Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
by Marina Ricci, JD, ResumeEdge.com Editor
Instead of waiting for a job posting to encompass all of your passions and talents, be proactive and convince the employer to create a position that will be beneficial to everyone involved. When you have a passion for something, your heart and soul goes into the work, and that’s why you need to show the employer he not only needs the service you’re offering, but he needs you to provide the service for optimal results.
If you already have a job but want a different position with the same employer:
On your own time (not on company time), draft a proposal for your supervisor for your idea. Examples of these can include an accountant having a great marketing idea for a product at a company that does not have a marketing department. Be sure to provide clear objectives, cost-saving goals and graphs that pinpoint how the business will benefit from the position and why this would be beneficial for everyone involved. Next, make sure to include your experience in the field and the positive results you’ve had had working in the same capacity for others.
Employers are always looking to get ahead of their competitors so this could be a perfect way for your employer to distinguish himself from everyone else. Volunteer to work on your own time to further the objective within a specific timeframe (i.e. 30 days). If you get results, the employer will give serious thought to hiring you on a more permanent basis in the new capacity.
If you do not have a job or want to change employers:
Write a letter (or formal e-mail) to the employer you’re targeting and let him know what your skills are and how you think you can help his company succeed even more so than at present. Then, in the letter, make sure to put that you are willing to work on an internship basis (even for free) in order to show the company how they can benefit from this new service that you’re willing to provide them.
If the company accepts your offer, you can use the position as a possible road to permanent employment. However, even if the company hires you as an intern and makes it clear they will not have a paid position for you, use the internship as something that you can put on your resume to aid you in your search for a permanent position in that specific field.
Note: Bigger companies that don’t have specific positions to fit your passion may be more willing to take you on as an unpaid intern, and big company experience looks great when you’re trying to gain permanent employment with other companies in the same field.
To request Marina for your resume or cover letter, simply key in her last name (ricci) in the ‘select your editor’ field on the online form.
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Category: Entry Level, Executive, Job Search, Professional, Resume, Tips | Tags: Tags: Job Search, meeting employer expectations, new job search strategies, professional accomplishments, professional achievements, resume preparation, resumes,
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
by Kristen Coria
Find something you love to do and figure out a way to get paid for it! This sentiment has been echoed so many times on television, in movies, and throughout our lives. Most people never believe it. They brush it off thinking the only way to make a living and pay the bills is to go through the daily grind at their current jobs. When people live their lives according to this philosophy, they miss out on the fulfillment that true job satisfaction brings to their lives. We all need a reason to get up in the morning and heading off to a job you love is one of the keys to happiness and success in the workplace.
Another one of the keys to happiness in your life is passion. The Merriam Webster dictionary describes passion as “a strong liking and devotion to some activity, object, or concept”. As you can clearly see, passion comes in all forms—business, pets, hobbies, cars, books, music, television, crafts etc. It is an innate desire that we all have to tap into because it is one of the driving forces in our lives. Passion is also one of the key elements to being successful from a career perspective. If you don’t have passion for your work or career, you won’t be as successful as you could be. It seems logical that one of the secrets to success is merging your career with your passion.
In this economy, people are turning to their hobbies to generate additional income. Maybe you are a novice jewelry designer that will sell your pieces at local craft shows. During the craft shows, you could network with customers that may be scouting new talent for high end jewelry designers like Tiffany or more mainstream places like Lia Sophia. Maybe you are a car enthusiast that will open a car wash/detail shop on the weekends. Before you know it, you could land big accounts with local dealerships to wash/detail their fleets of cars. Maybe you are someone that loves to travel. You could parlay your love of globe trotting by launching a travel agency. Or you might write articles about the locales you visited and sell them to travel magazines.
We all have passion for a hobby. Now is the time to take advantage of this knowledge and make it work for you from a financial perspective. While pursuing your passion for hobbies, you can help generate additional income from clients that are in need of your services or products. Once you find something you love to do and figure out a way to get paid for it, your job satisfaction will rise. It will allow you the opportunity to network with professionals or customers in the field that could propel your career in a whole new direction. And the best part is that you will be successful because you have the passion to succeed at something you love.
To request Kristen for your order, simply choose her last name (Coria) on the drop-down menu in the ‘request your editor’ field of the online order form.
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
With so many individuals competing for jobs these days, the only thing that will differentiate you from the rest of the equally-qualified crowd is what you achieved while on the job. But be warned – an accomplishment must be quantified in order to hold any weight with the hiring manager or recruiter.
Too many times I see resumes where the individual writes: “Reorganized an entire department per management instructions.” That’s not an accomplishment, that is a daily duty. An accomplishment would read like this: “Generated savings in excess of $25,000 annually by reorganizing the marketing department and employing temp workers, rather than full-time staff.”
The above speaks to what a hiring manager and/or recruiter wants to see – how you can make them money and how you can save them money.
To further strengthen your resume, make certain to put at least one, preferably two, quantified and relevant accomplishments in the opening summary. This is especially true if you use the word ‘proven’ to describe yourself. For example, you write:
Accounting professional with comprehensive experience and proven results in negotiations with the IRS.
Proven by whom? You? That’s not enough proof for a hiring manager or recruiter. They want more. It’s better to write:
Accounting professional with comprehensive experience and proven results in negotiations with the IRS as evidenced by the $.5 million in savings, resulting from the 2009 audit.
The above clearly states that you saved your company a half million dollars through your expertise. That speaks volumes to hiring managers and puts you well above the others competing for the same position.
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
When searching for a new job, especially in this economy, it helps to have letters of recommendation from previous employers and industry professionals.
However, the letter must go beyond the general and mundane. We’ve all read letters that tell the prospective employer how much the former boss enjoyed working with the candidate. What a great guy/gal the employee happened to be. How fortunate a new company will be to have them.
As a hiring manager, that’s not telling me what I need to know. To make an informed decision, I need data that will tell me:
- How the employee excelled in their old position – not that they simply showed up for work.
- The employee’s progression through the company. Additional responsibilities. Promotions.
- How they did on performance reviews, especially in relation to others in their department.
- Their accomplishments quantified with dollar figures of money saved/earned, time periods in which this took place, and the methods they used.
These four points make for an effective letter of recommendation. They add credence to the often-used verbiage – “It was a pleasure to work with XYZ.”
No employer has the time to write the perfect letter of recommendation. So, it’s up to you, the employee, to give your boss or manager a draft detailing what you’ve done for the company and to make it as complete as possible so the new hiring manager or recruiter knows just what they will have in you.
