Modernizing your job search - Sterling Career Concepts

Modernizing your job search Modernizing your job search As a member of theCareer Collectiveblogging community of resume writers and career coaches, this post is one of many this month discussing job hunting rules to break or outdated job search beliefs. I encourage you to visit other members responses linked at the end of my post and follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.There are two ways you can accidentally sabotage your job search by usingoutdated job search documents orabiding by outdated job search beliefs. Ive talked before about ways to tell if you have aretro resumethat needs updating.Two of the most common offenses I see areleading off withan objective statement (please replace with a skills-based summary section) and writing responsibility-focused job descriptions (highlightaccomplishments and achievements to showstrongperformance) withhonorable mention for including the phrase References Available Upon Request (can beremoved asthis is assumed nowadays) and limiting your resume to one page (you are free to move onto a second page when necessary). But even the most well written resume cant succeed if youre operatingaccording to outdated job search beliefs. Todays job search is not the job search of 5 or 10 years ago. Some would argue that todays job search isnt even the same job search of 3 years ago.Online professional networking, personal branding, and the employment market has changed how both employers and candidates function. Some outdated rules that you should be breaking Its okay to be found online. It will not mean youre looking for a new job.Years ago, itwould have been a faux-pas for your profile or resume to be found online. Going online was only for those actively job searching and you didnt want your manager or colleagues to assume anything.This is no longer the case. Online professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Ryzehave made it no longer taboo for professionals to be connecting online. In fact, it can bedangerous now to not be found online as companies and recruiters alike aremining professional networking sites for passivejob candidates. Candidate names are alsoGoogled now more often than you might think and a list of positive search results is preferable tono results. Its okay to pick up the phone. Put the ball in your court. With the number of candidates applying for any one open position today, if youre not following up after an interview with a phone call or a thank you letter, someone else is. This also applies when submitting your resume for a position.Be creative, be persistent. If you feel strongly that you a solid fit for the position, submit your resume more than once. Send it first by email, and the second time, by hard copy in a full-size envelope. Call to follow up on your application or the next step of the process. Yourpersistence and confidencemay help your odds. Its a fine line though, please dont take this as permissionto be pushy and in-your-face. Keep it professional. Its okay for a thank you letter to say more thanjust thank you.In fact, I want you to say a lot more. Sending a thank youletter after your interview gives you a perfect opportunity to follow up where the conversation left off, to argue your candidacy, provide further information, suggest a solution to a problem mentioned during a conversation, forward a proposal for how you would solve a problem or approach a situation, resolve any outstanding issues, or readdress a poorly worded answer or another perceived negative that may have arisen duringtheinterview. If you send a short and sweet letter that merely says Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you, you are missing out a superb opportunity to highlight your strengths and reiterate your interest in the position -all in your own words. This of course works best when you send the letter promptly, ideally within 24 hours of an interview. Time is of the essence. Read along for more advice frommy esteemed colleagues in the Career Collective. Find their posts here: Juice Up Your Job Search, @debrawheatman Its not your age, its old thinking, @GayleHoward Want a Job? Ignore these outdated job search beliefs @erinkennedycprw Job Search Then and Now, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes Break the Rules or Change the Game? @WalterAkana The New: From The Employers-Eye View, @ResumeService Job Search: Breakable Rules and Outdated Beliefs, @KatCareerGal Job Hunting Rules to Break (Or Why and How to Crowd Your Shadow), @chandlee @StartWire, Shades of Gray, @DawnBugni 3 Rules That Are Worth Your Push-Back, @WorkWithIllness Your Photo on LinkedIn Breaking a Cardinal Job Search Rule? @KCCareerCoach How to find a job: stop competing and start excelling, @Keppie_Careers Be You-Nique: Resume Writing Rules to Break, @ValueIntoWords Dont Get Caught With an Old School Resume, @barbarasafani How Breaking the Rules Will Help You in Your Job Search, @expatcoachmegan Beat the Job-Search-Is-a-Numbers-Game Myth, @JobHuntOrg Modernizing your job search Modernizing your job search As a member of theCareer Collectiveblogging community of resume writers and career coaches, this post is one of many this month discussing job hunting rules to break or outdated job search beliefs. I encourage you to visit other members responses linked at the end of my post and follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.There are two ways you can accidentally sabotage your job search by usingoutdated job search documents orabiding by outdated job search beliefs. Ive talked before about ways to tell if you have aretro resumethat needs updating.Two of the most common offenses I see areleading off withan objective statement (please replace with a skills-based summary section) and writing responsibility-focused job descriptions (highlightaccomplishments and achievements to showstrongperformance) withhonorable mention for including the phrase References Available Upon Request (can beremoved asthis is assumed nowadays) and limiting your resume to one page (you are free to move onto a second page when necessary). But even the most well written resume cant succeed if youre operatingaccording to outdated job search beliefs. Todays job search is not the job search of 5 or 10 years ago. Some would argue that todays job search isnt even the same job search of 3 years ago.Online professional networking, personal branding, and the employment market has changed how both employers and candidates function. Some outdated rules that you should be breaking Its okay to be found online. It will not mean youre looking for a new job.Years ago, itwould have been a faux-pas for your profile or resume to be found online. Going online was only for those actively job searching and you didnt want your manager or colleagues to assume anything.This is no longer the case. Online professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Ryzehave made it no longer taboo for professionals to be connecting online. In fact, it can bedangerous now to not be found online as companies and recruiters alike aremining professional networking sites for passivejob candidates. Candidate names are alsoGoogled now more often than you might think and a list of positive search results is preferable tono results. Its okay to pick up the phone. Put the ball in your court. With the number of candidates applying for any one open position today, if youre not following up after an interview with a phone call or a thank you letter, someone else is. This also applies when submitting your resume for a position.Be creative, be persistent. If you feel strongly that you a solid fit for the position, submit your resume more than once. Send it first by email, and the second time, by hard copy in a full-size envelope. Call to follow up on your application or the next step of the process. Yourpersistence and confidencemay help your odds. Its a fine line though, please dont take this as permissionto be pushy and in-your-face. Keep it professional. Its okay for a thank you letter to say more thanjust thank you.In fact, I want you to say a lot more. Sending a thank youletter after your interview gives you a perfect opportunity to follow up where the conversation left off, to argue your candidacy, provide further information, suggest a solution to a problem mentioned during a conversation, forward a proposal for how you would solve a problem or approach a situation, resolve any outstanding issues, or readdress a poorly worded answer or another perceived negative that may have arisen duringtheinterview. If you send a short and sweet letter that merely says Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you, you are missing out a superb opportunity to highlight your strengths and reiterate your interest in the position -all in your own words. This of course works best when you send the letter promptly, ideally within 24 hours of an interview. Time is of the essence. Read along for more advice frommy esteemed colleagues in the Career Collective. Find their posts here: Juice Up Your Job Search, @debrawheatman Its not your age, its old thinking, @GayleHoward Want a Job? Ignore these outdated job search beliefs @erinkennedycprw Job Search Then and Now, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes Break the Rules or Change the Game? @WalterAkana The New: From The Employers-Eye View, @ResumeService Job Search: Breakable Rules and Outdated Beliefs, @KatCareerGal Job Hunting Rules to Break (Or Why and How to Crowd Your Shadow), @chandlee @StartWire, Shades of Gray, @DawnBugni 3 Rules That Are Worth Your Push-Back, @WorkWithIllness Your Photo on LinkedIn Breaking a Cardinal Job Search Rule? @KCCareerCoach How to find a job: stop competing and start excelling, @Keppie_Careers Be You-Nique: Resume Writing Rules to Break, @ValueIntoWords Dont Get Caught With an Old School Resume, @barbarasafani How Breaking the Rules Will Help You in Your Job Search, @expatcoachmegan Beat the Job-Search-Is-a-Numbers-Game Myth, @JobHuntOrg