Tag Archives: jobs

What You Need For An Interview: Self Describing Skills – Key Strengths

Self Describing Skills – Key Strengths – AdvancingWomen.com – Careers-Employment.

Author and career coach Peter Fisher “is very clear that you shouldn’t be misled into thinking of “acing interviews” or “finessing” your way into a business; the most sustainable and fulfilling roles are gained through understanding your own specific needs and creating your strategy accordingly.

You need to be the best you can at describing your best qualities; particularly your key strengths. In Fisher’s coaching practice, he says ” I generally, at some point, ask my client: “What are you good at?” purely as a means to establish if they have already thought through this most important question.

Some have, but more often they haven’t and the answer usually involves lots of head-scratching, umms and arrhs and then quite often a monologue on what they’re NOT good at!!

Your answer to this should be your key strengths statement. A “Key Strengths” statement is a summary of your most powerful skills and attributes.

The Key Strengths statement

  • Highlights your most important skills and abilities
  • Differentiates you from others
  • Avoids generalizations
  • Provides examples of your achievements
  • Spoken naturally should take no more than two minutes

Of course at interview, the question may take many different forms:

“What are your main strengths?”

“why should we hire you?”

“what do you think makes you the best candidate?”

“convince me you’re the right person for us”

“how do your skills match our particular needs?”

As with all your Presentation Statements it should be so well rehearsed that it sounds completely spontaneous.

This example I’ve given you here should get you thinking so give your Key Strengths statement some thought now.

“I have very good communication skills; I work well either leading or being part of a team and I am self-motivated and capable of working on several tasks at once.

As a leader of small teams I involve people in the decisions so that they feel involved and ensure they have the opportunity to contribute to tasks facing the team. I manage the information, plan and organise and make the decisions as required.

With my strong communication skills, I have been able to motivate the staff to higher standards of performance meaning we have also helped our profits figures through increased sales and tighter cost-control.

Alongside this I have encouraged innovation and my team has produced several very good ideas for new products, services and markets. As an example the new widget has taken off in Eastern Europe and is contributing 7% of profits in less than 18 months.

Most importantly I actively seek to develop members of my team for their own careers sake but also for the future of the business itself. This means I also look for personal development opportunities to ensure my skills are kept up to date.”

The Key Strengths statement from a a Chief Engineer might go like this:

“I have very good communication skills and work across all departments to ensure that issues are identified and practical solutions are prepared. Coupled with my project management skills and my hands-on leadership style I am able to consistently deliver and commission projects on time and to budget.

I am focused on internal and external customer’s needs, rather than purely functional needs and I apply specialist skills in continuous improvement and world class manufacturing to increase efficiency, reduce waste and losses due to downtime.

As Chief Engineer I have initiated and managed strategic change programmes and implemented effective quality improvement programs all the way through to successful local level implementation. This has led to savings of 750k per annum and helps to maintain the position and financial strength of my employer”.

These key strengths statements naturally answer many of the interviewers questions while being reassuring in content. You will find though, that they will create new questions for the interviewer, so be aware that you must be able to substantiate everything you claim.

Try working on your own statement using your own words and skills, blending them together to create a strong “key strengths” statement to meet your needs.

You’ll be surprised how often you use this one!!”

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Great Resumes Answer One Critical Question: What’s In It For Them?

The critical resume question.

Great resumes, the only kind you ever want to have if you want an effective job search, answer one critical question for any potential employer who looks at it:

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM?

If your resume doesn’t answer that question in a few seconds, it’s garbage. It’s worse than worthless for you, because it can lock you out of that prospect.

Nice paper, or an Ivy League education, or fancy titles won’t impress as much as answering that single question quickly, and in a compelling way.

Ask yourself how people read a resume.

Have you ever been to a retail store, and had an overbearing salesperson try to sell you something? He wants to tell you about how great it is, how it’s a “bargain”, and how it’s…blue! Did you care? Not so much. You had a need, and you wanted it met, the sooner, the better.

Prospective employers are the customers in the retail store. You’re the salesman. The employer won’t buy something that doesn’t meet a current, or known future need.

A prospective employer certainly wants to know the high points of what you’ve done, but only so he can determine if you’ll contribute to his organization in the way he wants you to. Achievements are good, but achievements matching needs are what you’re after.

So, when you start to write or revamp a resume, ask what the target employer needs. Then describe how you meet that need.

Make the most compelling case for being the person uniquely capable of meeting that need, and you’ll get the job.

( For some professional customization, see AW Career Portfolios, Customized For You)

Roy Miller, creator of Job Search Guide Post: sign up for Roy’s free weekly newsletter.

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Resume Layouts … The Hidden Pitfalls

Courier is a common monospace typeface

Image via Wikipedia

Resume Layouts … The Hidden Pitfalls – AdvancingWomen.com.

Options for Resume Layouts

There are many options of available to today’s job seeker. With a quick change of graphical elements such as fonts and style, the feel of a resume can change from traditional and conservative to creative and modern.

In addition, today’s job seeker has the added benefit of being able to mail and hand deliver resumes in the old fashioned way as well as surf the web with their resume.

A job seeker who wishes to take advantage of the many different resume layouts available, should be aware of when and how to use the various options, in order to get the most impact from their resume.

Printed Resumes

A print version of your resume refers to the version of your resume that is ready to print; either for mailing for job leads or for hand delivering to potential contacts.

This version may contain bold print, italicized text, bulleted lists and less well known fonts, however these should be used sparingly. Too many graphical elements can result in a jumbled mess where nothing jumps out. Design elements should be also be used consistently.

Whitespace

The amount of whitespace should also remain consistent throughout the resume. The use of whitespace in a resume can be critical. Too much whitespace will draw attention to a resume that may be lacking in skills and experience.

However too little whitespace results in a jumbled mess. Using a 1-inch margin on all four sides of the paper will generally result in an acceptable amount of whitespace.

Scannable Resumes

A scannable resume contains the exact same information as print version resume layouts but is presented in a less ‘fancy’ manner.

A scannable resume is to be used for those situations when you wish to cut and paste your resume into online databases. There are a few guidelines that should be adhered to when creating a scannable resume, however to avoid disaster.

Due to the high volume of resumes they receive after posting a job, more and more employers are using computer databases to sort and categorize resumes.

Graphical elements that would perhaps be used in a print version resume should be avoided in a scannable resume. While they might encourage visual attention from humans, they can be a death trap when scanned into computer databases. Some computer systems might not understand special characters and react by tossing out your resume.

Fonts

Stick to safe fonts such as Ariel, Helvetica or Courier. Use a font size anywhere between 10 to 14 points and refrain from bolding, underlining or italicizing any text. Also do not use any symbols such as parenthesis, asterisks or bullets.

One Column Resume Layouts

A one column resume layout is much more traditional. This type of format would be more appropriate for use when applying for a position in a conservative job market.

It might be a disadvantage when applying for work in a more upbeat or creative job market. All lines are left justified; objective, work history and education are placed in blocks on the page.

Two Column Resume Layouts

A two column resume layout is more creative. This type of format would be better suited when applying for a position in an industry that is known for its creativity. It would not be appropriate for more traditional type jobs. Headings are left justified while the corresponding information is placed in the right column.

Left Aligned Resume Layouts

Left aligned resume layouts are particularly good for resumes that are short in nature. All headings and corresponding information are aligned to the left.

Centered Resume Layouts

A centered resume layout can be hard on the eye and difficult to read, however this can be minimized with skillful use of formatting and style features to clearly delineate information. For example, all categories would be bolded and underlined; sub-categories would be italicized and bullets would be used to draw attention to impact and action statements.

Indented Layouts

This type of resume can feel traditional, but the paragraphs can be hard on the eye; particularly for employers who simply want to ‘scan’ a resume. An indented resume features left-aligned text, but the paragraphs are indented.

There are many ways in which you can combine the above design elements into your final layout. To get the maximum impact is partly a science and partly an art… your best option is to follow the guidelines and aim to keep the overall design as uncluttered as possible.

For more, go to Resume Layouts … The Hidden Pitfalls – AdvancingWomen.com.

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Accelerate Your Job Search – Maximize The Impact Of Your Resume

Maximizing the Impact of Your Resume – AdvancingWomen.com

Fortunately, in the age of the Internet, there are some high-tech solutions to the problem of making sure your resume gets in the hands of an individual who is looking for someone of your qualifications. Resume distribution services are increasingly becoming the job-hunting method of choice for a number of job-seekers. Thanks to some innovative software, resume distribution is easier and more effective than ever before.

For instance, software packages such as Resume Rabbit and Job Search Accelorator can be tremendous aids for you as you begin your search for employment. The reach of these services is vast. For example, you can greatly increase your exposure, since such services allow you to get your resume posted on more than 75 to 85 sites.

By filling out a simple form, you can show off your job qualifications to numerous prospective employers. It’s estimated that such services can save you up to 60 hours of research–time which you can then devote to actually meeting corporate recruiters. You can also post your resume to numerous categories of career sites–from general sites, such as general purpose, to specialized sites, such as accounting or sales and marketing. You can also receive information about prospective jobs via e-mail, enabling opportunities to come to you via your personal inbox.

Of course,  AdvancingWomen Careers would love for you to send us your resume, as well.  AdvancingWomen.com has a specialized job site focusing on diversity. Some of our corporate recruiting clients have included TMP Worldwide, Inc., Sun Microsystems, U.S. Department of Commerce,National Association of Women Lawyers, CareerBuilder.com, Fedex Kinko’s, Accenture Technology Solutions, and Guidance Software Inc..  So we think we can match you up with a company looking for your skills.

But by all means, get your resume out there, not just to us.  Cast a broad net.  One of the reputable resume blasters can be a good way to do it.

Why You Only Really Need Four Sample Resumes – Careers-Employment.

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Key to A Career Switch: Transferable Skills In Your CV/Resume

Business Card Board

Image by mtsofan via Flickr

Assess Your Transferable Skills -Advancingwomen.com
Assess Your Transferable Skills
One of the most important parts of a job search, and particularly if your goal is to switch careers,  is assessing your Transferable skills. These are skills which you can use in other jobs such as: Communication, Information Management, Human Services, Managerial, Manual/Physical Labor, Personal Attributes, Organization.

Often, when people have been working in the same job for a long time, they become so accustomed to performing their duties that they fail to recognize the skills they have.

It is beneficial to sit down and write out a list of all the things you do in a work day and all the things you do at home as well. It is easy to forget that skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, and organization which you use at home and in volunteering are skills that you can transfer and use on a new job.

A benefit to this recognition of your skills is that you can come up with a variety of Ideas for jobs or places that these skills may be used.

When making the necessary modifications and adjustments to your CV, in order to target a new job or a new industry, first analyze your work history then make the appropriate refinements in your CV/resume.

Producing A Good CV When Changing Career , a British blog makes some excellent points about this which are themselves transferable to the job market globally:

“The key thing here is to consider the job(s) you have already done and to see if you can identify any skills you were able to obtain within these job(s) that could easily be transferable and be considered of value to your new chosen career and to focus upon them.” As example, if you held any kind of position where you had to talk to clients and interact with them to pinpoint their needs, that is a transferable skill whether you’re behind the scenes trying to understand what a client wants in a website, or you’re trying to sell him or her a high tech document management system or a new computer.  You are still trying to relate and discover a customer’s needs.  That is a skill that will fit almost universally into any business and many careers.

“The key point when producing a CV when you’re looking to change career is not to try to erase all of the experience you have gained up until this point but to tailor it in such a way and in a particular order which is likely to give an overall impression that you possess the necessary skills, personal qualities and qualifications that will be relevant to the career you’re now looking to pursue.

What a well-tailored CV will do, however, is make the switch to your new career seem like a natural and logical progression to the person reading it.

Finally, always remember that a CV isn’t designed to get you the job – it’s designed to get you the interview. You can elaborate on the reasons behind your career switch once you get to the interview stage.”

Good luck with your search….. and please share your experience with us.  Let us know if this post was helpful and what you would suggest to improve it.  Thanks.

Producing A Good CV When Changing Career

Why You Only Really Need Four Sample Resumes -AdvancingWomen.com

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Hello world!

Welcome to AdvancingWomen.com’s Jobs, Career Blog! We are here to help “level the playing field” for women in careers, business and the political arena. But we need your help! Margaret Mead said: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” So, come help us! Join the revolution!

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