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Your #Career : This One Skill Can Get Your #Résumé to the Top of the Pile… #Networking is One of the Most Valuable Skills that an Individual can Have these Days, in Terms of Getting Where you Want to Go, Be it a Selective School, or Landing a Competitive Job.

If you’re looking for a job, or simply re-evaluating your current career trajectory, having a coherent and clear strategy is essential. That can include a number of things — getting the perfect résumé put together, knowing the right people, and even having at least some grasp as to what industries are growing or shrinking, or what cities and states are seeing the most economic growth.

Free- Door to Building

But more than anything, you’ll want to have a solid set of skills and competencies that will win over hiring managers, and show businesses that you can and will be an asset to their growth and long-term strategy. 

Your résumé should include all of the traditional core competencies that businesses are looking for, including punctuality, solid industry experience, and maybe even a college degree. It’s all going to depend on what you’re looking for, of course, but there’s some new insight that is giving job-seekers — that may mean you — a bit of insider information that may put you in the upper echelon of applicants.

Businesses want employees with social skills.

This is the conclusion of a slew of new research into labor economics. The New York Times’ Upshot recently did a story covering the phenomenon, which included diving into a new study from David Deming, associate professor of education and economics at Harvard University. Deming’s paper, The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market, says that social skills and an ability to bring a “human touch” to the workplace is becoming more important as automation and technology render many positions obsolete.

 

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“While computers perform cognitive tasks of rapidly increasing complexity, simple human interaction has proven difficult to automate,” his paper reads. “Since 1980, jobs with high social skill requirements have experienced greater relative growth throughout the wage distribution. Moreover, employment and wage growth has been strongest in jobs that require high levels of both cognitive skill and social skill.”

Networking is one of the most valuable skills that an individual can have these days, in terms of getting where you want to go, be it a selective school, or landing a competitive job.

It’s an interesting development and hypothesis, and the data seems to support Deming’s findings.

As we know, automation is rapidly encroaching on many industries. Over the next few decades, the economy is going to be going through some drastic changes as a good deal of the labor needed across many industries is taken out of human hands, and put into the hands of robots and artificial intelligences. It’s happening at fast food restaurants, and it’s happening in the finance industry. There’s really no stopping it.

That’s what makes social skills so important. We’re going to need people — actual flesh, blood, and the ability to empathize and understand — to work in concert with the metal and circuits doing the heavy lifting. So, all that time you spent screwing around with your buddies instead of paying attention during math class? You may have been polishing the skills that will actually find you work in a rapidly changing economy.

Think about it — one of the most foolproof ways to actually get a job is to have a connection through some sort of social networking. In fact, networking is one of the most valuable skills that an individual can have these days, in terms of getting where you want to go, be it a selective school, or landing a competitive job.

And those networking and social skills are the ones we have learned from an early age. As The New York Times puts it, “what you learned at preschool.”

So, if you were more apt to screw around during your formative years, rather than be a serious student, this might be some good news. Albeit it was hard to see this coming, but still, it’s a silver lining. The bad news is that you’ll still have to couple those social skills with some sort of training or education. The jobs that are disappearing are the ones that require little training or skill, or that can be easily automated. You may be a chatterbox at your jobat the local Taco Bell drive-thru, but that doesn’t mean your position isn’t going to be automated in the near future.

For job seekers — which all of us either are, or will be at some point in the future — don’t forget to take stock of your social skills as an asset. What if you’re not a social person? Make it a point to work on those skills, as they may be more valuable in the future than anyone would’ve imagined a decade or two ago.

Follow Sam on Twitter @SliceOfGinger

 

CheatSheet.com | December 22, 2015 | Sam Becker

Your #Career : How to Figure Out Who the #HiringManager is When it’s not Listed in the Job Post … You’ll Always want to Direct your #CoverLetter to a Specific Individual (unless the posting is anonymous). Otherwise, you Might give the Impression that you Didn’t Put any Effort into your Application or you Don’t Pay Attention to Detail.

Just because a job posting omits the name of the person in charge of the hiring process doesn’t mean you should address your cover letter “To Whom It May Concern.”

Free- Business Desk

According to Amanda Augustine,career advice expert forTopResume, you’ll always want to direct your cover letter to a specific individual (unless the posting is anonymous). Otherwise, you might give the impression that you didn’t put any effort into your application or you don’t pay attention to detail.

So how do you figure out who’s doing the hiring? Augustine shares her top strategies:

1. Reread the job description.

Before you panic and conclude that there’s no name listed, go back and reread the job postingvery carefully. There might be a name and email address lurking at the bottom of the posting that you missed the first time.

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2. Use the email address provided to search for a name.

Sometimes companies will direct candidates to send their applications to a specific email address, without providing a name to go along with it.

That’s a big clue. There’s a good chance the email address is the person’s first initial and last name (for example, mine is slebowitz@businessinsider.com), or maybe just their first name. Once you have that information, you can run a Google search for “S Lebowitz Business Insider” or “Shana Business Insider” and see what you come up with.

3. Look for the person who created the posting.

If you found the job posting on LinkedIn, oftentimes you’ll see it was created by a specific recruiter or hiring manager, depending on the size of the company.

In that case, you should address your cover letter to him or her because that person is obviously directly involved in the hiring process.

4. Look for information about who you’d be reporting to.

Maybe the job posting says you’d be reporting to the director of marketing analytics, but doesn’t give that persons’ name. Run an advanced search on LinkedIn for any current directors of marketing analytics at the company and see who comes up.

linkedin advanced search screenshot

LinkedInRun an advanced search on LinkedIn with the title of the person you’d be reporting to.

If that doesn’t work, you can run a standard Google search for “director of marketing analytics” and the company name. You might even find that person’s spoken at a recent conference, for example, which would give you some insight into what interests her and what kinds of information you should include in your cover letter.

5. Search the recruiting agency’s website.

If the job posting was created by a specific recruiting agency, go to that agency’s website and look at the bios of all the recruiters who work there. See which one works primarily with the company you’re applying to.

6. Google part of the job posting.

It’s possible that the website where you spotted the job opening isn’t where it was originally posted.

To find out, take a portion of the job description that describes the specific role or requirements, put it in quotation marks, and hit search. You might find the original posting, which includes the name and/or email address of the person in charge of the hiring process.

7. Leverage your network.

Here’s where a large professional network comes in handy.

Run an advanced search on LinkedIn to see if you have any connections who currently work at the company you’re applying to. Ask that person if he or she a) knows who you should address your cover letter to and b) would be willing to pass your application onto the appropriate person.

You can use the same strategy if there’s a company employee you met once at a networking event. Simply email that person: “I don’t know if you’ll remember me, but…” Express your interest in the position and ask if he or she can direct you to the appropriate person.

This tactic is especially effective, since studies suggest that applicants with someone to vouch for them are more likely to land the job.

Make sure you submit your application through the standard method as well as through your mutual connection. The company may want to track each application that comes in for their records.

Businessinsider.com | December 11, 2015 | 

Your #Career : 5 Things You Should Never Lie About On a #Résumé ..More than Half of the #Employers in the Survey have Caught a Lie on a Résumé, Including an Applicant Claiming to be a Former CEO of the Company He was Applying

First impressions are critical during a job hunt. Seven in 10 employers spend fewer than five minutes reviewing a résumé,

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Your #Career : College Students: These 7 Industries Are Hiring Like Crazy… Here are 7 Industries that Expect to Significantly Increase their Hiring of New Grads with Bachelor’s Degrees

College seniors, it’s time to get cracking on your resumes. The job market for the class of 2015-16 is strong, according to Michigan State University’s Recruiting Trends survey, with hiring projected to increase 15% over last year.  “Most signs point to another explosive year of growth in the job market for college graduates,” said Phil Gardner, a Michigan State economist and the survey’s lead author.

 

Researchers asked 4,700 employers in every state about their hiring plans for this year. They found that employers in virtually all industries are expecting to expand their payrolls this year. Increased turnover, baby boomer retirements, and strong business growth are all driving increased hiring.

While the overall outlook for hiring is good, the future looks especially bright for graduates in fields like hospitality, business, and finance, which all expect to boost hiring by 20% or more. Even construction businesses, which have struggled post-recession, expect to increase their hiring of graduates by 19% this year.

People seeking jobs with non-profits, the government, and real estate may struggle more to find work. Hiring should be up in those fields, but only in the single digits. People looking for work in the mining and oil industries may want to start panicking now, though. Hiring looks to be down 47% compared to last year. Meanwhile, companies that manufacture chemicals and pharmaceuticals are dialing back hiring by 40%.

One area where newly minted grads won’t see a big increase? Their salaries. Starting salaries should grow by 2% to 5% this year, according to the survey.

Here are seven industries that expect to significantly increase their hiring of new grads with bachelor’s degrees this year compared to last.

1. Educational services

Hiring increase: 73%

Education majors have had a tough go of it in recent years, as school districts slashed jobs and cut budgets. But things seem to finally be turning around. California alone planned to hire more than 21,000 teachers for the2015-16 school year.

Education graduates might want to expand their job search beyond the traditional school environment. While there should be more jobs available for elementary and high school teachers, companies that provide other educational services like alternative learning, online content development, and tutoring expect to increase hiringby 73%.

 

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2. Management services

Hiring increase: 64%

Hiring is strong in the professional, business, and scientific sector, where jobs should increase by 38% for new bachelor’s degree holders. Things are looking especially good for the future managers of the world; the number of jobs available is expected to double compared to last year.


3. Accounting

Hiring increase: 63%

Number-crunching students, rejoice. Hiring for new accountants should be up 63% this year. The average starting salary for accounting majors in 2014 was $48,420, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.


4. Insurance

Hiring increase: 49%

Job growth in the financial industry is strong, with hiring up 28% over last year. But the real bright spot is the insurance industry, which plans to boost job offers to new grads by 49%. Jobs in depository banks, in contrast, are disappearing, with hiring in that sector down 26% from 2014-15.

5. Administrative services

Hiring increase: 40%

The broad category of administrative services, which includes jobs in office administration, employment services, and business support, is doing well. Hiring of recent grads should increase by 40% this year.


6. Utilities

Hiring increase: 35%

Jobs for bachelor’s degree holders in the electric power, natural gas, water supply and sewage, and airconditioning industries should increase by more than 30% this year. People with less than four years of experience who work in the water utilities industry earn about $50,000 annually, according to Payscale, while those in electric power distribution earn about $61,000 per year.


 7. Internet services

Hiring increase: 34%

Most people won’t be surprised to see that hiring at Internet-related businesses is up this year. In fact, jobs at these companies are responsible for almost all the growth in the broader information services sector. Little or no growth is expected in the publishing, film, and broadcasting industries.

Follow Megan on Twitter @MeganE_CS

 

Cheatsheet.com | November 1, 2015 | 

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Your #Career : 19 Terrible #LinkedIn Mistakes you’re Making…There Are Some Things you Just Shouldn’t Do on LinkedIn.

Kim Brown is an Assistant Director for Syracuse University’s Career Services Department. She spends a good portion of her day looking over LinkedIn profiles for job seekers and students.

LinkedIn coffee

She makes sure candidates are putting their best foot forward on LinkedIn.  Here are the most common mistakes Brown sees job seekers make on LinkedIn.

Your profile is full of typos

Brown says she’s spotted typos in company names, job titles, and even in the user’s name.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn doesn’t have a built-in spell checker, but your browser might. Safari, Chrome, and Firefox underline misspellings in red. Bottom line, whatever you use: Be as careful on LinkedIn as you would be with a paper resume.

 

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You have no picture in your profile

You have no picture in your profile

LinkedIn

Adding a picture to your LinkedIn profile can make a world of difference to a recruiter. Studies have shown that LinkedIn profiles with pictures are much more likely to get clicked on than those without.

LinkedIn says you’re 14 times more likely to be viewed if you have a photo.

You have a profile picture, but it’s a photo of you and your significant other (or worse)

Do not get LinkedIn and Facebook confused, says Brown.

Facebook is for personal pictures, LinkedIn is for professional ones.

Brown recalls one student who came to her, frustrated because he couldn’t find a job. When she checked out his LinkedIn, she saw that he had chosen a photo of himself doing The Chicken Dance at a wedding. Oof.

Stereotypical, duck-faced selfies are another big no-no that Brown’s started noticing more often.

She also says she sees a lot of people link to their Facebook profiles from their LinkedIn pages. Don’t do this. It’s best to keep the two profiles separate.

 

You don’t have a background photo or any other visuals either

You don't have a background photo or any other visuals either

LinkedIn

You can now add a background photo to make your profile stick out, too. You should pick something that matches your brand, Brown says — for example, hers is of the SU campus — and make sure that your file is big enough that it doesn’t end up looking stretched and pixelated.

LinkedIn also allows you to upload all sorts of rich media — like documents, photos, links, videos, and presentations — to your profile, and if you don’t take advantage of that you’re missing out.

“Your LinkedIn isn’t just words anymore,” Brown says. “You should really be paying attention to the visuals you can add to your profile.”

 

You haven’t put any thought into your profile headline

You haven't put any thought into your profile headline

LinkedIn

Brown says she sees a lot of people simply put “Student at X University” as their lead LinkedIn headline. She also sees a lot of professionals who are looking for jobs with old titles as headlines.

You have a lot of room to be descriptive in this area of your profile!

“If you’re a job seeker and you have a [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][vague or outdated] title, I have no idea you’re looking for work,” says Brown.

So, it’s better for a student to write that they’re an “Advertising major at Syracuse University who has experience with nonprofit work” or for a job seeker to write, “Experienced advertising professional looking for a opportunities in the med-tech space.” Her official job title comes in the “Experience” section of her profile.

Even people with concrete job titles should use the headline space to give more detail about what they do and are passionate about. Brown’s headline, for example, reads “I help SU students and alumni to craft their career stories | Connector | Speaker | LinkedIn Trainer | CNY Promoter.”

Never, never write “unemployed” — highlight what you’re looking for, instead. 

 

Very Important: You’re not reaching out to people through LinkedIn Groups 

You're not reaching out to people through LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn can be a great tool for networking, but messaging a complete stranger can be awkward. Try finding people who are in a group you share in common. This helps break the ice, says Brown.

For example, if you’re a Syracuse University alumnus, message a fellow Syracuse person from the Alumni Network before sending a blind InMail.

But pick and choose your recipient carefully: You’re only allowed to send 15 messages a month to other group members.

 

You’re not personalizing LinkedIn connection requests

You're not personalizing LinkedIn connection requests

LinkedIn

When you connect to someone for the first time on LinkedIn, don’t just use the generic message option, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Take a few moments to write something personalized, says Brown. It will make the recipient more open to your request and the message feel less spammy.

Also, never lie about how you know the person. Lying is almost a guaranteed way to kill your chances at connecting.

You’re “connecting” with people from LinkedIn on your phone

You're "connecting" with people from LinkedIn on your phone

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s now has a whole suite of useful apps. The flagship lets you connect to people with a click—but you can’t customize the message.

“People will say to me, ‘Well, I didn’t personalize my message because I couldn’t on my phone,'” says Brown. “It’s not an excuse. Get on your computer and connect that way.”

Wiggle room: The nice thing about connecting via smartphone is that you can do it immediately after meeting someone, in which case a message isn’t as important.

You also run a greater risk of typos on your phone though.

You haven’t created a unique LinkedIn URL

You haven't created a unique LinkedIn URL

LinkedIn

“The head of business development for a big company contacted me, and he had his LinkedIn profile link in his signature,” says Brown. “It was [Joe]-[Smith]-8346974. Who would think [all those numbers] look okay? It looks terrible. Definitely customize your URL.”

To customize your LinkedIn URL, press the “Edit Profile” button. Click the gear symbol next to your URL, which will take you to a separate page where a “Your public profile URL” box will let you change the link. Try to get as close to your first and last name as possible. Avoid cutesy nicknames or usernames.

You never bothered to fill out a summary

You never bothered to fill out a summary

LinkedIn

Filling out the summary portion of your LinkedIn profile is crucial if you want to pop up in search results.

“The summary is the most important part,” says Brown. “Having search terms and key words in your summary that are related to the job you’re doing or want to do is going to make you more likely to be found by the recruiters and hiring managers who are searching LinkedIn for talent.”

You don’t “stalk responsibly” or take advantage of it when someone’s checking *you* out

You don't "stalk responsibly" or take advantage of it when someone's checking *you* out

LinkedIn

Any LinkedIn user can see who’s viewed their profile recently, but if you limit your public profile settings, less of your information will be revealed to the person you’ve checked out on LinkedIn. The trade-off: You won’t see as many details about who’s visiting your profile, either.

Getting insights can be super valuable, so being public is a plus. Just stalk responsibly.

“If you’re job seeking and you’re looking at the same person’s profile 59 times in a two-week period, you should probably make yourself anonymous,” says Brown. “Don’t be creepy.”

If you’ve noticed someone checking out your profile in a field or at a company that interests you, though, it can’t hurt to message them to start a dialogue.

 

You haven’t broken your profile out into sections

You haven't broken your profile out into sections

LinkedIn

It’s not just about your summary and work experience: You can add volunteering experiences, organizations you’re part of, honors you’ve received, projects you’ve worked on, and more to your LinkedIn.

A lot of profiles are just one long block of text, but breaking it into different parts makes it easier for people to scan and for you to highlight certain parts that you think are particularly important.

“Don’t be afraid to play around with the order of the sections,” Brown says.

For example, if you’re a recent grad and your course work is more valuable than any of your previous jobs, drag the “projects” section above the “experience” section.

You list “skills” that LinkedIn doesn’t recognize

You list "skills" that LinkedIn doesn't recognize

LinkedIn

Adding a bunch of skills to your profile is a good way to easily flaunt your chops and make yourself more searchable, but if you write something obscure that LinkedIn doesn’t recognize, it doesn’t do you much good.

When you start typing a skill on your LinkedIn profile, make sure it appears in the dropdown menu. If it doesn’t, it may be spelled wrong, or it’s not a frequently searched item, which won’t help your resume get found by recruiters.

Stick to the thousands of skills LinkedIn already has in the system and your profile will pop up more often in search results. You can also allow people to “endorse”

You don’t have (credible) recommendations

You don't have (credible) recommendations

LinkedIn

Brown says it’s important to have recommendations on your LinkedIn profile. But not just any old recommendation—it should come from someone who’s reputable and it should speak to your specific qualifications.

“A lot of times recommendations are really generic,” says Brown. “Such as, ‘Alyson would be an amazing asset to your company because she is a hard worker and a wonderful addition to our office.’ Well, great. How about something more detailed, like about that time you worked on a specific project together?”

Make sure the recommendation someone writes for you isn’t applicable to every other candidate.

Getting these recommendations may require asking for them. Navigate to the “Privacy and Settings” tab, then to “Profile,” and you will see a link for “Manage my recommendations.” That section will prompt you to send a message to a boss or coworker.

You’re not posting photos, posts, or work-centric updates

You're not posting photos, posts, or work-centric updates

LinkedIn

Don’t fill out your profile and then forget about LinkedIn. Radio silence on your feed is bad news.

More than ever before, the site makes it easy to keep your network up-to-date on what’s going on in your professional world through updates, photos, posts, and comments.

“Make it a point to once a week do something,” Brown advises. “Share an update with your network. Put up a photo of an event that you attended. Comment on someone’s post. You want to show up in the network feed, and the way you show up is by doing those things.”

You can solidify yourself as an expert on a topic by publishing posts, too, which often get thousands of views from professionals across LinkedIn.

You’re not engaging with your network

You're not engaging with your network

LinkedIn

“The ‘Keep in touch’ section is a lazy networker’s dream,” Brown says.

Under the “Connections” tab, LinkedIn makes it dead simple to find little ways to connect with people in your network. You can see congratulate someone on a work anniversary, new job, or switching cities.

There’s no excuse to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of maintaining a relationship.

You haven’t left yourself helpful little reminders or scheduled reconnection nudges

You haven't left yourself helpful little reminders or scheduled reconnection nudges

LinkedIn

Every time you connect with someone new on LinkedIn, you should get into the habit of feeling out information in the “Relationship” tab that will appear on their profile.

You can add notes about their interests, info about how you met, and even reminders to reach out to them again in a week, a month, or on a recurring cycle.

“Don’t worry, it’s only visible to you,” Brown says.

You’re not exporting all your contacts

You're not exporting all your contacts

LinkedIn

Want to make it easy to take your LinkedIn conversations off the site, or make sure that you’ll still have access to your contacts if you lose access to your account?

You can export all of your contacts into an Excel file with their name, job title, and email.

Go to the main Connections tab, press the gear symbol in the right-hand corner, and then click “Export LinkedIn Connections” under “Advanced Settings.”

Viola! There are a bunch of different file formats you can use when exporting

“This is one of the biggest ‘a-ha’ moments that everybody has when I teach LinkedIn classes,” Brown says.

BONUS: You’re not using advanced search tools when hunting for a job

BONUS: You're not using advanced search tools when hunting for a job

This one may seem a little obvious, but if you use the advanced search tab, you’re much more likely to turn up relevant career opportunities than if you just conduct broad queries.

Instead of just searching by the name of the company or person, you can search by keyword, industry, location, and more.

You can also save searches, save jobs you’re interested in, and even apply, right through the site.

You’re not taking advantage of the “Find alumni” option

You're not taking advantage of the "Find alumni" option

LinkedIn

Recently, LinkedIn has really amped up the way it lets you find people who went to your university.

You can see all the people who attended your college who studied a certain major or were in your year. You can even search for a specific company, and see all the alumni who worked there. This is great for networking, reconnecting, or planning reunions.

“You can use it for a ton, a ton of different purposes,” Brown says. “It’s like an in-depth yearbook.”

Businessinsider.com | July 17, 2015 | 

 

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Your #Career : 20 Words you Should Never Put On your #Résumé …Avoiding Overused Terms can Help #Job Seekers Convey their Message & Stand Out From the Crowd.

While Any Large Companies Use Automated Résumé Screener Software to Cut Down the Initial Pool of Job Applicants, Loading your Résumé with Meaningless Buzzwords is Not theSsmartest Way to Get Noticed. 

Woman Using Laptop at Home

Get ready to start hitting the ‘delete’ button.

Nearly everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time, but professionals are evaluated increasingly on their ability to communicate,” says Paul McDonald, senior executive director for professional placement firm Robert Half.

One of the major problems with using buzzwords and terms, according to Mary Lorenz, a corporate communications manager at CareerBuilder, is they have become so overused that they’ve lost all meaning.

Another issue, she explains, is that many of these words don’t differentiate the job seeker from other candidates because they’re so generic. Instead, Lorenz says job seekers should speak in terms of accomplishments and show rather than tell.

“Avoiding overused terms can help job seekers convey their message and stand out from the crowd,” McDonald says. Here’s what you should avoid:

1. ‘Best of breed’

1. 'Best of breed'

When CareerBuilder surveyed more than 2,200 hiring managers last year, it found “best of breed” to be the most irritating term to be seen on a résumé.

“Anyone can say they are ‘best of breed,’ a ‘go-getter,’ a ‘hard worker,’ or a ‘strategic thinker,'” Lorenz says. “Employers want to know what makes the job seekers unique, and how they will add value to the specific organization for which they’re applying.”

 

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2. ‘Phone’

2. 'Phone'

Career coach Eli Amdur says there is no reason to put the word “phone” in front of the actual number.

“It’s pretty silly. They know it’s your phone number.” The same rule applies to email.

3. ‘Results-driven’

“Instead of simply saying that you’re results-driven, write about what you did to actually drive results — and what those results were,” Lorenz suggests.

 

3. ‘Responsible for’

Superfluous words like “responsible for,” “oversight of,” and “duties included,” unnecessarily complicate and hide your experience says Alyssa Gelbard, founder and president of Résumé Strategists.

“Be direct, concise, and use active verbs to describe your accomplishments,” she suggests. Instead of writing, “Responsible for training interns …,” simply write, “Train interns …”

5. ‘Highly qualified’

McDonald saying using terms like “highly qualified” or “extensive experience” won’t make you seem better-suited for the job — in fact, it could have the opposite effect. Instead, he suggests you focus on the skills, accomplishments, and credentials you bring to the role.

6. ‘Seasoned’

“Not only does this word conjure up images of curly fries,” says Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based career coach, “it is well-recognized as a code word for ‘much, much older.'”

 

7. ‘References available by request’

This outdated phrase will unnecessarily age you, Gelbard says. “If you progress through the interviewing process, you will be asked for personal and professional references.”

8. ‘NYSE’

Vicky Oliver, author of “Power Sales Words” and “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions,” says you should spell out any acronyms first and put the initials in parentheses. For example, “NYSE” would read “New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).”

“For starters, acronyms are capitalized, and all caps are harder to read than upper and lower case,” she explains. “It’s also really difficult to wade through a piece of paper that resembles alphabet soup.”

 

9. ‘Team player’

9. 'Team player'

TaskRabbit

“Who doesn’t want to be a team player? If you’re not a team player, you’re probably not going to get the job,” McDonald says.

But using this term isn’t going to make you stand out from other candidates. “Instead, use an example of how you saved a company time, money, and resources on a team project or in collaboration with others.

10. ‘Ambitious’

10. 'Ambitious'

“Of course you would never say you’re ‘lazy’ either, but calling yourself ambitious doesn’t make any sense on a resume,” Friedman says.

“It can imply that you’re targeting this job now, but will quickly be looking to move up in the company because you won’t be satisfied in the role, leaving the employer stuck with doing a new job search in the very near future.”

11. ‘Microsoft Word’

Yea, you and everyone else.

It’s assumed that you have a basic proficiency in Microsoft Office, Gelbard says. Unless you have expert proficiency, there’s no need to include it on your résumé.

12. ‘Interfaced’

“Words like this make you sound like an automaton,” Oliver says. “Most recruiters would rather meet with a human being. Keep your verbs simpl

 

13. ‘Hard worker’

13. 'Hard worker'

War Production Co-ordinating Committee

It’s true that a company is less likely to consider you if you haven’t worked hard or don’t come across as someone who will put in what it takes to get the job done, but that doesn’t mean writing “hard worker” will convince hiring managers of your efforts.

“Give concrete examples of how you’ve gone the extra mile, rather than using a non-memorable cliché,” McDonald suggests.

14. ‘Honest’

14. 'Honest'

Screenshot

Honesty is one of those things you have to show, not tell, Friedman says.

“It’s not as if there are some other candidates out there vying for the job who are describing themselves as ‘duplicitous’ or ‘dishonest.'”

15. ‘Punctual’

15. 'Punctual'

Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

Being punctual is great, but it’s also pretty basic to holding down a job. Don’t waste the space on your résumé.

 

16. ‘@’

Unless it’s in your email address, avoid casual texting language like @.

“A resume is a formal document and is often the first impression a potential employer has of you,” Gelbard stresses. “Business language should be used to reinforce that first impression and text-style or casual words should be avoided.”

17. ‘People person’

Cliches like “people person” are impossible to prove, Oliver says, and recruiters have heard these phrases so many times they’re likely to feel their eyes glaze over as soon as they see them.

18. ‘Hit the ground running’

“This one is a pet peeve of mine,” McDonald says. “The expression is unnecessary and doesn’t add value. A recruiter isn’t going to be able to place you if you’re not eager to start the j

 

9. ‘I’

Avoid using personal pronouns like I, me, my, we, or our, Gelbard says.

“A person reviewing your resume knows that you’re talking about your skills, experience, and expertise or something related to the company for which you worked, so you don’t need to include pronouns.”

20. ‘Successfully’

20. 'Successfully'

Dogma / Wikimedia, CC

“It’s generally assumed that you were successful at whatever you are including on your resume,” Gelbard says. “There is no need to say that you successfully managed a marketing campaign or successfully led annual budget planning.”

 

Businessinsider.com | July 10, 2015 |  

 

Your #Career: 7 Secrets to Writing a Standout Cover Letter…Here’s what Hiring Managers are Looking for in a Cover Letter That will Set you Apart from the Rest

While it’s Important to work on your Résumé and ensure it sparkles, a Cover Letter can be just as Important. This Often Overlooked Tool can Make all the Difference.

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                                                                                                    Address red flags, highlight achievements and state your availability.

Here’s what hiring managers are looking for in a cover letter that will set you apart from the rest:

1. Give your credentials

What do you want people to know about you first and foremost during your elevator pitch? This is exactly what you should include in the first paragraph of your cover letter.

While your résumé outlines your work experience and credentials in short sentences, the next section of a cover letter should highlight your biggest accomplishments with some detail. This is an opportunity to showcase what you want to stand out on your résumé.

 

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2. Prove you’re the best fit for the role by showing how you can help solve the employer’s problem

The whole premise of getting past “gatekeepers” to be considered for an interview involves convincing them you’re right for the job. Instead of showcasing why you should be considered, let your succinct accomplishments speak for themselves while showing how you can meet the company’s needs.

3. Highlight distinct accomplishments

Since the purpose of a cover letter is to express your interest in the role and briefly mention why you’re a fit, instead of rewriting your résumé, take this opportunity to highlight an award or achievement. For example, point out recognition within your group for exceeding sales quotas on an annual basis or jumping in to manage a team in your department in addition to your own daily responsibilities.

It doesn’t have to be long; in two sentences, succinctly reference the accolade so you stand out from other cover letters in queue.

4. Address any potential red flags

If you think something may immediately catch the recruiter’s eye in a negative light, politely address it. For instance, if the position you’re applying to is in New York, and your résumé address reflects Chicago, a recruiter may automatically disqualify your candidacy thinking: “We won’t pay for relocation, so this candidate is not a fit.”

Recruiters typically appreciate when candidates are up front and address concerns before assumptions are made. This also demonstrates a sense of maturity. Say something like: “While I realize my address reflects Chicago, I intend to move to New York within the next several months at my own cost.”

This will put the recruiter’s mind at ease and allow him or her to consider your candidacy based on just that — your candidacy — and not location.

5. State your availability

Make sure your preferred start date is clearly stated in your cover letter. Is it immediately? Is it after giving two weeks notice? Is it within four months? Stating you’re not available for four months may hinder your chances of getting the job, because hiring managers will likely want to fill the role as soon as possible.

However, keep in mind that they may be building a pipeline for an expanding department. By stating your availability up front and being clear in the beginning of the interview process, you won’t waste anyone’s time — including your own.

6. Be clear and accurate

During an interview, how you say things is just as important as what you’re saying. The same applies to a one-dimensional piece of paper. Your cover letter should be clear, concise and free of grammatical errors!

Make sure you spell check your résumé and cover letter and give them an extra copy edit to make sure nothing was missed. In fact, have another person give them a read-through for errors.

It often takes only a few seconds for recruiters to review a cover letter. Two things always stand out: the length and grammatical or spelling errors. Take the extra time to review your cover letter and make it easy for a recruiter or hiring manager to say “yes” to your candidacy.

7. Include your contact information

This may seem basic, but there are plenty of cover letters out there with nothing more than a candidate’s name. Keep all your information readily available to make it easier for the recruiter to find and get in touch with you. Include both your email address and phone number on each page of your résumé and cover letter. This shows you’re detail-oriented and look forward to being contacted.

Read the original article on AOL Jobs. Copyright 2015. Follow AOL Jobs on Twitter.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2015/06/09/5-secrets-to-savvy-cover-letters#ixzz3cqBafuLn

#BestofFSCBlog : #JobSearch -Five Things Your Recruiter Won’t Tell You. When You’re Working with a Recruiter, you Have to Ask a Lot of Questions.

If you work in business or the professional world, it will be helpful to you to have a relationship with a third-party recruiter, sometimes called a search professional or recruiter. Not every job-seeker has a recruiter-friendly resume, but many job-seekers do.

Some bosses inspire to be your best self, both professionally and in your everyday life. Others make every day seem tense, dreary and frustrating. Learning how to deal with a bad boss is an important step to career happiness. (image credit: William (Tactum Macula) Walsh on Flickr)

What’s a recruiter-friendly resume? It’s a resume that looks like what the hiring manager expects to see, or as we say at Human Workplace, ‘a resume that makes you look like you were born and raised in a petri dish to do this job.’

Recruiters are paid by employers to find them candidates they can’t find on their own, so if your resume is less conventional, or if it’s off-beat or quirky, you might not be a recruiter-friendly candidate. If not, that’s okay! There are plenty of other job search channels still available to you. 

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Article continued …

A well-established, credible and human recruiter in your corner is an incredible asset. That’s not only true for job-seekers. It’s true for hiring managers and HR leaders, too! When I was an HR leader, I relied on my search partners to fill jobs we couldn’t have filled on our own. They were an extension of our team.

In every field you’ll find solid and upright folks and people who have no business handing out business cards. We hear from job-seekers way too often who have horror stories to tell about unscrupulous or not-ready-for-prime-time recruiters who wasted their time, steered them wrong and crushed their mojo — but only temporarily!

When you’re working with a recruiter, you have to ask a lot of questions. You can’t blindly follow your recruiter’s advice. You have to determine whether your recruiter is a credible advocate for you, first.Here are questions to ask a recruiter when you’re contemplating allowing him or her to represent you in your job search.

Here are five things your recruiter may not tell you unless you ask, ask, and ask again. Don’t take ‘no answer’ for an answer!

1- They Won’t Tell You Their Client Has a Toxic Workplace 

One Monday morning I saw a new job opening posted in my news feed. “This is a great company!” said the recruiter who posted the ad. I had heard his name before. I wrote back to him right away. “I might have the perfect candidate for this job,” I said in my message. “What is it that makes this a great company, in your opinion?” The recruiter wrote back. “Are you kidding or serious?” he asked in his message. “It’s a job opening. It pays you money that you use to buy things.”

I wrote back. “I’m serious,” I said. “Do you just put ‘It’s a great company?’ in all your job ads, automatically?” The recruiter wrote back again. “Grow up,” he said. “Everyone knows that is filler.”

Imagine being so cynical that you’d add “Great company!” to every job ad, call it ‘filler’ and expect everyone to know that it’s not true? You deserve to work with people who deserve your talents.

Ask your recruiter to tell you why you should consider taking any job s/he’s proposing to you. What makes the company great? Ask for specifics! As my friend Marla says, “Whenever a company’s recruiting literature drones on about trust, that means there’s no trust. When they have it, they don’t need to talk about it.”

Let’s remember how recruiters get paid. They get paid to fill job openings. They get paid when you accept the job offer. You only have to stay for ninety days. If you bail within ninety days, the recruiter has to find someone else. Are they going to tell you it’s a toxic work environment? Not if they want you to take the job, they won’t!

The recruiter will not have to sit in your chair and do your job. That will be your burden, if you walk into the wrong place. Ask a lot of questions about culture. Ask about turnover. Ask the recruiter why the job is open, and don’t get all your research from your recruiter! Check out the organization’s Glassdoor reviews as well.

2- They Won’t Tell You If The Company’s In Trouble

We had a client years ago who went on a job interview and was surprised to walk through row after row of empty cubicles when she got there. The cubicles weren’t the sort of empty cubicles that scream “We’re trying to find people to fill these cubicles!” They were the kind of cubicles that say “Don’t work here! Three-quarters of the staff has already been laid off, and no one has taken the time to get rid of all these empty cubicles!”

Our client asked some pointed questions about the company’s future. The in-house recruiter was huffy. When our client got home, she called the third-party recruiter who had sent her to the interview. “Well, they’re going through a restructuring, and you’ll help them turn the corner,” her recruiter said.

Our client got suspicious. She started digging around and found the employer on every analyst’s list of companies most likely to declare bankruptcy. She cut her interview process short. The last thing the headhunter said to her was “You’re making a big mistake.”

The company went out of business a few months later. You can’t blindly go on a job interview assuming that because someone is hiring, they must be doing well. Organizations hire for a lot of different reasons. They sometimes hire new people to wind up the business and turn out the lights. That’s fine if it’s a consulting job at a healthy hourly rate.

Nobody wants a full-time job that’s not only going to end in a few months but also that’s going to elicit the question from every interviewer you ever meet in your life going forward, “Why did you go to work for those guys just as they were tanking?” Good question!

3- They Won’t Tell You It’s a Dead-End Job

When my youngest was a baby, I had a regular babysitter, Emily, who was a student at our local university. She moved to Chicago and got a job right away when she graduated. One day Emily got a call at work from a headhunter. She called me to tell me. “So exciting!” she said. “He told me about a better job at a company in downtown Chicago.”

“What makes it a better job than the one you have?” I asked her.

“He asked me some questions about my current job and said this new opportunity is a better job,” Emily said.

“Oh dear!” I said. “He will say that to get you to go to the interview. That’s how he gets paid. It may be a better job, or it may not. Most jobs don’t have six weeks vacation and free grad-school tuition at a top university the way your current job does.”

“I didn’t think of that,” said Emily. “The headhunter said one thing that was odd, I thought.”

“What was that?” I asked, my maternal instincts going on full alert.

“He told me not to mention the words ‘career path’ at the interview,” said Emily. “Evidently at this company they don’t like to have their job applicants ask about the career path.”

“What!?” I snorted. “That means there is no career path. That means it’s a dead-end job. They want you to take the job and come to work at the same desk for the next fifty years. Maybe you should go on the interview just for the learning experience. If you do, I have one suggestion. Make sure and use the term ‘career path’ at least once in every sentence, just to see what happens.”

Emily did just that. She said the interviewer nearly fell out of her chair. Emily never heard from the company or the headhunter again, but she got a tremendous job with a consulting firm soon after.

4- They Won’t Tell You When The Employer’s Requests Become Unreasonable 

Remember how third-party recruiters get paid. They don’t get a dime unless you accept the employer’s offer. An unscrupulous recruiter will encourage you (or even browbeat you) to stay in a broken and mojo-crushing recruiting pipeline. If you drop out, they lose.

They’ll tell you to do whatever the employer asks you to, down to creating free work for the employer and interviewing four, five or six times with different people. They’ll tell you to take endless online tests and putting up with delays and weeks of radio silence. They’ll tell you ignore red flags that scream “Believe me, you don’t want to work here!”

Know before you get into any recruiting pipeline how many interviews are reasonable (three visits to one employer is the limit we suggest — if they can’t make a decision in three visits, they’re too wimpy to be mentors who can help you) and what you will and won’t do before you see an offer letter.

I don’t want you to perform work for free. A good rule of thumb is this: one request for one one-hour project to see how you operate is reasonable during a hiring process. That could be the creation of a writing sample or some lines of code. After that, you can meet any additional requests for free work with the soft reply “I’d be happy to complete that project on a consulting basis. Shall I fill you in on my hourly rates?”

5- They Won’t Tell You To Refuse A Lowball Offer

Last on our list, a skeevy recruiter who’s trying to shove you into a new sardine can won’t tell you when a job offer is below market. They’ll tell you just the opposite. They want you to accept the job, so they’ll tell you the offer looks great. Way back in 1979 when I first hit Chicago as a nineteen-year-old punk rocker, I went looking for an office job.

I didn’t realize when I moved to Chicago that the drinking age there was 21. In New York the drinking age was 18, so I could work in good restaurants that served alcohol. I made great money waiting tables. I did the same thing when I got to Chicago, but when the outdoor cafe where I worked closed up for the winter, I needed a new job.

That’s when I got the bad news: I couldn’t work in any restaurant with a liquor license. I had to go indoors to type and answer the phone.

I walked into an employment agency and filled out some forms. Right away they sent me to interviews — one miserable environment after another. They said “It will be wonderful if you can get four dollars an hour” even though I saw tons of jobs in the Chicago Tribune advertised for five dollars an hour or more.

“Why are you diminishing my experience?” I asked my employment counselor. “Is it to prepare me to take the first offer I get, whatever that offer is?”

She nearly fainted in front of me.

Remember how recruiters get paid. If you don’t take the offer, they don’t get a penny. There are recruiters who will tell you that you have nothing of value to offer and that they’ll have a hard time placing you. Walk away from anybody who insults you or denigrates your background.

They will tell you that your skills are a dime a dozen. Don’t believe them! The first person who has to believe in you, is you.

Whether we’re talking about employers or recruiters, you have to remember that only the people who get you, deserve you. Take a huge grain of salt with everything you hear from a person whose financial interests lie in getting you hired into a new job, and keep your B.S. meter close at hand!

 

 Forbes.com | February 6, 2015  |  Liz Ryan