Tag: career tools

4 Resume Mistakes You’re Making (And How to Fix Them)

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

Your resume is one of the most important tools you have when searching for a job. It’s your chance to make a good first impression and sell yourself as the best candidate for the role. However, if your resume is full of mistakes or doesn’t contain the right information, it could cost you the opportunity to even get your foot in the door. Here are some common resume mistakes to avoid:

1. Irrelevant Experience: It’s important to have the right professional experience showcased on your resume. Having the wrong experience will hurt not hep your chances of getting attention from the right employer or right job.

2. Not Structuring Your Resume Properly: Does your resume still have objectives on it? Please review that from your resume…right away. It’s so important to make sure that your resume showcases your actual talent and not just your experience. When I say that, I mean your resume must have a summary of your qualifications it should have a list of your skills, knowledge base and abilities either listed or highlighted at the top of your resume. It should also showcase how you can help the employer. The proper resume structure can sell you to the employer because they can see how you can benefit them.

3. Not Describing Your Experience Thoroughly: Are you leaving out any important details about your skills or experience? Make sure you include all relevant information about yourself so that the employer can get a complete picture of who you are. Also describe how you did the job by showcasing awards, certifications and your overall stellar performance in that position.

4. Do Not Add “Reference Available Upon Request” to your resume: Was your resume written in 1992? Then that’s the only resumes that have that line printed on there. It is so irrelevant to resumes now, due the mere fact that more employers are expecting you to have a list of references ready to represent. The reference list is another “career tool” you as a consummate professional need to have in your arsenal of career tools in your professional life.

So, there you have it – four resume mistakes that might be costing you the job of your dreams. But don’t worry, we’re here to help! If you need additional assistance crafting or editing your resume, please connect with me here and I would be happy to help. In the meantime, make sure to avoid these common mistakes and you’ll be on your way to landing that perfect job.

Looking for resume services, interview coaching, LinkedIn profile optimization and career strategy consultations? Go here.

If you are looking for help in the overall job market, interview tips and more, purchase my new book here.

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Best Career Change Action – Step #2

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

Does the idea of a career change fill you with dread, or are you excited for a new opportunity? If you’re stuck in a dead-end job, it might be time to consider making a change. But where do you even start? Here is Step #2 of Career Change Series. You can also find the link for Step #1 below.

Step #1 | Step #2 | Step #3 | Step #4 | Step #5

That’s it for this action step! Check out the rest of the Career Change Action Steps Series to learn more about making a career change. And don’t forget, if you’re looking for some extra help along the way, reach out to us here and we’ll be happy to chat with you about your options.

Looking for resume services, interview coaching, LinkedIn profile optimization and career strategy consultations? Go here.

If you are looking for help in the overall job market, interview tips and more, purchase my new book here.

Connect with me here

Follow me here: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Join my Facebook group

Cover Letters…Are they necessary anymore?

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

Do you have a resume or cover letter written to peak interest on your resume? This is the main purpose of your cover letter. The cover letter is part of the career tools to help you with your career success. You can also check out my book to get other samples of useful cover letters here.

If you are looking for additional assistance with your career planning? Schedule your Career Strategy, Interview Coaching, Resume Consultations and more here.

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Work From Home Jobs Thursdays

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

Here are some work at home positions you can take advantage of now! I will be sharing work from home jobs (WAH/WFH) jobs on a weekly basis. I want you guys to win the job market, so this is just one way to provide help. Here are the specific positions listed below:

1. Part time Program Support Specialist

2. Administrative Assistant

3. Hypertension Peer Mentor $16-18 per hour

Looking for resume services, interview coaching and career strategy consultations?
Go here.

If you are looking for help in the overall job market, interview tips and more, purchase my new book here.

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Why is a “Summary Statement” needed on your resume?

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

I know you hear me talking about how important resumes are in your career development but don’t ignore it.. Did you know that your “well written” resume helps to communicate your your skills, knowledge based and qualifications to potential employers? Do you understand that it showcase what you can do for employers, when written strategically?

I need you to truly understand your resume is the advertisement for the business of YOU! Let that sink in for a moment. Do you think you didn’t have to sell when looking for jobs or career opportunities? Think again!

There are five to six key elements to an efficiently written resume. In this article, we will discuss one of the most important attention grabbing elements.

Your SUMMARY STATEMENTS (Summary Paragraph)
So, you’re asking me, what is a summary statement on a resume. It is a one to three statements communicating your specific years of expertise, knowledge base and skills relevant to the industry or position(s) for which you are applying. This paragraph should mention specific key words associated with the actual position, so it may change frequently based on the position(s). If you are over the age of forty years old, you may have some familiarity with the “OBJECTIVE” on a resume. The summary paragraph took the place of the objective and communicated more efficiently with the employer about what you have to offer.

Do you have a summary paragraph on your resume? If not, here is a sample I provided to one of my clients when I completed a full resume revision for them. They were applying for social work and youth rehabilitation type of positions for group homes and orphanages.

“Solid 20+ years of results oriented experience in social work and youth counseling with strong emphasis in teaching youth self-control, life skills, self-esteem and self-motivation. Consistently exceeding company goals and service expectations. Skilled in developing and implementing standardized policies and procedures that tangibly improved the lives of the youth population systematically.”

Now, this summary paragraph gave the employer a snapshot of what my client’s skills, their capabilities and their years of experience accomplishing the goals in their role. Now, keep in mind, the rest of the resume should quantify all the statements in the summary paragraph but it paints a great picture of my client so far.

By the way, does your resume have a summary paragraph helping to sell your skills, knowledge base, experience and qualification? If not, then a couple of resources to help you with that. If you’re looking to have your resume reviewed to see if it is working for you…then check out my first resource here. If you need your resume to be complete rewritten or created because you don’t have one or have a ineffective one….then check out my second resource here.

I want you to win in your career and your economic life, so your #1 career tool, also known as your resume, must work for you, not against you. If you have any questions about resumes, careers, interviewing or negotiation strategies, you can leave me a voicemail message by clicking the gray “send voicemail” tab on the right side of the page or go here and send me an email.

Don’t Use Controversial Marketing in Your Career

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

In the last few weeks, we have seen an interesting example of #controversialmarketing at work in the #AyeshaCurry situation. I personally didn’t find what she said so controversial or ridiculous, but apparently enough people had so much content to address her statement that it cause her to garner FREE press to announce a new cooking show she’s doing.

This type of #marketing may work for celebrities but not in the corporate professional space.

If you want to assure your #careertools are marketing you well, check out my resource here.

Wanting to connect?Please do so here

Social Media can Make or Break Your Career Opportunities…Be Vigilant!

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

When it come to #socialmedia…. you’ve got to be careful what type of information you place on your profiles.

Take at look at all of your social media profiles right now and answer these questions:
1. Does your profile represent you positively or negatively?

2. What are you communicating about yourself in those profiles?

3. Will the info on your profile help or hurt your chances of landing the #careeropportunity of your choice?

How you answer those questions will determine how much adjustments is needed on your #socialmediaprofiles.

If you need to get your profile reviewed to make sure it’s working for you professionally, then go here.

Want to connect with me on general career questions? Go here.

Focus On What You Can Control

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

Can you control when a company puts out an ad for an open position? You can only control how you respond to the open position. In life & your career, there are some factors that are out of your control, so don’t concentrate on that. Focus on how you represent yourself in-person and on paper with your #careertools, to get the best possible results.

If you’re not sure if your career tools like your #resumes #coverletters or #lettersofrecommendation represent you well…check out my resource here to make sure tools are working for you in the #jobmarket.

Want to connect with me? Please do so here.

When Opportunity Meets Preparation…Great things happen!

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

In today’s #job market, being prepared is absolutely critical…if you want to be successful. Having your career tools in top notch condition should be no different.

What are your career tools? Your resumes, coverletters and letters of recommendation….just to name a few.

If your current career tools aren’t working for you...check out my resource here where your career tools will get the revision boost they need to get you the career opportunity of a lifetime!

Want to connect with me? Please do so here.

Are you working towards career goals or the career your parents though was great?

Posted on by MentorShelly, the DREAM Career Coach

Time and time again I have heard friends and co-workers talk about how they ended up going into medicine, becoming an attorney or taking over the family business all stemming from the voices of parents, relatives and friends that mean well. The only problem…YOU’RE MISERABLE! Let that sink in for a moment.

I can personally attest to this fact in my own career journey. I may have mentioned in previous podcasts or video episodes that I started my college career right out of high school in the physical therapy program. My mother thought physical therapy was a great career path and as an obedient high school graduate who had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I only knew at the time, that I wanted to help people in some way, just the how, where and in what capacity was not so clear to me at the time. I just went with my mother’s plan until I started in core science classes and laboratory work.

I discovered in those classes how much I hated working with body parts and being exposed to bodily fluids on a regular basis. I like learning about the body from a scientific perspective but touching dead frogs, cats, possums and other dead creatures gross me out. I eventually changed by major to business administration with the concentration in human resources.

This experience taught me to NEVER do something because someone else wants you to do but do it for yourself. If you’re going to work hard on a career path, at least do something that gives you some satisfaction, outside of just getting paid due to family demands. If you are looking to make your career transition and don’t know where to start, go here.

You can grab your FREE DREAM Career Guide to start your career transition process and not have to suffer through stinky frogs in college to figure out your ideal career path.

Want to connect with me? Go here.