career coach

April 12, 2015

Job Searches: Dealing with the Wrong Kind of Help

As much as you may wish to keep private your lack of work or your unhappiness with your current job, the people who care about you will notice. In many ways that is a good thing. When they become a part of your job search team, you have more chances of finding someone who needs an employee just like you. But how do you ensure that well-meaning friends and family offer the right kind of help? Here are some frustrating job search stories and how to avoid them.

Job Search Story 1: “My friend keeps sending me job listings that have nothing to do with my skills—they are either way below my level or way above. How do I get her to stop?”

Make sure your friend understands what you do and what type of job you are looking for. One of the best ways to do this is to send her your resume. Your resume will point her to the right jobs in the right industry with the right requirements. You might also send her a sample job listing, letting her know that this is just the type of position you want. But do not sell her efforts short; many a job was won after a friend found the opening.

Job Search Story 2: “My family knows I am doing everything to find a job but they are frightened of the future. They want me to take any job, even though that will cut into my time to hunt for a job I am truly qualified for.”

Anxiety about the future is normal for family, especially if they depend on your income. Here again, sharing your resume may help. In describing your accomplishments over the years, it should give your family (as well as hiring managers and recruiters) a sense of your reliability, dedication and ability to problem solve. You might also want to consult with a Career Coach, to make sure that your job search is broad enough and you really are not overlooking opportunities.

Job Search Story 3: “A friend hooked me up a company owner with a possible job opening. That did not work out but I thanked everyone, my friend and the owner. The owner and I have even connected on LinkedIn. Now my friend, who is not very savvy about social media, is insisting that I phone the owner regularly about job openings. I am very uncomfortable with that.”

Sometimes friends have trouble letting go. You might reassure your friend by saying that you are very grateful for his help and advice, but you are maintaining a professional connection with the owner through LinkedIn. You might want to pass on to your friend some of my blog posts that mention LinkedIn and the importance of social media in a job search so that your friend realizes this is a valid approach and regular phone calls are not necessary.

Engaging family and friends in your job search may require some work on your part to make sure that they are targeting the right jobs for you. Your resume is an excellent tool for keeping everyone literally on the same page. At Robin’s Resumes®, our goal is to give you a resume you can be proud of and that shows you to advantage to everyone, especially recruiters and hiring managers.

July 14, 2013

Too Many Choices, Not Enough Decisions

When you are unemployed, people often try to raise your spirits by talking about all the free time you have and all the opportunities now open to you. However, having too many choices can be as devastating to a job search as having too few. Here’s why:

There are dozens of ways to spend the day when you are between jobs. But if you aren’t careful, everyday chores and distractions will draw precious time from your job search. Set yourself daily tasks that are related to your job search, whether that includes going to network events or responding to ads or searching for leads on the Internet.
There are hundreds of books out there on how to write a resume, run a job search and develop your personal brand. At some point, you have to give up on the research and act.
There are thousands of people just like you in the same boat. Don’t beat yourself up over a job loss. Do ask for help. You may benefit from a professional resume writer or career coach; you may find that your best job leads come from former co-workers, family or friends. The only way to get help is to ask for it.
There are millions of possible jobs out there—but how many of them match your experience, skills, education, interests, salary requirements, geographic location and so on? You need to focus yourself and your network or you will waste your time and theirs on fruitless quests for the wrong job.

If you are struggling to get organized after a layoff, contact Robin’s Resumes® and let us simplify one decision: where to get the best possible resume!

June 2, 2012

When You Send in Your Resume and Nobody Calls

You and your resume are perfect for the positions you apply for, yet companies never request an interview.

The reasons for this situation might be outside of your control. Perhaps the job was posted to the public but the company favored an internal candidate; or the company was overwhelmed with responses and your resume was never even seen by the hiring manager; or someone else was a slightly better fit for the job.

But a lack of response to your resume can be caused by problems that are under your control and definitely can be fixed:

(a) Your resume passed the cut but your online presence (or lack of it) raised concern.

(b) Your resume was not compatible with the company’s Applicant Tracking System (for example, you submitted a .jpg file).

(d) You bypassed part of the company’s application process or failed to answer an online question.

Don’t let that second group of problems sidetrack your job search. As a professional and certified resume writer, I have helped many job applicants create a strong online brand to support their resume; created resumes that work with Applicant Tracking Systems; and written cover letters that reinforce the message in their resumes. As a career coach, I help applicants prepare materials for even the oddest paper and online employment applications.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we know that a job search begins with the perfect resume but it doesn’t end there. Contact us today.

April 14, 2012

Is a Resume Necessary?

Some companies have been organizing their online application forms around what school teachers call “essay questions.” Instead of asking about recent employment, these applications ask, “What is your ideal dream job?” and “Why are you interested in our company?” Questions like these used to be saved for the interview, but with so many people hunting for employment, companies are trying to strengthen their weeding-out process.

Other companies have begun asking for links to Twitter and Facebook pages or even personal websites.

However, resumes are still a requirement for all companies, even those with the quirkiest application process. Somewhere along the line, every company wants to know your work history, what you have achieved in previous jobs and what skills you have acquired. A great resume not only boosts your self-confidence, it also gives you a strong basis for answering questions like “What job did you enjoy the most in your career?”

As a professional resume writer and career coach, I create resumes that fit into your entire presentation, and I can help ensure that your online presence is consistent with your resume and with the job you want. Call or email me today.

March 10, 2012

Creating a Job Search Log

You may have to apply to hundreds of job openings before an interview leads to a permanent position. A job search log helps you keep track of where you have applied, whom you contacted or spoke with, what position each company is offering and what materials you’ve sent them.

As a certified electronic career coach and a job and career transition coach, I have found that a job search log makes the job hunt more efficient and focused. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment; you have a record of what you achieved each day and an incentive to match each day’s efforts.

You can quickly create a log by printing an extra copy of each cover email or letter you send and keeping it in a folder, filed alphabetically by the company name. Make sure all cover emails and letters include:

(a) The name of the company where you are applying

(b) The name of the position you’re applying for

On your copy, make a note of any contact information for the company that doesn’t appear in the cover letter or email—for example, the company phone number. Update your notes each time you receive a communication from the company or send them more information.

If you have more than one resume, make sure you note which resume went to each company—or staple a copy of the resume to your copy of the cover email or letter.

Always print online applications before you hit the final send button. If you are invited in for an interview, you will want a reminder of what information the company has and what they might ask for.

If you have difficulty creating this log for yourself, Robin’s Resumes® has solutions. Contact us for affiliate links which may help you with tracking.

Your job search log can make your job search more targeted and efficient. For example, if you find that one segment of your industry responds most favorably to your resumes, you may want to focus your job search on that segment. If you find that your resume is not drawing the responses you hoped for, contact me right away. Together we can make sure that your resume and cover letter/email are doing you justice.

November 6, 2011

Career Coaching: Get Your Job Search on Track

My certifications as a Certified Electronic Career Coach and a Job and Career Transition Coach enable me to help job seekers who may have become stalled in their job hunt or who are finding it hard to define their career goals. If you are frustrated by a job hunt that seems to be going nowhere or if you aren’t even sure where you want your job hunt to go, you may benefit from coaching.

Among other services I offer, I can:

Help you create an organized plan for your job search
Help you define the jobs and types of companies that fit your areas of expertise and work history
Review your job hunt so far and see if there are strategies you might have missed
Recommend frequently overlooked sources for job openings
Make sure you’re looking for the right job at the right level
Fine-tune and strengthen your resume and cover letter
Review your online networking—for example, making sure you have a LinkedIn profile and that it reinforces your resume

Whether or not you take advantage of these services, my background as a career coach helps me to create a resume that gives you more confidence. And that confidence helps you move your entire job search along.

October 2, 2011

Robin Schlinger: Resume Writer and Career Coach

A few weeks ago I had the honor of being interviewed for an audio presentation on the Women for Hire website, to give expert advice about resumes.

One of the interviewer’s first questions was a request to explain what I do.

I’m a professional certified resume writer and career coach. I moved into this field after years of experience in industry as an engineer and project manager. That background gives me practical experience out in the job market, both as a job applicant and as someone who participated in the hiring process. It also makes me very familiar with the requirements of technical as well as management and staff positions.

Now I am dedicated to helping job applicants identify and achieve their career goals. The better you know your goals, the stronger candidate you will be both in your resume and during your interview. I assist job seekers in many fields, including for profit, non-profit and government.

If you need help discovering and writing about your goals, talents, skills and accomplishments, contact me today.

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