"Career Management Alliance Blog" - 10 new articles
Resume Needs to Make Instant Connection with ReaderWrapping up our series on The Interviewable Resume by Linda Matias of CareerStrides.com: The resume is a vital piece to any job search. As companies scramble to find the ideal candidate, they use the resume to screen candidates. Done right, a resume builds an instant connection with the reader and helps steer the course of the interview in your favor. If you submit a resume that piques the curiosity of the reader, he or she most likely will ask questions based on the information you provided on the resume as opposed to relying solely on a pre-packaged questionnaire. That’s how you know you have an “interviewable” resume, when it assists in shaping the course of the interview. Job Search vs. Organize Your FilesMany years ago I worked at the FBI as a clerk. When I first started there we didn’t have an office or cubicles, but eventually someone fought for us to have our own little space. It was really nice and we ended up with our own oversized cubicles. Going from nothing to a full suite was really cool. I look back on that time and remember a distinct activity I did when I was bored (I was frequently bored there). I would organize my files. I could spend a lot of time going through my files, organizing them, labeling the hanging file folders, reorganizing them… I looked very productive. But it just didn’t matter! I was a clerk, and I didn’t really have much to file! I was wasting my time and the federal gov’ts money (no, feds, don’t come after me for that). I think about that a lot because I had the freedom to choose what I was going to do with my time, and I didn’t do what I could have been doing. Similar to my job search, I all-of-the-sudden had days with nothing on my agenda. Oh sure, I had things I knew I should have been doing, but if I didn’t do it today, it would just roll over to tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day. It really wasn’t a big deal to take time to do something as mundane as “organize my files.” While the important stuff was getting moved back to another day. What do you do in your job search? How often will you “catch up on your email” when you know you are avoiding making a phone call? How often will you do something meaningless, something that doesn’t take you closer to your goal (of gainful employment, or replacement of income) rather than something that is hard? I challenge you today: DO THAT THING. You know what THAT THING is (I don’t know what YOUR thing is, but I know what MY thing is, and today I’m going to do it). It is the thing you keep putting off. You know it’s important but you somehow have figured out how to keep bumping it down your priority list. Today: DO IT. Don’t worry about anything else, just DO IT. Those files can wait until tomorrow! Follow the Green Money: 1366 Tech. Gets $5.15 Million, Coulomb Tech. Secures $14 Million, Vulcan Power Receives $108 Million
CFO Recession ImpressionsThe November 2009 CFO Magazine contained a survey of Senior Finance Executives’ thoughts on the impact the recession was having on their role/career. Very interesting results particularly because responses were categorized by Chief Financial Officers, VPs of Finance, and Controllers.
Here are a few that jumped out at me ...
--41.7% of CFOs said the recession has enhanced their career opportunities --42.4% of VPs of Finance say it has harmed them because of fewer opportunities both internally and externally
--56.6% of CFOs say their role has become more important and respected --86.8% believe they have a voice in the company beyond finance --27.9% feel they are stuck in a siloed role
--66.6% of all finance leaders say specific past experience (treasury, investment banking) has helped them achieve their current role --48.3% attribute success to demonstrating their abilities such as IPO, restructuring
--28.5% of CFOs believe operational experience will help them advance --3.3% believe that an MBA or CPA will be beneficial
--30.5% of CFOs would leave for the right job --39.1% would NOT leave, citing enjoyment of their current role as the reason ... NOT uncertainty of the current environment
Interesting is the discrepancy between the belief that operational experience will help CFOs advance (I believe that’s true as well) and where having an MBA or CPA falls ... particularly in light of so many companies making those credentials a requirement. What exceptional talent might companies be missing out on by adding that requirement?
Also curious was the reason CFOs cited for staying in their current jobs ... enjoyment?
Thoughts? College Major for Two-Year DegreeKris writes: I am a high school senior ready to graduate and I only have the grades to go to a 2-year community college, and I don’t really know what I could major in that would require me only 2 years! Please help me with some ideas. Thanks a lot! The Career Doctor responds: First of all, let me say that community colleges are great places — I taught at one for a few years while getting my Ph.D. — and you should not feel desperate. Students who attend community colleges usually follow one of two routes — they either go into a career that only requires an associate’s degree or certification — or — they use their associate’s degree as a stepping-stone to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a bachelor’s degree. You can find a wealth of information about community colleges at the American Association of Community Colleges site. So, please try and make the best of your situation. Poor grades in high school do not have to stop you from achieving your dreams. Going to community college and developing good study habits and getting good grades can be a springboard to take you to great heights — whatever those heights might be! Get a Better Job by Distinguishing Yourself in the Job MarketDifferentiate yourself from the competition throughout every step in your job search – from writing your resume to networking to interviewing and negotiating. Looking For A Better Job With Better Pay? Click here for 7 FREE Videos that will show you how. Resume BlundersYou've no doubt seen articles and sites that list funny resume bloopers. Now Jacob Share of Job Mob has gathered many of these blooper lists in one spot, 150 Funniest Resume Mistakes, Bloopers and Blunders Ever. Here's an excerpt: 1. “Career break in 1999 to renovate my horse” 2. “1990 – 1997: Stewardess – Royal Air Force” 3. Hobbies: “enjoy cooking Chinese and Italians” 4. “Service for old man to check they are still alive or not.” 5. Cleaning skills: “bleaching, pot washing, window cleaning, mopping, e.t.c” 6. “Job involved…counselling clientele on accidental insurance policies available” 7. “2001 summer Voluntary work for taking care of the elderly and vegetable people” 8. “I’m intrested to here more about that. I’m working today in a furniture factory as a drawer” 9. “I am about to enrol on a Business and Finance Degree with the Open University. I feel that this qualification will prove detrimental to me for future success.” 10. “Time is very valuable and it should be always used to achieve optimum results and I believe it should not be played around with” 11. “I belive that weakness is the first level of strength, given the right attitude and driving force. My school advised me to fix my punctuality…” Source: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/funniest-resume-mistakes/  Seven Habits of Highly Effective Job Seekers
What habits have you created for your job search?
In a roomful of jobseekers last week, I proposed that Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits as described in his book, Seven Habits for Highly Effective People, has relevance for managing an effective job search. Especially significant are the four quadrants that identify activities by Important/Urgent; Important/Not Urgent; Not Important/Urgent and Not Important/ Not Urgent.
Dr. Covey states that “hanging around” in the Not Urgent/Not Important and the Urgent/Not Important Quadrants leads to failure to meet our goals. Although Covey’s work looks at these concepts from a “life” perspective, they apply to the job search process as well.
In a highly competitive, high tech market, old practices do not work. Looking for jobs online, and sending out resumes in response to job announcements yields few results. It is estimated that less than 2% of good jobs are posted on job boards today. When a search team member shows me his or her activity tracking sheet from the previous weeks, I am dismayed to see that so much time has been spent in the online job search and so little in
Each week in newspapers you can find multiple opportunities for meeting people who can offer suggestions, contacts and referrals. You can attend a presentation at the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, or the library…there are so many possibilities.
How are you spending your time these days? Watch for my next post with a list of the activities that yield the highest return on investment – those that get the best results.
Jigsaw Puzzles and Job Seekers
Wherever. Whatever.For years, it’s been said that the only constant is change, an idea that goes way back to Greek philosopher Heraclitus. And while it may be true that change is always with us, there is a truer idea that has even more relevance to our lives and careers: “No matter where you go, there you are.” The title of a mediation book by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and variously used and attributed as a quote, this idea came to mind, today, as I watched this great video, by William Arruda at personalbranding.TV. Why Personal Branding? from William Arruda on Vimeo. Sure, the opening seconds highlight the profound changes that are affecting our lives and careers. Yet, as you watch it becomes clear that you can take control of your future by taking responsibility for your personal brand. You can extract, express, and exude the unique value that you bring to your brand community, and that sets you apart from the competition. By attaining this kind of personal clarity, you are better positioned to weather change and move forward in your career. Wherever you are and whatever is happening around you. Cross-posted at William Arruda's Personal Branding Blog |
