Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Archives for December 24, 2007

Know Yourself to Sell Your Skills

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If you were hired to sell something, an HDTV, for example, do you think that you would sell very many if you couldn’t describe what makes that particular TV special or useful?  The customer doesn’t want to spend a lot of money without knowing what she is going to get in return.  If you couldn’t quickly convince the client that YOUR TV offered the most features and the clearest picture, customers would nod and smile at you as they moved on to see what the next guy offered.

You see where I’m going with this? In job search, you are selling yourself!  If you don’t know what you have to offer, what makes you special and unique, you aren’t going to get very far.

To write a strong, active resume (your job search calling card),  you need to evaluate your skills and make a connection to the employer’s needs.

You’re thinking that you don’t have any skills?  Many of my clients underestimate what they have to offer an employer.  I once worked with a woman who spoke several languages fluently, but didn’t think it was worth writing on her resume (which targeted an international position).  She believed that “everyone” was multi-lingual.  As a result, the hiring manager may assume that she was unqualified for the job.

Don’t underestimate what you have to offer!  Spend some time thinking about your qualifications. Review a skills list to get you thinking.  List every word that describes you.  Think in terms of what makes you distinctive.  Think about how you would sell yourself.

Answers to questions about the job search!

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Keppie Careers strives to provide a toolbox of practical tips, useful advice, support and encouragement for job seekers.

We offer confidence, clarity and career search know-how! Read more about our career coaching and resume writing services on our website: keppiecareers.com.

Feel free to post a question about your job search here. We plan to respond in one business day!

keppiecareers.com…We encourage, enlighten and empower job seekers for success!

Assess Your Resume

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Does your resume represent the best you have to offer?  When you read it, are you proud to say that it represents you? Does your resume need a make-over?  Review your resume with these tips in mind…

** Does your resume target your audience? **
Every job and each employer seeks a slightly different applicant.  Unless you are applying for the same exact job over and over again, you should not be sending the identical resume for every position.  Research your target organizations.  Use their buzzwords and lingo in your application materials.  (You can easily tweak a well written resume to appeal to different audiences, so don’t feel that you need to completely rewrite your resume for each new job.)

** Is your resume attractive, consistent, error-free and easy to read? **
Don’t underestimate how important it is to have a clear, error-free, visually impressive resume.  Does your resume look crowded with thick text blocks that may be difficult to scan?  Are you making strong use of bold to enhance your document, or are you overdoing it?  Did you use a resume template from your word processing software?  (Don’t!)  Since readers likely give your resume a 20-second glance, visual appeal is important.  If the reader notices careless spelling errors, it is not likely that you will land an interview.

** Do you DEMONSTRATE what you have to offer? **
Is your resume a laundry list of jobs you held, or does it engage the reader and demonstrate your skills and achievements?  You should quantify your value using percentages, numbers and specifics.  Your resume should highlight the positive impact that you had in previous jobs.  You want to convince the reader that you could do the same for them!If your resume is TARGETED, ATTRACTIVE and DEMONSTRATES what you have to offer, it will be more than a TAD above the rest!