Bob's old resume didn't work for him... he'd send it out but, no interviews, none, zip-o.

Bob was very eager to get out of the stop-gap job he'd taken when his former company closed, and there was one job in particular that he was very interested in applying for, but he'd bumped up against some dead ends. 

For one thing, he'd applied once to the company and been rejected, so it seemed pretty clear that the home-made resume he'd been using wasn't working for him. Also, the company had removed the posting a couple of months ago. 

To give himself his best shot, Bob hired me to create a sharp new resume for him that clearly states the value he can bring to employers — and the resume worked!

Bob sent me this note last week:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Terrie-

Just wanted to let you know that the resume you wrote for me worked! I accepted the position that was number one on my list [specialty products sales rep] and start next week. 

[I sent Bob an email reply of congratulations and asked if the salary was what he'd hoped for, and he responded:] 

I'm so pleased - the organization is outstanding - love the management, the business plan, the product line - the values and mission statement. And the money they offered was more than I expected. Can't say anything negative. The HR manager told me they had been looking for the right candidate for over a year! 

Terrie, I had sent them a resume previously and never heard back - I figured they weren't interested but [you suggested I] send it again. So I did. 

Within 5 minutes of sending the email I had a call from the HR manager wanting to schedule an interview. The part I forgot to tell you is that I had ANOTHER offer come the same day.  

I told a friend in Washington DC about what you did - you may hear from her as she's considering moving back to the area. She works for [major global media organization] now so she doesn't know what potential there is for her in this area but I gave her your contact info in case she decides to take the plunge. 

Thank you for the great work and if you need a reference I would be happy to provide one. 

Bob

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yay Bob!!!

Terrie Osborn, CPRW

Resumes Etc.

Certified Professional Resume Writer

(315) 676-3315

CNYResumes.com

If interviewing for jobs is an ocean where all the candidates look the same, how can you stand out?

A group of employers were recently asked this: During an interview, when you ask “Have you any questions?”, what are the questions candidates should be asking? And here were some of the replies and comments:

− Questions that show they've researched the company. This shows me that they put some work in up front.

− Questions about my company's culture. This shows me that they want to fit in and might not see the job as just a job. We spend so much of our lives at work, I like it when people want to be sure they'll be happy here.

− Questions about what projects are coming in the pipeline. This shows that they're eager to get started.

− What would my typical day be like?

− I did a round of interviews last week. The best candidate, when prompted for any questions he may have had at the end, gave us a sort of brief run-down of the position and what he thought he'd be doing. And he asked us if that was accurate, and if we could fill in any blanks. I really liked that. It showed he researched the position well and was a nice expression of interest.

− Why is the position open? (Response to this can tell you a lot about the job and/or company. If the last person was fired, they won't tell you that directly, of course, but usually it'll be because the person occupying it before got a promotion, moved to something that interested him/her more, or something else mutually amicable like that, and that can at least get a conversation started on an employee's potential for internal promotion, movement, and things like that. Depending on when this is asked, it can also provide a much less awkward alternative to that dreaded Where do you see yourself in five years question, since knowing more about how things work in the company can give you more of a feel for what would be realistic for yourself if you were to take the position.  

(Stay tuned – more to follow!)

Thank you to reddit.com contributors DoctorStrange37, Countrykev, BoulderFreeZone, MyOtherCarIsEpona, lazy8s, raloon, charliePAG, Sir Fancy Pants, and radioactdave.

Do you know about the 80/20 thing in job hunting?

Eighty (80) percent of all jobs that are available, are not posted.

They’re not posted on line, or on job boards, or in the newspaper. They’re never listed anywhere, and do you know why? It’s because the employer doesn’t have to post them because people basically just show up and ask for them! 

That’s called ‘proactive job seeking’ – you go to the employer to ask for a job. You show up with a great resume and a big smile on your face and let them know that: (A) You’re interested in pursuing employment opportunities at their company and (B) You have great qualifications for working there and that you can bring value to their company!

You already know you’ve got great qualifications – do you also have a great resume? If not, I can help! Because you know what? That new job is waiting for you to show up and claim it!

Is your resume great? Is it getting you interviews for at least 50% of the job you're applying for? It should be, and if not, I can help. I've been writing powerful, interview-getting resumes for more than 20 years. Email your current resume to me for a free consultation to help you get on track -- it's easier than you may think!  cnyresumes.com  •  terrieosborn@gmail.com

How To Land A Satisfying Job

by Terrie Osborn, CPRW

People often spend more time planning for a vacation than in preparing to land a satisfying job! Put some thoughtful preparation into finding a job and you can be happy in it day after day, 40 hours a week, year after year. The secret to finding a job you love is in preparation.

Four-Step Process For Preparing for Job Finding: Make a plan, Invest in a professionally prepared resume, Prepare for interviews, Follow-up after interviews.

Step 1: MAKE a plan.
♦ So you want to be an accountant - but what kind of accountant, and in what kind of industry? And where in the world would you like to live? Is it important to stay close to home, or do you want to live in a different climate, maybe in the mountains or near the ocean? Do you want to work for a small, local, mom and pop widget manufacturer? in health care? aerospace? for a large well-known, global accounting firm? in a federal position? Would you like to eventually be a manager?
♦ Work out a preliminary five to ten year plan for your career. Write it down. You can always change it as you go along, and maybe the best thing is to just take a job, any job, at this point - which is fine - and then change your plan as you go along and discover other career interests. But get relatively clear about what you'd like to do.
♦ The "What Color Is Your Parachute? Workbook" can help you zero in on what's important to you in a career.

Step 2: INVEST in a professionally prepared, powerful, confidence-building resume.
♦ Most 'did it myself' resumes are substandard documents that poorly represent the candidate. You need a good resume to get noticed. It's probably a waste of your time and energy to try to create your own resume.
♦ Employers often look at resumes for ten seconds or less before delegating the resume to the 'call' or 'do not call' pile.
♦ Professional resumes stand heads above all homemade resumes. They get attention because they make a great first impression. They get interviews faster, which speeds up the job finding process. And they inform the entire interviewing process, and can secure the candidate more money.

Step 3: PREPARE for interviews.
♦ A good resume will get you interviews, then, interviewing well will get you job offers.
♦ It's not the person who's best qualified that gets the job - it's the person who interviews best!
♦ You CAN learn how to interview well - it just takes practice, and doggedly overcoming your own personal interviewing fear hurdles.
♦ A great way to prepare is to read two of Carole Martin's books: "Interview Fitness Training" and "Boost Your Interview IQ". Read "Fitness" through two or three times (you can read it through in an hour or so). Read at least the first 20 (or so) pages of "Interview IQ" to get the general idea of how to actually respond to interviewer questions. These books cover it all, from how to dress to salary negotiations and everything in between.
♦ Prepare extensively for the interview. Research the company through Google. Hunt down their annual reports. Make up a list of questions (in your mind) to ask at the interview.
♦ Realize that the company needs you at least as much as you need a job, and that all employees are hired to solve problems for employers. A good interview question is always "What do you feel is the biggest challenge your company is currently facing?"

Step 4: FOLLOWUP after an interview, immediately sending a Thank you Letter.
♦ Statistically, three out of five employers say they are influenced positively by thank you letters sent by candidates after interviews, and only one out of ten candidates sends a thank you letter.

The key that opens doors to interviews is a great resume. Is yours getting you interviews? If not, I can help. I've been writing powerful, interview-getting resumes for more than 20 years. Email your current resume to me for a free consultation to help you get back on track -- it's easier than you may think!  cnyresumes.com  •  terrieosborn@gmail.com

The Great Opportunity Of Changing Jobs: Just Let Go

Changing jobs can be stressful, especially if you thought you’d be staying forever / for a long time / until you retired, at the job you’re now finding yourself thinking about changing from.

Here are a couple of thoughts that might make the process easier.

1. Why did you think you’d be staying there forever, anyway?

Your response might be: That’s what my father and grandfather did -- stayed at the same job for 20 (30, 40 or more) years so I just assumed I'd work at the same place for my entire life too. Or maybe it's not exactly that you ‘thought’ you’d be staying there forever, but that you wanted to stay there because you didn’t want to go through (what seemed like) the chaos of changing jobs.

Or maybe you’re ‘vested’ in the company financially, meaning with retirement funds, and have no interest in jeopardizing that. Or maybe you just like it there, like the routine, like the people you work with, etc., and want to stay. Probably why you thought you’d be staying at your job is due to one or a combination of those responses.

2.  What if you changing jobs is just a part of the huge, global changing / rearranging / cleaning up / making things better overall and for everyone everywhere process that we appear to be experiencing right now?

It's pretty obvious that a lot has been changing on the planet over the past few years, and for all the upheaval that often appears to be involved, it does seem that things are going from good to better. What if you’re just playing a little part in – dare you even think it? – making the world a better place, by shifting out of a place where you’re no longer needed, into a place where you very much are needed now, in ways you may never know, and even though you might not know what or where that place is just yet?

Maybe you—personally—have some intangible qualities that would be of benefit to another employer at this point in time. Maybe ‘the universe’ is (gently, at least at first, at least until you resist) moving you into new place as part of the overall change on the planet, even if you’re not seeing it that way. Maybe you’re ‘all done’ at the place where you’ve been, your mission has been completed, and you’re needed elsewhere now, AND you’ll be happier when in the new place. (Maybe some or all of these are true for you.)

And finally,

3. What if the changing process doesn’t have to be difficult, but can be fun and easy, as fun as taking a wonderful vacation where great surprises are in store for you as well as a type of pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Ok to be clear, I’m not exactly talking about actual ‘gold’, although excellent renumeration should absolutely be on your ‘must have’ list of what you want in a new job (if it's what you want -- whatever you want in a new job, should be on your 'must have' list). I’m talking about feeling happier.

Suppose you knew changing jobs would put you into a place where you were happier than you ever have been: wouldn’t that make the job changing process a little easier? To know that’s what you’re headed toward? To know that everything would be even more than okay when you got there? That it might even be the best thing that ever happened to you?

We set the tone for all of our experiences by what we anticipate. If we think we’re going to have a bad time, we probably will. But if we decide to have a wonderful experience, and surrender to the beautiful potentials that we decide to believe are in store for us -- imagine the possibilities!

Changing jobs doesn’t have to be horrible, unless you make it be that, which—if you’re not deciding it will be a good experience—chances are that’s exactly what you’re doing, letting the experience be awful.

You could decide to believe changing jobs is, somehow, in your best interest, even if you don’t exactly see that right at the moment, and just let it happen. If you have to make a change, for whatever reason, you can choose to do it willingly instead of in resistance. Decide good things are going to happen on this adventure then pack a lunch and the camera and keep your eyes open. This may well be the most amazing journey you’ll ever take.

The key that opens doors to interviews is a great resume. Is yours getting you interviews? If not, I can help. I've been writing powerful, interview-getting resumes for more than 20 years. Email your current resume to me for a free consultation to help you get back on track -- it's easier than you may think!  terrieosborn@gmail.com 

William The Streak

My tendency is to belief that things happen for a purpose, that life goes from good to better, that the best is yet to come. If we don't allow ourselves to become 'broken under the wheel of life', if we can steer ourself away from too much time feeling badly for whatever has happened, when we trust that good things can happen, then they do.

That's what happened to William, when he lost his job, and the farmer who was graced by his arrival on the farm. Things turned out better than either might have imagined at the start.

Here's imagining wonderful new experiences -- in unexpected ways -- for you, too. Trust the process.

WILLIAM THE STREAK

by Bob Franke

The sun was arisin' over Amesbury Hill

At the same time tomorrow, rise again it will

On a thin silver shadow leaping over Jack's Creek,

The dog they call William the Streak.

Now, Dick was a farmer sort of through the back door,

Someone gave him two sheep, so he bought thirty more,

And he raised any vegetable a 'Header might eat,

The work was hard, but life was sweet.

And William was a racing dog until he retired,

He got bored by the rabbit, and so he got fired,

But he found a lucky family near Amesbury town,

To adopt before his boss put him down.

Now some dogs are killers in a sheep man's eyes,

And a few dogs get shot, to no one's surprise.

And Dick was a shootin' man, or so went the word,

And the word just made it safer for the herd.

But when William ran circles all around Dick's land,

In the face of his beauty, Dick stayed his hand,

And when Dick's little farm was marked as William's to play,

The town dogs, they all stayed away.

And the streak they called William was bored by sheep,

They were slow, they were stupid, they put him to sleep,

But the groundhogs and woodchucks were a lot more fun,

'Cause William, after all, liked to run.

And the bundles got bigger on the vegetable truck,

'Cause a groundhog chasin' greyhound is a real stroke of luck,

And the smartest of farmers will learn from the land,

And rejoice when a gift-dog drops into their hand.

So be kind to your neighbors, and give them a break,

Chances are they will give you as much as they take,

And if a short-sighted bastard should fire you next week,

Just remember old William the Streak.

For this world turns around, and we all have our place,

And there's more than one job, and there's more than one race.

Just keep your eyes open and stay close to the land,

If you've the sense of a dog, you'll find a plan.

© 1996 Telephone Pole Music Publishing Co.

"Life is a grand adventure, or nothing at all." ~ Helen Keller

Are you Linked In?

by Terrie Osborn, CPRW

If you're looking for a job, you want to have a LinkedIn page, and it's as easy as going to LinkedIn and setting up a page for yourself - http://www.linkedin.com/

LinkedIn has become a very respected, professional (quite a bit different from Facebook) networking site. You can add lots of information into it, but for starters you can just use copy/pasted parts of your resume or put your whole resume on it.

One of the big things that can create an advantage for you on LinkedIn is to add a decent photo of yourself. Doesn't have to be a studio or stuffy photo, just not super casual like you might post on Facebook. 

Use something that makes you look like a reasonable candidate for an internship or regular professional job. Sometimes someone has taken a great photo of you at a wedding or other social event that you can crop/clean up a bit, and use. You want your photo to make you look smart, friendly and capable. 

Once you've created a LinkedIn page, add a link to your LinkedIn page to the bottom of your resume. That way, if someone gets through your resume and is still interested, they can click on your LinkedIn page and see what you look like, and then your resume is not just a sheet of paper or a Word .doc, now the reader can see that you're a real person.

Speaking of Facebook, you need to be aware of and to control what's out in cyberspace about you. Google yourself to see what comes up. Employers, more and more, do that to candidates they're considering for positions. They do it even before they contact you the first time and may decide to NOT contact potential candidates because of what they've found about them on line. Eyebrow-raising stories abound about what employers have discovered about their employees at Facebook, and the varying degrees of damage Facebook revelations have created to employer/employee relationships.

Make sure whatever is on line about you is stuff you'd be okay with a potential employer seeing. You can set constraints in Facebook so that not just anyone can access your Facebook page. 

If there's other stuff that you don't want to be in cyberspace about you, often you can email the site you find yourself at and ask them to take it down and they will. That doesn't always work but usually it does.