Between the Trapezes - On Job Search! | September 2020
Between the Trapezes

Help for when you’re between two career certainties

September 2020

September usually means state fair, back to school, back to college, football, end the vacation.

But this year, because of COVID-19, just about all of that is different, sad to say. (Hopefully you could still get away, even if it wasn’t to your usual spot).

Fall is on our doorstep and with the new season you can create a new start for yourself -- in several aspects of your life, but especially your career and job search.

Keep reading for some ideas for doing just that!

Joanne


____________________

Joanne Meehl
"Your career is the treasury of your life" -
Joanne Meehl
Resume expert who hopes you never need to actually use your resume. "The Resume Queen"®
LinkedIn profile creator if you want yours to be an employer magnet.
Networking guru who coaches you in elegant (not needy, gimme gimme) networking, finding hidden leads.
Interview prep that puts you at ease matching what they need and describing why they need you.

BA, MS, IJCDC
Photos in this Between the Trapezes courtesy of Shutterstock.com
unless it's flowers or memes, which are by Joanne

Your Career Is The Treasury of Your Life ©
Your Anti-COVID-19
job search weapon!

Right now, there's no charge for
Joanne’s via Zoom, 20-minute 1:1 consult -
usually it’s $87,
but only through Sept 30th
It's free until then, Joanne's way of giving extra help
to those in job search

Ask your question:
  • "I lost my job twice in 2 years - how do I talk about this?"
  • "My new VP and I didn’t get along, so I left - how to explain, or do I?"
  • "How do I say __ on my resume?"


Reward yourself in your search by taking some time off. How? Plan for it. On the Sunday before your job search week starts, look at your calendar, and build in your breaks, times to be away from the screen, time given to a community cause (which feels great).

Doing so will pay you back with a boost in spirits and energy!


Don’t Post That Resume!
Here are 7 reasons you should NOT publicly post your resume for all to see, on a job board, Indeed.com, the web in general, or on LinkedIn:

1. You lose control of it: You don't know who's viewing it or downloading it or why. Could it be an unethical recruiter who's shopping it around without your knowledge, possibly jeopardizing your chances with a good recruiter? Could it be someone who's copying it as theirs? Or someone fishing for personal information they can mine for identity theft?

2. You should tailor it for each opportunity, not put out a one-size-fits-all. Because it doesn't.
The same reason applies to those services that promise to email your resume "to over a thousand hiring managers who want to hire you!!!" In 20+ years, I've known zero candidates -- whether individual contributor or CEO -- who have gotten quality responses to such a method, nor any offers.

3. Different boards have different reputations in the minds of hiring managers and recruiters, from awful to OK, whether they are free for you or you have to pay to join. Whichever one yours is on, that reputation will rub off on your resume. You know which one(s) I'm talking about: where you post your Software Project Manager resume and get responses trying to entice you to become a financial planner "because you are a perfect fit!"

4. For that reason, the responses give you false hope. You post your resume, your inbox shows responses, and your heart drops when you see what they really are. After a short while, you think "No one must want me for what I can do because I'm getting these lousy responses from these postings." Someone out there does want you but it's unlikely you'll find them this way.

5. Today, employers and recruiters are using social media and their own employees to find great people. In many cases, they don't want to spend the money for boards because they get better responses in other ways. So why should they look there?

6. It's lazy. The statistics don't prove that "posting" works. But it's easy and feels like you're doing "something". There's no way around networking, which is what really works. So be good to yourself and do what works.

7. You risk overexposure: Good recruiters often won't touch someone who is all over the place because they figure that person will be picked up by someone else.

There are a few exceptions: College job boards where only the college's seniors or alums can post, or a professional association that posts jobs and members' resumes on their (secure) site that requires a login.

Do what works, not what feels (very temporarily) good. You deserve it.

________________________________________________________

In a 1:1 Zoom video session,
I can help you
ace your interviewing -- you see yourself improve!

Your location does not matter.

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This month’s Tip from Joanne:

Don’t forget to smile!

Recruiters tell me all the time, "Please remind candidates that during the interview, and especially now that everyone is using video chat for networking, to smile."

They’re right: show them you are human and that you’re likable. This doesn’t mean a perpetual grin but instead, a natural smile at the right times.

It’s also the best way to look vital and energetic!

Thought for the Month

Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.
Read that again.

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Joanne Meehl Career Services LLC | 612.440.6765 (new) | Joanne@TheJobSearchQueen.com