workforce center

Making the Most Out of Your Local Workforce Center

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We talk a lot about resume writers and career coaches, but let’s be honest; not everyone can afford to take those steps, and we shouldn’t assume that they can. Then again, we shouldn’t automatically assume that such expensive services are what is required in order to even get your foot in the door. For people that are applying for more entry level jobs or even people that just don’t have the resources to pay for premium services, there is a service that’s probably hiding your backyard right now: the classic workforce center.

The scoop on workforce centers is pretty simple: it’s a center that uses federal and state funds to provide career training services and other necessary services. For example, everyone has had a job that’s asked them to fax something, or send something by email. But if you don’t have a computer how do you actually do this? This is where the workforce center comes in. Many local employers will use the workforce center’s meeting room to speak to candidates, and even hire on the spot. This is something that can really help you get a job in a hurry, especially if you really want to make sure that you will be able to take care of your existing obligations. It doesn’t get any easier to find a job when you’re trying to figure out how to get the resources you need just to be on the same level as everyone else, but it can be done. The key here is to think about what you need, and find it at the workforce center.

When you step into the workforce center, you will nee dot make your first step to talk with the receptionist behind the counter. They will be more than happy to give you a list of what that particular workforce center provides you, which will help you narrow down exactly what you want to do, and exactly what you don’t want to do. Over time, you’ll also pick up little unsaid things — like the best time to come if you need to use the computers. You don’t want to try to wait until the end of the day when everyone else is thinking about going to the computer lab as well. Long waits will generally make it a lot harder to get your job search parameters completed as you would like.

Using the workforce center is based upon courtesy and respect. Even if you have a walk in career center, you should make sure that you set up an appointment. The last thing that you want to do is take up a lot of time that other people need. Setting an appointment is more professional, and it will lead to a lot more progress for you on the whole. Your career counselor at the workforce center will be a lot more helpful and could even use their own personal network to help you get a job.

Overall, if you really want to get the most out of your job search, you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the local workforce center — you’ll be glad you did!

overqualified

Fighting the Overqualified Label – and Winning!

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“We’re sorry, but we’re afraid that you’re a bit overqualified for this position.”

It’s a phrase that job seekers are starting to hear less of due to the uncertain economy around them, but the truth is that it’s still something interviewers and HR professionals will use with job candidates. It’s very frustrating when you don’t have a job to be told that you’re overqualified and that you will not be getting the position. However, if you’re in this position right now, it’s important to understand a few things.

First and foremost, you have to understand that a lot of employers realize that if you’re applying for a position lower than what your skills demand, there might b a few issues. Some employers feel that this is because you’ve been deemed incompetent, while other employers feel that you will just be biding your time before you actually get into a better position. You will nee to make sure that you step back and really understand what type of position you are applying for. Is it really below what you used to do, or is it simply a lateral move?

Another point that you will also need to think about is the power of your network. If you really want to overcome the overqualified label, you might want to let your friends and co-workers speak well of you. This is why references and recommendations are so powerful. It opens the door for the job interviewer to realize that the potential loss of not having you on staff is a big deal. You want them to feel like there’s no way that they should pass you up and this is definitely a good thing.

In order to really make sure that you have things under control, you might want to have you resume looked at by a career coach. For most people, a career coach is a lot of money to go towards something that isn’t guaranteed. However, when you’re trying to fight something like being deemed overqualified, you will need to use every resource that you have.

To be honest, one of the biggest resources that you will need is all in how you say things. If you practice smart positioning you will be able to move ahead of someone that makes the overqualified label a big deal. You don’t want to let the interviewer have first strike at this. You will need to set up your cover letter indicating why you really want the position. As long as you can make value statements, your chances of getting the job are much higher.

You have to think about the way businesses think. They want to make sure that you’re actually going to stay for a long time — even if you do want to change positions within a year. You will need to really stop and think about where you want to go, as well as what you want to accomplish within that position. Chances are good that ultimately you will find a job where the interviewer sees more than just past performance — they see someone that will make an excellent part of their organization!

job application

Do You Have a 30-60-90 Plan – Make One!

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In the world of business, planning is everything. If you’re not being strategic with your career, then you’re really at a disadvantage against the people in your field that are planning every little step that they take. It’s better to know what you’re up against than to think that you’re really on top of your game.  If you really want to rise to the top of the candidate list for any job application, you will need to build a 30-60-90 day plan.

The Guts of the 30-60-90 Day Plan

Setting up a 30-60-90 day plan is pretty easy, because you are just laying out the things that you want to do within the first 30, 60, and 90 days of your time at the company. Yes, it’s assumptive that you’re going to get the job. This might make the interviewer think that you’re overconfident, which is why you will have to present the plan carefully. If you position it properly, the interviewer will see that you are simply coming in with a clear vision, which is seen as a good characteristic in an employee. You’re immediately focused on providing value, which is far different from the employee that feels entitled to have a job go their way all of the time. It’s about the organization, and coming in with that mentality from the beginning is a strikingly appealing quality.

Avoiding the Little Mistakes

Setting up your plan needs to be something that you do deliberately. It should read like something that is strategic form start to finish. Don’t focus on long paragraphs — your interviewer should be able to skim, skim, and skim. Long paragraphs require intense reading, and intense reading time is something that your interviewer just doesn’t have.

Bullet points with strong action verbs are really the key to making the 30/60/90 work. In addition, you will want to make sure that you’re being realistic. If you’re starting out in entry level management, you’re not going to be able to make big, sweeping changes. However, if you have a training program that you want to implement, you can note that there. Your position type will determine how much detail that you need to include with your plan. If you’re going for a more entry-level role, then you will need to make sure that you keep things shorter.

Presentation is Everything

Presentation is really everything when it comes to getting your plan noticed. You will want to make sure that you put it on clean resume-style paper with the font evenly spaced. Yes, your plan should be typed — a handwritten plan looks very unprofessional. Even if you want to make a notepad to go with your plan presentation, you should type that up as well. There’s nothing that looks more unprofessional than to watch a candidate that is otherwise qualified read from a bunch of folded up, scribbled on note cards. Keep things looking clean, and you’ll project a clean image.

Summary

You should definitely build a 30-60-90 day plan for positions like management and sales, where performance is going to be a huge factor. If you’re being asked to take on a position that involves leadership and delegation then you will definitely find that this type of plan immediately lets the job interviewer really see that you’re someone that can take care of business.

Job Search

Catching the Attention of Key Influencers for Your Job Search

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Do you know how to catch the attention of key people in your field? Should you care about their opinions? If you really want a job in that field or you want to move up to a higher position, the answer is definitely yes! The truth is that we generally tend to interact with people that we know, like, and trust. However, this principle doesn’t just enter the job world — it covers it. People want to do business with people that they know, like, and trust. This is where the references system comes in. Your references are basically telling the new person in your professional life that you are a good person worth interacting with. We all do this for our friends and co-workers, but it really means something important. You must reach out and make those key connections, or your life as a professional will be very short lived.

So, how do you actually go about catching the attention of key influencers for your job search? The assumption here is that we not only want to catch their attention, but we want to keep it for the long road ahead. This also means that we can’t be too annoying — who wants to engage with someone that has no respect for their time?

There has to be system, a series of steps…something that we could consistently turn to to get great results. Thankfully — there really is.

First and foremost, you will need to make sure that you map out who the key influencers within your organization really are. Is it always the highest ranking members of the firm you work for? No — in fact, it’s often the secretary that you see everywhere at once, or it’s the newest members of the staff that seem to know everyone. If you want to keep track of everyone, you might want to make sure that you pull out a notebook and a pen and jot down a few notes about just about everyone you know. This one little tip can quickly reveal the real power structure of a company, which can be far different than the organizational chart.

From there, you will want to make sure that you are focusing carefully on the specific people that you want to talk with. What can you really do for them that they can’t do for themselves? This is a question that a lot of people don’t bother answering because they don’t think that it’s important. Value is everything in business, and if you don’t want to offer any value, you will quickly end up missing out on some of the best experiences that you could have. It’s better to make sure that you really have something to offer the influencer.

If you’re in a position to take them out to lunch, you should definitely invite them. People tend to relax in social settings, and you might get some key information that you need. Make sure that you always thank them for their time — even if you’re the one footing the bill. If you’re the person inviting them to lunch, you most certainly are the one that’s footing the bill. Keep this in mind as you select the right venue — you don’t want to go over your own budget just to impress the influencer. They will spot this clearly, and they will be less likely to really help you move forward.

Finally, you will want to make sure that you keep your requests short and to the point. If you need a recommendation created, make sure that you give them not only the format you ant, but enough information to actually do it. This is the mistake that a lot of great professionals make with their influencers. They expect their influencers to do something great for them, but they don’t bother to try to actually do anything to make the job easier.

Did we mention gratitude? If you take nothing else from this guide, leave with this: you must make sure that the influencer knows how much you appreciate them. You shouldn’t expect miracles overnight, but if you take the time to develop a professional relationship with a few key influencers, there’s no limit to what you can achieve with your career — why not get started today?

Management Position

Are You Ready For a Management Position?

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When it comes to the great and almighty job search, there are only a few positions that seem to catch the attention of most people. One of them is the field of management, which is more complicated than you might expect. A lot of people assume that it’s easy to get into management, and it’s just a matter of applying. However this isn’t really the case at all. The truth of the matter is that you will need to make sure that you really are looking at things from every angle, which includes deciding if you even have what it takes to be part of the management sector to start with.

It’s not a bad thing to figure out whether or not you really have what it takes. When you really step back and think about it from the right perspective, it’s really all about figuring this out because if you don’t, you’ll end up being in a position that you might ultimately not like, or can’t handle.

What does it really take to be part of the management side of a business? Well, it takes a person that’s focused on bringing out the best in people. You want to make sure that you really are going to be ready to train people to reach higher standards, as well as monitor their performance. You don’t want to give up on people before they’ve had a chance to make improvements. As you can see, being a manger is more than having a different uniform or style of dress — it’s something that should be taken as seriously as possible.

If you know that you want to be a manager and slide into that position, there are some things that you will need to do.

First and foremost, you will need to think about trying to get the experience through your current position. Taking on leadership roles can highlight that you are ready to go into management. If you had to choose between going to a completely different company, and staying in your own organization but accepting a higher position, you should always think about accepting the higher position. You will have to start all over in terms of learning a company’s culture, values, and work flow patterns, and this is something that can take a lot of time away from your main goals. In fact, if you really had to guess what the biggest mistake that would-be managerial candidates make, it’s giving up before they’ve really explored all of their options at the company they’ve been at. Tenure is better than moving from position to position. In some industries, moving too fast can really hurt your chances of climbing up the ladder.

From there, you will need to make sure that you have the technical elements down pat. This means that you will need to make sure that you have a really good resume created. Do you need to hire a resume writer for that? You don’t have to, but the truth is that it really helps to make your resume stand out from the crowd. There’s something powerful about having your resume done professionally, but if you can’t afford to do that, then just have a friend or a family member take a look over your resume. Most cities also have career / workforce centers that you can tap into as well.

Finally, you will need to move forward and strike at positions that sound interesting to you. Notice the wording here: you must strike at the positions quickly, because if you wait those positions could be filled before you know it. Time is not on your side when it comes to management positions, because it really takes so long to hear from many of the best ones. That’s why it’s better to take a shotgun approach and fire away at a lot of positions rather than get your hopes up for a job that isn’t going to be there when you need it.

All things considered, these points should help you figure out not only whether or not you’re ready for management, but also how to ease your way in while still holding the greatest odds of success.

job Interview

5 Interview Objections, and How to Overcome Them

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Not every interview runs smoothly. Now, we definitely want it too, and many career guides exist on how to actually make the process a little more straightforward and free-flowing. However, not all guides cover something known as the “objection”. Let’s back up a minute.

Ever had a telemarketer call you? Yes, we know — it can be a pretty frustrating experience. The salesperson is trained to deal with your objections — simply put, all of the reasons why you don’t think that you will want or need the product or service that they’re offering. This is not the only arena where objections are going to come up — job interviews have them too. You could put on a great presentation, only to find that the interviewer still has some concerns. Let’s go over the five classic concerns and objections, and give you some solutions on how to overcome them. Keep in mind that this is still general advice; you will most likely need to customize their answers to fit your own speaking style for best results. You definitely don’t want to sound canned!

1. Too long of a gap between positions

If you’ve taken time away from your career, you will need to make sure that you position it properly. Even if you took time off to start a family, you need to make sure that you have something that you did in the interim aside from raising your children. This could be something like volunteering, or supporting your spouse’s career or business. If you took time off to run a company, you can say this and have references that can vouch for the activities that you did. Being self employed and going back to the corporate world isn’t a crime, but bad positioning can cost you the job interview.

2. Difference in Salary (higher than last, lower than last)

There are some positions that require you on the application to list how much you made. If you’re coming from the same industry, you don’t want to try to lie about how much you made. This will be obvious to the interviewer, and they may even call you out for it. “Why were you paid so far below the average for this position?” is a very common question that usually follows this type of incorrect information, so be careful.

If there is a severe difference between the money you made previously and the fact that you’re applying for a less lucrative position, you might want to be honest about your desire to seek out new opportunities. You can just say that your income requirements are not as high, but your desire to be part of an organization is. It’s a matter of selling sincerity more than anything else. You don’t want to just say something that isn’t true — that will only make your life harder, not easier.

3. Overqualified / Underqualified

The dreaded “overqualified” tag is one that tends to get a lot of candidates, but you can overcome it. You need to outline the tasks expected in your upcoming position, and state your desire to do those tasks within the confines of the new organization. Pull from your experience if you have to. The interviewer is concerned with you being overqualified because they don’t want to turn around and try to get this position filled in another 3 months — getting people in the door is very difficult, and it costs a lot of money to get someone to replace you. So they want to make sure that you will be able to handle things in the new position without wanting to run off because you might not be getting the challenge they would expect from you.

4. Relocation

If relocation is part of the position, you can bet that the interviewer is going to ask you about your feelings on it. You will need to simply state that you definitely are interested in the position, without looking too desperate. If it’s a matter of money, then you will need to indicate that you already have the costs of relocation calculated into your personal expenses. The less problem you indicate, the more they’ll accept that it’s not going to be a big issue.

5. 5 Year Plan

Even though a lot of people really don’t know where they’re going to be in five years, that doesn’t mean that interviewers aren’t going to ask you. They want to make sure that they can retain you as long as possible. Even if you have no intention of staying in the position that you’re applying for over that length of time, you definitely want to make sure that you have an appropriate answer. You want to let them know that you would like to move up in the company, or to move laterally and take on new skills along the same lines of your position. These are two approaches that can help you avoid making a direct commitment, but still letting the interviewer know that if there was an opportunity to stay, you definitely would.

Overall, these tips should get you the advice you need to handle positioning quite well in any job interview. As mentioned before, you will definitely need to make sure that your answers sound natural. If it doesn’t sound natural, then your interviewer will know that you’re not being very sincere, and that’s the last thing you want. Good luck with your job search!

Hire a Resume Writer

Should You Hire a Resume Writer?

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When you’re trying to think about your upcoming job search, you really have to stop and think about one thing: the resume. Combined with the classic cover letter, the resume is going to be something that you’re going to be reaching for a lot. It’s going to be something that you will be handing out to a lot of people, including friends, family, acquaintances and former co-workers. Your resume will get seen by interviewers, their bosses, and their bosses’ bosses, all the way up the chain. When you really step back and think about it, your resume gets a lot of mileage. Given all of these points, it goes without saying that you want to have the best resume possible.

A lot of people make the mistake of putting out a weak resume, but the truth is that they’ve never really been taught how to make a good resume. In school people teach that the resume is important, but there is little to no explanation of why the resume is actually important. In a nutshell, the resume’s sole purpose is to make you look shiny and appealing so that the interviewers will give you the benefit of an interview where you can further make yourself look good. The resume isn’t designed to get you a job; the resume is designed to get you a job interview. There is a big difference here.

Now then, if you know that you’re really any good with resumes, you might think about turning the work over to a resume writer. However, the online writing industry has gotten a little shady in recent years due to the number of people applying for work in this uncertain economy. What type of resume writing can you find online, and more importantly — should you even hire a resume writer?

The truth is this: yes, you should definitely hire a resume writer. They can be one of the best tools of the trade if you are really looking for a job. If you find that your job search is getting longer and longer, you might want to go back to the fundamentals and see if there’s anything that can be corrected. You do not want to be that person that has a stale resume that isn’t crisp and appealing.

Resume writers do this work for a living, so it’s highly likely that they will be able to let you know who is hiring, and what type of resume they’re actually looking for. There are some resume writer that are also career coaches, but they are going to be a bit expensive than just some writer that has a knack for making snappy resumes.

To get the best deal, you will need to make sure that you spend some time looking at samples. Follow up with a phone call and ask the writer what their overall mentality is about resume writing. If their beliefs line up with yours, you definitely have a match. You even have more of a match if they offer some sort of guarantee or at least some customer service. You will need to be leery of resume writing teams that say they can guarantee you a job or even a job with a certain salary — nobody can do that, and you should definitely not pay extra for the privilege. A sucker is a sucker, even at full price!

Overall, the question still remains: should you really hire a resume writer? The truth is that it’s really up to you. If you find that you need a good boost, a resume writer is a cost effective way of really getting things done!

Positive Attitude During a Job Search

Maintaining Your Positive Attitude During a Job Search

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If you’ve been looking for a job for a long time now, it goes without saying that you’re probably more than a little frustrated. It can be hard to maintain a positive attitude when you’re trying to find a job because you might start feeling like there’s no way tat you can get the job that  ultimately want. At this point, it’s important to try to find a different perspective than what you already have. You don’t want to push forward and find that you don’t have what it takes to get things done when it’s so easy to actually set up a system to keep you staying positive through your entire job search.

The key? Glad you asked!

The first thing that you will need to make sure that you do is to get a good support network on your side. This is something that a lot of people skip over, but the truth is that having solid friends and family behind your efforts can really help you get things done. You don’t want to try to do in to this alone, because it will only make your life harder in the long run.

However, you might find that your current group of friends really don’t understand what you’re doing, or even what you’re going through. At this point, you have a few options. You can either deal with the fact that they’re not going to be supportive and move on or you can stop and try to explain your perspective to them. You cannot assume that everyone will automatically understand what you’re dealing with. It’s better to make sure that you really stop and take the time to get things done in a big way. Otherwise, you’ll end up being slowed down by your friends, and who really wants to deal with that?

If you decide to pursue new friends, you might want to start online. There are plenty of forums for job seekers to come and share their experiences, including just stopping to vent. There’s nothing that says you’re supposed to hide your frustration. Unless you’re at a job interview, it’s okay to stop and feel upset that you didn’t get a second interview. It’s perfectly okay to find that you just don’t want to go out on another interview. In other words, it’s okay to admit that you get discouraged. Everyone gets discouraged. You just need to figure out what you want to ultimately do.

Even if you go online, you will need to make sure that you’re keeping things in perspective. There will be people online that seek out ways to make you look bad and feel bad. You cannot give these types of people power in any way, or they will make you give up before you’ve found the right job. Do you really want to apply for assistance, or do you want to get a job? Most people would love to have a job, because it pays more money and gives them a higher sense of ownership.

As mentioned before, you have the power to create your own life and shape it the way you want it to be. When it comes to your professional life, you will need to be on the alert for people trying to ruin your good cheer, and simply avoid them. That’s really all there is to it!

Finding a Job

Finding a Job Within an Uncertain Economy

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If you’re looking for a job in today’s uncertain economy, you definitely have your work cut out for you. It’s hard to stay positive at times when there are so many newspapers, magazines and even television shows that are telling you that it’s going to be impossible to find a job when the market conditions are bad. That’s simply not what you need to listen to. The reality of the matter is that you will have some difficulty getting a job, but if you follow a plan you should see better results.

Is it guaranteed? Well, nothing is guaranteed in an uncertain economy, but there are some solid ways of really making sure that you’re doing everything in your power to get a job that fits your needs.

First and foremost, you will need to make sure that you are looking at your resume critically. Could it be your resume isn’t s strong as the other resumes that end in the interviewer’s stack? You might need to make sure that you change your formula to fit the needs of the job you’re applying to. A lot of job applicants get stuck in doing whatever their career center tells them to. For some people, it might make sense to have a professional resume writer look over your resume. You could get a lot farther than if you were to just keep using the same outdated formulas on your own.

For example, if you don’t have a lot of work experience but you have solid skills, you might want to do a functional resume. On the other hand, if you have a long term career already, you might want to really use the structure of a chronological resume to your advantage. It’s really all about looking at your career as it is, not the way you wish it would be.

By the same token, no job hunter exists in an island. When you’re trying to find jobs in an uncertain economy, you will want to make sure that you actually network. Ask about positions. However, you will also want to make sure that you share what you know, and help out where you can. For example, you can always offer to look over a friend’s resume, or even take a friend out to lunch. While it might sound expensive, you never know if that friend has a job lead, or more information about a resource that can help you get a good job.

If you don’t have an income, you might be able to get help from your workforce center, including some assistance. You should make sure that you’re still monitoring your life obligations in all of everything, so that you don’t slide further behind.

At the end of the day, you will need to make sure that you look at your job hunt from every angle. If you’re tying to focus more on applying for jobs online, then you will need to make sure that you are truly double checking everything. Interviewers will download hundreds of resumes online, and software will filter out resumes that just don’t meet what the organization is looking for. So in order to stay competitive, you will need to stay focused, determined, and confident that eventually, you will find the job that you’ve always wanted! Why not get started today?

resume

How to Build a Resume You’re Actually Proud to Show Off

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A resume. A resume. A resume. Say it three times fast, and it’s highly likely that you’re going to become dizzy. This is because a lot of people feel that a resume has to be something awful, it has to be something that takes up a lot of time and causes a lot of stress. It doesn’t have to be this way, but unfortunately that’s what we’ve been telling ourselves for a long time. Resumes take effort and hard work, right?

To an extent. It’s something that you will want to make sure that you are paying attention to, but it’s not like you have to always have the most perfect resume right on the first try. Give yourself a chance to seek out new resources to help you make a better resume over time. I bet that if you had one of your old resumes, you could immediately point out things that you wish you had done better. Instead of feeling bad, you might want to look into a few things on building a resume that you’re actually proud to show off.

We definitely have you covered — below are some points to consider when you’re really trying to build a great resume.

Think About the Format!

The best format around is a functional resume if you don’t have a lot of work experience. If you are returning to the workforce after a long absence, this is better than trying to immediately explain what those gaps are.

The resume is the door into the interview, so you will want to make sure that you save an issue like gaps in your resume for when you can explain it in detail, rather than something that your interviewer can reject before they’ve even gotten to know you as a person.

Think About the Design!

Design doesn’t mean a resume that’s yellow, or glow in the dark. It means making sure that your resume is clear and easy to understand. your interviewer will be looking at hundreds of resumes at a time — you will need to make sure that you don’t stand out to the point that the interviewer realizes that you’re not really serious as everyone else. If the interviewer can’t process your resume, they will trash it and move on to someone else.

Think About The Audience!

If you take nothing else from this guide, you might want to stop and really think about the points that you want to present to the audience in question. The purpose of a resume is to get noticed, and looked at enough for an interview. It’s a piece that’s supposed to be neutral, but at the same time it’s what interviewers will look at in order to determine that you really, really, really fit the culture of their company.

When you set up your resume, you don’t want it to be lengthy. If you want to stand out, you’ll have to be short and to the point. Don’t rely on standard business language all the time — it’s okay to let an interviewer know that you “rocked” a project, especially if you’re in the creative industry. Interviewers want to see passion. They want to see that you’ll fit in and you will fit in well. This is where researching the company that you really want to work with is a great idea; because it’ll help you work on the “tone” of your resume.

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