Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Resume checklist

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new careerHere’s another post celebrating this being my seventh year of blogging. (Happy Birthday to KeppieCareers.com/blog!) This was one of my very first blog posts, offering a resume checklist, but I think it still makes key points about how to create an effective marketing document to help you land a new job for the new year.

Does your resume represent the best you have to offer?  When you read it, are you proud to say that it represents you? Does your resume need a make-over?  Review your resume with these tips in mind…

** Does your resume target your audience? **
Every job and each employer seeks a slightly different applicant.  Unless you are applying for the same exact job over and over again, you should not be sending the identical resume for every position.  Research your target organizations.  Use their buzzwords and lingo in your application materials.  (You can easily tweak a well written resume to appeal to different audiences, so don’t feel that you need to completely rewrite your resume for each new job.)

** Is your resume attractive, consistent, error-free and easy to read? **
Don’t underestimate how important it is to have a clear, error-free, visually impressive resume.  Does your resume look crowded with thick text blocks that may be difficult to scan?  Are you making strong use of bold to enhance your document, or are you overdoing it?  Did you use a resume template from your word processing software?  (Don’t!)  Since readers likely give your resume a 20-second glance, visual appeal is important.  If the reader notices careless spelling errors, it is not likely that you will land an interview.

** Do you DEMONSTRATE what you have to offer? **
Is your resume a laundry list of jobs you held, or does it engage the reader and demonstrate your skills and achievements?  You should quantify your value using percentages, numbers and specifics.  Your resume should highlight the positive impact that you had in previous jobs.  You want to convince the reader that you could do the same for them. If your resume is TARGETED, ATTRACTIVE and DEMONSTRATES what you have to offer, it will be more than a TAD above the rest!

Looking for a new job in the new year?

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new career

Time flies when you are having fun. It’s true! I realized this week is the seven-year anniversary of my blog. In celebration of the blog-aversary, I thought it would be fun to revisit my very first posts from seven years ago. I was surprised to find out that, while I wasn’t talking so much about social media in that first week of blogging, the advice I provided seven years ago is still sound and valid today.

Below is the text of my very first blog post. Do any of these statements resonate with you? If so, it’s probably time to start thinking about how you are going to make a change in 2015!

A new year is a great opportunity to reevaluate your career goals and decide if 2008 (or 2015) is the year that you’ll (finally) focus on finding a new job or career.

Is this your year?  Do any of these bullet points sound familiar?

  • You dread going to work. Thinking about your job gives you a twitch, or that familiar stress feeling in your neck.
  • You aren’t being paid what you are worth.  You need to make more money to support your lifestyle or family.
  • You have always dreamed (or at least thought about) a career in a different industry or setting.
  • Your work consumes you.  You are working so many hours that you don’t have time for anything else in your life, and you want more.
  • Your job is  having a negative impact on your health.

If any of these describe your situation, now is the time to plan for a move.  Although a job hunt may sound like a lot of work, with the right tools and attitude, you can successfully transition to a new job or career.  Stay tuned for more about how to get started!

Don’t make this major job search mistake

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job search mistakeHave you ever made a big job search mistake and wish you could have a “do over?” Unfortunately, there are no do overs when it comes to job search, so avoid career-ending mistakes before they derail your search. [Read more…] about Don’t make this major job search mistake