Hi CAREEREALISM Team!
I just caught a tweet from you guys about your "Am I Money?" rating program and I couldn't resist. I've been wondering how I come off to employers online and I'd love some feedback. Thank you!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresabasich
Twitter: @TransitionalTee
Cover Letter
Resume
Thanks again!
Teresa Basich
Hi Teresa,
I love the energy you project in your career materials and I think you've got some wonderful experience. What's nice is you are in the career 'sweetspot' in that you've got several years of professional experience under your belt (you're not a newbie), but aren't going to be demanding too high of a salary. So, when presented right, employers are going to see you as not just talented, but someone who could be molded into a future leader. I'm definitely going to give you a 4.0 and say you can quickly and easily get that to a "5.0 Money Status" in no time!
Here's what I suggest:
RE LinkedIn Profile - The fact that you have 4 recommendations is excellent! Keep striving for more of those and work on expanding your network beyond your 63 connections. Don't be afraid to reach out to strangers you admire and ask for the connection! I'd add your picture so that your brand is consistent across all social media. Also, consider shortening up some of your bullet points for each job and provide numbers as a way to validate/quantify your experience. People read, and more importantly, REMEMBER numbers on career credential more than anything else.
RE Resume - I love how you put your major job skills across the top, however, I would drop the adjectives beneath it (creative, team-player, etc.) which, for many hiring managers, are going to be viewed as too subjective. While I have no doubt you are creative, that is your opinion, not an objective fact. Also, even though it's meant to be positive, it can be viewed as over-confident. Instead, to create the same affect but in a more professional fashion, I'd consider revamping your bulleted career highlights you've listed beneath that. Consider replacing them with shorter bullets in two columns that list all your major skill sets within your area of expertise.
As far as the body of the resume, it looks good, but the bullets are too long. I'd find a way to shorten them up by adding stats and numbers and reducing the word count. Say more with less so their eyes can easily scan and interpret the depth of your skills.
Finally, I opened your resume and it broke out two two pages, carrying over just a single line to the next page. Avoid this problem by always sending a PDF version of your resume to retain the formatting and keep it to the one page.
RE Cover Letter- This was my FAVORITE part of your career tools. The opening is original and grabs the reader's attention. Moreover, it truly showcases your personality. Direct and spunky, it reads upbeat and full of energy. And yet, because you are going into marketing, I'd like to see you design this as more of a marketing piece. I'd actually focus on formatting it with some bolded text to make it read even stronger. For example, I'd indent and list your three "FACT" references on separate lines to draw the eye in. Additionally, in the section where you bullet how their skill requests match your experience, I'd bold the first sentence that references what they asked for. Cover letters do not need to be a traditional letter format, especially since it's clear your strength is that you aren't traditional - show them what you've got!
RE Your Writing Style - Again, let me preface this by saying I really like have you've personalized your materials through your writing. However, I'd alter two sentences in the cover letter that come off too strong for me. First, I'd tone down the "I'm your girl," comment. It's a bit too comfortable/casual for a cover letter. I know you want to show your enthusiasm, but I'd say the rest of the text accomplishes that. I suggest saying, "Here's some proof that I'm ready to join the ____ team."
Second, the "You've probably had more than enough applicants for this position, but I truly feel you can stop your search after talking to me," is most likely going to be misinterpreted as over-confident, and possibly even a little self-important. I'd change that to something like, "I can imagine how many applications you've received for this job, but I promise I will make meeting me worth your time!" This delivers the same energy, but is a bit more respectful.
I'm so glad you submitted your materials to 'Am I Money?' because you are wonderful example of someone who understand they need to personalize themselves. I just want to make sure your energy and enthusiasm gets properly interpreted. Best wishes, although I have no doubt you'll be in a great role in no time.
Now I'll ask all the career experts reading this to feel free to add any comments below. The more viewpoints and perspective we can give passionate job seekers like Teresa, the better!Hi CAREEREALISM Team!
I just caught a tweet from you guys about your "Am I Money?" rating program and I couldn't resist. I've been wondering how I come off to employers online and I'd love some feedback. Thank you!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresabasich
Twitter: @TransitionalTee
Cover Letter
Resume
Thanks again!
Teresa Basich
Hi Teresa,
I love the energy you project in your career materials and I think you've got some wonderful experience. What's nice is you are in the career 'sweetspot' in that you've got several years of professional experience under your belt (you're not a newbie), but aren't going to be demanding too high of a salary. So, when presented right, employers are going to see you as not just talented, but someone who could be molded into a future leader. I'm definitely going to give you a 4.0 and say you can quickly and easily get that to a "5.0 Money Status" in no time!
Here's what I suggest:
RE LinkedIn Profile - The fact that you have 4 recommendations is excellent! Keep striving for more of those and work on expanding your network beyond your 63 connections. Don't be afraid to reach out to strangers you admire and ask for the connection! I'd add your picture so that your brand is consistent across all social media. Also, consider shortening up some of your bullet points for each job and provide numbers as a way to validate/quantify your experience. People read, and more importantly, REMEMBER numbers on career credential more than anything else.
RE Resume - I love how you put your major job skills across the top, however, I would drop the adjectives beneath it (creative, team-player, etc.) which, for many hiring managers, are going to be viewed as too subjective. While I have no doubt you are creative, that is your opinion, not an objective fact. Also, even though it's meant to be positive, it can be viewed as over-confident. Instead, to create the same affect but in a more professional fashion, I'd consider revamping your bulleted career highlights you've listed beneath that. Consider replacing them with shorter bullets in two columns that list all your major skill sets within your area of expertise.
As far as the body of the resume, it looks good, but the bullets are too long. I'd find a way to shorten them up by adding stats and numbers and reducing the word count. Say more with less so their eyes can easily scan and interpret the depth of your skills.
Finally, I opened your resume and it broke out two two pages, carrying over just a single line to the next page. Avoid this problem by always sending a PDF version of your resume to retain the formatting and keep it to the one page.
RE Cover Letter- This was my FAVORITE part of your career tools. The opening is original and grabs the reader's attention. Moreover, it truly showcases your personality. Direct and spunky, it reads upbeat and full of energy. And yet, because you are going into marketing, I'd like to see you design this as more of a marketing piece. I'd actually focus on formatting it with some bolded text to make it read even stronger. For example, I'd indent and list your three "FACT" references on separate lines to draw the eye in. Additionally, in the section where you bullet how their skill requests match your experience, I'd bold the first sentence that references what they asked for. Cover letters do not need to be a traditional letter format, especially since it's clear your strength is that you aren't traditional - show them what you've got!
RE Your Writing Style - Again, let me preface this by saying I really like have you've personalized your materials through your writing. However, I'd alter two sentences in the cover letter that come off too strong for me. First, I'd tone down the "I'm your girl," comment. It's a bit too comfortable/casual for a cover letter. I know you want to show your enthusiasm, but I'd say the rest of the text accomplishes that. I suggest saying, "Here's some proof that I'm ready to join the ____ team."
Second, the "You've probably had more than enough applicants for this position, but I truly feel you can stop your search after talking to me," is most likely going to be misinterpreted as over-confident, and possibly even a little self-important. I'd change that to something like, "I can imagine how many applications you've received for this job, but I promise I will make meeting me worth your time!" This delivers the same energy, but is a bit more respectful.
I'm so glad you submitted your materials to 'Am I Money?' because you are wonderful example of someone who understand they need to personalize themselves. I just want to make sure your energy and enthusiasm gets properly interpreted. Best wishes, although I have no doubt you'll be in a great role in no time.
Now I'll ask all the career experts reading this to feel free to add any comments below. The more viewpoints and perspective we can give passionate job seekers like Teresa, the better!
Bigstock
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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