CATEGORY ARCHIVES

Two Sports of Job Seekers (Resume Techniques)

Here are two compelling questions to seriously contemplate: When you send out your resume during your job search, 1) are you using the approach of a bowler who hopes to knock down as many pins as possible, and 2) are you aiming very carefully as an archer would do to hit the Bullseye?

The bowler’s approach is what most job seekers do. By striking multiple targets (like individual pins), the logic is that you are bound to make several good “hits” out of the effort. The archer’s method, on the other hand, is very precise with all of the energy focused on the exact center of the target. Both systems have the potential for a maximum of ten points per effort. So why does it matter which method is used when you’re looking for your best-fit new job?

Job seeking bowlers, as it turns out, experience more disappointments and discouragement than the job-seeking archer experiences. When a bowler calculates that the weekly “game” had a potential to hit 300 pins (or companies), but doesn’t receive any inquiries about their resume, self-doubt lingers overhead like a dark cloud that never parts to show the sun. Archers tend to have a different mindset about their efforts because they know that they’ve honed their skill to aim very carefully and only release the bow’s tension so the arrow shoots straight and dead-center. Archers usually have more confidence in their single deliberate effort than the bowler who is calculating a probability of the odds.

We highly endorse the archer method when looking for your best-fit job. When you understand that employers want that near-100% match for their open position, is it wisely using your time to “bowl” your way to your next job? It works if you just want a job right now – but if you want that best-fit job where you can grow and truly find professional satisfaction in what you’re contributing to the company, you should be carefully aiming and customizing your resume to be as near to 100% match as you legitimately can accomplish. Hiring managers look at bowler “hit-them-all” resumes constantly; they are looking for those resumes that are from archers who took the time to aim carefully so the one shot really hits the target.

Do you want some career coaching about this? Call us at 573.731.1359, and we’ll talk about your strategy.

TAGS: job seeker

Selecting the Right Job for You

When you’re considering a new job opportunity, and you’re gaining ground with the hiring manager with each interview experience, you soon find yourself at the point when you seriously have to evaluate whether or not this new opportunity is truly that “one” for you at this exact time in your life. How do you know for sure? What are the right questions you should ask yourself as you contemplate all of the possibilities?

1. Do you like the atmosphere of the place?
2. Do you like the attitudes of the people?
3. If input is important to you, do they invite that from you?
4. Do you like the reputation of the company?
5. Can you see yourself eagerly telling others that you are their newest employee?
6. Do you want to begin working there right away because of the income, or is it because you can’t wait to be around the people you’ve met so far?
7. If you want to grow, do they provide those opportunities?
8. If recognition is important to you, can you “shine” there?
9. What is the one thing you don’t like about the new job – and can you work around that obstacle or not?
10. Will you go home each work day with a “happy” tired, or will you leave with a “miserable” tired?

TAGS: job seeker

This month we want to focus on advice for the career seeker that will give you an edge in the career search. We hope this advice will aid you in creating a resume that will land you many interviews.

As a hiring manager I view between 3 and 4 hundred resumes per day for my open positions. I bypass 2/3 of these resumes within 10-15 seconds of viewing them. This elimination process is due to resumes that do not meet the professional expectations that hiring managers have for resume content, format and details.

In general, make sure that your resume has the right:

1. Content – that includes contact info, your objective, your education and your work history going back at least 10 years.
2. Format – All the content mentioned needs to be constructed in a visually functional format with your name and contact info at the top, the objective under that and then the rest of the content placed in order of importance.
3. Details – Make sure there are no misspelled words or unprofessional language. Proofread your resume many times before sending it out to hiring managers. Often misspelled words that are not detected by spell check include:
   “manger” instead of “manager”
   “sells” instead of “sales”
   “an” instead of “and”

Make sure not to minimize your career opportunities from the onset of the career search process with an ineffective resume!

Deliver resumes that will get you interviews. Send your resume to AGI Hospitality Recruiting and we will give you a Free Resume Coaching Session to ensure you have a resume that will land you interviews.

TAGS: job seeker