Are you stuck in a job seeking rut? Do you feel like you’ve lost your spark? Does every day feel like… every day?
If you answered yes to these, then it sounds like you need some help breaking out of this fulfilling rut you’ve made for yourself.
Let’s be honest, for most job hunters it’s a tough game out there. While many job seekers feel like they’re powerless to change their situation, the feeling of hitting brick walls while looking for that next professional gig doesn’t have to be a drainer on your mojo. Instead, here are some ways how you can recharge your job search “mojo” and reclaim your motivation. Read more
Job hunting sucks. We all know that. The usual job search experiences range from seemingly unending rejections to permanent communication black holes from job sites or recruiting firms. The whole experience is definitely no fun, particularly if you are unemployed with bills to pay. Read more
During the last 21 months since we started TheJobSearchCoach, some of our coaches, (me included) have talked to over 300 job hunters about their job hunting or careers. Many of these job hunters express their worries – for reasons we all understand – as they are stressing out about finding new or better employment. Read more
You’ve been looking all over for a job. But it seems no matter what you do, you just can’t land one. The stress kicks in. Constant rejection destroys your confidence. And your actions are showing that you’re getting desperate. Learn the top 10 job application mistakes everyone makes and how you can avoid them. Read more
This blog post is the first in a new series authored by The Job Search Coach marketing intern Jasha Andrews. Jasha has been invited as a Guest blogger to TJSC to help uni students hunt smarter for a position. If you are a regular reader, this could be the refresher that you need on basic job hunting.
Once upon a time, young people left high school went to university or TAFE and then graduated to start a career in their chosen field. Fast forward to today and young people face an ever competitive market in which to find a job, so they must gain every advantage possible to succeed.
As a ‘mature age’ university student and marketing intern, I have the rare opportunity to view job seeking from both sides of the university graduate fence. Since graduating from high school in 2005, I have seen things change dramatically for young people – and these changes are not for the better.
My first full time job was at a quiche factory as a process worker. The interview went for 5 minutes, and I am pretty sure they hired me because I wore a tie. This would turn out to be the exception, not the rule, when it came to job hunting success. But I digress… Let’s talk about YOU: a uni student or young person who needs to compete against thousands of other applicants during a time when youth unemployment is double the national average.
Young people entering uni for the first time fall into two categories: those with some work experience and those without. This first section is about those who have not yet had a job of any kind. You probably know that you need a few things when searching for a job: A cover letter and resume. We will go through what should be included in each of these and mistakes you can avoid.
The cover letter is a document which is read before the resume that should address the selection criteria for a job: that is the skills or values that are important to the employer. A cover letter should include the following items:
When you have little or no experience, then you may feel the need to overcomplicate or embellish things. DON’T DO THIS. A general rule in any job application is to K.I.S.S.
Keep
It
Simple
Sunshine
It is a good idea to have a generic cover letter on which base your applications. You absolutely must CUSTOMISE YOUR COVER LETTER for each job you apply: if you don’t, your application will be in the bin before you can say “please hire me”. Take a second and just imagine what it would be like to wade through hundreds of pages of generic B.S just to find a few good candidates. Doesn’t sound fun does it? Make your application like a breath of fresh air for the poor guy who has to read all of these – he/she will be secretly appreciative of the effort you put in, and reward you by considering you for an interview.
This is a document which should sum up your skills and experience. It is the basis on which employers will receive their first impression of you. It is important you are concise and to the point – don’t fill it up with crap. Employers will be reading hundreds of these, so you need to have the courtesy to not waste their time.
Fun fact: a resume and curriculum vitae (also known as a CV) are two different things, even though the terms are used interchangeably. A resume contains work history, skills and achievements while a CV contains academic history and achievements. Most people use a combined resume/CV when applying for jobs.
In your resume you should include:
While this may seem like common sense for anyone, you would be surprised at how many people stuff this up. You should include your contact number, address and email. And for Pete’s sake, make sure these details work.
Make sure your email address is something simple and professional: A good example is [email protected]. The last thing the employer wants to do is type in an immature email address you made in primary school. It’s annoying for them and makes you look bad.
DO NOT put a photo or date of birth: this gives the unintended consequence inadvertent discrimination, and if they are using an Applicant Tracking System (something for another blog), then you will be discarded because of the photo.
After your basic details, these next four things should form the basis of your resume. You might have other things you want to add, but make sure it is relevant and value adding.
This would include a HSC (or equivalent) and any other officially recognised qualifications. If you are a high scoring student, you could put your ATAR or other achievements (e.g school dux or if you were a school/house captain)
This could be a sporting or community based achievement. Keep it relevant and fairly recent – no one cares about the merit award you received in primary school.
This could include Scouts, Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh, or any religious community activities. An employer won’t be looking for a highly skilled candidate at your level. They will be looking for someone who has a good work ethic and will be a good fit for the organisation. If you can tick a few boxes in each of the above categories, you should be putting yourself in good stead.
DOUBLE CHECK IT! The last thing you want to do is to send a resume with spelling and grammatical errors: It shows carelessness and a poor attention to detail (something you need for most jobs). Once you have double checked it, get someone else to check it for you – preferably a person with more experience than you. Don’t ask them to look for spelling mistakes – it’s a waste of their time. Instead, ask whether the resume and cover letter address the position you are applying for. A good mentor will be able to guide you in how to improve your application.
Once this is done, you should be ready to start applying for jobs!
So there you have it, a quick primer on the basic things needed for job hunting. If you found something that worked for you, share it in the comments below. We will have more posts in the future explaining what to do next. So stay tuned folks, and no matter what you do remember to Keep It Simple Sunshine.
Jash (Guest Blogger at TheJobSearchCoach)
You need 10 successful job hunting and job search techniques if you want to secure a job interview. Searching for a job can be a stressful experience fraught with uncertainty. Job seeking and career changing is different for very candidate and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Some people are able to secure a new job in no time, while others seem to struggle just to get one interview. Only dogged determination, positive thinking and smart strategies will take you where want to go. Employers are looking for much more before they even consider you for a position. Some people just seem to have a gift for this sort of thing, while you’re sitting here getting nowhere. Read more
So, you want to score a startup job interview, but you haven’t landed a job interview yet? I guess you need a few essentials?! Well, it’s not an easy task. Just how do you find a job at a business that may only have four or five team members and no real recruiting budget?
Well, for starters, if you’re looking at the big job sites like Seek and My Career you’re obviously looking in the wrong area.
My team and I have worked in the midst of over 70 Sydney-based startup’s for the last 2 years and we have helped a good number of them with their advertisement and selection process. We not only spend a good deal of time looking at candidates, profiles and the usual resumes & cover letters, we are also running a startup ourselves. So, we decided to put our heads together and we came up with this to-do list for a successful startup job search.
I’ve read many applications and the resumes that come through, and as a whole, it’s clear that most people don’t know how to approach getting a job at a startup.
Fluffing around will not get you anywhere. I know it sounds harsh, but that’s the world you are going to enter. If you are a marketer, developer or designer, list that at the top. List it in the subject line even. “Ruby on Rails Developer Looking for Early Stage Start Up” would be a good example. I should be able to glance at your cover letter and know specifically what you are looking to do. Please don’t write a career objective! Get straight to the point.
If you insist on sending a resume, it should be named “yourname.pdf”. Do not wond a word doc.
One of the best cover letters (preferably in the email body) I’ve ever read said, “I’m amazing at creating buzzwords, hot tubbing and finding adventure. I’m also a kick ass Rails Developer, just coming off a long term contract. Early stage startups are a plus.” This sure as hell beats “I’m looking for a challenging and engaging environment to develop my talents.” If you are afraid to be creative, don’t apply. I have not seen a single startup who hired a ‘generalist’. I am dead serious here, if you can’t focus on something, at least in your introduction, you have a <0% chance of landing a job interview. Specialise! Customer support! QA! Development! Marketing! Intern! Product Development! Design! Get it?
The worst case scenario when looking for a job is sending out resumes and getting no responses. startups tend to be different. They know how to deal with applications if you are not wasting their time. Be a human and ask questions that can be answered by friendly folks. Keep the discussion going.
You are looking for a job. Cut the buzzwords. Start Ups don’t work with ATS filtering systems. What is the best fit? Steady? Fast paced? Live in Melbourne? Just say it. Cut the c#%p.
You really don’t need one to work at a startup. A simple email along the lines of ‘this is what I have done… I’m looking to join a team as a _________ to kick some goals’ is a great way to do it. List specific projects and accomplishments. Show that you can be to the point, effective and humble. The rest will be requested when you get an interview.
Yep – again – I am not kidding here. Most company blogs are largely lacking in comments! An easy way to get into the founders inbox is write a post about the company, saying how you admire / like them. Be genuine and say something valuable. Founders tend to look at the blogs, and if in your bio you are clear in what you are looking to do (Front End Developer!) you might just get on the expressway to an interview.
Reply almost immediately. The more out of the usual workday, the more important. Keep your emails concise. “Hey Lisa, just got your email. Quite late here but I would love to respond, a) b) c) d). Feel free to call if you have any questions.”
I don’t care how good you are – if you don’t share – then I most likely won’t look at you. Write posts about what you specialise in. Get people to comment on it. Stand out. You control your personal brand, and if you don’t do this you are showing you don’t care.
Today. Now. Get. On. It.
I’ve seen it many times. There are great fits for people and startups. When you find that special company, do what you do for them. E.g. “I know you have processes to do things like this, but I couldn’t help but see your XYZ campaign is missing some pieces. If I was there I would help by doing _______.” Consider it the interview the others were too lazy to do. When getting a job, standing out helps, a tonne. But, obviously be selective and don’t do this for every app, nor spend too much time on it.
Meet folks there. Follow up from there. We don’t care if you are intro or extrovert – we see you – we will sort it out. Just show up and show initiative.
Don’t let anyone suggest that you are too old. That’s absolute nonsense! Yes, we all know … Gen X and Baby Boomer applicants tend to be more expensive than their younger counterparts. Is hiring more mature candidates a luxury that should be considered by startups often strapped for cash? In fact, I have experienced it right around me that not only can older employees contribute to startups, but failing to leverage their kind of experience has been detrimental to a number of startup companies. Hiring a Gen X or a Baby Boomer for a startup then becomes not a luxury, but a really good idea that can help provide a true competitive differentiator. Remember, startups are all about not following the rules, disruption, flexibility and being nimble. Just because, on average, the startup world is younger doesn’t mean that there aren’t places for more mature employees to shine and add real value.
So get with it, and if you think you have what it takes, apply! Keep it simple, get to the point and remember to hunt wisely.
Uli
PS. Feel free to comment or share this blog post or contact me if you want some further insight and tips.
If you type ‘resume’ into Google you will receive approximately 180,000,000 hits. If you then type “IT Professional”, it nets only approximately 5,500,000 hits. Thus the documentation of work experience is 33 and 1/3 more popular than one of the most sought after group of professionals. What does this really tell us? Actually, not much, but neither does the average résumé that comes across our desks. Here are some excerpts:
Here are some excerpts of ambiguous resume items:
Huh? – Are you serious?
If you haven’t heard of it yet, the first hurdle you have to take, in order to get noticed with your resume, is ATS and the second hurdle is a Hiring Professional. We all know that there are more jobs being lost than created, and that an opening will get dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants. But in your fear to avoid saying anything that might get your résumé tossed out of the pile, and you might end up saying nothing at all if you say weird stuff like the samples mentioned above, you are better off if you KEEP IT SIMPLE.
The result of bizarre sentences is, the hiring professionals feel like they’re reading tea leaves, not resumes and cover letters. The other common result from hiring managers is, that they feel forced to come up with arbitrary rules to narrow the field. Nobody with an objective statement, no résumés longer than 3 pages, no serif fonts.
Our job search coaches at TJSC are not immune. Personally, I look at a lot of elements including the formatting to ensure that the documents have flow and make sense. Many people don’t know this, and they don’t notice that their layout is hard to read. Does this mean they are more or less qualified to be a project planner? I don’t know, but it’s easy for me to say, “If you don’t know that your own résumé is inconsistent, how can you be expected to supervise a multi-million dollar project?”
Other people have their own “minor resume offences”. The best you can do is try to achieve the maximum content with a minimum of strange or unusual features. I have 10 tips to make your résumé stand a better chance of survival:
Nobody buys a complicated story. Keep your resume simple by reducing it to the max and focusing on what matters while using Powerwords.
Line up bullet points, dates, headings. Wacky spacing will get you questioned about skills that have nothing to do with what you can do on the job. And please learn to put dates flush against the right margin.
If you’ve got a gap, explain it in your cover letter. But don’t leave the dates off a job or a degree. Maybe you’re worried they’ll think you’re too old or too young — but at best you’ll look sloppy. At worst, sneaky.
Yes, buzzwords are typically “bad” for clarity, but you have to get past the HR department first, and they’re screening for matches with the words in the job description. Words such as ‘consumer goods industry’, certified project manager, SPL, BMN, FLB…whatever it is that matches the requirements, put it in. Use Powerwords.
“Assisted,” “Worked on,” “Contributed to” and so on don’t convey much to a prospective employer. Instead, say what you did: “Wrote,” “Designed,” or “Managed.” The more specific, the better.
If you really want a job, your prospective employer isn’t going to be impressed by your inability to adjust one 3-page document to meet their needs.
— but be very careful. Do you know that they’re looking for a “motivated team player who wants to excel in international fashion and likes skiing and hot tubbing?” Great, put that in. Otherwise, save the non-job stuff for the cover letter. Or better yet, the interview.
Don’t have 13 bullets on a job from 10 years ago. See point 1.
A four-page résumé may be justified, but you’ve got to make it clear through headings and organization why you need so much space. If you’ve got a list of publications or industry conferences you’ve spoken at, great, but put it at the end as a separate section. Consider the résumé of a CIO. He doesn’t need to say that he “attended meetings, assigned work” and whatever other tasks. He ran the IT for a whole company. One line.
Your résumé is like the restroom in a restaurant – Sorry guys… It’s the best I could come up with. And if you can’t keep that clean, what’s it like in the kitchen?
If you are serious about your application, pay attention, keep it smart, simple and reduce it to the max. Don’t waste other people’s time and when you search and apply for jobs always remember to hunt wisely!
Uli
Whether you like it or not, recruiters, potential employers, the competition and anyone with a computer has the ability to check out your online identity. This is most common on LinkedIn, because that’s what it’s there for: a professional profile making you look all professional (and stuff). BUT it usually doesn’t stop there, as the same people are just as likely to check you out on other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and G+
So if you want to be in the running for that dream job, make sure you stop, think and consider some, or all, of my social media career survival tips next time you post on social networks.
Reppler, a social media monitoring service designed to help users manage their online image, conducted a survey of 300 hiring professionals in 2013 – 2014 and found that 91% of respondents thoroughly scrutinize an applicant’s online reputation during the hiring process. Here’s an interesting infographic on the subject.
It’s safe to say that what you do on social media these days can definitely impact your career path and employability. Professionals in the hiring trade will use any tool available to avoid an egg-on-face situation before inviting you to a job interview or introducing you to their client. With this being said, you can secure your social media image with these 10 steps.
Become a listed and active member of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even Google+ as this does more than just make you look like a go-getter. It helps to eliminate the possibility of undesirable and uncontrolled information about you from making its way to the top of a Google search. These sites are so popular that results from this page always rank highly. That way any unauthorized content related to you (if it exists) is less likely to make an appearance to a possible employer. Contact us if you want to know more, or simply read up on previous blog posts on the subject.
You have only a few seconds before a view forms an opinion, so ensure that your social media accounts provide the best impression of you.
Everyone can benefit from regularly reviewing their profile once in a while. You’d never go into an interview with an out-of-date CV, so why ignore your social media profiles?
Make sure your social media accounts are completed, ensure that all your profile info is accurate, up-to-date and consistent across your various social media accounts. Most importantly always double check your privacy settings! Use a recent photo where you look smart and casual and don’t forget to smile.
The ever-evolving nature of social networking has made it necessary to always clean up, and I mean more than just your browser history. Hide any networking nasties by pumping-up your social media security settings. That means selecting the highest privacy settings possible in all platforms in which you are active. Be aware: setting photos to ‘friends, network and friends of friends’ in Facebook is not going to keep photographic evidence of your naughties in safe hands. If any photos of you caked in beans are visible, make sure it’s you taking part in a charity event. Similarly – review the likes and events you are associated with.
Being part of a sexist or politically sensitive group or showing evidence of attending anything controversial is not likely to win you job application points. Also, check out the security settings of your friends and the stuff they are posting about you. The last thing, you want, is a clueless friend stuffing up your job applications for you. I’m not kidding, contact me anytime if you want to learn more on that subject – I am happy to assist. We have attended to many clients and showed them how important it is always to be aware of privacy settings as the activity of friends can affect your profile through image tagging and wall posting.
From time to time, social media platforms will add new features or update their privacy terms. So, whenever you’re informed of “updates” by-way of an automatic email from your preferred social network, examine privacy settings for signs of change. Profile updates could include reformatting of such settings and introducing new options that are defaulted to whatever the social network site decides.
We all brag a bit from time to time. You just have to look at your CV to know you’re guilty of it. But why not highlight your professional and personal achievements on social media? I know what you’re thinking, you don’t want to be ‘that person’ who’s constantly bragging about their achievements, but it doesn’t hurt to be a little proud of yourself. Good things happen to those who hustle.
Highlight your achievements, post updates about your work and the results you achieve on a regular basis. Source recommendations and referrals from your existing professional contacts: especially when you are in job hunting mode.
It’s ok to do a little self-campaigning but don’t just focus on yourself all the time. No one is interested in being connected with someone who focuses solely on how wonderful and successful they are. Just like you’d interact with different groups, use social networks to post interesting industry news, join in and contribute in discussions and polls on topics relevant to your work or personal interests.
Be genuine and honest and likable. By placing yourself at the centre of topical industry discussions, you’ll not only raise your personal profile among your contemporaries, you’ll demonstrate your passion and engagement with your work: an attractive quality to any future employer! Talk is cheap – potential employers like to hire doer’s not just talkers.
This is a simple but very effective activity if you have some time to kill. Simply conduct repeated Google searches of your own name with added words that highlight achievements. This is especially effective if these searches lead to information about achievements you otherwise wouldn’t put on a resume for the sake of space. Athletic, volunteer or academic achievements are a good example of search terms to Google bomb.
I know it’s a bit harsh, but seriously, how else should I describe this one? “If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all”. Wise words, particularly in relation to anything written online. Written content is everywhere, lasts longer than you think and can be publicly read all over the web. Don’t be tempted to reply negatively to content on Facebook, Twitter or other sites. Don’t bad mouth your employer, boss, colleagues or customers, as these comments have a nasty (yet strangely reliable) habit of being picked up and shared with the very people you’ve insulted.
Don’t allow anyone to do damage to your reputation online. Stay cool, calm, and contact the person directly to suggest that you move the discussion into a more private domain if need be. If employers check you out online, they are likely to see the fall-out of any ongoing argument, so it’s better to be seen as a peace-maker rather than the aggressor.
What about Humour?!
Be careful with humour as it is very subjective and while you may be confident enough that your joke will be appreciated by those who know you, it may be judged as extremely offensive by others, including customers, clients, and potential employers.
These days nothing is private. Trust no one… ever. This a bit dramatic perhaps, but seriously, if you wouldn’t feel comfortable with your parents seeing it, then it’s not appropriate to upload on any social media site. Think twice before you post any images online and always double check the settings. Remember that it’s not just the photos that you personally post that you need to worry about: you also need to keep a close eye on any photos your friends may have posted that feature you.
Regularly review your social media profiles to make sure your content consists of information you would like to share with employers.
For Facebook, Secure.Me is one of many free tools that reviews content, protects profiles from dangerous links, and monitors photos and friends’ posts. If you want to know more about safe online protection tools, contact me or read up on my other blog posts. If you want to get the best image and reputation out on Google, use BrandYourSelf. They can clean up for you and ensure that Recruiters and Hiring Managers only see the very best of you , when they start snooping on Dr. Google.
So there you have it, 10 top tips on how to avoid damaging your employability while using social media. Use some, or all, of these tips and remember to not shy away from being yourself. Everyone has a unique personality, and the variations of our character are what make us special and employable. Continue sharing about yourself, just keep the above tips in mind when posting on a public site.
Share this blog post if you know a job hunter or career changer who would find this interesting and feel free to comment with your own tips and tricks.
Social Media is a great and very effective tool to enhance your job search, just always remember to hunt wisely!
Uli
