This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Anonymous writes:
Since 1992, I have worked for several different companies. About 3 years ago, I switched employers and stayed there about a year before joining a start-up company. I had been employed by the start-up for about 8 months before they were acquired by my original employer.
I’ve been asked to take a substantial pay cut. So, I’m somewhat torn between staying with this company and looking for new employment locally. I suspect that even at my reduced salary I might be faring better than the local wage scale. Then there’s also the problem of my resume. I’m concerned about how bad my resume looks with all the moves in such a short period of time. A co-worker said that since I was only gone for about a year and now back I started that I should just list the current company as “1992 to present”.
The current state of the economy is affecting workers and job-seekers in so many ways, from layoffs to reduced hours to pay cuts. And everyone is frustrated, including the employers and the employees. And you face multiple issues.
First, because you work for an out-of-state employer, I suspect your pay is much higher than the local wage scale. But rather than guessing, I suggest you hop on the Internet and do a little salary research. You can conduct your research by going to one or more of the several salary Websites and/or searching for similar jobs and comparing wage scales. Once you’ve completed your research, you need to develop your options. If you decide to accept the pay cut, I would try to negotiate a timeline for a return to compensation at your previous levels. I might also negotiate an increase in other non-compensation benefits, such as more time off.
Second, please do not “fudge” your resume. There is nothing worse than lying or providing misleading information on your resume. By definition, a resume is a statement of facts about your educational and work experiences. In your situation, you have solid work experience with a number of companies that shows your ability to stay with employers for extended periods of time. But just as importantly, job-hopping is so much less an issue than it used to be. Employers know that numerous factors (mergers, economy, rightsizing, dotcom bust, etc.) have led to many job-seekers having more short-term job stints than in the past.
Find more information about salary and salary negotiation tactics by going to this section of Quintessential Careers: Salary Negotiation Resources. And you can get more information about writing your resume by going to the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Ben writes: I have a question concerning submitting my cover page and resume via email. The question is that most companies will not accept attachments so I must submit my resume within the message body of my email vs. attachments. How do I maintain the same appearance as the original written in MS Word?
The short answer is you can’t. And while appearances are important for traditional cover letters, the most important element is the content. The same holds true for resumes; appearances are important for traditional resumes, but content is the most critical element — regardless of the format.
So, how are emailed cover letters different than traditional cover letters? Let me walk you through some of the key issues, but before I do, let me emphasize that you should always go to each employer’s career center site and examine the guidelines for submitting electronic documents, if they list them.
Here are the five critical email cover letter issues.
First, know the rules of writing a cover letter. If you are still writing “vanilla” cover letters, you won’t get any employer response — no matter how you send it.
Second, keep it short. Email cover letters need to be more concise and shorter in length than traditional cover letters.
Third, take advantage of keywords. Be sure to use all the keywords from the employment listing — and any other important jargon or keywords from your industry — without making the letter a string of sentences full of jargon.
Fourth, watch your line length. Some email software automatically perform line returns for you, but I would make sure the lines of your email are no longer than 60 characters.
Fifth, take the time to send the email cover letter to yourself first — so you can see what it looks like after transmission.
Finally, as you know, don’t even bother with attachments. Most employers don’t want them. Instead, consider developing Web versions of your resume and providing the URL to the employer (in addition to providing a text-based version).
Find more information and guidelines in my article, Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter, published on Quintessential Careers. You can also find more information about types of resumes in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Adrianne writes:
I am in the preliminary stages of a job search and I found your article on researching a company to be very useful.
I also understand that cover letters should be specific. But to avoid writing “dear sir/madam,” I wonder what one can do if the company’s human resources department does not want to divulge the name of who is assessing the applicants?
The Career Doctor responds:
The bad news is that technology trends make it even harder for job-seekers to track down the names of hiring managers. The good news is that when you do, you will certainly have an edge over other job-seekers.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from job-seekers is the ever-increasing difficulty in reaching or following-up with a hiring manager.
So, what’s the best way around HR folks, screening assistants, voicemail, or vague email addresses? Having someone inside the company who can get you the information — this is the real power of networking.
A lot of job-seekers have a misconception that networking is all about asking people for jobs — and it’s not. Networking is about sharing information — about people, companies, and, yes, job leads. A strong network will provide you with plenty of information and resources to help your job search. And having this information will give you the inside edge in the job hunt.
Another misconception about networking is that you are using people, but the whole idea behind networking is one of reciprocation; someone helps you now and you’ll help that person in the future. So, get your network out there helping you!
And if you must use a salutation, I prefer “Dear hiring manager,” or “Dear hiring manager for [fill-in-the-blank] position.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Anonymous writes:
Since 1992, I have worked for several different companies. About 3 years ago, I switched employers and stayed there about a year before joining a start-up company. I had been employed by the start-up for about 8 months before they were acquired by my original employer.
I’ve been asked to take a substantial pay cut. So, I’m somewhat torn between staying with this company and looking for new employment locally. I suspect that even at my reduced salary I might be faring better than the local wage scale. Then there’s also the problem of my resume. I’m concerned about how bad my resume looks with all the moves in such a short period of time. A co-worker said that since I was only gone for about a year and now back I started that I should just list the current company as “1992 to present”.
The current state of the economy is affecting workers and job-seekers in so many ways, from layoffs to reduced hours to pay cuts. And everyone is frustrated, including the employers and the employees. And you face multiple issues.
First, because you work for an out-of-state employer, I suspect your pay is much higher than the local wage scale. But rather than guessing, I suggest you hop on the Internet and do a little salary research. You can conduct your research by going to one or more of the several salary Websites and/or searching for similar jobs and comparing wage scales. Once you’ve completed your research, you need to develop your options. If you decide to accept the pay cut, I would try to negotiate a timeline for a return to compensation at your previous levels. I might also negotiate an increase in other non-compensation benefits, such as more time off.
Second, please do not “fudge” your resume. There is nothing worse than lying or providing misleading information on your resume. By definition, a resume is a statement of facts about your educational and work experiences. In your situation, you have solid work experience with a number of companies that shows your ability to stay with employers for extended periods of time. But just as importantly, job-hopping is so much less an issue than it used to be. Employers know that numerous factors (mergers, economy, rightsizing, dotcom bust, etc.) have led to many job-seekers having more short-term job stints than in the past.
Find more information about salary and salary negotiation tactics by going to this section of Quintessential Careers: Salary Negotiation Resources. And you can get more information about writing your resume by going to the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Ben writes: I have a question concerning submitting my cover page and resume via email. The question is that most companies will not accept attachments so I must submit my resume within the message body of my email vs. attachments. How do I maintain the same appearance as the original written in MS Word?
The short answer is you can’t. And while appearances are important for traditional cover letters, the most important element is the content. The same holds true for resumes; appearances are important for traditional resumes, but content is the most critical element — regardless of the format.
So, how are emailed cover letters different than traditional cover letters? Let me walk you through some of the key issues, but before I do, let me emphasize that you should always go to each employer’s career center site and examine the guidelines for submitting electronic documents, if they list them.
Here are the five critical email cover letter issues.
First, know the rules of writing a cover letter. If you are still writing “vanilla” cover letters, you won’t get any employer response — no matter how you send it.
Second, keep it short. Email cover letters need to be more concise and shorter in length than traditional cover letters.
Third, take advantage of keywords. Be sure to use all the keywords from the employment listing — and any other important jargon or keywords from your industry — without making the letter a string of sentences full of jargon.
Fourth, watch your line length. Some email software automatically perform line returns for you, but I would make sure the lines of your email are no longer than 60 characters.
Fifth, take the time to send the email cover letter to yourself first — so you can see what it looks like after transmission.
Finally, as you know, don’t even bother with attachments. Most employers don’t want them. Instead, consider developing Web versions of your resume and providing the URL to the employer (in addition to providing a text-based version).
Find more information and guidelines in my article, Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter, published on Quintessential Careers. You can also find more information about types of resumes in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Adrianne writes:
I am in the preliminary stages of a job search and I found your article on researching a company to be very useful.
I also understand that cover letters should be specific. But to avoid writing “dear sir/madam,” I wonder what one can do if the company’s human resources department does not want to divulge the name of who is assessing the applicants?
The Career Doctor responds:
The bad news is that technology trends make it even harder for job-seekers to track down the names of hiring managers. The good news is that when you do, you will certainly have an edge over other job-seekers.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from job-seekers is the ever-increasing difficulty in reaching or following-up with a hiring manager.
So, what’s the best way around HR folks, screening assistants, voicemail, or vague email addresses? Having someone inside the company who can get you the information — this is the real power of networking.
A lot of job-seekers have a misconception that networking is all about asking people for jobs — and it’s not. Networking is about sharing information — about people, companies, and, yes, job leads. A strong network will provide you with plenty of information and resources to help your job search. And having this information will give you the inside edge in the job hunt.
Another misconception about networking is that you are using people, but the whole idea behind networking is one of reciprocation; someone helps you now and you’ll help that person in the future. So, get your network out there helping you!
And if you must use a salutation, I prefer “Dear hiring manager,” or “Dear hiring manager for [fill-in-the-blank] position.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
In a cover letter, how do you address relocation for personal reasons? Easy. You simply need to say you are relocating for personal reasons. People move all the time, so changing geographic locations should not be an issue. What may be more difficult is your strategy for finding a new job before you relocate. Start contacting those in your network, especially in your new location, and let them know you are relocating and looking for a new job there. Then, get on the Web and do some research on the types of jobs, companies, industries where you want to work. Check out our Job-Seeker Relocation Resources.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Including a leadership/personal brand statement is one of the trends executive resume and branding expert Meg Guiseppi writes about in her article for Quint Careers, Five Top Trends for Executive Resumes. Guiseppi advises: Begin to build a vibrant message highlighting your vitality, pivotal leadership strengths, and unique value proposition by answering questions like this:
- What jazzes you about your work each and every day? What are you most passionate about getting to and accomplishing at work?
- What talents and characteristics do you possess that represent the best in your field?
- How did you achieve the career successes that most benefitted your companies? What specific actions did you take?
- What critical contributions did you make to past companies that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t there?
You will further support your brand statement if you weave key brand attributes throughout your resume.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Have health goals in 2010, but no time to exercise and eat right?
Propose a flexible work arrangement and you'll have the margin of time to prepare healthier meals, work out more often and lose weight as a result. Learn more.
|
Job Search: |
Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, a subsidiary of
EmpoweringSites.com -- DeLand, FL 32720
Home Page: http://www.quintcareers.com/
Email: randall@quintcareers.com
Copyright © Quintessential Careers. All Rights Reserved
Serviced by Movable Type Solutions Company