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Set Goals for Your Job Search

by Kelli Long

Let’s be real…..during a pandemic is not the ideal time to be looking for a job. However, there are companies hiring! If you are in the market for a new job, be diligent, organized, and positive! Set daily and weekly job search goals and follow through! While these tips are directed more toward job seekers who are unemployed and/or have been furloughed, they can apply to anyone at any time!

Job search goals for every day!

• Review job boards and social media outlets for opportunities EVERY day.
• Tweak your résumé for every job for which you apply.
• Set a goal for how many contacts you want to reach out to EVERY day (recruiters, past coworkers, chamber members, clients, employed friends, etc.) – network, network, network! This is probably your overall best tool right now!
• Keep track of where you apply and for which jobs to avoid repetition.

Do the above EVERY day. Don’t get discouraged or make excuses. Stay diligent!

Job search goals for every week!

• Share something positive or something that demonstrates your expertise at least once per week on social media.
• Analyze your outcomes  – if you are not getting interview requests, review your résumé carefully and cross-reference it to the jobs for which you applied. Do you need to make changes to better showcase your relevant skills?
• Practice your responses to common interview questions – be prepared when an interview request comes in. Practice video interviewing, not just face-to-face or phone!!
• Follow up (professionally and not too often) on pending applications and interviews.
• Reevaluate your goals. Are you at a point where you need to be more flexible on money, type of position, or location? Only you know the answer to those questions, but it is important to evaluate your goals regularly. There is no shame in taking a job out of your skillset if you need work!!! There is no shame in taking a pay cut if your cash flow is dwindling. Most employers will be understanding about any atypical work employees perform during or as a result of the pandemic. TAKE CARE OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

Set your job search goals and stick to them. Be consistent. Stay positive. Network!

For more tips on job searching, check out our other blog posts or follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).

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5 Must-Haves for Every Resume

by KG Workforce Solutions

Most hiring managers and recruiters will spend 6-8 seconds reviewing a resume, largely due to the volume of resumes they receive. On average, managers and recruiters receive more than 250 resumes per job opening. So how do you craft a resume that stands out from the other 249 applicants and gets the attention of the manager or recruiter?  By treating your resume like a marketing tool and giving managers and recruiters what they want! 

Our Top 5 must-haves for any resume.

Keyword Optimization

Many resumes are never seen by a hiring manager or recruiter because they are deemed “unqualified” by the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The ATS automatically scans resumes that are submitted online and identifies keywords that are relevant and required for a specific position. It is imperative that you use the RIGHT words, and with enough frequency and variation, to get past the ATS. If your resume does not pass the ATS review, the hiring manager or recruiter will likely never look at it.

Clearly Identified Key Information

There are a few items that almost all hiring officials skim for during the initial resume review. These include dates of employment, job titles, past and current employers, your name, and your contact information. If these things are difficult to find on your resume, you can expect your resume to quickly be thrown in the trash pile.

Accomplishments

Hiring managers and recruiters want to know that you have not only performed certain duties, but that you performed them well. If your resume does not have obvious accomplishments that jump off the page, you are not likely to get much of their time. Make sure to include accomplishments, quantifiable or data-driven if possible, and not just tasks in your resume.

Readability

Resumes that contain too much information, look cluttered, and are difficult to read are not going to get a good review. Hiring managers and recruiters receive hundreds of resumes a day and won’t waste time on a resume that is difficult to read. Ensure adequate white space, use different font size or features to section off your resume and highlight your accomplishments, and write content in bullets instead of lengthy paragraphs.

Error Free

Even though most managers and recruiters don’t read every word of a resume, it is critical to have an error-free resume. If during a skim of your resume, a recruiter or hiring manager spots a spelling or grammar error, your resume will most likely be added to the trash pile instead of the interview pile.

Remember, a resume is a marketing tool to land you an interview. It should be unique, appropriate for its audience, and sell your best features! You only get one chance to make a good first impression and your resume is that chance when you are a job seeker.

For more tips on resume writing and job search techniques, subscribe to our blog or follow us on social media.

Are You Prepared for a New Job When Opportunity Knocks?

by KG Workforce Solutions

Opportunity can knock on your door at any time. Are you keeping your information up-to-date so you can be ready to jump into a job search or apply for an unexpected opportunity? If not, should you be?

Many people make job changes when they are not on the market or actively looking for a new position. Maybe another parent at a little league game tells you about the perfect opportunity at his company, or you stumble upon the perfect job posting while perusing your social media for the latest shoe sales. Many opportunities don’t stay open long, so even if you are not in the market for a new job, you should always be New Job Ready!

Follow these quick and easy tips to ensure that you can quickly apply to a great opportunity at any time. Don’t let the perfect job pass you by because you are not New Job Ready!

Tips to be ready for a new job in a hurry!

• Make a note of any significant accomplishments as they happen. You can use an email folder, a notepad, or anything else you can quickly access for reference.
• Limit controversial content on your social media so your Internet presence is ready to be seen by a potential employer at any time.
• Have at least two professional references who are willing to speak on your behalf at any time, even with limited notice. Make sure to keep their contact information updated and handy!
• Save an electronic version of your resume in at least two places. Make updates to your resume at least once a year to minimize the amount of time it will take you to send a resume upon request. At a minimum, update  job titles, employment dates, company names, and at least one accomplishment.

Visit the KG Blog or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more employment related information.

Social Media as a Recruiting Tool

by kgworkforce

Social Media Recruiting for Job Applicants

Did you know that approximately 50% of employers use social media recruiting strategies to find, screen, and research job applicants? Depending on the study, some data reports as high as 80% of employers are implementing social media recruiting strategies in some capacity. In 2017, this is expected to become even more common.  As a job seeker, what does your social media presence say about you?  If it does not reflect the attributes you want an employer to know about you, it’s time to clean it up. Below are some easy tips:

• Set your privacy settings to limit information seen by prospective employers.
• Review all of your social media accounts, even the ones you no longer use.
• Google yourself and see what comes up……this is usually a fun one. Do you like what you see? If not, fix it.
• Remove pictures and nicknames that might not represent you in a favorable manner to a prospective employer.
• If your job(s) or education are listed in your social media accounts, make sure the content on your social media reflects the same content on your resume.

Employer Reviews on Social Media

The use of social media by job applicants is also on the rise. Data shows that the majority of job seekers are using social media to evaluate prospective employers.  If your company does not have content on social media that is designed to attract prospective job applicants, it might be time to refresh your strategy. This is especially important for companies hiring job applicants for non-management positions, as this is the largest job seeking population using social media for employment research. Deploying social media recruiting strategies has become essential in today’s job market.

Looking for more tips for a successful job search?  If so, check out other articles at https://www.kgworkforcesolutions.com/blog/.

How to Find a Job

by kgworkforce

Job Search Success- How to find a job

So how do you start a Job Search, if you are a person in transition (layoff / change career direction / stuck in job that does not match ‘your passion’)?

How about being a new grad from college, grad school, high school?

What will separate you from the sometimes ‘thousands’ of candidates in the internet clogged ‘web’ of companies trying to get candidates?

Before you start this ‘search’, it’s important to discover your root values and strengths, which will help to ignite your Passions, Gifts, Talents, Possibilities and Purpose.

We help individuals start or realign their career direction, as well as reinvent themselves as individuals so they can begin their career, enhance their career, and even or develop a route for their ‘encore’ career.

The process also helps an individual create opportunities and get the job they’ll love by finding a specific career path.

Especially important is to ‘get noticed’ by hiring managers and Leadership Coaches within organizations.

The following 6 Steps is a ‘strategic’ process developed and used at Kehoe Consultants to help you have a streamlined, solid ‘search’ process:

1:  Start with a strong Career Assessment Tool

Assessment tools, such as ‘Elevations’, give you an in-depth view of an individual’s Values, Skills, Personality Traits, and Career Interests, all in one assessment report.

2:  Competencies Grid:  

The ‘jewel’ of this job search process, is to help an individual develop and complete a   Competencies /Skills grid.  It can be used as a personal ‘script’ during an interview or an informational conversation.

3: It’s Not You…It’s Your Resume:

Learn straight forward layout techniques that make your resume easy to read by any recruiter or resume scanning device.  Use a personal summary statement, and for each job position noted on the resume, provide specific quantitative accomplishments.  Attend a resume workshop or study up on resume writing.

4:  Without a Marketing Plan it is Hard to Meet the ‘Right’ Hiring Managers:

The Referral Grid is a grid with 3 columns:

• Each column title has a different industry label, ‘industries’ that interest you.
• Under each column, list each name of organizations in that industry that are interesting to you.
• Now it’s time to network with professionals, community leaders, friends and family; and ask them “Who do they know?” at these companies or in these industries of interest to you. Start filling in your grid.

Ask them to help you fill in a specific name and contact info under each organization on the blank grid. Be sure to also write who gave you each contact name.  Now you have a ‘warm calling list’ to begin your job search process. Show your Referral Grid to as many people as possible / get as much input as you can!

5: ‘To the Point’ Cover Letters Use Their Words to Get You Noticed

Start by reading the job posting like Sherlock Holmes. Look for clues as to how the job posting matches your background. Then develop your cover letter using key words from the job posting.

Key words from the job posting will be ‘picked up’ electronically from your cover letter. This draws attention from the hiring manager/recruiter.

6: Behavioral Interviewing Techniques with a Twist

The Behavioral Interview process used by many organizations, works off the STAR method of questioning.

S – Situation

T–  Tasks

A– Actions

R– Results

The ‘twist’ is to prepare/ practice your answers using these STAR responses and to have concise and ‘to the point’ answers.  The Competency Grid, which we mentioned before, can be a script for your interview because it highlights your strengths, competencies and technical skills, at a glance, by you during your interview.

Enjoy this strategic job search process!

About Alysia Kehoe & Kehoe Consultants

Alysia Kehoe, M.S. HRM, has more than 20 years of HR, training, and talent development experience with Builders, IT, Health Care and Hospitality working with companies such as Westin, Hyatt, and Computer Science Corp.

Want more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Alysia at:

Kehoe Consultants, LLC

kehoe12@earthlink.net

Office (803) 951-0494

Kehoe Consultants is a proud partner with KG Workforce Solutions.  Together, we empower job applicants to meet their employment goals!