Sunday, March 15, 2020
5 Key Resume Changes You Can Make to Maximize Your Impact -
5 Key Resume Changes You Can Make to Maximize Your Impact -5 Key Resume Changes You Can Make to Maximize Your ImpactHere are 5 key resume changes that you can make to your resume right now that will make the greatest impact. Not just in terms of writing but in your response rate.KEEP IT SHORTListen, there are a lot of misconceptions, confusion, and myths surrounding resumes, and when I say keep it short I want to be perfectly clear that Im leid saying your resume has to be one page theres no way an executive can fit 20 years of work history on a single page. Hear me out on this one. When I say keep it short I mean as an overall rule for each section of your resume.Instead of using an eight- to10-line career summary to introduce your career history choose a career snapshot instead. Use a branding statement, numbers/metrics, and keywords versus long paragraphs. Break it up so theres plenty of white space.Instead of having paragraph after paragraph in your career history use 1- to 3-lin e bullet points.Write concise, lean content in your resume, and cut the fluff.Dont get sucked into going back more than 10-15 years or listing your entire career history in your resume (or titel letter for that matter).WRITE YOUR CAREER STORYShare a challenge you faced or a problem you solved, how you addressed it, and what the outcome or impact was for the employer. This can be done in one or two lines max, but it gives your accomplishments context and shows the value you offer a potential employer.VISUALS ARE IMPORTANTGuess what? Resumes have changedsignificantly in the past couple of years. So have our attention spans, how we consume content, and what type of content attracts our attention and resumes are not immune to these changes. You need to be open to incorporating visual images or designs into your resume. This can include charts, graphs, call-out boxes, text boxes, and shading and colors. All of these techniques can be used to create a visually engaging resume that catches the employers attentionand keeps it.Consider adding color, shading, charts, or graphs to your resume to modernize your presentation and create visual appeal. Neuroscience also tells us that pictures and images also positively affect our information recall. Pictures/images of information are recalled 65% better than just text.GET SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BRANDJust as much as resume writing, job searching, and LinkedIn changes, so do trends with personal branding. According to William Arruda in his 2016 Personal Branding Trends article, video is the new medium garnering our attentioneven over social media. Its not just video that is affecting our personal brand either. The marketplace is changingand where you live and HOW you work is as well. In Arrudas article, he shared that World at Work reports 67% of companies offer flexibility where employees work. This is a growing trendnot a fading one, folks. I encourage you to check out his two-part article on 2016 Personal Branding Tren ds.Do yourself a favor and stay on top of your personal brand instead of playing catch upWhen it comes to personal branding on resumes its not just a statement at the top Its all the content within that supports it and even the colors you choose to use on your resume. My challenge to you is to check out this article and video from PersonalBranding.tv on the color of your personal brand and incorporate that color in your resume. You can also include that same color on your other career marketing documents, professional website(s), and your LinkedIn profile.NUMBERS MATTERI hear the challenges that many of you face when it comes to resumes and sharing numbers. Concerns include sharing confidential earnings or proprietary company information, not having any to share at all, or not tracking it during your tenure.Heres my advicefind numbers. Its not as hard as you think it is maybe youre just looking in the wrong place. Are you a receptionist? How many calls are you answering per day?Are you a manager or leader? How many people are you managing, what size budget are you overseeing, have you increased your teams productivity or has fostering a positive team environment resulted in greater retention rates for your team versus others?Executivestalk about teams managed, bottom-line profitability or cost cutting. Money matters. Find the dollars and then abflug incorporating the dollars or percentages into your resume for an immediate and powerful impact.Its not just about incorporating those dollars, percents, and metrics within the body of the resumeits about putting them at the very forefront, at the top of the resume for all to see. Theres a myth out there that you have to use a career summary and it has to be a broad-based overview of your entire career history at the top of your resume. WRONG. That is prime resume real estate, and you need to make the most of it. Dont shy away from sharing numbers jump at the chance to show employers the value you can bring to the t ableRemember, you want to write lean, clean, and concise using context. Incorporate visuals, personal branding and numbers. Now you have 5 key resume changes you can make to maximize your impact and increase your resume response rate.Struggling to write your own resume? Lets chat Visit my website, call my office at 1.800.991.5187, or connect with me on LinkedIn and lets discuss how I help busy job seekers create interview-winning resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles that generate interviews in two weeks or less.WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS? Check out 2016 Resume TrendsINFOGRAPHIC What Employers See When You Apply on LinkedIn
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
I Chose My Blog Over My Stable, Senior-Level Job  Heres What Happened
I Chose My Blog Over My Stable, Senior-Level Job Heres What Happened For the last decade, I battled through the trenches of the advertising industry as a copywriter. But if the world welches an airport, I welches a traveler at baggage claim. Every so often, Id see a bag that looked like mine. Sometimes, Id even pull it off the carousel. Then, Id quickly realize that Id made a mistake, put it back and wait for another rotation.Or, maybe a more accurate description would be that my career was a road trip, and jobs were stops on the way to an unknown destination. Some were nice Id think, Wow, I could stay here. But inevitably, the charm would wear off. Slipping away with a clich Its not you ... its me, Id hop in my convertible, put on my sunglasses and drive off, watching the town disappear in the rear view mirror.Photo by Wonderland ExchangeThis is not to say Ive had a reckless career. Quite the opposite. I did things by the book. Went to college. Got an internship. Then a job. Made mo ves. I continued climbing until just before turning 30 I landed a senior-level position. Shortly after, there were talks of me heading up a new division with a promotion to Associate Creative Director.So, what happened?Well, something didnt feel right. You see, I have a blog that evolved from hobby to side hustle over the last two years. The more my career grew, the more my blog suffered. Id go weeks without fresh content. My audience plateaued. Work buried me, leaving no spare time. And, while I loved being a copywriter, I felt I was at a crossroads and needed to make a decision fast. Just like that, I walked away from my career to blog full-time. That was two months ago.Here are three hard lessons Ive learned since then.1. People arent going to get it.Being a professional blogger is 2019s version of Im going to Hollywood People look at you with pity. The nicer ones pretend to be supportive, even asking how they can subscribe (they mysteriously never do). I get it. Really, I do. Its hard to understand what we dont understand.These reactions used to bother me, because in advertising, you go back to the drawing board when your idea falls flat with others. In the blogger world? If others dont get it, youre onto something new and that is gold in an oversaturated space. So, learn to be okay with not being understood.2. No one is looking out for you.Listen. Once you go out on your own, and the 1st and 15th of the month are no longer synonymous with pay day, you start to miss the comfort of that old paycheck. Especially when you have to follow up on past-due invoices.As a blogger, I work 70+ hours/week. If I dont hustle, I cant pay my bills. Because of that, I went on a stretch where I accepted unsustainable amounts of work. Dont do it. Establish boundaries. Say no. Set realistic deadlines. Tell companies no matter who they are that youre booked. If youre drained, you cant represent yourself or clients well. The balance between Rise and grind business never s leeps and Dang, girl, you need rest is hard to find, yall.3. What I thought mattered, didnt.Bloggers know there is money to be made. Naturally, they want it. Even within my positiv size blogging niche, plenty of people are going after the same collabs/audience/budgets. That reality scared me. Why would anyone choose me when other bloggers have more followers, experience and popularity within the community? Face palm.Lets make this clear Numbers do not equal sales. Or ROI. And while popularity is nice, fellow bloggers are not usually your target. Stop comparing. Instead, learn who your audience is and what drives them to buy.There is no magic number where youll have made it. At 500,000 followers, youll still have to work to source quality opportunities. It pays (quite literally) to be about your business. We are our brands.To me, that means taking accountability. I cant do, say and deutsche post dhl whatever I want even major bloggers who seem to do so are, for the most part, functi oning within calculated parameters. A single post can land opportunities or drive them away. I might look cute wearing winter boots in May, but its not savvy. So, in a sense, post what you want, but be realistic about the consequences. If you post those winter boots in May, swimsuit companies might not reach out. Strategy is everything.Photo by Wonderland ExchangeI joke that bloggers have to live life two months in the future but thats true This week, Im shooting swimwear. That forecasting mindset is rare. Thats how I turned blogging into an even more successful career than the one I left. Since starting my blog, Ive been on talk shows, flown out to photo shoots, modeled elektronischer geschftsverkehr internationally and sat front row at New York Fashion Week. Ive worked with ModCloth, Sephora, JustFab, Kroger and countless other fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.Anything can happen, but Im confident that the same nimble attitude that made me restless in an office will help me p ivot seamlessly as an entrepreneur. After years of cruising aimlessly, I feel like Im finally driving toward a clear destination.--Sarah-Jane Morales is a plus size fashion and lifestyle blogger based in Houston, who has been featured on Buzzfeed and Bustle. Join 50,000+ others who look to her weekly style, career and real life tips via her website, SarahJaneReign.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
New Custom Welcome Video Feature to Enhance Online Interview Experience - Spark Hire
New Custom Welcome Video Feature to Enhance ansprechbar Interview Experience - Spark HireCompanies understandably put much of their focus on finding the best candidate possible when they have an open fleck that needs to be filled. However, they shouldnt forget to consider the candidate experience during the interview process. The job candidates comfort should be given priority.At Spark Hire, were consistently working to enhance our services to benefit everyone who uses the platform companies and job seekers alike. With the recent launch of ourCustom Welcome Video feature, companies now have the opportunity to personalize their One-Way video interviews and further ensure that they are making the interview process a positive experience for candidates.The Custom Welcome Video, which appears before the candidate starts their interview, is an opportunity for companies to introduce themselves to the candidate and give a little more information about their business and the position the can didate is interviewing for. Up to 5 videos can be recorded/embedded for Silver accounts and unlimited for Gold accounts.Companies can also take this opportunity to engage the candidate early in the interview process and get them excited for whats to comeWant to set up a Custom Welcome Video for your interviews on Spark Hire? Current customers should contact our Customer Success Teamwhile other interested parties should drop us a line here.
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