Having a great CV and a killer cover letter is an essential beginning to your job search, but these should not be the only tools in your toolbox. I will explain how to connect with a network of people who can assist you to achieve your goal of a dream job and prevent you from being an “invisible candidate” hidden in the torrent of job board applications that flows throughout the web.
Everyone has a network of people whom they have come into contact over the years. For example, your friends, family and work colleagues, form an important part of your social and business network. There are many other categories of people that you can consider members of your network: former colleagues, friends of friends, members of the same club or professional association, neighbours and so on. Create your own network diagram of contacts, and then identify those you wish to re-establish contact with.
It is important to maintain regular contact with members of your network. If you have lost contact with any former network contact, be sure to resume contact before asking for any help in looking for a new position. Only pass your CV to a network contact if you both believe that you have been given a concrete opportunity.
Networking is a two-way process with both “give” and “take”. You must be proactive in helping your contacts by providing them with useful information or potential employment or business opportunities. Keep up-to-date with events in your target market and pass on any tips helpful to your contacts.
Business cards are a useful tool when building your network. Nothing pretentious is required, just your name, position, company and contact details. After an introductory conversation, you can ask a potential contact for their card, and then present your card to them. If the contact does not have a business card, then note down their details on the back of one of your own cards. It’s that easy.
After the introductory meeting, you can note down any further information you have gleaned from your new contact. Any information about their family, hobbies, sports, likes and dislikes may prove helpful in forging a bond with that person. You can then ask pertinent questions and provide useful information at future meetings. For example, sending an e-mail to your contact with a relevant news story will be appreciated.
It is important to follow up an introductory meeting by following through on any promises made. If not you will look unprofessional and disorganised. By helping someone else, even in a small way, you will be remembered in future when your contact is in a position to help you. Don’t forget it’s a two-way process.
In summary, creating and nurturing a network of contacts is a vital tool in your job hunting toolkit. Do not expect any immediate payoffs but be sure that you are forging bonds that will prove mutually beneficial in your future career and life. You will feel good about helping other people and will make new friends for life. Get networking and start connecting today!
See my website: www.GreatCoverLetterSample.com
for more job hunting information and how to create great cover letters.
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Monday, 11 May 2009
How To Write A Professional Resume Summary
In today’s competitive job market, employers rely on well-written resumes to screen potential candidates. In many instances, employers look through job search web sites, such as HotJobs.com or Monster.com, to find professionals with skills, education and experience that fit their needs. These employment search web sites, along with many companies’ own online applications, require candidates to upload their resume in order to express interest in a specific opportunity. Without an opportunity to send a personal email, or a cover letter, you have to make sure that your resume expresses your personality in addition to listing your professional and educational experiences and achievements. To do so, you can include a professional profile or summary at the beginning of your resume that allows you to market yourself through a narrative. This section allows your potential employers to learn something unique about you and your career, as well as get a good feel of your communication skills.
To write an effective summary, you should first understand what information should not be communicated in your resume. While a summary provides an insight into what is unique and competitive about you, it is not a place for you to indicate any personal information that does not relate to your career. Information such as ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and affiliations, DOB etc. should be left out of your resume. While descriptive of who you are, this information is not relevant to your potential employer in order to pre-screen your qualifications for their opportunity. Additionally, the summary should not contain your previous professional experience, unless you can clearly demonstrate how such background can be of value in your future career development. Beware of generic statements, such as “I am well organized and detail oriented.” Employers want to hear your unique voice and get a sense of your communication skills while reading the summary portion of your resume. Using generalizations about your abilities will make the employers believe that you are either a poor communicator or are using such statements to fill up space on your resume.
Your summary should be in form of a short paragraph or bulleted statements, containing only several sentences. There isn’t a sentence limit, but as a rule do not take up more than one quarter of the page. Your summary should begin by a headline that summarizes your professional title and/or your professional statement. Emphasize your title by featuring the headline in bold and larger font, as it allows your potential employer to grasp who you are quickly. For example:
Financial Planning Professional
Achieved Double-Digit Return for All Clients through Well-Balanced Financial Portfolios
It is important that this title is well crafted, as it is the first impression your potential employer will have of you.
There are three things a well-written summary should address:
- Your experiences and skills as they relate to your ideal job
- What you can bring to the organization and the open position that no other candidate can.
- Your professional goals.
Even though your resume summary is written by you, it should be composed in third person, in present tense. Think of it as a summary of what one of your best colleagues would say about your professional achievements. Reinforce your title, and sell only the experiences and skills that meet your career objective. If you have multiple career objectives, such as you wish to get a position in either marketing or public relations, develop separate resume summaries for each of the objectives. A summary can also contain a brief bulleted section highlighting only a few vital competitive skills that you bring to the table. An example of an effective summary would be as follows:
Successful financial planning professional with over 15 years of personal and retirement planning experience. Managed a small financial planning firm, achieving double-digit financial returns for all clients by developing personalized investment portfolios. Leader in development and professional growth of four other financial planners in the firm through effective and motivating mentoring strategies.
Key competencies include:
o Personalized portfolio development
o Financial forecasting
o Retirement portfolio management
o Development on-going professional growth strategies
Much like your overall resume, your summary should be well-written and error-free. Make sure to review your summary, and customize as necessary for the various opportunities of interest. An effective summary will help you “hook” your employer; it should sell you as a primary candidate for the job, leaving your employer with a great first impression of you and a burning desire to read on.
View my website:
www.GreatCoverLetterSample.com
for more job hunting tips and how to create great cover letters.
To write an effective summary, you should first understand what information should not be communicated in your resume. While a summary provides an insight into what is unique and competitive about you, it is not a place for you to indicate any personal information that does not relate to your career. Information such as ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and affiliations, DOB etc. should be left out of your resume. While descriptive of who you are, this information is not relevant to your potential employer in order to pre-screen your qualifications for their opportunity. Additionally, the summary should not contain your previous professional experience, unless you can clearly demonstrate how such background can be of value in your future career development. Beware of generic statements, such as “I am well organized and detail oriented.” Employers want to hear your unique voice and get a sense of your communication skills while reading the summary portion of your resume. Using generalizations about your abilities will make the employers believe that you are either a poor communicator or are using such statements to fill up space on your resume.
Your summary should be in form of a short paragraph or bulleted statements, containing only several sentences. There isn’t a sentence limit, but as a rule do not take up more than one quarter of the page. Your summary should begin by a headline that summarizes your professional title and/or your professional statement. Emphasize your title by featuring the headline in bold and larger font, as it allows your potential employer to grasp who you are quickly. For example:
Financial Planning Professional
Achieved Double-Digit Return for All Clients through Well-Balanced Financial Portfolios
It is important that this title is well crafted, as it is the first impression your potential employer will have of you.
There are three things a well-written summary should address:
- Your experiences and skills as they relate to your ideal job
- What you can bring to the organization and the open position that no other candidate can.
- Your professional goals.
Even though your resume summary is written by you, it should be composed in third person, in present tense. Think of it as a summary of what one of your best colleagues would say about your professional achievements. Reinforce your title, and sell only the experiences and skills that meet your career objective. If you have multiple career objectives, such as you wish to get a position in either marketing or public relations, develop separate resume summaries for each of the objectives. A summary can also contain a brief bulleted section highlighting only a few vital competitive skills that you bring to the table. An example of an effective summary would be as follows:
Successful financial planning professional with over 15 years of personal and retirement planning experience. Managed a small financial planning firm, achieving double-digit financial returns for all clients by developing personalized investment portfolios. Leader in development and professional growth of four other financial planners in the firm through effective and motivating mentoring strategies.
Key competencies include:
o Personalized portfolio development
o Financial forecasting
o Retirement portfolio management
o Development on-going professional growth strategies
Much like your overall resume, your summary should be well-written and error-free. Make sure to review your summary, and customize as necessary for the various opportunities of interest. An effective summary will help you “hook” your employer; it should sell you as a primary candidate for the job, leaving your employer with a great first impression of you and a burning desire to read on.
View my website:
www.GreatCoverLetterSample.com
for more job hunting tips and how to create great cover letters.
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