Career Transition Toolkit: Navigating Industry Shifts and Layoffs
In today’s unpredictable job market, industry shifts and layoffs can feel like unexpected roadblocks. It's natural to feel uncertain or even discouraged, and it may be hard to have a positive attitude if you have just lost your job. However, with the right mindset, tools, and support, you can turn these temporary setbacks into opportunities and emerge stronger than ever.
So, how can you make your LinkedIn profile a powerful tool that attracts recruiters and opportunities? Here's how!
Start Strong: Your Guide to Career Goal Setting in the New Year
As we stand at the threshold of a new year, the desire for a fulfilling career has never been more pressing. Over the past few years, the job market has seen unprecedented shifts, prompting a surge in interest in career coaching.
Transform Your Career in the New Year
The start of a new year is the perfect time to focus on your professional goals. Whether you're a recent college graduate or a seasoned corporate executive, making strategic career moves can bring more happiness to your work life. Here are practical steps to guide your journey…
10 Resume Mistakes That Can Sabotage Your Job Search
Your journey to a dream job often begins with a well-crafted resume, your passport to new opportunities. Yet, we all stumble at times, and in this blog, we'll explore some of the most frequent resume mistakes and how to avoid them, ensuring your resume stands out for all the right reasons.
11 Compelling Reasons to Create a Career Portfolio
A traditional resume highlighting your awesomeness is mandatory when looking for a job or changing careers. But depending on your situation, developing a career portfolio in addition to providing your resume might tip the scales in your favor.
Why both? The resume and career portfolio have different purposes and unique benefits.
Get Noticed – Quantify Your Accomplishments
As a job seeker, do you find it challenging to toot your own horn? Many clients tell us that they can do it for their companies, but when it comes to talking about themselves, that’s a different story. Describing and quantifying your accomplishments is integral to every successful job search.
When NOT to Include a Job on Your Resume
Imagine you changed jobs, and you’re just not a fit. You’re miserable and plan to say adios as soon as possible. Is excluding that role from your resume okay, or is that dishonest?
Applicant Tracking Systems – Friend or Foe?
Understanding the application tracking system (ATS) world can raise more questions than answers. Here are the questions Life Working® Resume experts hear most often.
Are You Making these Job Search Mistakes?
Are you unknowingly making some of these mistakes in your job search? Chances are, you’re making several — if not more! Go through this checklist, mark which mistakes you’re making — and then learn how to get back on track.
Help Your References Help You
Great news! Someone has agreed to be a reference for you! Now, what’s the next step?
Life Working® career coaches suggest preparing a reference page that you can give to a prospective employer. It should match your resume's format, font style, and font size with the same contact information.
Use this format for each reference:
Myths About Employment References
Do companies need your permission before contacting your references? Yes, they should. But keep in mind that providing contact information for references may be construed as permission to contact in many cases. Some companies will require you to sign a release form. Read it carefully, as it may authorize the company to contact unnamed references as well (people not on your “preferred” reference list — sometimes called “back door” references).
Selecting Your References
Generally, a potential employer will want at least two of your references to be former employers. The advantage of preparing your references in advance is that you can take the upper hand, identify the “best” references, and control whom you offer the employer as your references. You will want to select three to seven individuals to be your “preferred” references.
Reference checks are necessary for both job seekers and employers. References allow employers to confirm the information they learned from your resume and the interview and decide whether to hire you or not to extend a job offer…
Great References Seal the Deal
“Resumes win interviews, but references win job offers,” says Martin Yate, author of the “Knock ‘Em Dead” series of career books.
Reference checks are necessary for both job seekers and employers. References allow employers to confirm the information they learned from your resume and the interview and decide whether to hire you or not to extend a job offer…
Dispelling the One-Page Resume Myth
There is no “rule” that a resume should be only one page. In fact, there are many cases when a multi-page resume is not only appropriate but also expected.
Even though the length is not the only consideration for a resume’s effectiveness, the one-page resume myth persists. Jobseekers are being misled to think that recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals won’t read a resume that is longer than one page. That’s simply not true.
12 Resume Buzzwords That Hurt Your Chances
Let’s start at the beginning. You’re probably wondering what words are considered resume buzzwords. A buzzword is a word or phrase that is usually vague and sounds like business jargon. But, more importantly, those words don’t spotlight your unique skillset. Typical buzzwords include I’m a hard worker, results-oriented, and a real team player. Perhaps you consider yourself motivated, a go-getter, responsible, and innovative. These words are used so frequently that they are now meaningless. Resume buzzwords are a buzzkill.