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March 2, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Job Search
At a recent networking event I attended as an advisor, a conversation point came up discussing the purpose of a job fair. Many people scoffed at the concept as a waste of time, saying that most employers represented weren’t really hiring, and found that many representatives in the booths referred applicants to their corporate website rather than conducting interviews on-site. Short of walking out of the fair with a job in hand, some of the group felt that attending the fair was a fruitless endeavor. While the likelihood of having a bona fide interview for a specific position might be… Read »
February 20, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Job Search
I’ve been inundated lately with clients who have been laid off or terminated due to economic reasons. Several hiring managers I’ve talked to have said that for every open position, there are literally hundreds of applicants. The jobs that do exist are simply being flooded. The interesting thing I’ve noted is that there are now a lot of people suddenly without employment who haven’t ever conducted a job search before or haven’t had to do so in a long time. A common refrain I hear is a bewildered, “Where do I start?” So exactly what is the secret to a… Read »
February 16, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Job Search
In a recent survey, many professional résumé writers cited the failure to outline the quantification of job applicant accomplishments as the number one problem with the résumés that they see. Instead of providing a list of job duties, it is now necessary to show your value to prospective employers by providing specific examples of your top-line achievements. Think in terms of actions and then results of the successful projects that you’ve completed or been involved with in a team setting. Look at this way: Employers want to know what your value proposition is as a prospective employee. What is it… Read »
February 6, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Resume
You’ve spent your career being the A-list ‘go-to’ person in your department or company. Awards hang on your wall, and the company exec pops in to personally give you a ‘good job’ handshake every so often. You’re in good standing with an admirable track record. Does your résumé reflect that? Most people spend the majority of their résumé space citing a laundry list of what they did, rather than focusing on their accomplishments, and worrying about the length of the overall document. More importantly, they don’t effectively showcase their top-line value proposition to prospective employers. When it is not uncommon… Read »
January 27, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Resume
Job applicants often complain that developing their résumé to match the hiring manager’s hot buttons is oftentimes much like trying to hit a moving target, which is often the case. Résumés and the hiring managers/human resource personnel that read them is always a subjective process. A person can develop their document one way in accordance to feedback from a hiring professional, only to have it rejected by a different human resource person who has a different formatting preference. However, there are a few constants that are known to be true when developing a résumé and this blog will focus on… Read »
January 15, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Cover Letter, Job Search
I recently attended an industry meeting where the guest speaker addressed the topic of business writing, specifically emails. As I was listening, I found myself nodding in agreement to most of what she was saying, and also thinking about how often I receive disjointed, unclear and error-prone emails from various contacts. While these communiqués aren’t to be considered as ‘job applications’ per se, you never know where your correspondence might land. Especially when you are sending an email to a prospective employer and enclosing your résumé. If you don’t spell-check or proofread your writing, even in an email, consider what… Read »
January 9, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Resume
Prospective clients come from all paths of professions and walks of life, and it never ceases to amaze me the different styles people have when approaching a business transaction. When it comes down to hiring someone to write the most intimate and revealing document about their lives, I truly fear for the people who don’t take the time to research a professional résumé writer thoroughly before booking their services. Before hiring a résumé writer, it is important to do your due diligence, because just like there are differing levels of honesty in any other profession, the same goes for this… Read »
January 3, 2009
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Resume
With so many people avoiding the proverbial career pigeon-holing, managing vocational shifts, gaps in employment, and irrelevant employment durations all while trying to leverage their skills, there is a new movement afoot to more closely examine the ‘pluses’ of functional (or skills-based) résumé formats. In fact, I recently met with a top-notch human resources professional who bluntly told me, “If applicants are over 35 years old, I’d much rather receive a functional layout so I can see what you can do and what you’ve done.” Now that’s pretty revolutionary! There are pros and cons of utilizing both formats, which will… Read »
December 23, 2008
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Education, Job Search
Albeit current economic conditions are causing some professionals to rethink potential job switches, choosing to remain in the somewhat reassuring security of their current employment is safer for some. But there are always others who continue to yearn for ‘greener’ pastures and to find meaning in their work. However, finding that connection between vocation (the work you have to do) and the avocation (the work you’d like to do) doesn’t necessarily match up perfectly skill-wise. So how does one leap-frog from one career field to another, if they aren’t related? One of my most favorite examples of this conundrum was… Read »
December 16, 2008
Written by Dawn Rasmussen Job Search, Resume
Today, we have a guest column generously provided by www.jobreferences.com – operated by Allison & Taylor Reference Checking, Inc., which is headquartered in Rochester, Mich., and has been in the business of checking references for individuals since 1984. The firm’s services have been listed and recommended in bestselling books authored by Martin Yate. In addition, numerous articles have been published about the service in newspapers and magazines including Glamour, New Woman, Worth, NBEW, The Detroit News, and St. Petersburg Times. For more information, please visit www.jobreferences.com or call 800-651-2460. Thinking about your prospects for landing that new job? You should… Read »