Posts Tagged ‘resume writing’

Resumes: 5 High Octane Resume Boosters

August 16th, 2011

By Andy West

When unemployment rates are high, and getting higher a number of interesting situations occur simultaneously. Many of these scenarios end up requiring people to either pull out an old resume, or create something new. Even if being out of work isn’t the challenge, there are opportunities where producing a resume quick can bring about positive change in ones life.

Hard economic times affects folks in various ways. Many people simply get laid off because their employers are no longer generating the income required to make the payroll. Once their job is lost, those unemployed folks need to find something new. Unemployment insurance only lasts for so long, and depending upon the state one lives in, those benefits are being shortened every day.

Perhaps losing a job doesn’t happen, but hours are cut back. Most people already have more monthly expenses after the end of their pay check, so even fewer hours means stretching finances even further.

Those a bit more optimistic might look at job loss and under employment as an opportunity to » Read more: Resumes: 5 High Octane Resume Boosters

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Tips for times of transition: Part 1 – Career marketing strategies for job seekers

May 20th, 2011

By Dawn Bugni

Recently, Twitter friend Bridget Haymond, of Truth for Life Coaching, approached me to collaborate on putting together handouts for job seeking members of the congregation at her church — Grace Covenant Church, in Charlotte, NC. I happily obliged.

With Bridget’s permission, I’ll also share the information we created together with my blog readers. Here’s the first in a series of four posts addressing: Tips for times of transition.

Career marketing strategies for job seekers:

1. First and foremost, understand the job search is “all about them”, the potential employer. The beginning of the search is yours – you decide when you start the search (sometimes with a bit of outside influence). The end of the search is yours – you decide which offer to accept. However, in between, every correspondence, every interaction, with everyone from the custodian to the CEO, must be done from a “this is what I can do for you and your organization” perspective. It is all about them.

2. Target, focus and differentiation are key in this market. “I’ll do anything” is not a job search strategy. It is the candidate’s job to focus on what the industry or hiring company values, target their » Read more: Tips for times of transition: Part 1 – Career marketing strategies for job seekers

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Resumes: The buzz about keywords and Applicant Tracking Systems

April 19th, 2010

By Nelly Tonchev

Nelly TonchevNowadays at most companies, applicant tracking system (ATS) software uses keywords to filter resumes before a human ever reviews them. Search results are sorted in a list from 100% match to 0% and if your resume is ranked as a 100% match, then you have 10 seconds to make the impression that you are the right candidate for the job. How do you get in the top 100%? What is the secret behind the term “keywords”?

I have heard many stories from people and how they are using keywords in their resume: hiding words by changing the font color to white, using summary to embed keywords or the footer of their resume as keywords depository. I think there are a few simple steps every person can take without hiring a professional resume writer to improve the resume and make it 100% Applicant Tracking System proof. If you are unemployed, I am sure you can use the $500-$600 for other things.

Part I – Identifying Keywords

  1. First make sure you know what type of position you are looking for: for example, I have accountant skills and want to look for job as an accountant. Go online and search for job: Accountant. Don’t limit your search with local positions; I am sure even in Dallas an accountant does similar tasks as an accountant in Boston. Our goal is to find at least 3 jobs that are » Read more: Resumes: The buzz about keywords and Applicant Tracking Systems

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