Job search tips

Book Signing and Free Job Search Workshops

March 25, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

We would like to invite everyone to join us this Saturday, March 29th, at our Book Launch Party for Resumes 3.0

The event is being held at the Medina Road Barnes and Noble Store in Akron Ohio.

Not only is this a Book Launch – we will also be signing copies of Resumes 3.0 and presenting three workshops for anyone looking for help finding a job. So if you or someone you know is looking for tips on finding that dream job – these workshops will help you create an more effective job search.

The 3 Free Job Search Workshops we will offer are:

Job Seeker’s Personal Marketing Plan
Resumes Today
Interviewing techniques

All three are key areas to focus on and improve when looking for a job. You want to have the best plans and tools in place to see results faster.

Do you have any questions??? Feel free to post them on our Facebook Page and we hope to see you this Saturday!

Our goal is to help people like you, find that dream job!

Turn a new leaf in 2014

January 3, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

I am remodeling my master bathroom. I need to remove the carpeting and wall paper that my daughter refers to as “fugly”. I am not sure exactly what that means but I am pretty sure it is bad. The wallpaper came down easily. I lovingly washed the walls to remove the sizing then sanded for an entire day to make the walls almost perfectly smooth then washed the walls again to remove the dust. I was ready to paint. I have the perfect paint color, a little lighter than the bedroom, a really sweet pale yellow, almost white. It will be great!!

I painted the ceiling yesterday. It didn’t take very long so I thought why not paint the walls? The walls are a bigger job and I had plenty of time left on that Sunday. I put up the tape, cut in the corners, and finished the walls at about 6pm. Perfect timing to watch the evening football game. Then it occurred to me I should remove the tape on the ceiling. The first piece of tape pulled off a big chunk of the new ceiling paint. OH NO!!

Sure enough, in my haste to move forward with the project I cut a corner. I moved too fast. The ceiling paint had not dried sufficiently. Now I have to repair the work I did so lovingly. I have to go back and prepare the ceiling again then repaint the parts I messed up.

Of course you see the allegory. I took two steps forward and one step back. This happens. Sure, I could have (and in hind sight should have) waited to paint the walls until the next day when the ceiling paint would have certainly been dried. But I really want to finish this project. I moved forward with confidence but made a small error. Ready, Fire, Aim.

I do it all the time. Ready, Fire, Aim is part of my genetic make-up I think.

Making a mistake in your job search or in your career progression is almost never fatal. A misstep requires a pause, reassess, then step forward with confidence to try again.

What will you do in 2014 to achieve your goals? Perhaps you had a misstep in 2013 or perhaps you have a big challenge in front of you? Or perhaps you must fill a vacancy on your team? All challenges require a plan. How do you plan to achieve the objective? What tactics will you use? What is your contingency for mistakes, because you will make a mistake somewhere along the way.

Don’t let the mistakes define you or change your plan. Ready, Fire, Aim happens to everyone. What you do after you misfire makes the difference. Do you Aim and make the correction or do you let the misstep define you forever?

Be optimistic. Readjust your aim and fire again to achieve your goals in 2014. After all, 2014 represents a blank canvas, a clean wall upon which to lovingly layer a beautiful new color!

Companies and Candidates Actually have the Same Goals

December 13, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

I’ve worked on both sides of the job search. I have recruited candidates to fill positions and I have been a candidate looking for a job. From my perspective on both sides of the interview desk, employers and candidates are more similar than different.

Let’s explore this idea a bit.

Building relationships

Employers hire people they know or people recommended to them from someone they trust.
Candidates make contacts. Don’t just collect business cards or contacts. Talk to people, listen, and reach out to help. Building relationships like this gets you noticed and may move you to the top of the list.

Social media is key

Both candidates and employers should be visible in places where the other party looks
Have lots of contacts who know you
Contribute to social media conversation regularly to learn and maintain visibility
Create a consistent brand or profile across many social media platforms

Contacts look ahead to future needs

Neither candidates nor employers want to be surprised when a need smacks you in the face
Always consider your next career step or talent need

Interview talk is (or should be) based on matching candidates to critical job requirements

Avoid gut decisions or at least confirm your gut instinct with facts
Know what you want or what you have to offer

Have a marketing plan

Know what you want so you recognize it when you see it

Successfully leverage your brand

Build on your reputation
Consistently play on the positives to support your claims and enhance your reputation

If you understand that both sides of the table have the same objectives, you can build a plan that displays your credentials in their best light.

Do you know someone looking for a new position? Job interview coaching makes a great holiday gift! Contact The Interview Doctor for more details.

We are thankful to have you in our life. Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

The Interview Doctors
Katherine Burik and Dan Toussant

Some Job Search Marketing Plans are Not Effective

August 6, 2013 By Katherine Burik

Every job seeker has a plan.

It is just that some “plans” are vague, unformed, and unproductive. Let us call that a “non-plan”. It is a plan, yes, but mostly ineffective; a non-plan is the exact kind of plan that guarantees that your job search takes forever.

In a non-plan job search, the candidate, let’s call him Henry, checks the newspaper (maybe the real paper kind) and perhaps the ad consolidators on the Internet for jobs related to his/her job function. Henry sends out resumes in response to the ads. Then sits back and waits for the phone to ring.

Henry gets more and more frustrated as he watches his unemployment checks wither away along with his savings. His embarrassment over his predicament makes him second-guess his every move. His confidence takes a nose-dive. If he is called for an interview, Henry barely keeps his chin off his shoes apologizing for his very existence, not listening, and not knowing how to display his skills and background in a way that makes him stand out against his competition. Henry and others like him can be out of work for a long, long time.

Plans are just lists of choices and decisions that must be made. The candidate with a “non-plan” made specific choices along the way. Unfortunately, they are choices and decisions that sidetracked the search. Let’s consider these non-plan tactics:

Choosing to answer ads instead of more effective search techniques
Not really knowing what he wants or where to find it
Not effectively using his time
Not understanding what he offers employers or how to express it
Allowing his situation to impact his self-confidence

A “non-plan” is a bad plan. Do yourself a favor and make a real plan that works for you instead of against you.

Learn more about how to create a Job Search Marketing Plan in our new book, The Job Search Marketing Plan, available through Amazon on September 23, 2013.