Don’t be a Fool this April Fools!

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April Fools

“Hello, may I speak with Ms. Ineeda Job? Great, I wanted to let you know that your resume was very impressive and you blew us out of the water with your interview! We wanted to offer you the position and extend you a $15,000 sign-on bonus!” (Shakes Booty!!) “Would you like to accept?” “Definitely!” “Awesome, just one more thing before we make you official. I have one more point I would like to review with you.” “Yeah sure!” “APRIL FOOLS!”

Think how your jaw would drop if this was to happen to you! What would your next step be? How would you feel?

Good thing that is totally never going to happen, but think about how you can prepare yourself to lock in your job of choice. How do you prepare for applying to a job of your liking? Do you customize your resume to fit more closely to the job description? What about researching the company so that you show you are aligned with their values?

Customized Resume:

With going this route, you can be sure that if the application is being scanned electronically that your keywords will be picked up. Most times the applications are reviewed electronically before a person gets to place their eye on your application. Placing the keywords from the job description in your resume will be well worth the time and bring you a major return.

OUT WITH THE OBJECTIVE AND IN WITH THE SKILLS!

“Bye Felicia!” Replace that outdated objective box with a table of your skills! The objective box is no longer needed. We already know that you are looking for a job… that’s why you are applying. (Duh) With adding this skills table/list at the top of your resume, you are placing your most marketable skills right after your name and contact information.

Your skills should be 70% hard skills and 30% soft skills!

What the heck is a “HARD SKILL”?

A hard skill is basically what it says, something that is hard to learn and related to the profession. Meaning you have a special skill that not everyone has, so tell the company about them!

Still need an example?? No problem. Here is a list of hard skills that could get your brain juices flowing for what you may need to add to your resume.

Accounting Foreign Language
Graphic Design Machinery Operation (Fork Lift, Cranes…)
Java Technical Writing
Project Management Bookkeeping
Computer Skills (Excel, Access…) Process Improvement

And a “SOFT SKILL”…?

A soft skill represents social values and personality traits. So all of the ingredients that make you… YOU!

But just in case you need some help bragging about yourself, here is a list to give you a push. (Thank me later.)

Collaborative Self-Motivated
Dependable Team Player
Creative Communication
Leadership Networking
Adaptability Organization

Now do the Bunny Hop and get going with updating your resume.

Bunny Hop

Remember I am here to help you with this journey for your career, you are not alone. Book your Free 15-minute consultation to chat with me and discuss your career goals.

Feel free to take a look at my list of services.

Lets Brush it up with the Career Guru Touch!

J. Michelle

Spring Cleaning your Resume

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(Takes in a DEEP BREATH… ahhhh chooooo!) Ah Spring is around the corner, time to get the cleaning. So I need to pack my winter clothes up. Buy my plants for the yard. Oh and stock up on the allergy medicine! What else could I do to prepare for the Springtime Growth??

Hmm…Oh!!! Clean up my resume! Out with the old and in with the new! Yes, please take a moment to knock the dust off your resume, I won’t look. (Peeking…👀 lol)

2 heads are better than 1, so let me help you make this clean up go a bit smoother.

First off if you have more than 10 years of history listed you can CUT IT! The 5 most recent years are where you make the most impact and are where employers are looking. 5 – 10 years can still be listed on your resume, but the details will be limited to show just DATE, COMPANY, and POSITION. This time frame applies to everything on your resume.

Page 1, Page 2…. really a Page 3?!?! Excuse me while we take the trimmers to your resume and get it down to a 2 page MAX! Remember your cover letter will give you the additional space to brag. (Fall in Love with your Cover Letter February 2020)

Of course the beautification of your resume is needed. Clip art is coming back into play along with header designs. Please remember “less is best”. When refreshing your font make sure to use clean and legible fonts such as Gadugi, Batang, and the classic Times New Roman. Attract the eye and create differentiation with using bold fonts like Kartika for your headers in the body of your resume.

Spring cleaning can be oh so rewarding! (Cha-Ching!)

Lets Brush it up with the Career Guru Touch!

J. Michelle

Fall in Love with your Cover Letter

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February is here! Who are you in love with? Your longtime boyfriend or girlfriend? A new crush? What about your cover letter?? Yes, I said your cover letter people! If you said no, then it’s time to make change that and open your heart!

Most of the time the cover letter gets no love, it’s has been labeled as the middle child of the career paperwork family. I am here to change that! The cover letter is your way of bragging about how awesome you are to future employers.

We know you love yourself, so put in on paper! This is your time to sell yourself and hey basically say this is what makes me the BOMB!

Tip for Writing Your Cover Letter:

  1. Start by saying that you are sooooo happy to see that this position is out there and that the company is aligned with your values. (This lets them know that you have done some research about the company. You can thank me later.)
  2. Brag! Brag! Brag! Give a summary of your top skills, major changes, and the amount of experience that you have that will make you a prime candidate for this open role! During this time use NUMBERS! Yes, say you have 4 years of experience. Yes, say you increased sale by 16% in 2 months. Numbers are your friend.
  3. Drop them your DIGITS! Seal the deal AND let them know how to get in contact with you to keep the conversation going.

So, let the love flow on the paper and BRAG BABY BRAG!

Lets Brush it up with the Career Guru Touch!

J. Michelle xoxo

 

Getting Out of Minimum Wage for 2020!

With January 2020 now here, have you thought about how you are going to get yourself out of the Minimum Wage pool? If not, why? Currently with making minimum wage are you able to live stress free? Are you able to pay all your bills on time and save money?

Thinking about those questions do you feel motivated to get over baseline pay? You should.

I made more than minimum wage at my first job at JCPenney, making $7.35 an hour. And my next job at the age of 16 I was making $7.75 plus commission and at the age of 18 right after high school I was making $11.12 in a retail environment. You know you couldn’t tell me anything. I was never big on settling and making $11.12 was not nearly enough, so I made the leap and started working at a call center in 2012 making $15.10 an hour.

At that point, payday was a big deal for me. I had no bills and no real responsibilities so I was BALLING!! (Or so I thought…) I was working at a job that people were dying to get in because they heard they started employees at $15 an hour or more. But I was shown the light very shortly after getting the job. I was so stressed and I remember the day I put in my 2 weeks notice I called my mom and I said “Mommy (Don’t judge!), I am going back to school because I want someone to pay me not to be abused.” I finished my 2 weeks and then went to attend college.

I can now say that I am being paid well above minimum wage and am no longer being abused by customers. But I want you to be like me or matter of fact better than me!

I have a few suggestions on how you can Get Out Minimum Wage in 2020:

Research your future career path. Taking the time to do some research on your future career path can be a huge eye opener and a time saver. Putting in the time to figure out the projection of your career path can help you see if the field is declining, if requirements are changing, or if this is something that you really want to do.

Update your resume. When you apply for your next job your resume is the first extension of you so you need to make sure it is showcasing your best career, education, and community accomplishments. Your resume needs to be updated at all times! (MAJOR KEY!) Start now with my help!

Network your way. We always say “the world is so small”, but are you using that to your benefit? It is tons of networking opportunities either within your company or in the community. LinkedIn is a major starting point to allow people to connect with others. Volunteer with organizations that are aligned with your career goals to connect with members who are where you want to be or have been where you need to be.
With starting with these few steps not only will you have a better direction of where you are headed, but you will also have a better idea of what you need to do to make your future career path possible.

Lets Brush it up with the Career Guru Touch!

J. Michelle