Get Over Yourself When Writing Your Resume

Get Over Yourself When Writing Your Resume By Jacqui Barrett-PoindexterIt may seem counterintuitive to take the focus off of YOU when writing a value-packed resume. However, since a resume is a personal marketing document masterfully written to ignite the readers interest, you must focus fully on THEIR (hiring decision makers, owners, managers) needs and wants.Deeply dig into their needs not just what causes them pain (e.g., lack of market share, poor customer service record, low revenues and so forth) but also what inspires THEM to come to work every day. What are their goals for the future of their department, division or company? Tap into their visceral drives and then wrap your story around those specific drivers.In other words compel them, influence them, excite them through illustrations of victories youve helped accomplish and how you got to the finish line. Knit together the threads of your story in a way that creates a compulsion to call you in for an interview to hear more so you can fully convince them you can achieve the sameor similarresults for them.My latest post at US News outlines five points to consider before revamping your resume, helping you to better understand how to connect the dots of your value for the reader and influence them to call you. To read the full story, visit: Getting Out of Your Own Way to Write a Good Resume.~~~Photo: Waldo Pancake via Flickr

Get Mad About The Right Things - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Get Mad About The Right Things - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Check yourself. Ask yourself this one question and then take a moment to really think about your answer. Are you getting mad about the right things? Then take it two steps deeper with these follow-on questions. Are you getting mad about things that you have control over? Are you getting mad about things you dont have control over? These two questions are critical for determining whether you are getting mad about the right things. Why does this matter? Because, if youre getting mad about things that you can control then you can actually do something about it. For example, if you are constantly late you can control that If you are regularly forgetting things you can control that If you find yourself starting every sentence with sorry you can control that too. Why bother? Because these are soft skills that will determine your life and career trajectory. Whether we are  willing to admit it or not these are skills other people measure us on. These are skills we ultimately measure ourselves upon too. Anger Management + Excuse Management ? Life Management I decided to write this post because far too often I find myself both saying and hearing “sorry” before too many conversations. I’m not saying you should never say you are sorry. I’m suggesting that we collectively can work on the soft skill that that means we don’t need to start every conversation with an apology… with an excuse. The underlying logic is this… if you are starting every conversation with an apology you might be doing something wrong. Along this same line of thinking… if you are consistently late this will be noticed by your peers, your partners, and your customers. You have the power to fix this. Some say it’s a passive-aggressive behavior to always be late. Perhaps there is some truth to this. But, trust me, you don’t want to be the person that people know will ALWAYS be late. You might think it’s fashionable, but it’s just plain rude and something YOU can control. “If you aren’t 10 minutes early … you are late” an old military saying and what the best sales rep I ever met lives by What does this have to do with getting mad about the right things? This post runs in parallel to another one I wrote about Avoiding Self Sabotage. Self-Sabotage can  often be traced back to getting mad at yourself. Back to questions 2 and 3… If you can control the situation then you can change the situation. If you can’t control it… then you should address it to the best of your abilities and move on. With the goal of not having to provide an excuse for not delivering what you committed and for not being angry with yourself. This boils down to the age old adage of controlling what you can control and not spending energy on the things that you cannot. Then, if and when you need to get mad about something… you’ll know you are getting mad about the right things.

3 Ways work will change when Gen Y is in charge

3 Ways work will change when Gen Y is in charge Part of knowing where to steer your career is knowing what is changing in the landscape. In ten years, Gen Y will have taken over middle management. Maybe in five years, if my own office is any indication. But I am sure that Gen Y will run the show differently. And no matter your age, the more prepared you are for whats coming, the more likely you will succeed in working with the new middle management regime. 1. Middle management will work longer hours. Generation X is known for leaving work early to be with kids. There are a lot of forces driving this. First, Gen X was raised as latchkey kids, and as parents, we are very cautious about repeating this. So maybe we go overboard. Neil Howe and William Strauss call Gen X the extreme parenting generation, because the women are spending more time with their kids than any generation in history. Generation Y will not parent as much. First, this generation was raised by helicopter parents, and not everyone thinks that was a great idea (although I think its fine). So Gen Y is likely to pull back a bit in the parenting realm. Additionally, we already see evidence that Gen Y is laid back when it comes to parenting. For example, an Xer is more likely to make junior eat green beans and a Gen Yer is more likely to think junior will eat veggies later in life without any childhood nagging. What this adds up to is that Gen Y will feel like its okay to stay at the office during a school play. Gen Y will feel like its okay to work through dinner sometimes. The guilt factor for parenting will be lower than it is for Gen X. And this makes intuitive sense as well: Gen Y has more self-confidence all around than Gen X does becauseand now, the world is circularif you have good parenting, you grow up with good self-esteem. 2. Entry-level employees will avoid technological complexity. The Great Generation loved their cars. When they got back from the war, they bought one. One of, say, seven, because they all looked the same off the assembly line. The baby boomers grew up watching their fathers spend their money on toys that didnt differentiate them. And the baby boomers are not the group-thinkers that their parents were. They wanted something special to them. So they customized their cars. And the kids of baby boomers, Gen Yers, are known for their need to customize: Pandora lets you customize the music on your radio station, and Nike lets you choose the colors for your shoes. But having more choices is actually not something that makes us happy. It is a distraction from what makes us happy. Research in the book, The Paradox of Choice, says that people who are always looking for another choice actually exhaust themselves. And research from Dan Ariely shows that beyond two or three choices, we dont actually have the processing power in our brain to make a good choice for ourselves, so the energy we use to make the choice is wasted. So the generation after Gen Y will rebel against customization. The next generation will focus on simplicity and the simplicity will express itself in technology. People will use the same things, they will use them in largely the same ways, and there will be a common vernacular about technology tools that we are missing in todays culture. 3. People will assume employers are looking out for the interests of employees. It used to be that employers were in the drivers seat. Employers could dictate terms (two weeks of vacation) and career paths (no job hopping). That arrangement worked because it used to be that you could depend on your employer for a forty-year stint and a gold watch at retirement. Today most people stay at their jobs less than five years, and they depend on themselves to be able to get another job when they need one. So employees are starting to recognize that the old arrangement did not necessarily favor the worker and are looking out for themselves like never before. The next generation, however, will have so much power in the workplace, that the workplace will, actually, fundamentally change. The next generation, after Generation Y, might not be tiny in the US, but worldwide, the generation is devastatingly small. So small that European and Asian governments are paying people to have kids. Small city governments convene to discuss what they can do to make the women who live there have more than one baby. National barriers are already coming down quickly. But the barriers will come down hard when the next generation joins the workforce, and the job opportunities outside the US are fantastic. The New York Times predicts an extreme, worldwide shortage of labor by 2015, and this will make young people in such high demand that the current trend to reform the workplace to cater to incoming talent will become more extreme. And the newest workforce will not know anything but a compassionate, generous employer, run by the least of the bitter Gen-Xers, and the chirpy, optimistic Gen Yers.

How Strong Is Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How Strong Is Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Guest post by Denise Lee Yohn When you want to know how strong your personal brand is, you usually refer to your Kred or Klout score, right?   Or perhaps the number of followers, friends, or connections you’ve attracted. Maybe you do a quick search to see how high up you and your content appears in search engines or maybe you look at how many LinkedIn recommendations or endorsements you’ve gotten. The problem with all of these measures is they really only tell you about your past and your present. They’re good indicators of what you’ve done to date, but what about the future? There are no fast and hard metrics telling you whether or not you have a strong enough brand to propel you into new opportunities and to protect you from unknown challenges. The best way to ensure your personal brand is as strong as it needs to be for what’s ahead is to employ a brand-building mindset that extends beyond typical personal branding techniques. In the research for my new book, What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest (Jossey-Bass), I discovered that great brands conceive of their brands as more than a name, logo, or image to promote externally. Great brands use their brands as a management tool to fuel, align, and guide everything they do. Developing a great personal brand involves a similar approach. Instead of thinking only about how and where you appear, consider developing your brand as a strategic platform that serves as your own personal GPS.   And seek to apply to your personal brand the brand-building principles that great brands live out. Great brands start inside.   The leaders of great brands start brand-building by cultivating a strong brand-led internal culture within their organizations â€" and they save marketing and communications for later.   In the same way, define or re-define your personal brand by starting within yourself.   Ensure you have a clear purpose and vision â€" as well as values, or guiding principles, that define how you do things. Until you’re clear about what you stand for and what’s important to you, how can you expect to convey that to others? Great brands avoid selling products.   Instead of pushing products, ingredients, and prices, great brands engage customers on an emotional level.   That’s because people make decisions based on how products make them feel.   The same is true for how people decide whether or not they are going to hire you, follow you, read your content, etc.   So instead of simply listing your skills, experience, or qualifications, link these “products” to the real value you create for people â€" the emotional benefit you deliver. Ask yourself, what really differentiates you from others and why does that matter?   How do you want people to feel when they interact with you? Great brands don’t chase customers.   Great brands know you don’t create brand passion by appealing to everyone equally, so they don’t chase every customer out there. The best brands are very clear about who they’re for â€" and just as importantly, who they’re not for.   Likewise, as a personal brand, you should be clear about the kind of people and opportunities you want to attract.   Figure out who is most likely to value what you uniquely offer and be laser-focused in seeking them out. Great brands sweat the small stuff.  Great brands design their customer experiences down to the last detail because they know that every interaction is an opportunity to enhance their brand image or to detract from it. And they consistently seek out new opportunities to express their brand in the finest details of execution.   Do you do the same?   Have you conducted a detailed, objective assessment of your interactions to ensure that your values and personality are conveyed in everything you do? Are you always challenging yourself to identify ways to improve what you do and how you do it? Great brands commit and stay committed.   Great brands are clear about their priorities and stick to them relentlessly, regardless of how attractive the alternatives might seem.   You have a similar opportunity â€" and challenge â€" to stay committed to your core.   When you’re a new or relatively unknown brand, every avenue to build your awareness, extend your reach, or get involved seems attractive. But you must discern what opportunities are aligned with your core identity and values and be willing to say “no” to those that aren’t right for you.   Of course, your economic reality may require you to take a job or do a gig that meets your short term needs â€" but you should always keep your brand vision in mind and make decisions that move you toward that whenever possible. To ensure a bright future, lay a strong foundation for your personal brand today.   Think like great brands do.   They know brand strength comes not from an image, a score, or a legion of followers.   A strong brand is built by what you do.   Author Bio Denise Lee Yohn has been inspiring and teaching companies how to operationalize their brands to grow their businesses for 25 years.   World-class brands including Sony, Frito-Lay, Burger King, and Oakley have called on Denise, a brand-building expert, speaker, and writer.   She is the author of new bestselling book, What Great Brands Do:   The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest (Jossey-Bass.)   Read more by Denise.  

How to bounce back from missing that deadline - Debut

How to bounce back from missing that deadline - Debut This post is written by a member of the Debut Student Publisher Network. Struggling with deadlines and feel like you cant bounce back? Its not too late, according to  Zaki: It’s happened to lots of us over the years. You get behind with a piece of work and then realise that you won’t get it in on time or, at least, not to an acceptable standard. Whether it’s at university or at work, when you miss a deadline, you can find it difficult to catch up and stay positive. So what do you do? Don’t dwell on it too much Remember that it’s happened and there’s nothing you can do to change the past. When these things occur, I find that it’s all too easy to go into a decline, put it off and make more of a psychological mountain for yourself. The longer you leave it, the harder it’ll be to get back up to speed. Tell yourself that it won’t make or break your degree classification or employment status. Undergraduates on essay-based courses are likely to submit 15 to 30 summative essays during the course of their degree. A late submission penalty is typically 10 marks. Broadly speaking, missing one essay deadline is likely to affect less than 0.5% of your overall mark. A good piece of work can be more than 10 marks better than a rushed one. In a work context, it depends what the deadline was. Hopefully it won’t have too much of an impact on the company, and wasn’t in your first couple of weeks in the job. Always work extra hard to make a good first impression. Either way, the key is the recovery, making sure that you use your extra time to ensure it’s good but also don’t get behind with other work. How you respond and convey what happened is also important. Communication, communication, communication â€" early! Apologise to your line manager and explain why you don’t think you’ll be able to get it done on time. This shows  you understand the implications for them or other colleagues who may have to do extra to make up for it. Did you find it challenging? Have you got any personal issues which have made it hard to focus or find time lately? The more communication, the better, but don’t make anything up. Crucially, contact them to let them know you may struggle to make the deadline as early as possible. Give them a heads-up as early as you can so they have time to see if someone else can help. At the very least, doing this will  manage their expectations. The last thing managers want is to only find out that a piece of work isn’t completed the moment it’s due in. Obviously it can be different with academia, where late submissions carry automatic penalties. But apply for an extension if you have a valid reason to. Similarly, do it nice and early to allow yourself enough time to get the assignment done on time if the request is rejected. Also, top tip:  get help or advice from your personal tutor. And most importantly, don’t rely on the assumption that your extension will be granted or race to Netflix to celebrate though. There’ll be plenty of time for that once you’ve handed your work in. Learn from your mistakes and make sure it doesn’t happen again Remind yourself how stressed you got when fretting over missing that deadline. How you missed dinner. How you had to turn down the chance to go to the pub for a drink with your closest friends. Or a spare ticket to see your favourite band play. Use that to motivate yourself to start earlier next time, and to avoid distractions, whether that involves turning your phone off or working in the library rather than at home. Also make sure not to take too much on. Whether that’s constantly offering to do bits of your colleagues’ work for them to be helpful or signing up to too many extra-curricular activities at university. Involvement in societies, sports clubs and student media can be great.  But prioritise one or two groups and find a balance. Where you can, let committee colleagues know in advance that you’ll be bogged down with essays and therefore out of action during a particular week. And don’t offer to do things you won’t have time to do. That will risk letting them down too. Download the Debut app  to get Talent-Spotted by amazing graduate employers today! Tweet us @DebutCareers or message us on the Debut Facebook page, we love hearing from you.

Put Plan B into Action

Put Plan B into Action Its been months since you lost your job and you are frustrated. Maybe it is time to put Plan B into action. Having a job, any job, usually makes you feel better than facing all the rejection or indifference. Having a job gives you something to do. It provides income. It gives you a sense of worth and value. So how do you chose what your Plan B job will be? First, you will need to sit down in a quiet place and brainstorm all the things you love, LOVE, to do. Do not filter out things that might seem unrealistic, silly, or I cant make money doing this. If this is difficult, it should be. Keep going. Think of the things you enjoyed doing as a kid. Think about your favorite job ever. What was your dream growing up? Once youve brainstormed, enlist the help of a true friend. Someone who you trust. Someone who will not shut your ideas down (A spouse might not be the best person to use at this time in the process, unless your spouse is very open minded and incredibly supportive.) Ask this friend to help you identify ways you could get a job in these areas. Ask them to help you think of related opportunities. Ask them if they know anyone in these areas. Also ask if they know anyone who owns a business. Any business. Ask if you can talk to that person about getting some help. Securing a Plan B job can take as much time as a real job. Start today trying to line one up. Dont send a resume or fill out an application. Call on the phone or stop by in person. Explain why you want to work there. It may sound something like: Ieat atyour restaurant pretty regularlyand really enjoy the people who work here and the customers who come here. I love your food and know that I could do a great job representing you.Theres a little extra time inmyday and I would like to be doing something worthwhile and make a little money.Is their a shift you might need some help with? Dont give up. If they dont seem interested now, they may be later. Move on, check in with another place that does something similar. Always convince them that you are interested in working specifically for THEM. Flatter their large but fragile egos. Here are some regional Plan Bopportunities that are gearing up right now: Landscaping (mowing, raking, yard maintenance) Golf coursesare gearing up their hiring Restaurants Garden centers Parks and recreation programs Summer youth programs/camps need help House painting and outdoor maintenance Here are some other Plan Boptions that are usually hiring: Call center work (customer service, fund raising) Office cleaning companies Hotel/motelpositions Employers in these organizations want to hire someone who is reliable and will do the work and will stay longer than a couple ofweeks. Convince them you have what it takesto do this. I know these dont sound likedream jobs. You might even be angry at me for suggesting these things. Good. Come up with some other creative solutions andlet me know. Ill post them here!

Tips on Picking Out a Resume Icon

Tips on Picking Out a Resume IconThere are hundreds of thousands of resume icons out there, but you really need to take your time and figure out which one will best showcase your ability to be a leader. You might have the wrong image in your mind that all resume icons look alike, but they don't all have to be the same.An important thing to remember when selecting a resume icon is the personality of the person who will use it. If your potential employer thinks that the icon you selected for your resume is unflattering, then you'll probably find that your chances of getting hired decrease. So, remember to pick an icon that will show your strengths.Think about what you're going to put on your resume icon. If you want a 'cute' icon, you can pick a cute logo or image that's similar to a heart, a smiley face, a doodle, etc. But, don't use images that might be offensive or even hurtful to a potential employer.It's also a good idea to refrain from using personal information in your resume ic on. This could include your full name, your address, or any other details that would identify you in some way. Remember, these icons are for your potential employer to see.Career icons are another place where you can make an impact on the type of job you get. You can use your interests, passions, or your hobbies as an indicator that you'd be a good fit for a certain career path. For example, if you're a photographer, you could have a photograph for your resume icon that shows you taking pictures.If you're applying for a job that requires personal information, be sure to include your hobbies, or other areas of interest. For example, if you're applying for a retail manager position, you could have a photograph of yourself shopping with a friend.One final consideration is whether or not you'll want a screen-printed resume icon. Some companies are very particular about the design of their resumes, and this can be problematic if you choose to design your own icon. If you want a professio nal look for your resume icon, consider getting screen-printed.Choosing a resume icon that shows your strengths and talents is important, but it's also important to pick one that shows off who you are. Screen-printed resume icons are the best way to accomplish this.