Job Search Tools

Is your Resume Good or Great?

May 1, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

Does your Resume pass the test?

I see a lot of resumes and a lot of them need help desperately! Even after the person has spent hours to create it or rewrite it. It’s sad but there is help to be found.

People ask me about resumes. I like to start working with clients on their resume because it takes discipline to select just the right words to describe your past accomplishments and future goals then fit everything on one or two pages.

Well good news! I’ve got a few tips to look at your resume with fresh eyes in a free checklist. Let’s see how many boxes you can check off on YOUR resume.

Find out now if your resume is just good or actually great! Get your free copy of The Ultimate Resume Writing Checklist.

Job Search Potluck Antidote – Part 3: Is that an opportunity hidden around that corner?

March 27, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

The antidote to job search potluck is information gleaned from a bit of creative detective work that can open an array of opportunities you never considered.

This series offers a process that gets job seekers beyond advertisements. In Part 1 we discussed the importance of knowing what you want. In Part 2 we considered how to use that information to network. In this third part, let’s look at where to find companies to network into.

The trick to making a list of target companies is thinking outside the box.

Heard on the street here in northeast Ohio, “I’ve tried Smuckers, Gojo, Diebold, Timken, Progressive and Eaton. There are just no jobs here in NEO.” Bull. Folks who say this have not done the research to find companies in their community that might be options other than the few really big companies.

They are not looking in the right place. This calls for some research.

Here are three research options I recommend to my clients:

Google Maps. Maps.google.com. Zoom out to the geography within which you are willing to commute in your target geography. Then click on the “nearby” button to open a search button. Enter a keyword that describes your industry. Maybe “Manufacturing” or “Distribution” or “Healthcare”. Click the enter button and watch Google generate lots of red dots representing potential job search targets. Magic.
Reference USA Resource.ReferenceUSA.com/ is a data base that allows you to insert many search factors like geography, industry, size, revenue and more. Click on the search button and you will generate a list of potential job search targets. You can access Reference USA from your local library or in your local public library’s online interface. All you need is a library card!
Other library resources. References librarians love to help. They have access to many research resources that can be helpful from Hoovers to Dun & Bradstreet. Just walk up to the reference librarian’s desk. They will throw themselves at you in an effort to help!

Expand your job search outside of potluck advertisements by doing a little research to identify more target companies than the local “big companies” in your neighborhood. This opens up more opportunities for networking and we all know that networking is the way most people will get their next jobs!!

Job search is a numbers game. More outreach delivers more action. The Interview Doctor’s Job Requirements Comparison List is the perfect tool to clarify what you want. Networking is easier when you know what you want!! Download the Job Requirements Comparison List today to get started on your networking adventure! So much better than taking potluck.

In Job Transition? You Need a Job Search Marketing Plan

October 17, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

I received this note the other day and thought this was a great note to share with others.

Dear Interview Doctor,

I am in the process of either changing jobs or doing consulting in Quality Management. Since 85% to 90% of companies have not made the transition to the new ISO 9001:2015 standard, this may be a good opportunity for me. After helping my last company, I have a solid understanding of what needs changed to make that transition. I just purchased your e-book, which may help. Any advice would be helpful. John

Dear John,

I am sorry that you are in this situation but the best way to respond is with a plan. My best suggestion is to create a job search marketing plan! The same steps involved in changing jobs will support consulting goals as well so no actions are wasted.

Consider these steps:

1) Clarify the problem your target company probably has based on your knowledge and experience. Sure, we are guessing a little but you probably have a good idea what is the problem you can solve.

2) How specifically can you solve that problem? This is the WIIFM – “what’s in it for me” from the company’s perspective. This is also what you will talk about with people. You do NOT want to talk about your job search or no one will want to talk to you. How could your ideal company most effectively utilize your knowledge, skills and abilities? What are deliverables in what time frame that could solve the company’s problem? Is there a contract option available too? Is that an option? How would you structure that? This is all background information that you will now have at your fingertips when you speak to people.

3) Identify by name those target companies that meet your parameters. These are companies that you believe could utilize you to solve the problem you are pretty sure they have. Until we do that research you are only making an educated guess. But we need to start with some sort of list. We will use this list for outreach.

4) Now start your research. Research the company on Google, their website, LinkedIn and other social media sites. Who is the decision maker – the person who could hire you? Who do you know who works there? Who knows someone who knows someone? Who works there who might be a peer or in a subordinate role? Read some LinkedIn profiles to get an idea of what those people are like. Read press releases to identify projects. Extrapolate the issues behind those press releases.

5) Create a project plan that allocates some time every day to researching the companies on your target list. Start your outreach 5 companies at a time. When one company falls off the list for being undesirable or a dead end then add another so you always have at least 5 companies on your action list.

6) Take action. Reach out to connect to people at the company with whom you can have a conversation about the problem you think they probably have and that you are an expert in. “Talk” via email inside LinkedIn about business issues, professional to professional. Exchange LinkedIn emails about the topic until you feel comfortable asking for coffee. Then at coffee talk further about that business issue, not about your job search. You want the person to think you are a whiz at that professional stuff (because of course you are! ) so they either want to engage you, really keep you in mind or make introductions to other folks because they think you are great (because you are!)

Does this make sense? It really works. Not on our time schedule but it works. Remember job search is a project plan without an end date. All you can control is the plan, not the outcome.

What do you think? Can you do this? The Interview Doctor can help you create a personalized Job Search Marketing Plan that supports your job search. Check out our helpful Networking Guide for valuable tips on how to bring your Job Search Marketing Plan to life!!

Rewriting Your Resume

May 30, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Resumes should be a solid representation of you and what you want in your career.

Graham left a leadership role in medical device company. He was done with leadership, just sick of it. All he wanted to do was sell. “Just give me a bag and leave me alone to get results,” he said.

Graham had not looked for a job in a long time. He was coming from many years in leadership with the same company. He spent some money with a resume service and got a one page resume. It looked ok on the surface but Graham really hated it.

I met Graham as a referral from my business coach Sherry. She knew a person who knew a person. That is how business contacts are made – through networking like that!

I took a look at Graham’s new resume and had to agree with him. It was awful.

The way to measure effectiveness of a resume is not just the way the resume looks. Does the resume actually support the candidate’s overall objectives? NO on both counts in Graham’s case. Plus the resume service just created the resume. They did not help Graham navigate the job search world. He had no idea where to get started or how to use this new resume. Even if the resume was perfect, which it was not, Graham did not know what to do with it. That seems wrong.

Here is what we did:

We corrected Graham’s contacts. The telephone number on the resume belongs to Graham’s wife, not to Graham – kind of a basic problem.
We added a headline identifying Graham’s ideal job. How is anyone supposed to know what Graham wants if there is no headline? The headline informs the reader. The reader will consider whether everything else he / she reads after that supports the headline.
We simplified. We took out every other word like a sculpture leaving only the essential information that supports the ideal job.
We added accomplishments related to his sales goal. The original resume was just a list of tasks related to Graham’s former leadership position. Not an accomplishment to be seen in general and no accomplishments at all related to sales. But Graham had many sales successes. Accomplishments are like adding color to a black and white movie. It makes everything make more sense.
We took out anything that was not sales related. It is not necessary to talk about overall business results if Graham does not want to be a general manager any more. So out it went.

It took one meeting and a few hours of time to restructure Graham’s resume to support his goal to find a position as a sales rep. We spent the next meetings teaching Graham how to optimize his LinkedIn profile and use LinkedIn for networking.

This is more than a resume. Resumes are the foundation of job search these days but they are not the most important job search tool by any means. Graham’s first resume was awful because it did not support his career goals at all.

If your job search materials do not support your career goals then maybe you need more than a Resume! Our Resume Writing and Job Search Coaching Package offers you this option because your job Search is much More than a Resume.