I have to say though, when Jade first contacted me to be interviewed, I was hesitant because I’m often asked to be a guest blogger etc but always find the task a little daunting. But when Jade sent through the interview questions, I was so impressed. Not only does she have a knack for asking the really important questions but she does so in a way that just made it so easy for me!

You can read the interview here Thanks so much Jade for the opportunity and the thoughtful approach you took in preparing the questions.

This got me thinking about how saying Thank You can help YOU in your job search.  Three simple, but powerful, ideas came to mind.

1.  After an Interview: If you have just finished a particularly successful interview and know that this is a job you would love to get, sending a personalised, thank you email to the interviewer can be just the thing to separate you from the other interviewees.  It doesn’t need to be long but it does need to be immediate and should be sent as soon as you return home from the interview.  Don’t forget to mention any key points that came from the interview that you would like to reinforce.

2. On Recommendation: When you meet someone who says they might know someone who is hiring in your field you will most likely exchange email addresses.  Rather than just sitting back waiting to hear from them (and then sending an aggressive and pushy email when you don’t) you want to make sure you send them a thank you email them straight away.  Always mention who you are, where you met them and what sort of work you are looking for rather than assuming they remember.

3. After Cold Calling: Cold calling can be hard work but in some industries it is still one of the most effective job search techniques.  However, knocking on door after door and hearing ‘No thanks’ time and again, it’s always great to finally hear someone to agree to read your resume, even if they don’t have anything on offer right now.  Whenever this happens always make sure you ask for a business card so that you can email them as soon as you return home.  Remember business owners often network with others in the same industry and a Thank You email may be just the thing that will cause them to recommend you to another employer who might be looking for someone with your skills.

REMEMBER: Texting and job searching NEVER go hand in hand, always send an email, never a text message.

Because I am a positive person, I like to think he meant to say “exceptional”. However, when I get e-mails like this, I don’t laugh, I don’t even cringe … I just worry!

I worry that he is going to take a fantastic resume and cover letter and blow any chance that he may have had, by messing up his application the second he writes the accompanying email.

Other clients that have me worried are ones that send emails through saying “Thx for ur email but I dekided to write it myself”

(And no, I’m not exaggerating. Both of these are genuine ‘cut and paste’ quotes from client emails.)

Even if she had written ‘decided’ correctly, the whole Text message spelling of ‘Thx’ and ‘ur’ will pretty much guarantee that your resume will not even be opened.

And don’t even get me started on how many emails I receive that start “Dear Kristy”!

Personally, I’m not that uptight about it but some people take great offense when you spell their name wrong.

The thing is though, that I truly believe that all of these clients know that they have problems with spelling and grammar. But that doesn’t excuse laziness.

Any of the following options would have worked for them:

1. Use an Internet browser like Mozilla Firefox that has spell check

2. Dictionary.com for any words they had even the slightest doubt about

3. Copy and Paste the recruiter’s name if it is particularly long or unusual (and don’t forget a quick phone call is always needed for a gender neutral name like Jo or Chris.)

4. Ask me to write a simple email that you can cut and paste to go with future applications.

When you are attaching a resume and cover letter, there is no need to write a lengthy email to accompany it. Something as simple as this will work well:

“Dear Mr/Ms XXX

Please find my cover letter and resume in application for the position of XXX attached.

Kind Regards,
Your Name”

I was so touched by his thoughtfulness, I couldn’t help but ask him where he got the idea from to do this and he told me that he never forgot, when years ago, one of his favourite Uncles paid to have his resume written, when he was starting his career, and what a difference it had made to his life.

In my last post, I blogged about ‘Savvy Aunties’ day, and offered a discount for Aunties everywhere. Not only for Aunties themselves, but as a great graduation gift for their nieces and nephews.

These two events combined got me thinking about what a truly, amazing gift this is. I don’t know about you, but before I worked in recruitment, the only place I had learnt how to write a resume was from my high school English teacher. While he was great at Shakespeare, teaching resume writing was really just another job he was ‘lumped’ with. I’m sure he did the best he could, but knowing what I know now, I can tell you that he really didn’t have any clue.

If you are reading this, and thinking this could be a great gift for someone in your life, I am more than happy to help out. Ideas could include:

1. A graduation gift
2. For a friend who is having a hard time getting out of bed to go to a job she hates
3. For your friend who has just lost his job and is feeling down
4. If you are grateful for your own opportunities and want to give to someone who is in need (I do provide free resumes to charity organisations - especially job seekers with a disability and am always happy to receive to donations. E-mail me to find out more)

and, of course,

5. One of the best gifts you could ever give yourself!

One thing I can tell you about my resume writing service, is the look of total CONFIDENCE in job seekers, when they receive their new resumes. More than anything else, this gets me every time.

Confidence, IS the hidden secret between successful and non-successful job seekers.

Why not give me a call today, or send me an e-mail (contact details to the left) and find out how I CAN help you, your loved ones …. or even a total stranger, in a time of need!

You’ve probably heard the saying “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime”

This truly is, one of the greatest gifts.

The last few months I’ve had so many potential clients haggling with me over prices, but unfortunately as a business owner, and a popular resume writer, I’m not always able to do this. However, when I do agree, the main reason is that I really DO understand how tough it is. I’ve been there. I remember the recession in the 90’s like it was yesterday and in many ways it’s still scarred into my psyche.

In fact, that is why I have the “No to Centrelink” image on my page! (This is the Australian unemployment benefit system, for the Americans reading my blog)

However, I do understand that right now my full writing fees may not be feasible for all of you. I do see that a lot of my competitors use sales / marketing techniques that spurt phrases like “How can you NOT afford it?”

Well if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money, that’s how!

Still, while I find this marketing style a little aggressive, I do see their point. Job seekers are beginning to see that it is a lot more competitive now than it was 2 years ago. You really can’t afford to have a ho-hum resume anymore.

So, after much discussion with potential clients over the last few months, a lot of brainstorming and hard work over the last few weeks, I’m excited to announce the launch of a brand new concept that will allow you to have an awesome CV and cover letter, at HALF of my normal fee.

While I’ve been wanting to provide something like this for a while I wanted to make sure that I was able to provide you with the information that does make my resume style effective and unique.   The idea for an e-book was tossed around  but I really wanted to produce something a lot more useful than that.

It’s with great excitement that I’m thrilled to introduce my new “Half and Half Resume Package” which I have created for you to able to use all my experience and expertise, at a fraction of the price.

Intrigued?   Read on!

The concept (and hence the name) is simple - if you are willing to do half the work and then you can pay half the price.

What You Get

1. A copy of my unique template, designed by myself, voted most popular by clients and recruiters. The template is for a stunning Resume AND Cover Letter, that will provide you with a gorgeous matching set.

2. The EASIEST of instructions on what content and information you need to provide. Knowing exactly what you need to put in your resume will dramatically reduce the amount of time you need to spend typing (unless you are a one fingered typist!)

But don’t worry … I’m not going to leave you stranded!

3. You also get a complete proof read AND edit so that you can be sure your Resume is perfect before you send it out. You can even email me the job advertisement for the position you are applying for so I can double check that your cover letter is going to have maximum impact.

4. You also receive an invaluable Tip Sheet for sending out your job applications.

Here’s a freebie tip: Always make sure you save your document as a .doc file, NOT a .docx file as most offices have not caught up yet and they will be unable to read your resume

Of course I am I am still providing full resume writing services, if that is what you prefer.

Please Note: Are you applying for a government role? Similar Half and Half Package for Selection Criteria coming soon!

Not everyone is excited to have a new resume done and to see what exciting opportunities are out there.

This last week I’ve done resumes for:

- A retiree who has been forced to go back to work after watching his retirement funds dwindle away due to the economic crisis

- A 25 year old who had recently lost a high paying job due to company takeover, and is now struggling to pay debts he incurred during what he thought was a secure job and a promotion just around the corner

- A 40 year old whose industry had been greatly affected by the economic crisis and after 20 years in the workforce is now needing to retrain in a whole new area

Some have a great sense of failure, even though nothing about their situation was caused by them. Still, a sense of failure can have a very real crippling effect.

If you let it.

Failure is 100% perception

Understanding why this is the case will help you work with them better.

Firstly, in terms of being too cold, or hard to get a hold of, you have to understand they are usually extremely busy. So, unlike when you are applying for a job directly through a sole employer, you are applying through someone who is recruiting for possibly a dozen jobs and consequently, dealing with hundreds of applicants.

This means, even if you called them and had a great conversation with them, chances are five minutes later they are on the phone having a great conversation with someone else - and you are all but forgotten!

In terms of the second complaint, it’s important to understand that they usually keep the job location a secret, usually until the interview stage, so that you don’t approach that employer directly and consequently risk them losing their commission.

Something else to consider, when dealing with recruitment agencies, is that there are now so many agencies out there, it is important that you don’t waste time with agencies that don’t regularly recruit for the type of roles or companies that you are keen to work for.

Keeping all this in mind I suggest the following:

1. If you see a job advertised that interests you, send in your resume, following their instructions on how to do so (this is really important! Gimmicks definitely won’t work with recruitment agencies - make sure you go by their rules!)

2. Follow your resume application with a phone call. Once you are speaking to the appropriate consultant simply say something like “Hi, I just sent my resume through for such and such a position. Is this the type of work you normally get?”

3. If they say yes, then say something like “Even if I’m unsuccessful with this position I’d love to come in and meet with you, because this is exactly the type of work I’m interested in.” (Put an emphasis on the word ‘exactly’ - they’ll love your focus!)

4. If they say “No, we usually deal with such and such type employment (not your field) this was a one off in that area”, you can simply say thank you, perhaps talk a bit more about this job you sent your resume in for, but then move on.

5. Once you’ve established two or three agencies that specialise in the type of work you are looking for, then work on developing a relationship with them. This means calling them at least once a day (personally I’ve always called twice a day and it’s worked for me).

6. Don’t forget they speak to so many job candidates in a day and you want to be the one they remember.

7. Remember - it’s all about networking! Whether with a recruitment agency, through people in the industry, approaching employers directly who are not advertising (this is probably the most successful job search method - next to being recommended by someone else).

8. Without good candidates to send forward to their clients an agency will never be successful. Presenting yourself as a friendly and professional candidate, who appreciates their time, will go a long way in building a great relationship with a recruiter.

“Right now the job market is pretty good. Chances are, in certain fields, you can send in a very average resume and still get a job interview. However, which sounds better to you? A potential employer telling their staff

“We finally got someone for the job. They aren’t that great, but my options were limited.”

Or …

“We finally got someone for the job. I can’t believe how lucky we were to get them in this economy!”

Which do you think will make your first day at work more enjoyable?”

Funny how things have changed, hey?

We are now constantly hearing in the news how in some industries jobs are disappearing every day. This, understandably, makes a lot of people nervous.

Two of the worst mistakes you could make right now is to do one of the following:

1. Play it too safe. The fact is jobs are still available.  In fact, now may happen to be the time that your dream job becomes available.  Are you going to be the schmuck who won’t take a chance and send in an application, thinking it’s best to play it safe and stick with something that makes you miserable, just because it’s (possibly) secure?

2. Throw caution to the wind. On the other hand now is probably not the best time to quit your job to just ‘take a chance’.  Nor is it the time to be a job snob.  You may need to work in a different industry or in a lower level job for a while.  That doesn’t mean when the time comes you can’t move on, but I can tell you employers would rather hire someone who is flipping burgers, than someone who is on unemployment and doing nothing.

Currently working? Keep your day job, get your resume done, make sure you have a killer cover letter (this is what will really make you stand out from everyone else applying for the job).  The internet means we don’t have to wait for Saturday’s paper for job listings and it also makes it easier to apply for work in the evenings.

Currently out of work?  Set yourself the short term goal of getting off unemployment and getting a job. Any job.  Then keep searching for what you really want.  You will find it!

2. Have you used bullet points and headings, not graphics or fancy fonts, strategically placed to catch the reader’s attention?

3. Are you making the reader work harder than they need to i.e. does the information flow nicely down the page, so their eyes can easily glide straight down the page and not have to look left, right, down and up again?

4. If you are using the so-called ‘functional’ resume style, do you realise it is NOT functional if it makes the reader have to try and work out exactly where you utilised each skill you ‘claim’ to have? Anyone can say they have ‘good customer service’ or ‘strong managerial skills’ but how do I know that you have it, if you don’t relate it to a real life experience?

5. Remember content is king and putting content in bullet points makes it easier for an employer to read. But did you know that just because you are using bullet points that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be writing full, structured sentences? Aim for one to two and half lines per bullet point.

6. Make life as easy as possible for the reader - you can’t be sure exactly who they are. They may be your future employer, or they may be your future employer’s secretary whose been given a task that she doesn’t quite know how to handle. Have you made it easy for her to pick you?

7. Are you separating your ‘duties’ from your ‘achievements’? Why not go for the kill and start by listing your top two or three achievements and then simply follow on with other skills that you demonstrated in the job?