Dear J.T.,
After working for the same company for close to four years, I was laid off eight weeks ago. While I amazingly dedicated, fast to learn and willing to take on just about any task, as a family-oriented 26-year old with no college education, I am worried that perspective employers won't bother to give me a second look. I recently began focusing on personal branding, my social media presence, etc., and when I saw Careerealism offering the Am I Money project I simply couldn't refuse to send my information over! I'm ready to hear it all. The good, the bad, the great and the terrible!!
Thanks and regards!
Melissa
LinkedInFacebook
Dear Melissa,
When I read your request above, my first thought was, "Oh dear, she probably doesn't have much to market." But then I looked at your materials and thought, "Wow. She's got something here!" I'm going to give you 4 and tell you that with some minor changes, you should be snagging some interviews, even WITHOUT the college degree.
Social Media: Your LinkedIn profile is very good. 6 recommendations is excellent! Also, the amount of info you have filled in is a perfect balance of enough to get a sense of your accomplishments, but not so much that the viewer loses interest. That being said, I would like to see you quantify your accomplishments some more. For example, how many people did you assess in your last job? Give them an idea of the magnitude of your responsibilities in each role you've held by add ing numbers to the accomplishments.
Your Twitter account is my favorite. I think it is very original of you to create a username that reflects you are job searching right now. The only challenge is going to be later when you get a job. Then what? The username won't be applicable. So, just keep in mind you'll need to eventually create one that you can use long-term. In the meantime, the content you are tweeting is EXCELLENT! And I'm not just saying that because you've tweeted Careerealism.com items. You've chosen to post and comment on Twitter in a way that shows you are very professional. I get an immediate sense that you would be a good person to put in front of others. Intelligent and composed comes to mind when I read your Twitter feed - a very attractive way to present yourself to employers. Way to go!
Your Facebook account is locked (very good),so only your picture shows. I think the picture of you is very nice, but I feel like it's a bit casual. I'd suggesting choosing a new headshot that has you looking straight ahead, with better lighting and in professional attire. Something that shows your confidence a bit more. You should use the same picture on all three accounts to brand yourself as well.
Resume: Okay, the resume is beautifully formatted and the font is a great choice too. My challenge is that I don't get a sense of your strengths when looking at it. An employer should know within 10 seconds of glancing at your resume what you are about. In your case, I'd change a few things. First, take out the objective statement at the top. They already know what kind of job you want - it's implied when you apply. Second, change the summer of yourself from a paragraphy to a bullet-point of your top skill sets. (i.e. Customer Service, Behavioral Assessment, Administrative Assistant, etc.) But listing these at the top, the reader immediately processes what you are capable of. Next, please make your job titles the first thing in each work history and bold the text. It's less important where your worked and more important you list what you did. Just look at how LinkedIn lists it. That's a good guideline. Finally, like the suggestion for the LinkedIn text, add some numbers to your accomplishments for consistency and to make it easier to understand the depth of your work at each job.
Cover Letter: I'd just like to see the first paragraph removed. It's clear you are applying to a position. You could use that paragraph in the e-mail you send when you submit. Instead, open with a paragraph that highlights what you love about the company. What do they do particularly well in your mind and how do you know this is something to admire in an employer? Share that with them so they can get a sense of how/why you connect with them and they'll be more likely to read on.
Overall, in spite of not having a degree, you present yourself better than most young professionals who do have one. So keep at it because you are definitely MONEY! Good luck!
And fellow career experts, feel free to share some thoughts for Melissa below - the more feedback the better for our 'Am I Money?' participants!
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
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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