By Meghan M. Biro
Many people begin job searches and career transitions by rewriting their resumes. Resumes are necessary and a very important step, but they are not always sufficient. Starting with a resume is really starting in the middle of the process. There's an alternative place to begin - with a self-assessment.
Power of Self-Assessment: What's YOUR Story?
Self-assessment is a process, and it can be much more if you approach it with the right attitude - not as a penance, not as pointless navel-gazing, but as a gift you give to yourself. Let's talk about what self-assessment entails, and how you can make it a creative and productive journey.
Four factors to take into account when embarking on self-assessment are your:
Personality
Interests
Skill
Values
Many books, tools and web sites provide information and tests to help determine your personality type; take these tests yourself, or join forces with a coach/strategist/specialist to interpret the results.
Interests may be a bit easier to determine - what do you love to do? What do you avoid? What makes you happy, frustrated, fulfilled? Make a list.
Cross-reference your interests list with your skills - both career, such as an accounting degree, and life skills, e.g. coordination, critical thinking, or the ability to problem-solve. Look for useful skills profiler worksheets.
Finally, consider your values. Are you spiritual? Do you like the rush of starting and selling new ventures? March for peace? Volunteer for meaningful causes? Do you live your values as an active participant or as an observer? What feels most comfortable with your true self?
Meet Melissa....(Does she sound like you?)
At this point you can consider partnering with a coach as one option to integrate the information you've collected and begin to draw conclusions that will guide your job search. That's what a woman we'll call Melissa, an IT executive who longed for a more satisfying career, and I did recently.
Melissa was tired of working in IT management. Confronted on a daily basis by angry, frustrated co-workers whose email boxes were overflowing, whose files were lost mid-sentence and who really didn't care about what it took Melissa to solve their issues now, she was grappling with how to change careers. After five years on a help desk she was unsure of her interpersonal skills, unwilling to invest in another IT-related degree to switch specialties, and out of touch with her passions and interests.
Because Melissa was feeling a bit burned out, we didn't jump in at the deep end - personality assessment. Instead we talked about her interests, completed a skills assessment, and explored her values. We were three-quarters of the way through the self-assessment, and close to having enough information to help Melissa begin to build a personal brand: a way to incorporate her personality, interests, skills and values in a coherent, authentic package that would appeal to employers - and as important - be liberating and refreshing for Melissa.
Melissa began to learn about herself again, to feel comfortable in her own skin. She realized that she didn't like conflict and although her problem-solving ability was strong, she had little formal training in active listening. She valued people who are honest and polite, preferred to work independently, and was interested in a role that would free her from the confines of an office and give her the opportunity to travel.
At this point we were ready for the personality tests, which can reveal how a person perceives the world and her place in it, and how these preferences influence how she make decisions. We spent time cross-referencing the results with our other lists and built a list of career choices that made sense for Melissa - and were achievable without significant re-training. We had a good idea of where Melissa would achieve a better culture fit, based on her personal brand. It was time to re-write the resume, start connecting with her network and re-launch her career.
Today Melissa is working as a programmer - which leverages her desire to work independently - for a national company, which gives her the opportunity to travel. As a key contributor on a geographically-distributed team she works with peers who share skills and treat each other with respect. She is adding value to her personal brand by participating in professional groups and feeding her soul by taking painting classes and collecting art. Through self-assessment, she has found a path; by creating a personal brand, she is increasing her value as an employee and person.
As you consider a career or life change, use the tools of self-assessment to guide you.
Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a globally-recognized expert in talent acquisition, creative personal and corporate branding and new media strategies that accelerate talent acquisition.A career strategist, Meghan guides her clients to build distinctive corporate, employer and personal brands-both on and offline. You can reach her at mbiro@talentculture.com, on Twitter at @MeghanMBiro and @TalentCulture, or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanmbiro.
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
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Make 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
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Are 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.
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
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Your 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.
By Meghan M. Biro
Many people begin job searches and career transitions by rewriting their resumes. Resumes are necessary and a very important step, but they are not always sufficient. Starting with a resume is really starting in the middle of the process. There's an alternative place to begin - with a self-assessment.
Power of Self-Assessment: What's YOUR Story?
Self-assessment is a process, and it can be much more if you approach it with the right attitude - not as a penance, not as pointless navel-gazing, but as a gift you give to yourself. Let's talk about what self-assessment entails, and how you can make it a creative and productive journey.
Four factors to take into account when embarking on self-assessment are your:
Personality
Interests
Skill
Values
Many books, tools and web sites provide information and tests to help determine your personality type; take these tests yourself, or join forces with a coach/strategist/specialist to interpret the results.
Interests may be a bit easier to determine - what do you love to do? What do you avoid? What makes you happy, frustrated, fulfilled? Make a list.
Cross-reference your interests list with your skills - both career, such as an accounting degree, and life skills, e.g. coordination, critical thinking, or the ability to problem-solve. Look for useful skills profiler worksheets.
Finally, consider your values. Are you spiritual? Do you like the rush of starting and selling new ventures? March for peace? Volunteer for meaningful causes? Do you live your values as an active participant or as an observer? What feels most comfortable with your true self?
Meet Melissa....(Does she sound like you?)
At this point you can consider partnering with a coach as one option to integrate the information you've collected and begin to draw conclusions that will guide your job search. That's what a woman we'll call Melissa, an IT executive who longed for a more satisfying career, and I did recently.
Melissa was tired of working in IT management. Confronted on a daily basis by angry, frustrated co-workers whose email boxes were overflowing, whose files were lost mid-sentence and who really didn't care about what it took Melissa to solve their issues now, she was grappling with how to change careers. After five years on a help desk she was unsure of her interpersonal skills, unwilling to invest in another IT-related degree to switch specialties, and out of touch with her passions and interests.
Because Melissa was feeling a bit burned out, we didn't jump in at the deep end - personality assessment. Instead we talked about her interests, completed a skills assessment, and explored her values. We were three-quarters of the way through the self-assessment, and close to having enough information to help Melissa begin to build a personal brand: a way to incorporate her personality, interests, skills and values in a coherent, authentic package that would appeal to employers - and as important - be liberating and refreshing for Melissa.
Melissa began to learn about herself again, to feel comfortable in her own skin. She realized that she didn't like conflict and although her problem-solving ability was strong, she had little formal training in active listening. She valued people who are honest and polite, preferred to work independently, and was interested in a role that would free her from the confines of an office and give her the opportunity to travel.
At this point we were ready for the personality tests, which can reveal how a person perceives the world and her place in it, and how these preferences influence how she make decisions. We spent time cross-referencing the results with our other lists and built a list of career choices that made sense for Melissa - and were achievable without significant re-training. We had a good idea of where Melissa would achieve a better culture fit, based on her personal brand. It was time to re-write the resume, start connecting with her network and re-launch her career.
Today Melissa is working as a programmer - which leverages her desire to work independently - for a national company, which gives her the opportunity to travel. As a key contributor on a geographically-distributed team she works with peers who share skills and treat each other with respect. She is adding value to her personal brand by participating in professional groups and feeding her soul by taking painting classes and collecting art. Through self-assessment, she has found a path; by creating a personal brand, she is increasing her value as an employee and person.
As you consider a career or life change, use the tools of self-assessment to guide you.
Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a globally-recognized expert in talent acquisition, creative personal and corporate branding and new media strategies that accelerate talent acquisition.A career strategist, Meghan guides her clients to build distinctive corporate, employer and personal brands-both on and offline. You can reach her at mbiro@talentculture.com, on Twitter at @MeghanMBiro and @TalentCulture, or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanmbiro.
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