How to Write a Resume - Step No. 2 - Know Your Value to the Employer

How to Write a Resume - Step No. 2 - Know Your Value to the Employer In my first post, I talked about the importance of feeling employers’ pain â€" knowing your audience is a crucial first step to writing a resume that really works. Now we’re going to move on to the second step â€" knowing exactly how you can address that pain. What’s your value proposition? We’ve all been asked that old interview question: ‘why should I hire you?’ Most people dread it, but actually, knowing the answer to that question is central to succeeding with your resume (and your job search). You already know what employers are looking for. Now you have to figure out what you have to offer (bonus points if you figured out that step #3 in this series will be matching the two!) Questions to ask yourself: Ask yourself how you have added value in past positions? Look for common themes running through your career (are you the person who always comes in to clean up a mess? Or maybe you’re the guy who always sees a better way to do things.) Ask co-workers or former managers how they would describe you. Look back over old performance reviews or reference letters and look for common themes. Put it all together: Once you have identified your value proposition, try to formulate it into a concise sentence or two. For example, my value proposition is: I use my HR and recruitment experience, combined with my writing skills and knowledge of marketing, to write resumes and online profiles that grab the attention of recruiters. And because I have a background in training and development, I’m able to write engaging, easy-to-follow courses that teach others how to do the same. Think like a marketer: Good marketers never try to sell a product without knowing its unique value proposition first. The exact same rule applies to job search. Because once you know what makes you different and valuable, you can start figuring out how to match your skills with the needs of potential employers and that’s where the resume magic happens! If a recruiter opens your resume email and sees exactly what his client is looking for, you will get the interview â€" every time. If you’re not getting interviews now, it’s because that match isn’t clear enough. So in my next ‘how to write a resume’ post, I’ll talk about how you can marry your knowledge of your target audience with your value proposition to create a resume that recruiters can’t resist be sure to stay tuned! Louise Fletcher co-founded Blue Sky in 2002 after a career as an HR executive. She admits to being a ‘wordnerd’  at heart and loves to write. She developed the Blue Sky resume approach, has written two books, and has been a featured expert for sites such as Monster, The Ladders and HR Guru.   Now read: How to Write a Resume â€" Step No. 3 â€" Strategy Wins the Battle

Skills Your Employer Wishes You Had

Skills Your Employer Wishes You Had These days it feels like you have to be a one-trick pony to even get an interview, let alone secure a well-paying job. However, this might not be as true as you think.  Just as we need to learn to work smarter, not harder. We might also need to learn which skills are more important to demonstrate to a prospective employer. No matter which job’s you’re applying for, there are some skills that are going to be valuable to all employers, and these are the skills you need to develop. Technical As more and more companies begin to rely on technology for their day to day tasks, all employers need their employees to have some useful technical skills. Some might only require a proficiency with Microsoft Office programmes, others might prefer a candidate who can demonstrate that they are capable of using social media for marketing or PR purposes. However, a really valuable employee will also know some basic IT skills such as routine maintenance and how to cope with frozen programs or damaged USB ports. Knowing how to work with computers is one thing, but knowing how to fix them is worth hiring. Learning Companies go through a lot of changes in the space of a year, whether it’s with their products, their pitches, or the industry itself undergoes some changes based on new research. It’s really useful for their employers if their employees are able to learn the new information quickly and then go about their job as soon as they can. However, some people do find it difficult to retain new information in a short period of time, in which case it’s crucial that you develop strategies for declarative knowledge instruction to help you acquire new knowledge and skills quickly. Your employer will appreciate that you can take on the new information and get on with your job in a short space of time, that you may be trusted to take on more responsibilities.   Efficiency Believe it or not, your boss would prefer if no one had to work overtime, but when there are deadlines to be met then there’s not much choice. You can help them out by finding ways to increase your efficiency at work and meeting all your deadlines in a timely manner. Again, this proves to your boss that you can get all your work done. And it might lead to them giving you more responsibility. Communication With so many different ways to stay in touch with your boss and your colleagues both in and out of the office, it’s important that you perfect the art of communication. The ability to express yourself clearly by email, over the phone, or through various messenger apps will decide whether a job gets done effectively and quickly, or if there’s too much confusion that sets everyone behind. You will need to be able to communicate effectively with employees, managers, and customers in-person, online, in writing and/or on the phone to be considered a valuable employee. . Image credits. Main.

4 interview questions you should never ask

4 interview questions you should never ask Most interviews reach a pause when the hiring manager says, Do you have any questions for me? In a world of workplace transparency the most common response to this question would be, No. I have no questions. I am sick of job hunting. Give me a job. But alas, you must play the interview game. So ask three or four questions as a way to convey that you have options, even if, in fact, you do not. Your questions should convey: Im trying to find out more about this position to decide if Im interested. But you cannot say that flat out without sounding like an arrogant pain in the butt. You have to *imply* this message. Like the rest of the interview, what you imply purposely or inadvertently is as important as what you say. So craft your questions carefully, before you get to the interview, and have some extras in case a few turn out to be inappropriate. Here are some types of questions to avoid: How many hours a day do you work? This is a quality of life question. Quality of life is important, and if you need to leave at 5 pm every day, thats fair, but it is not something that automatically makes you more attractive as an employee, so dont ask directly. If you get through a full interview and the hiring manager never reveals that she has a life outside of work, theres no need to ask: She doesnt. If you are unsure about the situation, conduct some independent research. Park your car in the company lot and stalk unsuspecting employees to see when they come and go. Or, go to a pay phone and anonymously call the interviewer at 7 pm four nights in a row to see if shes still at the office. Just dont ask about it in the interview. If you were an animal which one would you be? Nothing abstract. Please. This nutcase question throws off an interview and is appropriate to test what someone does under pressure. But as the interviewee it is not your job to instigate pressure. Most hiring decisions are made based on chemistry. Your number one goal when you interview for a job is to get the person asking the questions to like you. So you should ask questions that make this person feel comfortable. If you can do it without sounding like a brown nose, ask the person something about how they got to be so great. Like, Why did you decide to work for this company? That question implies that youre interested in other people and that you respect the interviewer. I just read that your stock is down 15%. What is the company doing in response? Unless youre interviewing to be a stock analyst, forget the meta questions. If you are so interested in the companys recent downturn, read the analyst reports. A question like this reveals to a prospective boss that you are either (a) preoccupied with the idea that the company is tanking or (b) preoccupied with details of the company that are way beyond the scope of the position at hand. Either way the meta question definitely does not scream, Hire me! Ill be easy to manage! A relatively big-picture question that you would do well to ask is, What are your primary goals for the next two quarters? This question shows you care about the companys future in a way that is relevant to your bosss immediate concerns. What needs to be accomplished in this position in the next six months? This is a useless question at the end of an interview, but an essential one for the beginning. So ask this question within the first five minutes of the interview. And then tailor everything you say to address the goals of the position. The overall rule that should guide your preparations is that you never stop selling yourself in an interview, even when you pretend to stop selling yourself in order to ask a question.

The 3 Very Simple Things Recruiters Want From Clients

The 3 Very Simple Things Recruiters Want From Clients Some businesses begrudge paying recruitment agencies to find them the top talent they need to be successful and grow. Still, they always end up coming back for the service. Why? Because great recruiters know how to get the job done  properly. Some hiring / HR managers will absolutely exhaust their own capabilities first, contacting a million and one people on LinkedIn about a role  theyre hoping to fill and then only  enlist agency support as a very, very last resort, when none of their efforts have proven fruitful. In some respects, this might be fair enough why pay for something you can do yourself? But for the most part, the bigger picture is being completely missed. Great agency  recruiters dont just fire any old CV over to their top clients. They dont just spam lists of people on LinkedIn and wait for a response. Why? Because their reputation depends on it, and their clients will quickly cut them loose if the quality of service is low. Recruiters want to do a good job; its in their very best interests to do so. So, as hiring /  HR managers  who have the budget to use agency recruiters, let them do the great job theyre capable of. In return, they only ask for these 3 simple things in return: 1.  Respect Recruiters  dont just know the market and candidate pool, they know it WELL and probably a lot better than you do. If youre going to work with a recruiter, treat them like the valued business partner they are. Let them read beyond the CV and resume let them sell you a candidate based on having met them and assessing transferrable skills and personality. Trust them to advise on salary brackets and what calibre of hire is realistic with respects to the brief and pricing  youve given them. Recruiters are there to keep you happy by filling your role with the perfect person; they want to fill the role for obvious monetary reasons as well, so take what they have to say seriously. 2.  Commitment If youre going to talk about time frames and interview dates, stick to your word. Recruiters only get paid when they place someone with you, so in many ways the leg work they do before this point is all free to you as the HR / hiring manager. So,  let them do that legwork for you! If they are going to put their trust in your process and work your role for you, make sure you stick to your promises. If you say the role is urgent, then treat it like an urgent role when the recruiters deliver you a shortlist. If you say interviews will be next week then schedule those interviews for next week, not next month. Keeping your promises is really important. While you might feel you can change your mind and call all the shots with no repercussions, recruiters  are the ones who have to relay all the bad and frustrating news of delays and setbacks directly to candidates. If you are known to promise the world and then let your recruitment partners down, youll notice  the level of commitment you get from your recruitment partners dwindles and youll get a bad employer reputation among candidate networks.  Having genuine relationships in place with recruitment agencies will help you in many ways when it comes to your hiring needs, so dont bite the hand that feeds you. 3.  Transparency Being transparent is way better than stringing recruitment partners, and ultimately candidates, along for weeks on end with no explanation, only to let them down in the long run. If budget has been cut and a vacancy has been shelved, let your recruiter know as soon as possible. Let your recruiters know how many other agencies are working on the same role; let them know if you already have 10 internal candidates interviewing for the role. If you are going on annual leave for 2 weeks, let your recruitment partners know before you go sway dont just let them find out with an OOO right in the middle of a process. Being honest and open with your recruitment partners will encourage them to be the same with you, and youll find that recruiters take you and your urgent roles far more seriously. Sure, recruiters have to work to fill vacancies for their commission, but the great ones dont have to put up with hiring / HR managers who dont respect their expertise and services. If you want to build a great relationship with your recruitment partners, let them help you and offer you the gold and glowing service theyre capable of; all theyll ask is for you to treat them how you wish to be treated and to let them do their job properly.

Winning Tips to Write a Cover Letter

Winning Tips to Write a Cover Letter Cover letters are the next important document when you are applying for a job. Most employers do not require the cover letter, but it carries some importance when there are many applicants. A cover letter might be the difference between you and the rest. It could sway the odds in your favor.A cover letter gives you a chance to communicate to the recruiter. A cover letter allows you to talk about your reasons for applying for the job. It has a more personal touch and gives the recruiter a hint of who you are. The following are the factors that you should consider when drafting the letter.LengthevalThe cover letter should be brief. One should be able to go through it in less than a minute. Anything longer than that might be exhausting and boring.Sell YourselfYou should start by telling the company why they should hire you. Your reasons should essentially be unique and personal to you. This is because you do not want to put in something that might be common to many people that are apply ing for the job.The person reading should feel that the letter and your purposes for applying are unique. You should provide a context that applies to the job. You can then explain how it resonates with you.Show How You will Fit into the RoleYou should tell the company the role that you will play when you join them. You should talk about the skills that you have with regards to the job. They must be of use to the company. You should first examine the requirements of the job and the priorities of the role. The job description should tell you exactly what the person will be doing at the company.You should then look at your skills and then talk about them in relation to the responsibilities. For instance, you can mention how your sales training has helped you to become a well-rounded individual. You should sell yourself to the recruiter on how you can deliver. Your strengths will come into play, and you need to show that you are fully capable.Write a StoryYour cover letter should essen tially be a story. The person reading the letter is a human being. Stories appeal to us a lot. A story will appeal to the emotions of the reader and help to establish a connection between the two of you.The story should be about your history with the company or the products and services that they offer. It could be a story of how you first used the products of the company or what made you consider working for them in the first place. You have to make the story relevant and make sure you do not just ramble about random stuff.Address Someone SpecificevalYou should try and address the letter to someone working at the company. This includes the hiring manager, the human resource manager, or the internal recruiter. You could find the exact person by going on LinkedIn and going through the different employees.You should try and see who is most likely to be the one handling recruiting. This shows that you are serious about your efforts since you have gone the extra mile to search for the p erson’s name.HonestyThe most important thing when writing the letter is that you are seen as an honest individual. Following a template might help you to write the cover letter in the “right” way, but it will not make it stand out. The only way to be unique is by telling your story because you are the only one who can come up with that particular story.ConclusionA cover letter does not replace a resume. It complements a resume. You should try and talk about what makes you the right person for that job in the letter. The cover letter can land you an interview when it is done perfectly even if you are not qualified.