not acceptable.

Your profile picture should show you in the attire you would wear to work. It should be by yourself, without kids, spouse or struggling fish!

Using your LinkedIn network connections to build an email distribution list.

It is totally unacceptable to add your connections’ e-mails to your list. Not only is it highly unprofessional, the action also contravenes GDPR, which requires the person’s permission to add them to your list.

Being negative about other LinkedIn connections.

This is not a site to air all your frustrations or portray your negativity. Keep your opinions about others, some of whom you may have met in-person, or even the boss who fired you, to yourself. LinkedIn is a platform where you secure and build trust and respect. Don’t blow others’ perception of you through simply one post.

To wrap it up, this is YOUR platform to drive authenticity. Use common sense in all your LinkedIn activities, and be prudent in your language, who you invite, and who you accept to connect with.

For a free, no-obligation, no sales pitch resume critique, send your resume via LinkedIn or via email to martin@aneliteresume.com

Is Your Resume in the Graveyard?

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As a resume writer, I have watched this document evolve through several format and content changes over many years.

I have also watched many people struggle in their career management and job search simply because their resume is outdated, contains the wrong information, or doesn’t sell their soft/hard skills and accomplishments.

You only have one chance to make that first impression and capture a career decision maker’s or recruiter’s attention. A resume/CV doesn’t get you the job, its purpose is to snag the interview.

Thousands upon thousands of resumes and CVs written each day end up in a graveyard. It’s a huge depository of viable, highly skilled talent waiting and wanting to be hired. But because the document’s format and content don’t meet the current standards today, the resume slips quietly into the grave.

So, how come?

Today, resume and CV processing is generally performed by a computer scanning software, Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The software is written to scan this crucial document designed and written in a certain format.

You can never beat a computer, but you can at least try and match it. Statistics state that 70% of resumes/CVs FAIL to pass the ATS screening. Isn’t that astounding?

Here are a few tips to take into account when writing your resume.

Use a plain, clean format and design. Zero charts, graphics, custom fonts, or elaborate bullets which will be scrambled by the ATS system.

Sidestep submitting the resume in PDF format unless you know that that particular system can cater to PDF. Some do, most don’t. Utilize MS Word that is compatible with all ATS systems.

Don’t use headers or footers, as the way the ATS is programmed inhibits the reading of the text within the header or footer. Therefore, if your name and address are in a header, this vital information will be missing. No wonder you aren’t receiving calls!

Ensure the resume has all the keywords or buzzwords representing both the hard and soft skills you possess and that are required for the position. Without these keywords your resume is dead and will be sent to the graveyard. Use the most important keywords to the job more than once dispersed throughout the resume.

Don’t leave off dates of employment. The latest ATS scanning software will be thrown off by missing dates, and the system is also tracking the amount of experience required for the specific job.

Finally, customize your resume to the appointment by pulling some of the words from the advert/job notice.

Which is on your agenda? The graveyard or the interview?

For a free, no-obligation, no sales pitch resume critique, send your resume via LinkedIn or via email to martin@aneliteresume.com