The Employment Report

Individual Software, the leader for 20 years in designing award-winning resume software, released a list of the “Top 8 Tips to Finding a Job,” for job seekers. Heading the list at number 1 is Write a Winning Resume. “Job seekers must write the best possible resume to find job opportunities, especially during this economic downturn,” says Jo-L Hendrickson, President & CEO of Individual Software, “and ResumeMaker can help.” The software has over 1,000 professional resumes written by certified resume writers.

ResumeMaker customer, Linda Lewis, Vice President of Workforce Development at Goodwill Job Junction in North Florida remarks that, “one of the biggest obstacles for our patrons is writing a resume. ResumeMaker provides the phrases to put into the resume so they don’t have to struggle with writing. It helps them quickly find the right phrases and put together a resume so they can move forward and find a job.” In 2008, Linda and her colleagues helped over 15,000 people find new jobs using ResumeMaker at Goodwill Industries in North Florida.

ResumeMaker’

s Top 8 Tips to Finding a Job

1.  Write a Winning Resume. Your resume should communicate and highlight your background and experience.  State clearly how you saved time, increased revenue, increased productivity, reduced costs – all action/results-oriented activities.

2. Make Your Cover Letter Relevant. Research the company before you send your resume and cover letter. Include phrases in your cover letter that demonstrate your knowledge about the company and how you could contribute to their success. Programs like ResumeMaker include Dunn & Bradstreet company reports that you can easily download.
3.  Network – in person and online. Use all of your networks to find people that know you, professionally, socially, through education or volunteer positions, and can help you the most. Refresh contacts and let people know what kind of a position you are seeking.
4. Be “Interview Ready!” Practice interview questions and answers. Many programs, such as ResumeMaker, include virtual interview practice sessions. Anticipate the questions you may be asked, why, and what responses hiring managers are looking for from successful candidates.
5. Follow-up.  After the interview, capture the high-level points on paper. What did you and the hiring manager discuss? What were his or her main questions? Did they have any concerns? Demonstrate your communication skills, especially listening skills, and address these issues in your follow-up Thank You Letter.
6.  Organize Your Job Hunt.  Use a spreadsheet program or a contact manager program, like the one provided in ResumeMaker, to keep all of your job-related information in one place. Stay organized and be ready to respond to a potential employer’s request for the next step in the hiring process. Have a list of your references available before they are requested.
7. Expand Your Networking. Consider LinkedIn, a site that is full of professionals who are good at networking and adding new contacts to their sites regularly. Join and create your own profile and begin networking. Reach out to alumni of your past employers, educational institutions, or colleagues from volunteer positions.
8. Be Creative. In the current job market, you may need to consider working for a temporary agency or even packaging your skills for sale as a consultant. Many companies use temporary agencies and consultants as a source for recruiting. In addition, you should take the time to learn new skills to add to your resume.

ResumeMaker Professional and ResumeMaker Ultimate can be purchased at major retail stores throughout the U.S. and Canada and online at www.resumemaker.com, at a price of $30 for ResumeMaker Professional and $40 for ResumeMaker Ultimate. Colleges, universities, government agencies, and public libraries can add this premium resume building program to their career centers to help students enter the workforce and unemployed workers find jobs. To request an editor’s review copy, please contact pr@individualsoftware.com or call 800-822-3522.  Founded in 1981, Individual Software is a leading publisher of personal productivity, business, and educational software.

United States of America (Press Release) April 1, 2009 –
After seeing resume submissions from graduate students, DHResumes decided to help internship and job seekers. Read on for the full story.

DHResumes is hiring students for internships (http://www.dhresumes.com).

“The quality of work was astounding. We specialize in providing fast, professional resume writing and job research services that get people noticed and win jobs. We are hiring graduate students for Public Relations (PR), Sales & Marketing, and Communications internships. However, the resumes that students were sending in, regardless of the reputation of their college or university, did not pass the mustard,” says Alan Leon, President of DHResumes.

With the competitiveness of the current job market high and growing, inexperienced, but up-to-speed graduating students must compete with each other, as well as with the large crop of seasoned, job savvy, experienced talent. HR professionals are hard pressed to make the choice between the soon-to-be recent grads and people with real world experience. Being on either side has its pros and cons.

“Whether you are part of the new graduating class or a member of the more experienced worker club, you need to present your case as the best candidate for the job opening. Spelling, grammar, keywords, and formatting must be done right in order to advance to the interview selection,” Leon says. “Your presentation tools and skills have to be polished to win an interview in this climate. That’s why DHResumes is running a FREE Assessment of Experience, Training and Interests. We also have a sale on services when students register using a valid .edu email address. It’s never too late, but students should start early to make getting a job before graduating easier.”

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that despite the rising unemployment rate, average wages are increasing, and are up about 3.6% over one year earlier. That is not a typo. For those who have jobs, salaries are rising. Even in the NY financial services market which has been hit particularly hard by layoffs, a survey by outplacement firm, Right Management,  of recently laid off executives finds that 72% of the employees finding reemployment in the sector either met or increased their former salary. The reason is that while many people may be looking for work, when an employer decides that they want to hire you, they want you not the other candidates that are not their first choice. Once that happens you can negotiate your salary, if you know how.

Get More Money on Your Next Job… In Any Economy (McGraw Hill; April 2009, $14.95) a new book written by Star Ledger career columnist Lee E. Miller, a former Fortune 1000 head of human resources, explains how to negotiate for more money even as unemployment reaches record highs. This book, with the Forward  written by best selling career author Richard Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute) is written to help everyone currently working or looking for a job get a salary increase— from buttoned-down bankers to video-gaming hopefuls to entry level administrative assistants. The book includes special sections for women, recent college graduates and older worker that have recently been laid off.

I have been headhunting for over 16 years and this is my 3rd recession in the employment industry. There have been a few things that have concerned me most; the volume of layoffs, duration of the layoffs and how unprepared most of the job seekers are. Everyday I talk to dozens of Technical Job seekers, and one truth has become evident. Most seekers have no job hunting plan, don’t know how to create a sustainable job hunting plan, and thus are suffering because of it.

It is my goal with this article to help anyone who needs to find a job, or is concerned about lousing their job, to proactively build a Career Plan that is sustainable for their future. This plan is no different than the preparation’

s you take for investing in your retirement. It takes thought, planning, networking and understanding your positioning in the employment market.  The current employment rate is 8.1% across the US; add the disenfranchisement or population who has given up looking for work, and we are probably closer to 20% unemployment. This mass flood of talent to the market place is causing frustration and competition we have not seen since the Great Depression. In order to separate yourself from the rest of the job seekers, here are some tips to ensure you differentiate yourself from the employment pack.

The Resume:
Tips: Everyone has resume tips; I am not going to comment on presentation and style is your choice. However, I will give some tips on structure of your resume to avoid unnecessary pitfalls.
•   Remember not to put your contact information in Headers or Footers. I can not tell you the hundreds of resumes I have received throughout the past five years that have made this simple mistake.
KEY: Most applicant tracking systems that import your resume have challenges striping the data out the headers/footers.  The result is a resume with no contact information.
•   Technology: Most recruitment technology and methodology is based off of key words and formulas. When a recruiter searches to find the top 30% or 100 resumes to recruit they use a ranking system of how many key words are found in the resume. Same holds true for the job boards, social networks and search engines.
KEY: Make sure you add a technology section at the bottom of your resume that has all of the technology you are functional in. Even Word, Excel, etc… Do not assume that everyone knows that software.
•   Accomplishments: When I look at peoples resumes I see bullet points, or simple sentences like: “I saved the company $500 or increased sales by 38%”. An applicant may think that this is a great accomplishment, and it could be. But, from an outsider’s perspective, we do not have the reference to know if that $500 is a minor or major impact to that company’s bottom line. Lots of questions and assumptions are left up to whoever is reading your resume, and more importantly the whole story was not told.
KEY: Here is a simple formula for you to figure out what your accomplishments are.
Business Challenge + Your Solution = Accomplishments (never change)

The key to this formula is that accomplishments (results) never change! What changes are the business challenges you faced, what your recommended solutions were to that challenge, and the result of that solution. (Warning:  An accomplishment should be no longer than 3-4 sentences. You are not writing a dissertation!!)
Formulating your accomplishment like this will allow the employer to get an emotional connection to you and your resume. Most Companies share the same issues and business challenges, and solutions. At the same time your accomplishment will demonstrate your business understanding, and critical thinking skills.
EXAMPLE:
ABC’s recruitment process was incomplete. I proactively designed a phone screen, and in person interview process which led to a reduction of turnover by 50%. As a result of our new hires, we help our internal customer increase productivity and overall profitability by 5%.
Interviewing Mistakes
•   Your Interview Pitch: Know your story, know your career progression, and know why. Know why you left your jobs, any gaps, or red flags in your resume. KEY: Know your pitch and practice it. You need to be able to quickly answer the questions asked about your history quickly and concisely. Ask questions about the opportunity. This is the only way you are going to create a dialog and learn more about this potential opportunity. Do not be the person six months down the road saying you did not know the job was going to be like this, or you never told me that. You did not ask, and therefore did not learn enough about the opportunity before you accepted it.
•   Salary Confidentiality: Not sharing salary or compensation with the recruiter limits your candidacy.  Why? First, the company is not sure if they can afford you and will spend more time with candidates that fall into their rate range.  Secondly, it could be construed as difficult to work with, or that you have something to hide. When ultimately you are trying not to price yourself out of this opportunity, or leave money on the table.  KEY: How not sell yourself short when it comes to compensation.“There are two reasons why I am here today. First, money is important. The second and more important reason is opportunity. I see a lot of opportunity here at ABC Company, and I do not want to price myself out of it. Is that fair? My compensation is, or was X$$ with a bonus program of XX$”
What you did was tell the hiring manager that you are willing to take a short term loss for a long term gain. If you make it to the offer stage they know to make you the best offer they can. Then the ball is in your court!
Networking:
Controlling your future begins and ends with strategy of developing and building personal and professional networks. Many people give me the excuses, “I do not have time” or “I have too many family commitments”. My response: “You have to make time!” This is a commitment for your future, both personally and professionally. Unfortunately people are learning this lesson the hard way in today’s employment crisis. Now I am seeing people rush to catch up out of desperation, or survival instinct through online resources.  PAUSE-REEVALUATE YOUR PROCESS!!!! KEY: Take an inventory of where you are at. Look at who you know, what social networking groups you belong to, or should, and what religious or charitable groups you are associated with.

Finally, you need to define the protocols of, who, what, when, where, why and how for each of these groups. Some contacts you can call directly and explain how they can help. Some contacts are needed simply to lend their name, and introduce you to their contacts.

Think of it this way. The contacts closest to you are the most influential to directly helping your career path, and should be your top priority. Establishing a pattern of communication with them is critical. The farther out you go from your network the less you will want to contact. Remember the further from your primary contact list you go the more critical it is that you evaluate each contact, and try to set up some communication with them. You never know how they could help, or who could be the next primary network contact.  KEY: Network Health-now you are starting to feel good about creating a communication plan that will allow you to use your top critical contacts to get the word out for you. Now what you need to do is check the health of your network. It is important to reach out to your network to see how everyone is doing.

With gratitude I am happy to share these nuggets of knowledge that has translated to real life results. I have seen each of these tactics be implemented first hand by job seekers right now. All though I can not guarantee you a job what I can guarantee is immediate results from these proven tips and techniques.

Remember to know your pitch, prepare for your interview and constantly network you will not fail.

Orlando, FL,   — ProRezOnline.com has created a completely unique, technology driven method for job seekers to get attention in a particularly difficult economy. The company has created a fully automated service offering several interactive flash templates and a basic ‘fill in the form’ process to create dynamic web page resumes. By using flash technologies, the templates provide full animation and graphics to create highly customizable online resumes which can be mailed to anyone at anytime at no cost.

There are a variety of significant features integrated into the ProRezOnline.com website system. First, the system will create an interactive and dynamic flash resume web page, personalized with the users name and content. Second, the resume form has an option to type in search terms and descriptions. These are the keys typical search engines like Google and Yahoo use to provide results when someone performs an online search. This data is integrated into the resume code enabling the user to be found and listed for many typical online searches performed by recruiters and employers. Third, the form allows for uploading a personal contact graphic if desired as well as a word or pdf resume for paper printing later on. Forth, traditional writing and layout preferences along with the ability to create hyperlinks are available for all user input. Fifth, the user’s name web address that is created can be emailed to anyone, anywhere at any time saving substantial costs over the traditional resume process. The costs incurred for paper, folders and postage are eliminated, saving money and benefiting the environment. Sixth, there are currently 8 flash templates to select from with more to be added later on. Seventh, a person who has purchased the service can log in at anytime and edit his or her information and/or select any of the other templates. They can do this without limit and can also deactivate their resume at anytime as well. Eighth, there is a Frequently Asked Questions page providing additional information and tips on how to write the resume data for best effect. Lastly, there is an animated tutorial showing the overall processes and many of these benefits at work.

“These days there are hundreds of resumes submitted for any one job and the likelihood of being overlooked, discarded or misplaced is exceptionally high,” commented James Gregware, President of ProRezOnline.com. “The times have changed and the way we do business must change as well. To remain conventional is a sure path to failure. ProRezOnline.com represents the new era and is the next major tool in the job search process. “