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Archive for September, 2008

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Stand Out From the Crowd with a Video Resume

Monday, September 29th, 2008

What is one way to stand out to an employer? By uploading a video resume of yourself. A video resume is basically where you give the employer all of the information he would normally get from a paper resume – and then some – on video tape. You then send your video resume off to the employer, who will watch it and will (hopefully) be won over by your wit and personality.

There are many reasons why a video resume is a good idea, some of which include:

1. A video resume gives you a chance to showcase your personality and/or people skills, so that you can convince the employer that these traits will make you an asset to the company.

2. A video resume gives you the chance to show the employer how well you perform while under pressure, a quality that many employers look for in their potential employees.

3. A video resume gives you a forum to present your case and the space needed to elaborate on your special skills, education, and experience. You can essentially talk to the employer and give him reason after reason why he should choose you – something you can’t do with a paper resume.

4. A video resume allows you to stand out from the crowd and get noticed right away. This benefit is a very important one in a corporate world where employers are inundated with hundreds of resumes for one open position and where a majority of paper resumes are tossed aside when they fail to impress the employer within the first few sentences.

The idea behind a video resume is to show the employer a little bit of who you are and convince him that you are the perfect candidate for the job, instead of relying on a lifeless paper resume to do the job for you. In the end, the goal of a video resume is to persuade the employer into scheduling an interview using this unique approach, when otherwise your resume may not have made it much further than the trash bin.

Learn how to create a video resume.

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Medical Industry Job Opportunities in Boston

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

According to this recent article, if you are looking for a fresh start and are willing to relocate in order to make it happen, Boston comes in as one of the top places to find a job or new career, especially if you work in the medical field. Besides the medical center at Harvard, there are many other health care facilities to apply at and you don’t have to be a doctor to land a nice job at one of these facilities.

Of course, nurses are always in top demand, but so are administrative assistants who have experience in medical coding and billing. Most hospitals and medical centers employ thousands of employees at a time, ranging from janitors and cafeteria workers to doctors and specialists, so there is great demand in this area and you can use it to your advantage.

There are also several major cancer centers in Boston area that are major players in the race to find better treatments – and possibly a universal cure – for cancer. These cancer centers provide a place for patients to get their chemotherapy, while being taken care of by a licensed professional.

In additional to hospitals and treatment centers, there are also big name companies within the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries, such as Genzyme and Wyeth. These are stable companies that offer good pay, great benefits, and an opportunity for job seekers of almost any educational background.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and a short rundown of the types of opportunities that you can find in this East Coast city. If you have ever thought about relocating, give a second look to Boston.

Job search engines for the rest of us…

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The State of Undress at the Office

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

When you’re watching a movie or TV show that features an office scene with men and women in suits, do you snort and think, “Nobody in my office dresses that way”? If so, you’re not alone. People are dressing down more these days—and not just on Casual Fridays. I’m married to a guy who still wears a suit and tie to work every day. And while he often complains about it, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s the boss, and he knows his snazzy appearance projects an important image to his employees.

I, on the other end of the spectrum, got into some really bad habits years ago at a job. After being there (“there” being a publishing firm) for six years, I was so secure in my position that I convinced myself that an outfit most people would wear to exercise in was office-appropriate. I was in a creative field, I told myself, so I was simply expressing my individualism. Yeah, right. I had gotten lazy. Not surprisingly, about a year after I had adopted this comfy yet completely unprofessional wardrobe, I convinced myself that I wasn’t going anywhere in that job, and I quit.

What you wear to work has a direct impact not only on how other people perceive you, but on how you perceive yourself. It’s the power of suggestion. If you dress professionally, you’ll act like a professional. Guess how people tend to act if they dress  like a slob?

If you don’t believe me, try a little experiment. Start dressing for work again—really going all out in your professional appearance. You’ll probably get comments the first few days such as “What’s the occasion?” or “My, aren’t we dressed up today?” Just smile and ignore it. See if you work a little harder at your desk, network a little more, press for more face time with your boss or in-person meetings with clients. I guarantee that you’ll feel better about yourself and your performance—and your boss is certainly going to notice.

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The Superstar Job Candidate

Monday, September 15th, 2008

Are employers expecting too much these days? I guess you could argue it both ways; some employers are so desperate that they’re willing to hire a worker who promises to show up most days—unless she’s having a bad hair day or his anxiety about his cat keeps him in bed all morning. Other employers seem to want applications from people who can’t possibly exist: a master’s degree, 20 years of experience, fluent in three languages, in-depth knowledge of international trade relations—and oh yeah, a willingness to work for $20,000 a year.

You can probably talk yourself out of nearly any job posting that you come across because you’re missing one or two out of 99 qualifications they list. But the truth is that the vast majority of employers are searching for some pretty simple skill sets (except the delusional ones who really do want all of that for $20,000 a year).

First, with rare exception, you have to have the technical skills that are needed to do a job. You’re not going to get a computer programming job if you can’t even boot your own machine. But technical stuff aside, employers want things like enthusiasm for the job and company, flexibility, integrity, and a positive attitude. A friend who spends all day interviewing people says that one of the first reasons she’ll dismiss a candidate is if he or she seems like a complainer. Who wants to work with someone who balks every time a new idea is brought up?

But perhaps the most important way you can stand out as a superstar candidate is by demonstrating that you’re a hard worker. Most employers want to be good to their employees by providing great pay for great work. But our “I deserve it” culture is seeping into the work world, and employers are getting frustrated. So prove that you’re unique. Come right out and tell them that you’re a hard worker and offer examples of how you’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves. The company—and your wallet—will thank you.

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9 Immediate Fantastic Fixes to Your Resume – Continued

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Now that you have had a chance to implement the first 5 fantastic fixes from my last post, here are the remaining four:

6. If you are putting your resume online, make sure you use relevant keywords and incorporate them effectively. Placement of your keywords can be just as important as which keywords you use. This will make it easier for employers and recruiters to find you on job search websites.

7. Use the bold, italic, and underline functions to make important items stand out and allow employers and recruiters to easily scan your document. Often times a manager only has about 30 seconds to devote to each resume, so it is important that it is very easy to skim, without missing critical information.

8. Highlight your most important accomplishments in a special section at the top of your resume. Because of the very short amount of time that managers have to dedicate to each resume, it is important to summarize your most relevant experience and accomplishments right from the get-go.

9. Adjust font and spacing to fill the pages of your resume. Having blank space on your resume, even if it isn’t the first page, says to the employer “I can’t think of anything else to say about myself”. Full pages say “I have a lot more to say, but ran out of room”.

One of the most important things to remember is that length is not the be-all-end-all of resume preparation. Even if you don’t have much experience to highlight, being too wordy, repetitious, or including irrelevant information just to fill space can backfire on you. It is best to keep your resume short, concise, and to the point, even if that means you have to make major changes to your font and spacing in order to fill a page. Remember: summary style over story style.

Remember to read resume service reviews before choosing a resume writing service.

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