Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Archives for December 2007

Targeting Your Audience

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How can you tell if your resume targets your market? Read it from the prospective employer’s perspective.

Ask yourself:

  • Does it speak their language?  Does it echo lingo, jargon and buzz words found in the job description?
  • Does it focus on what YOU can do for THEM?
  • Does it emphasize themes and values found on the employer’s website or other written materials?

If the answers are “no,” it is NOT targeting your market.

What can you do? At the risk of oversimplifying the issue…

  • Incorporate language from the job description and lingo their company favors in your materials.
  • Take advantage of the fact that job descriptions are lengthy and involved…Someone spent time writing down exactly the skills and experience they seek. How flattering if you echo their language when you apply! You’ll look like the perfect candidate.
  • Think about what you have to offer in the way of accomplishments and skills.  Eliminate any language that suggests that they can do something for you.  For example: “Seeking experience in a fast-paced, high-tech environment.”  No employer wants to hire someone to give them experience!  They want to know what YOU can do for them.
  • Your research (via web information, informational interviews, reading industry publications) should uncover the organization’s culture and values.  Do they emphasize volunteerism?  Are they “green?” Are their employees chained to their PDAs and work 24/7? Your materials should incorporate how you fit into their culture.  The point is to help them visualize you fitting into their environment.  If you can paint a picture that helps them see you working for them, you are one step closer to an interview.

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!

 

A New Career for a New Year!

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A new year is a great opportunity to reevaluate your career goals and decide if 2008 is the year that you’ll (finally) focus on finding a new job or career.

Is this your year?  Do any of these bullet points sound familiar?

  • You dread going to work. Thinking about your job gives you a twitch, or that familiar stress feeling in your neck.
  • You aren’t being paid what you are worth.  You need to make more money to support your lifestyle or family.
  • You have always dreamed (or at least thought about) a career in a different industry or setting.
  • Your work consumes you.  You are working so many hours that you don’t have time for anything else in your life, and you want more.
  • Your job is  having a negative impact on your health.

If any of these describe your situation, now is the time to plan for a move.  Although a job hunt may sound like a lot of work, with the right tools and attitude, you can successfully transition to a new job or career.  Stay tuned for more about how to get started!