Thesis Writing Blog

Networking has always been important during a job search, and when clients ask me what I recommend, I’ve always suggested that networking should be the activity that they devote the most time to.

But, for months now, I’ve been telling my clients that networking is becoming more and more crucial, and that to get hired fast, they MUST make networking their #1 priority. Just through simple observation of what has been working for my clients
and what has not been working, I’ve clearly identified a real shift in hiring
trends. In this current job search climate, I’ve explained, companies are seeking to reduce costs associated with hiring through third parties, and make necessary hires through referral sources instead.

Recently Gary Crispin and Mark Mehler of CareerXRoads published their Annual Sources of Hire Study, and their findings confirm the trends I have been observing.

Here are just a few of those relevant findings, summarized directly from their report:

– Referrals (employee, alumni, vendor, etc.) make up 27.3% of all external hires and is

the future.

– The most visible trend in 2008 is the pressure to reduce hires (and associated costs)

mobility.

There is much more detail and interesting observations in the study. It is definitely worth the read if you are looking for a job now or expect to be in the near future.

Q. You always talk about personal branding and how important it is in my job search. Do you have any tips about how personal branding can be promoted in my resume?

A. Sure! Branding provides your resume and other career marketing documents with instant, precision-like focus that positions you as the ideal candidate for the specific type of opportunity that interests you. An unfocused resume is boring and ineffective. An unfocused resume wastes your readers’ time and will land in the circular file. A properly branded resume is, by definition, focused, and addresses not only your unique value proposition, but it does so in a way that addresses the concerns of your target audience.

You can use your personal brand profile and personal brand statement to project a cohesive brand image and value proposition across your resume, cover letters, and all your documents. In my work, I have the opportunity to review a lot of  resumes, letters, biographies and other documents that my clients and prospective clients have tried to write for themselves. This tip relates to one of the most common mistakes that I see. Too many people try to be too many things to too many people. Their career marketing portfolios (resumes, cover letters, biographies, etc.) are a hodge-podge of documents written over a number of years and added onto randomly whenever the need arises for an updated resume.
Certainly across the portfolio, and sometimes even within the same document, I find multiple design and content styles, as well as disconnected and outdated messages. When you brand your job search documents you immediately correct this problem.

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When unemployment is high and you find yourself in a competitive job market, it is easy to get discouraged. It is a fact that there are more and more people competing for fewer and fewer jobs. And, there is no doubt about it! In a time when it seems like no one is hiring and you hear about new lay offs on a daily basis, it can be challenging to even get motivated to start a job search, never mind successfully land a new job.

But, there are still jobs to be found! Companies are still hiring and job seekers are landing jobs on a daily basis. So, what are these newly hired employees doing that get them noticed and get them hired ahead of their competition in the job market?

The secret is a common sense one-the job seekers who are getting interviews and winning jobs have found a way to set themselves apart from the masses. How have they done that? Simple: they’ve “sold” their potential to deliver RESULTS rather than just their skills and baseline qualifications. In other words, they’ve communicated their ability to deliver desired VALUE and BENEFITS to the employer.

Your resume is your first introduction to many potential employers and so it must be written to differentiate you and set you apart by clearly illustrating that you have the ability to produce results, and to do so in a way that is more profitable than your competition.

Hiring authorities are not looking for job descriptions on your resume. Job descriptions simply tell the reader about the responsibilities of the positions you have held. To set yourself apart, your resume must tell the reader what you have accomplished-and more importantly, the value and benefits that those accomplishments have produced for past employers. If you have numbers (e.g., dollar figures, percentages, raw numbers, etc.) that illustrate the impact of your accomplishment, make sure you include them. It is an outdated mindset that your job-related skills are a selling point. In today’s competitive job market, it is essential that you know your value and be able to communicate exactly how you contributed to your past employer’s bottom line.

During these tight economic times, everyone is talking money. Around kitchen tables everywhere, families are discussing how to SAVE money or how to MAKE money. The same is true in companies. It is important to recognize that as an employee, you are an investment. The hiring company invests in you with the expectation that you will produce returns on that investment. What types of returns? Most employers are seeking employees who have the proven ability to SOLVE a challenging problem, to help them MAKE money, to help them SAVE money, or to help them INCREASE efficiency. By communicating how you have delivered these results in the past, using numbers when you can to illustrate that actual return on investment you have delivered, you will easily set yourself apart from the masses of job seekers you are competing against.

Don’t let the rising unemployment rate throw you into a panic. There are still new job openings that crop up every single day. Will you be the next person to get a good job? It’s all up to how you look at the situation. In short, you must change your focus to emphasize what is in it for the company. It’s not about what’s in it for you. It’s all about the company. What can you do for them? How can you solve their problem? How can you make money for them? In what ways can you save them money? How can you help them in these economic times? Emphasize and communicate how you can be an asset to the company, and you will be surprised how quickly you will see positive job search results.

Nationally certified resume writer and career marketing expert, Michelle Dumas is the founder and executive director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP Services delivered through http://www.100kcareermarketing.com Michelle has empowered thousands of executives, professionals, and managers all across the U.S. and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of the popular e-book 101 Before-and-After Resume Examples found at http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com and of Secrets of a Successful Job Search found at http://www.job-search-secrets.com