I recently had a brief email conversation about an article I just wrote in three parts. It covered how a hiring manager sees candidates. I received a comment that was reasonable. The bottom line is there is so much information out there, how do you know what is helpful and what is not. It also is really saying what is worth paying for and what is not worth paying for. Very good questions that I am sure most people ask themselves. I agree.
I just did a search on the internet for, job search advice. It had over 90 million results. No wonder it is a difficult decision. I think there are a number of things that what you say bring to mind.
How do you separate the wheat from the chaff of quality versus worthless information, advice and tips?
Now, while it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, it is not impossible. One has to separate the assumptions that most start with that result in the false conclusions they come up with. Let me see if I can illustrate what I mean.
I pointed out in this and several other articles, the method the vast majority use to find a job is antiquated at best. I also wrote an article about the origins and evolution of the job search methodology. In the late 1940s and 1950s into the 1960s companies were struggling to find people. That is when employment agencies came into existence. They ran ads (either real or fictitious) to attract a job seeker to their office. When the individual went there they were interviewed. It wasn’t what you and I would expect as an interview. It was rudimentary and just to collect basic information. The recruiter filled out paper work and then the candidate waited in a holding pen. The recruiter immediately called numerous companies that might need a person like the one they had just interviewed.
When they came upon one, they sent the person to an interview with the company. They reported back to the recruiter with the results. In this case the candidate paid the employment agency not as it is today, where the company pays the recruiter. It evolved slightly when people became more mobile for their jobs. They might answer ads in the newspaper in a locale. They sent a cover letter and resume (work history) to the company. They got a call to interview over the phone, then a face to face.
It has not gone much further than that today as you know. Yes, we have added the technology of computers, Blackberries and the speed and distance it can cover. It also adds to the job seekers ability to research companies. Other than that not much has changed. You can see that it really was a strong demand for people and many people seeking jobs so it was a matching process and not much more. Today, it is a weak demand for people, a large supply and very little process wise to match the two.
You may have read my description of how jobs have become very complex today. Think back over your career and how your work has changed in complexity for many different reasons. That is not taking into consideration the complexity of the challenges and the culture of companies today.
The question becomes why are people still trying to simply match what is on paper with what a company says it needs in an ad (job posting)? I think you can see how difficult that is for the employer. It is obviously equally difficult for the job seeker to know what the employer wants and present it on the old standard resume.
All of that long winded explanation leads back to the separation question. The assumption job seekers should make is, what advice, information, training, coaching, etc, is offered that is not the 1950s, 1960s style process.
My partner and I have been following our process for many years. My partner recognized long ago what I just explained. He learned how to find out from an employer, specifically what a hiring manager, wanted as the ideal candidate for that specific position they needed right then. From there he developed and we have refined over time, how to follow that process to finding the exact person that would fit and qualify them to know they were qualified. Then, we presented them to the client. But, not just present them, but present them in a manner that showed the hiring manager they were exactly what he/she was looking for in the position. We then prepared the candidate to present themselves properly, asking questions only we knew to ask because we asked the right questions up front. The candidate’s education, skills, experience and accomplishments matched with the questions as the answers. We prepared the candidate how to get an offer and how to properly negotiate it so it was as win-win for both employer and candidate. It takes a great deal of work. It works every time.
That is not anywhere close to the traditional method. I could go on for what would seem like hundreds of pages with the details.
I don’t know how much research you have done to find good information on a job search, but neither my partner, our researchers, nor I have been able to find a process near to what we have put together. All others we have encountered have some variation that leads to the traditional process.
My advice is simply to question every piece of advice and ask why would that advance what I am trying to accomplish? If it won’t do anything different then it probably isn’t a help. Just changing how a resume looks isn’t going to get anyone’s attention. Knowing how to answer the question, what are your strengths ten different ways, isn’t going to wow a hiring manager. If you present yourself with information of how you can solve their specific problems, then you will get their attention.
That is just a sample of the issues. There are many more to overcome. Everyone’s mind set is so ingrained on the rules. The fact is there really aren’t rules yet everyone is fixated on them instead of thinking through what does the hiring manger want? And, it is beyond that, because every hiring manager wants something different even for the same titled position. We teach how to know all of that and how to respond to all of it. We go further to teach how to get the offer and how to get the one you want.
I hope that brings some clarity and not muddy the waters further.
This is why we take 5 hours to explain it in our webinars and another hour just for resumes.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
New Jobs Bill - Help for the Unemployed (Not)
Why are we doing another jobs bill? Last year a $154 billion bill was passed. It hasn't made a bit of difference. Now, we are doing it again with a bill of only$15 billion. I guess that means less is more? I thought if a lot did little then a little will do less.
Once again, job seekers will read about the bill and get optimistic their situation will change. The President and Congress have done it again. They are playing on the hopes and fears of the people to spend more money they don't have. What is the saying, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Who is fooling who?
Elementary economics taught to freshmen is that job creation is a result of savings and investing. Who is foolish enough to believe that taking tax dollars from some one's pocket and printing money to spend will create a job. The only job it creates is for the printer and the IRS. If they are government jobs they are not producing any goods or services that are paid for by a buyer and a profit is made to be reinvested. Did the WPA work during the Depression? No. Why is the government foolish enough now to think it will work now? For that matter why would they think any of the policies started by Hoover, adopted by Roosevelt and advanced by him would work when they prolonged the Depression? We are going down that very same path. I thought we were supposed to learn from history?
Let's stop the nonsense. Let's tell the emperor we actually know he doesn't have any clothes on. We were just being polite and his cronies are just yes men (and women).
Let's help the unemployed in real terms. Let's have a sound monetary and fiscal policy that takes the power to regulate interest rates and puts it where it works best, in the market place. Let's stop propping up bad businesses and let their assets go to companies that are well managed and wants to buy them with real money. Then the workers can go to work with an ease of mind. Let's stop the printing presses so our money does not devalue. Finally, let's stop spending money we don't have so we don't have to continue to sell the country to China tomorrow.
All of that would help those unemployed by allowing for real job creation not smoke and mirrors. Then the unemployed would consist of former politicians and bad business managers.
Wow, glad I got that off my chest. Seriously, this is what it takes. Career Talk Guys know what we offer helps individuals in good and bad economic times . We created our program from what we have been doing for others for years because of the severity of the times. We know to really end the problem it will take courage and efforts of the great people of this nation to say enough to bad politics, bad economics and the government's self interest disguised as being in our best interest.
In the mean time we will continue to help those who want to gain employment learn the skills that will create their success. You can see other articles at our site and our programs at http://www.careertalkguys.com/.
Once again, job seekers will read about the bill and get optimistic their situation will change. The President and Congress have done it again. They are playing on the hopes and fears of the people to spend more money they don't have. What is the saying, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Who is fooling who?
Elementary economics taught to freshmen is that job creation is a result of savings and investing. Who is foolish enough to believe that taking tax dollars from some one's pocket and printing money to spend will create a job. The only job it creates is for the printer and the IRS. If they are government jobs they are not producing any goods or services that are paid for by a buyer and a profit is made to be reinvested. Did the WPA work during the Depression? No. Why is the government foolish enough now to think it will work now? For that matter why would they think any of the policies started by Hoover, adopted by Roosevelt and advanced by him would work when they prolonged the Depression? We are going down that very same path. I thought we were supposed to learn from history?
Let's stop the nonsense. Let's tell the emperor we actually know he doesn't have any clothes on. We were just being polite and his cronies are just yes men (and women).
Let's help the unemployed in real terms. Let's have a sound monetary and fiscal policy that takes the power to regulate interest rates and puts it where it works best, in the market place. Let's stop propping up bad businesses and let their assets go to companies that are well managed and wants to buy them with real money. Then the workers can go to work with an ease of mind. Let's stop the printing presses so our money does not devalue. Finally, let's stop spending money we don't have so we don't have to continue to sell the country to China tomorrow.
All of that would help those unemployed by allowing for real job creation not smoke and mirrors. Then the unemployed would consist of former politicians and bad business managers.
Wow, glad I got that off my chest. Seriously, this is what it takes. Career Talk Guys know what we offer helps individuals in good and bad economic times . We created our program from what we have been doing for others for years because of the severity of the times. We know to really end the problem it will take courage and efforts of the great people of this nation to say enough to bad politics, bad economics and the government's self interest disguised as being in our best interest.
In the mean time we will continue to help those who want to gain employment learn the skills that will create their success. You can see other articles at our site and our programs at http://www.careertalkguys.com/.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Resume and CV - Exposed
Everyone who really likes their resume raise your hands. Now, everyone who feels theirs is really better and different from everyone else’s raise your hands.
When those two questions are asked, the results are always the same. A fair number will raise their hand in response to the first question. A few or less will raise their hand to the second. Isn’t that odd in this day and age when you can find truckloads of information about that special resume, or advice from experts, all claiming your resume will be special, unique to you?
Resumes have been around for decades. Resumes are the accepted and habitual standard for presenting your credentials in a potential employment situation. Everybody uses them. Everybody is continually trying to find the best one that will get the attention they want from a potential employer.
There is a complete industry of those who believe they are experts in writing resumes, and they probably are experts in that traditional format. At the same time, they simply take the same information you had on your previous resume and rearrange it in another format. They may change some wording to make it read better or make suggestions about how to express your experience better. Some may go as far as to replace the standard format with one built on action terms or vague suggestions. The bottom line is it is still the same, a resume. It does not express your qualifications in a different light that a hiring manager would sit up and take notice.
The problem is a two way street. Hiring managers and HR professionals would love to see something that would make their task easier. For decades we have heard a continual cry of dissatisfaction with “resumes”. To review mountains of resumes that very quickly all start to look alike is not advantageous to anyone. You and all other job seekers get frustrated with the lack of response and the negative responses received. The prospective employers get frustrated, because the start to believe there is no well qualified individual that will solve their problem.
When an interview is obtained, it is difficult for those conducting the interview to look carefully at the resume and ask effective questions. Too many times the questions asked can be answered by the resume had the interviewer read it. Time may have been a factor, but the information may have been a factor as well. The information did not tell them anything different than the prior resume.
How do you change this? Can it be changed? It would appear that decades of use have cemented resumes to be the credential presentation tool forever. It has conditioned job seekers and prospective employers both into expecting a resume, in the expected format, with the expected information. And, no one is really excited about any of it.
There are a couple of factors that can show the resume trap can be changed and a welcome change it is!
The first factor is that job seekers want to send their resume to anything that remotely looks like a potential job for them. They know very little real facts about the position other than what a job posting explains or what a job description reveals. Ask yourself the question; “How can a hiring manager get anything concrete out of a generic resume that is sent for any job?” Sure, you can tailor to the position description as some would advise you. However, it is still only a resume for any job no matter what anyone tries to claim. You know that to be true, because you get the same results, little or no response.
This leads to the question of how do you change that situation? Before we answer that, consider the potential employer.
The second factor is the employer’s perspective. The hiring manager is expected to ferret out of a sea of sameness the one or two that meet the multi-dimensions of their unique position. Every position is different from every other regardless that the title may be the same and the job description is very similar. The challenges are different and the culture is different among other factors. How can a hiring manager know anything about a candidate, if all they see is a resume based on a one dimensional description? This one dimensional resume causes a lack of response. If there is a response it may be an unproductive (dreaded by everyone) telephone interview.
How do you resolve this situation? It has to happen like this:
The job seeker needs to know to what industry and companies are they best suited and therefore should contact.
Skilled research is required to learn and understand what might be a fit.
Effectively executed contact with companies and associations is necessary to learn important information that focuses your search.
Developing a presentation format of your credentials that matches a company’s needs for the position you want.
Finally, you now stand out among others in the industry where you will be best recognized for your talents and accomplishments.
There is a great deal more to this, but to be very elaborate would take volumes of pages.
What this type of strategy does is change the process completely. It puts you in charge. It empowers you to present what the prospective employer wants (provided you match, and your research will tell you that).
Career Talk Guys have decades of success helping candidates master this process and get the job they want. This process places you in the position the obtain job you want with the employer who most values your abilities to contribute.
We teach people the skills to present their professional abilities in the manner the hiring manager desperately wants to see. This revolutionary, but highly effective means of presentation creates a confidence in gaining results you simply lack when suing a standard resume We train you in the skills to conduct the process of a job search throughout the process and ending in your first day with your new employer. But, if you do not choose us, find someone that can teach you these skills. You will never regret it and it will change your odds dramatically and positively impact those to whom you present your credentials.
Career Talk Guys are not resume writers. We have 50 years of combined experience of learning what employers seek in a qualified candidate. We are masters at conducting skilled research into new opportunities. Our experience is unmatched at the creation of interviews. We know what it takes to prepare the professional and employer to meet and achieve mutual success. Now, we are making those skills and techniques available to anyone who is tired of a lack of results applying old school, worn-out practices centering on a resume.
We changed the process for your success.
When those two questions are asked, the results are always the same. A fair number will raise their hand in response to the first question. A few or less will raise their hand to the second. Isn’t that odd in this day and age when you can find truckloads of information about that special resume, or advice from experts, all claiming your resume will be special, unique to you?
Resumes have been around for decades. Resumes are the accepted and habitual standard for presenting your credentials in a potential employment situation. Everybody uses them. Everybody is continually trying to find the best one that will get the attention they want from a potential employer.
There is a complete industry of those who believe they are experts in writing resumes, and they probably are experts in that traditional format. At the same time, they simply take the same information you had on your previous resume and rearrange it in another format. They may change some wording to make it read better or make suggestions about how to express your experience better. Some may go as far as to replace the standard format with one built on action terms or vague suggestions. The bottom line is it is still the same, a resume. It does not express your qualifications in a different light that a hiring manager would sit up and take notice.
The problem is a two way street. Hiring managers and HR professionals would love to see something that would make their task easier. For decades we have heard a continual cry of dissatisfaction with “resumes”. To review mountains of resumes that very quickly all start to look alike is not advantageous to anyone. You and all other job seekers get frustrated with the lack of response and the negative responses received. The prospective employers get frustrated, because the start to believe there is no well qualified individual that will solve their problem.
When an interview is obtained, it is difficult for those conducting the interview to look carefully at the resume and ask effective questions. Too many times the questions asked can be answered by the resume had the interviewer read it. Time may have been a factor, but the information may have been a factor as well. The information did not tell them anything different than the prior resume.
How do you change this? Can it be changed? It would appear that decades of use have cemented resumes to be the credential presentation tool forever. It has conditioned job seekers and prospective employers both into expecting a resume, in the expected format, with the expected information. And, no one is really excited about any of it.
There are a couple of factors that can show the resume trap can be changed and a welcome change it is!
The first factor is that job seekers want to send their resume to anything that remotely looks like a potential job for them. They know very little real facts about the position other than what a job posting explains or what a job description reveals. Ask yourself the question; “How can a hiring manager get anything concrete out of a generic resume that is sent for any job?” Sure, you can tailor to the position description as some would advise you. However, it is still only a resume for any job no matter what anyone tries to claim. You know that to be true, because you get the same results, little or no response.
This leads to the question of how do you change that situation? Before we answer that, consider the potential employer.
The second factor is the employer’s perspective. The hiring manager is expected to ferret out of a sea of sameness the one or two that meet the multi-dimensions of their unique position. Every position is different from every other regardless that the title may be the same and the job description is very similar. The challenges are different and the culture is different among other factors. How can a hiring manager know anything about a candidate, if all they see is a resume based on a one dimensional description? This one dimensional resume causes a lack of response. If there is a response it may be an unproductive (dreaded by everyone) telephone interview.
How do you resolve this situation? It has to happen like this:
The job seeker needs to know to what industry and companies are they best suited and therefore should contact.
Skilled research is required to learn and understand what might be a fit.
Effectively executed contact with companies and associations is necessary to learn important information that focuses your search.
Developing a presentation format of your credentials that matches a company’s needs for the position you want.
Finally, you now stand out among others in the industry where you will be best recognized for your talents and accomplishments.
There is a great deal more to this, but to be very elaborate would take volumes of pages.
What this type of strategy does is change the process completely. It puts you in charge. It empowers you to present what the prospective employer wants (provided you match, and your research will tell you that).
Career Talk Guys have decades of success helping candidates master this process and get the job they want. This process places you in the position the obtain job you want with the employer who most values your abilities to contribute.
We teach people the skills to present their professional abilities in the manner the hiring manager desperately wants to see. This revolutionary, but highly effective means of presentation creates a confidence in gaining results you simply lack when suing a standard resume We train you in the skills to conduct the process of a job search throughout the process and ending in your first day with your new employer. But, if you do not choose us, find someone that can teach you these skills. You will never regret it and it will change your odds dramatically and positively impact those to whom you present your credentials.
Career Talk Guys are not resume writers. We have 50 years of combined experience of learning what employers seek in a qualified candidate. We are masters at conducting skilled research into new opportunities. Our experience is unmatched at the creation of interviews. We know what it takes to prepare the professional and employer to meet and achieve mutual success. Now, we are making those skills and techniques available to anyone who is tired of a lack of results applying old school, worn-out practices centering on a resume.
We changed the process for your success.
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Resumes and CVs – Exposed
Everyone who really likes their resume raise your hands. Now, everyone who feels theirs is really better and different from everyone else’s raise your hands.
When those two questions are asked, the results are always the same. A fair number will raise their hand in response to the first question. A few or less will raise their hand to the second. Isn’t that odd in this day and age when you can find truckloads of information about that special resume, or advice from experts, all claiming your resume will be special, unique to you?
Resumes have been around for decades. Resumes are the accepted and habitual standard for presenting your credentials in a potential employment situation. Everybody uses them. Everybody is continually trying to find the best one that will get the attention they want from a potential employer.
There is a complete industry of those who believe they are experts in writing resumes, and they probably are experts in that traditional format. At the same time, they simply take the same information you had on your previous resume and rearrange it in another format. They may change some wording to make it read better or make suggestions about how to express your experience better. Some may go as far as to replace the standard format with one built on action terms or vague suggestions. The bottom line is it is still the same, a resume. It does not express your qualifications in a different light that a hiring manager would sit up and take notice.
The problem is a two way street. Hiring managers and HR professionals would love to see something that would make their task easier. For decades we have heard a continual cry of dissatisfaction with “resumes”. To review mountains of resumes that very quickly all start to look alike is not advantageous to anyone. You and all other job seekers get frustrated with the lack of response and the negative responses received. The prospective employers get frustrated, because the start to believe there is no well qualified individual that will solve their problem.
When an interview is obtained, it is difficult for those conducting the interview to look carefully at the resume and ask effective questions. Too many times the questions asked can be answered by the resume had the interviewer read it. Time may have been a factor, but the information may have been a factor as well. The information did not tell them anything different than the prior resume.
How do you change this? Can it be changed? It would appear that decades of use have cemented resumes to be the credential presentation tool forever. It has conditioned job seekers and prospective employers both into expecting a resume, in the expected format, with the expected information. And, no one is really excited about any of it.
There are a couple of factors that can show the resume trap can be changed and a welcome change it is!
The first factor is that job seekers want to send their resume to anything that remotely looks like a potential job for them. They know very little real facts about the position other than what a job posting explains or what a job description reveals. Ask yourself the question; “How can a hiring manager get anything concrete out of a generic resume that is sent for any job?” Sure, you can tailor to the position description as some would advise you. However, it is still only a resume for any job no matter what anyone tries to claim. You know that to be true, because you get the same results, little or no response.
This leads to the question of how do you change that situation? Before we answer that, consider the potential employer.
The second factor is the employer’s perspective. The hiring manager is expected to ferret out of a sea of sameness the one or two that meet the multi-dimensions of their unique position. Every position is different from every other regardless that the title may be the same and the job description is very similar. The challenges are different and the culture is different among other factors. How can a hiring manager know anything about a candidate, if all they see is a resume based on a one dimensional description? This one dimensional resume causes a lack of response. If there is a response it may be an unproductive (dreaded by everyone) telephone interview.
How do you resolve this situation? It has to happen like this:
The job seeker needs to know to what industry and companies are they best suited and therefore should contact.
Skilled research is required to learn and understand what might be a fit.
Effectively executed contact with companies and associations is necessary to learn important information that focuses your search.
Developing a presentation format of your credentials that matches a company’s needs for the position you want.
Finally, you now stand out among others in the industry where you will be best recognized for your talents and accomplishments.
There is a great deal more to this, but to be very elaborate would take volumes of pages.
What this type of strategy does is change the process completely. It puts you in charge. It empowers you to present what the prospective employer wants (provided you match, and your research will tell you that).
Career Talk Guys have decades of success helping candidates master this process and get the job they want. This process places you in the position the obtain job you want With the employer who most values your abilities to contribute.
We teach people the skills to present their professional abilities in the manner the hiring manager desperately wants to see. This revolutionary, but highly effective means of presentation creates a confidence in gaining results you simply lack when suing a standard resume We train you in the skills to conduct the process of a job search throughout the process and ending in your first day with your new employer. But, if you do not choose us, find someone that can teach you these skills. You will never regret it and it will change your odds dramatically and positively impact those to whom you present your credentials.
Career Talk Guys are not resume writers. We have 50 years of combined experience of learning what employers seek in a qualified candidate. We are masters at conducting skilled research into new opportunities. Our experience is unmatched at the creation of interviews. We know what it takes to prepare the professional and employer to meet and achieve mutual success. Now, we are making those skills and techniques available to anyone who is tired of a lack of results applying the old school, worn-out practices centering on a resume.
We changed the process for your success.
When those two questions are asked, the results are always the same. A fair number will raise their hand in response to the first question. A few or less will raise their hand to the second. Isn’t that odd in this day and age when you can find truckloads of information about that special resume, or advice from experts, all claiming your resume will be special, unique to you?
Resumes have been around for decades. Resumes are the accepted and habitual standard for presenting your credentials in a potential employment situation. Everybody uses them. Everybody is continually trying to find the best one that will get the attention they want from a potential employer.
There is a complete industry of those who believe they are experts in writing resumes, and they probably are experts in that traditional format. At the same time, they simply take the same information you had on your previous resume and rearrange it in another format. They may change some wording to make it read better or make suggestions about how to express your experience better. Some may go as far as to replace the standard format with one built on action terms or vague suggestions. The bottom line is it is still the same, a resume. It does not express your qualifications in a different light that a hiring manager would sit up and take notice.
The problem is a two way street. Hiring managers and HR professionals would love to see something that would make their task easier. For decades we have heard a continual cry of dissatisfaction with “resumes”. To review mountains of resumes that very quickly all start to look alike is not advantageous to anyone. You and all other job seekers get frustrated with the lack of response and the negative responses received. The prospective employers get frustrated, because the start to believe there is no well qualified individual that will solve their problem.
When an interview is obtained, it is difficult for those conducting the interview to look carefully at the resume and ask effective questions. Too many times the questions asked can be answered by the resume had the interviewer read it. Time may have been a factor, but the information may have been a factor as well. The information did not tell them anything different than the prior resume.
How do you change this? Can it be changed? It would appear that decades of use have cemented resumes to be the credential presentation tool forever. It has conditioned job seekers and prospective employers both into expecting a resume, in the expected format, with the expected information. And, no one is really excited about any of it.
There are a couple of factors that can show the resume trap can be changed and a welcome change it is!
The first factor is that job seekers want to send their resume to anything that remotely looks like a potential job for them. They know very little real facts about the position other than what a job posting explains or what a job description reveals. Ask yourself the question; “How can a hiring manager get anything concrete out of a generic resume that is sent for any job?” Sure, you can tailor to the position description as some would advise you. However, it is still only a resume for any job no matter what anyone tries to claim. You know that to be true, because you get the same results, little or no response.
This leads to the question of how do you change that situation? Before we answer that, consider the potential employer.
The second factor is the employer’s perspective. The hiring manager is expected to ferret out of a sea of sameness the one or two that meet the multi-dimensions of their unique position. Every position is different from every other regardless that the title may be the same and the job description is very similar. The challenges are different and the culture is different among other factors. How can a hiring manager know anything about a candidate, if all they see is a resume based on a one dimensional description? This one dimensional resume causes a lack of response. If there is a response it may be an unproductive (dreaded by everyone) telephone interview.
How do you resolve this situation? It has to happen like this:
The job seeker needs to know to what industry and companies are they best suited and therefore should contact.
Skilled research is required to learn and understand what might be a fit.
Effectively executed contact with companies and associations is necessary to learn important information that focuses your search.
Developing a presentation format of your credentials that matches a company’s needs for the position you want.
Finally, you now stand out among others in the industry where you will be best recognized for your talents and accomplishments.
There is a great deal more to this, but to be very elaborate would take volumes of pages.
What this type of strategy does is change the process completely. It puts you in charge. It empowers you to present what the prospective employer wants (provided you match, and your research will tell you that).
Career Talk Guys have decades of success helping candidates master this process and get the job they want. This process places you in the position the obtain job you want With the employer who most values your abilities to contribute.
We teach people the skills to present their professional abilities in the manner the hiring manager desperately wants to see. This revolutionary, but highly effective means of presentation creates a confidence in gaining results you simply lack when suing a standard resume We train you in the skills to conduct the process of a job search throughout the process and ending in your first day with your new employer. But, if you do not choose us, find someone that can teach you these skills. You will never regret it and it will change your odds dramatically and positively impact those to whom you present your credentials.
Career Talk Guys are not resume writers. We have 50 years of combined experience of learning what employers seek in a qualified candidate. We are masters at conducting skilled research into new opportunities. Our experience is unmatched at the creation of interviews. We know what it takes to prepare the professional and employer to meet and achieve mutual success. Now, we are making those skills and techniques available to anyone who is tired of a lack of results applying the old school, worn-out practices centering on a resume.
We changed the process for your success.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Special Announcement
Doug Beabout and Kevin Sutton have a combined experience of over 50 years as talent acquisition consultants. We have helped hundreds of companies solve problems and thousands of candidates advance their careers.
Our most recent efforts have been to help anyone who is seeking their next opportunity. We developed skill-based training to teach job seekers the same skills we have used so successfully for them to achieve the success they want. Our training is created from real world, current success in this tough economy.
Recently a highly respected company also with many decades of years in training of various types has been using the words, Career Track, for a long time. They have requested that we choose another name for our company even though Career Track Experts is not their name.
One of our principals has always been to conduct our business with the highest level of honor and integrity. Remaining consistent with those values, we want to distance ourselves from anything that can be misinterpreted as inappropriate. Therefore, we are changing the name of our company to Career Talk Guys. We can be found now at www.careertalkguys.com.
For a short time, if someone uses www.careertrackexperts.com they will be redirected to www.CareerTalkGuys.com.
Our site addresses and career resource sites are:
Website www.careertalkguys.com
LinkedIn www.tinyurl.com/careertalkguys
Twitter www.twitter.com/CTGtweet
Google Group www.googlegroup.com/group/careertalkguys
Blog www.careertalkguys.blogspot.com
Ezine articles http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kevin_R_Sutton for Kevin
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Beabout for Doug
We hope this has not caused any inconvenience to you. We appreciate your interest and your participation in our webinars. We look forward to continuing to help all those seeking a new job for the very long term with www.CareerTalkGuys.com.
Sincerely,
Doug Beabout & Kevin Sutton
Principal Partners
www.CareerTalkGuys.com
Our most recent efforts have been to help anyone who is seeking their next opportunity. We developed skill-based training to teach job seekers the same skills we have used so successfully for them to achieve the success they want. Our training is created from real world, current success in this tough economy.
Recently a highly respected company also with many decades of years in training of various types has been using the words, Career Track, for a long time. They have requested that we choose another name for our company even though Career Track Experts is not their name.
One of our principals has always been to conduct our business with the highest level of honor and integrity. Remaining consistent with those values, we want to distance ourselves from anything that can be misinterpreted as inappropriate. Therefore, we are changing the name of our company to Career Talk Guys. We can be found now at www.careertalkguys.com.
For a short time, if someone uses www.careertrackexperts.com they will be redirected to www.CareerTalkGuys.com.
Our site addresses and career resource sites are:
Website www.careertalkguys.com
LinkedIn www.tinyurl.com/careertalkguys
Twitter www.twitter.com/CTGtweet
Google Group www.googlegroup.com/group/careertalkguys
Blog www.careertalkguys.blogspot.com
Ezine articles http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kevin_R_Sutton for Kevin
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Beabout for Doug
We hope this has not caused any inconvenience to you. We appreciate your interest and your participation in our webinars. We look forward to continuing to help all those seeking a new job for the very long term with www.CareerTalkGuys.com.
Sincerely,
Doug Beabout & Kevin Sutton
Principal Partners
www.CareerTalkGuys.com
Friday, February 12, 2010
Apples and Oranges in a Job Search (Or, Apples and Spoiled Fruit)
Below is a description of the common job search process. Most people have been conditioned to follow this process with minor variations. We thought it might be beneficial to provide a comparison to the mindset of the common practices and what we offer in the Skill-Based Job Search Training – Opportunity Acquisition Training System – (O.A.T.S.).
Traditional job search practice starting in the 1960’s has been:
· Transmit a resume to a prospective employer (I use the word transmit, because it may have been delivered by hand, snail mail, or where we email the information with today’s technology)
· Wait
· Follow Up
· Wait
· Transmit more resumes to more prospective employers
· Repeat the process
This scenario applies to ads, job postings, and even those who compile a list of companies and send a cover letter and resume.
If someone was lucky, they got an interview. They waited after the interview, followed up and waited, etc. Hopefully, they received an offer that was acceptable and accepted the position.
Sure there is networking; especially if you know someone. Maybe the person with whom you networked wanted your resume to give to someone. You waited, followed up, and maybe waited some more. Hopefully, they did give the resume to the person they said they would. Hopefully, that person is a hiring manager. Hopefully, they saw your resume as a potential solution to their problem (given that they need a qualified person for a particular position). There is a lot of hope in this process. Hope is a beautiful resource but not one that an effective process is built and dependent upon.
Over the years especially as technology has raced ahead and provided more tools than ever before, the delivery has gotten quicker. Fundamentally, not much has changed in the actual practices. Speed has not improved output but it does allow for faster screening out of your resume with scanners and software,
Because there has been little change in the basic practices, everyone accepts the process and see it as the norm. However, they may not be comfortable or optimistic with the potential outcome. I have heard it over and over again, the disappointment when no response or negative responses are all too frequently received. The weight of the collection, rejection, and silence is crushing for some.
Doug Beabout and I looked at each other one day and at the same time said, “We can help change this situation.” Our success as talent acquisition consultants is dependent upon helping companies that are not able to find the right person for a position. A clarification should be made here. Most companies are not good at attracting qualified people for many of their positions. Human resources professionals and hiring managers are very busy with other continuing responsibilities to master an effective recruiting process that needed on occasion.
Doug paints a very accurate and vivid picture of what it is like for most job seekers and employers trying to find each other. His description is, “it is like putting two people in a room, placing hoods over their heads, turning the lights off, closing the door and having them try to find each other.” We see it every day. Neither party is particularly gifted at finding the other. It is not the fault of either the applicant or the employer. The process is:
· A great deal of effort though most of it is unproductive
· A lot of searching with little strategic direction
· Hope upon hope something good will happen
· Frustration when effort yields little results
· Greater effort expended doing the same thing hoping for different results (and we all know what the genius, Albert Einstein said about that process)
Because what we do on a daily basis works every time, we knew it would work for others who were taught the right skills. Doug and I have successfully trained and taught others individually, in groups and in various types of environments. We chose the webinar format in order to reach as many people as possible while keeping it live and interactive.
Our process completely changes the dynamics of the traditional practices. Yeah, we pretty much need to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. It also changes Doug’s description.
Now the scene and process can look like this. Two people are in a room and only one person has a hood on (the prospective employer). The other does not have a hood (the job seeker). The lights are turned on in the room. Now the one with no hood (the job seeker) can take the hood off the other (the prospective employer). Now they can easily see each other as a result of your efforts. Therefore, the conversation becomes enlightening for both and a positive conclusion is the end result. The process now provides:
· The ability to take productive action
· The ability to choose (take the hood off or not)
· To know where you are going; straight to the employer
· You have control of your actions knowing what the potential results are
· You can open a dialogue
· You are helping someone who knows they have a problem, but does not know where to find the answer to the problem.
· You can influence the results of the encounter
· If you do not like the results, you can choose to move away and look for someone else with a hood you can remove
· You feel productive and in charge
· Then, if you want to change the outcome, you know how to change your actions to achieve it.
Which is more productive in resolving the problem? Which gives you real power in taking charge of your destiny? Which has little wasted effort with productive results, even if those results are to not choose that employer because they are not right for you?
Our O.A.T.S. training is envisioned best by the second illustration. However, many people can only see the first illustration. They may want the second but, do not know that it is possible. If they feel it is possible, they do not know how to make that happen.
We have taken years of practice and put it in a teachable format step by step, so you can take your hood off and see your opportunity. You can confidently know how to find an opportunity. You now know why it should be your opportunity. You can uncover what is inside it, and know how to approach the employer to get the results you want.
Isn’t that what everyone really wants to create with their job search process? Isn’t the first illustration what most have been conditioned to see as the normal process?
It is not a matter of changing any rules. It is seeing reality for what it is and taking effective steps to benefit by acting upon that reality. The process most have been conditioned to follow does not work well. The effective steps are:
· Knowing the hiring environment
· Doing the proper research
· Learning what you need to learn about specific companies and people
· Presenting your credentials in a manner that makes it obvious you are qualified
· Knowing how to interview effectively
· Proper follow up
· The right techniques for negotiating your offer and acceptance
I hope this illustrates what most job seekers have been conditioned to see as the normal course with poor results that have been around for decades. I hope it also reveals that there is training available right now that will allow you to change your focus. Finally, I hope it provides an avenue for everyone to find the success they want in an expeditious and effective way.
Both Doug and I know the process works from the combined 50 years of experience in prosecuting it on a daily basis.
Lastly, most people have invested heavily in their education to whatever level they have attained. They have either invested in further training at work, outside work, by their employer, or on their own. It was helpful and has made each person better at what they do. This training is no different, except it will allow you to take advantage of the other investments you have already made in yourself.
How VALUABLE is that for your FUTURE?
Traditional job search practice starting in the 1960’s has been:
· Transmit a resume to a prospective employer (I use the word transmit, because it may have been delivered by hand, snail mail, or where we email the information with today’s technology)
· Wait
· Follow Up
· Wait
· Transmit more resumes to more prospective employers
· Repeat the process
This scenario applies to ads, job postings, and even those who compile a list of companies and send a cover letter and resume.
If someone was lucky, they got an interview. They waited after the interview, followed up and waited, etc. Hopefully, they received an offer that was acceptable and accepted the position.
Sure there is networking; especially if you know someone. Maybe the person with whom you networked wanted your resume to give to someone. You waited, followed up, and maybe waited some more. Hopefully, they did give the resume to the person they said they would. Hopefully, that person is a hiring manager. Hopefully, they saw your resume as a potential solution to their problem (given that they need a qualified person for a particular position). There is a lot of hope in this process. Hope is a beautiful resource but not one that an effective process is built and dependent upon.
Over the years especially as technology has raced ahead and provided more tools than ever before, the delivery has gotten quicker. Fundamentally, not much has changed in the actual practices. Speed has not improved output but it does allow for faster screening out of your resume with scanners and software,
Because there has been little change in the basic practices, everyone accepts the process and see it as the norm. However, they may not be comfortable or optimistic with the potential outcome. I have heard it over and over again, the disappointment when no response or negative responses are all too frequently received. The weight of the collection, rejection, and silence is crushing for some.
Doug Beabout and I looked at each other one day and at the same time said, “We can help change this situation.” Our success as talent acquisition consultants is dependent upon helping companies that are not able to find the right person for a position. A clarification should be made here. Most companies are not good at attracting qualified people for many of their positions. Human resources professionals and hiring managers are very busy with other continuing responsibilities to master an effective recruiting process that needed on occasion.
Doug paints a very accurate and vivid picture of what it is like for most job seekers and employers trying to find each other. His description is, “it is like putting two people in a room, placing hoods over their heads, turning the lights off, closing the door and having them try to find each other.” We see it every day. Neither party is particularly gifted at finding the other. It is not the fault of either the applicant or the employer. The process is:
· A great deal of effort though most of it is unproductive
· A lot of searching with little strategic direction
· Hope upon hope something good will happen
· Frustration when effort yields little results
· Greater effort expended doing the same thing hoping for different results (and we all know what the genius, Albert Einstein said about that process)
Because what we do on a daily basis works every time, we knew it would work for others who were taught the right skills. Doug and I have successfully trained and taught others individually, in groups and in various types of environments. We chose the webinar format in order to reach as many people as possible while keeping it live and interactive.
Our process completely changes the dynamics of the traditional practices. Yeah, we pretty much need to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. It also changes Doug’s description.
Now the scene and process can look like this. Two people are in a room and only one person has a hood on (the prospective employer). The other does not have a hood (the job seeker). The lights are turned on in the room. Now the one with no hood (the job seeker) can take the hood off the other (the prospective employer). Now they can easily see each other as a result of your efforts. Therefore, the conversation becomes enlightening for both and a positive conclusion is the end result. The process now provides:
· The ability to take productive action
· The ability to choose (take the hood off or not)
· To know where you are going; straight to the employer
· You have control of your actions knowing what the potential results are
· You can open a dialogue
· You are helping someone who knows they have a problem, but does not know where to find the answer to the problem.
· You can influence the results of the encounter
· If you do not like the results, you can choose to move away and look for someone else with a hood you can remove
· You feel productive and in charge
· Then, if you want to change the outcome, you know how to change your actions to achieve it.
Which is more productive in resolving the problem? Which gives you real power in taking charge of your destiny? Which has little wasted effort with productive results, even if those results are to not choose that employer because they are not right for you?
Our O.A.T.S. training is envisioned best by the second illustration. However, many people can only see the first illustration. They may want the second but, do not know that it is possible. If they feel it is possible, they do not know how to make that happen.
We have taken years of practice and put it in a teachable format step by step, so you can take your hood off and see your opportunity. You can confidently know how to find an opportunity. You now know why it should be your opportunity. You can uncover what is inside it, and know how to approach the employer to get the results you want.
Isn’t that what everyone really wants to create with their job search process? Isn’t the first illustration what most have been conditioned to see as the normal process?
It is not a matter of changing any rules. It is seeing reality for what it is and taking effective steps to benefit by acting upon that reality. The process most have been conditioned to follow does not work well. The effective steps are:
· Knowing the hiring environment
· Doing the proper research
· Learning what you need to learn about specific companies and people
· Presenting your credentials in a manner that makes it obvious you are qualified
· Knowing how to interview effectively
· Proper follow up
· The right techniques for negotiating your offer and acceptance
I hope this illustrates what most job seekers have been conditioned to see as the normal course with poor results that have been around for decades. I hope it also reveals that there is training available right now that will allow you to change your focus. Finally, I hope it provides an avenue for everyone to find the success they want in an expeditious and effective way.
Both Doug and I know the process works from the combined 50 years of experience in prosecuting it on a daily basis.
Lastly, most people have invested heavily in their education to whatever level they have attained. They have either invested in further training at work, outside work, by their employer, or on their own. It was helpful and has made each person better at what they do. This training is no different, except it will allow you to take advantage of the other investments you have already made in yourself.
How VALUABLE is that for your FUTURE?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Relationship Between Seeking New Employment and the Economy
In many of the discussion boards, blogs, conversations, emails and other means of correspondence we receive, the buzz is about the poor economy in relation to their job search. We purposely have avoided that discussion. The reason why we have avoided it is that our business mission is not to change the economy. Obviously, no single business is capable of changing the entire economic situation. We have focused all discussions and efforts on our mission, which is:
“To help all those who desire success in seeking a new career opportunity by providing skill-based training that is time-tested and proven. To deliver real world training, not theories, in a proven job search system practiced on a daily basis and delivered in actionable steps.”
Nevertheless, we think there are a number of relevant points that can be brought out about job searches and the economy.
As a degreed economist, I may take a number of things for granted that are not common knowledge to many. It is no different than someone with an IT background discussing something with me and assuming some points that I am not at all knowledgeable about. I might think I understand but I am sure whatever I say would indicate my severe lack of knowledge in that area.
To set a baseline knowledge of economics, I will bring out some fundamental points. I hope they help illustrate why the economy is not doing well overall. Of greatest importance, I want to point out that those seeking a new job can still be successful in spite of the poor economy.
The most common comment I hear or read is, “my job search will go better when the economy turns around.” Or, “if the government would just get off its duff and create more jobs, then I would be able to get one.”
There is no question that if there were more jobs it might be easier for many to obtain employment or change jobs. The fact is that there are fewer jobs. With almost 36 million people out of work and an added 393,000 jobs according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. That is not much help.
How does the economy play into this issue? I want to make this brief and by no means am I looking to start long-winded discussions about economic theory. None of us have that kind of time. My purpose is to be of help, not put you to sleep!
The lack of jobs in the US is a result of the poor monetary and fiscal policy of the past and present administrations. For many years, Alan Greenspan and the Fed artificially lowered interest rates. The government also continued to print money. In addition, the administrations (past and present) have continued to spend money they did not have, continually increasing the debt.
Artificially lowering the interest rates creates what is referred to as malinvestment. Companies use interest rates as one signal to determine if they should and can borrow money for capital expenditures. If rates are low enough, they will borrow and spend on projects, expansions, acquisitions, etc. The problem with this is it is a false signal and the other costs associated with the projects, expansions, acquisitions, etc., are typically higher than would be acceptable to the company if the interest rates were controlled by the market. The end result is what many refer to as a “bubble” is created. That has to come to an end and when it does; there is the “bust”. Unemployment rises, jobs disappear, companies fail, and others contract.
From a historical perspective, this has happened over and over again. How the government responds is what really makes the difference when the bust happens. Keynesian theory encourages heavy government interaction. It wants to see massive government spending. It likes massive printing of money and more regulation of interest rates. All of this is done in the name of stimulating the economy. Other command and control theorists want more regulation of banking and other financial institutions.
Heavy intervention is the type of reaction the government responded with in the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it caused the depression to last until after WWII. If the government’s reaction is one of letting the market take care of the problem, the response by the market is much different. Interest rates will go much higher. If money is not printed, its value actually increases slowly over time. If businesses are not “rescued” (read made public institutions) those that were inefficient will fail. While it is not painless, it is not as bad as the government taking them over. The assets of the failed company will be bought by other companies and they will continue the business. They may even take many of the former employees, as they will be increasing their business and have some needs.
Many see letting the market operated freely as unfathomable. Just as there are historical events that show the downside of government intervention in the events they created, there are historical events that show leaving the economy in the hands of the market and not doing anything heals the economy faster.
Just before the Great Depression of 1929, there was another depression in 1921-1922. It has received little attention. The reason is that the recovery was so quick is that it went almost unnoticed. Murray Rothbard stated in his book, America’s Great Depression, “In the 1921 – 1922 depression, government intervened to a greater extent, but wage rates were permitted to fall, and government expenditures and taxes were reduced. And this depression was over in one year – in what Dr. Benjamin M. Anderson has called “our last natural recovery to full employment.” (my italics)¹
Job creation does not occur as a result of the government spending of money they tax away from businesses and individuals. Nor is it from creation of money and deficit spending. Job creation is the result of savings and investment. The savings become the capital for entrepreneurs and businesses to invest in capital expenditures which create new jobs.
Real job creation is being hampered by the government. Increases in jobs will be slow to see real improvement. That creates an environment where reality has to be looked at for what it is and knowing how to work within that environment has to be learned. It has to be learned by those seeking new employment and those wanting to change employment.
I have said enough about the truths of why the economy is its current state. I have also said enough in this discussion about how it can be resolved.
Now let’s turn to how a successful job search can be conducted in the face of the economy today.
Even now, there is good reason why many can achieve their job goals. It is a matter of how it is done. In a previous article, Your Cure for the Symptoms of Unemployment (http://www.careertrackexperts.com/29.html), I addressed some of the problems current job search practices create. The bottom line is that they fail to help a job seeker find a job.
There are numerous industries that are doing well. One avenue that can be pursued, is considering another industry if the one you are in is continuing to contract or it is stagnant. There may be a price attached to that change. It may require some additional training or convincing of a hiring manager that your skills, experience, and accomplishments parallel their industry. It is not impossible. There are several keys to that transition. You must understand the industry you are considering. Heavy research is required. The second key is to learn what the industry’s major issues are, the opportunities seen and how companies plan on capitalizing on them. This requires live discussion with those within the industry such as; producers, vendors, suppliers, and customers. The third key is to present your credentials to hiring managers in a way that clearly indicates to them you have the skills, experience, and accomplishments to help them accomplish their goals and objectives. The 1960’s resume model which is commonly used, falls flat on its face in this objective. Then again, what other objective could a resume have?
If you learn the skills to transfer and integrate yourself into another industry, you will have a great deal more success than following traditional practices. The cover letter and resume to HR will only create disappointment in the majority of attempts. Those answering more job postings will increase the rejections. Contacting more recruiters will continue the silence you will get from most of them.
Why not learn the skills necessary to cut through all of the above issues and find the right job in the industry you currently know, or whatever industry in which you want to be employed? Like any other learned skill, there are steps that need to be taken to master them. They need to be practiced in order to execute them and achieve success. Those who learn a new sport, learn to paint, learn to dance or, get an education to be a teacher, engineer, doctor, etc., learned those skills necessary to succeed. They did not pick them up by simply thinking about them or taking the advice of friends or even strangers. Most individuals actively sought out how to learn the skills to become accomplished at the vocation, sport, or activity they desired.
The same is true with learning how to be successful in a job search. There are skills that are easy to learn, but not obvious to the job seeker. With a little practice and training, they can be executed well to achieve success. Some of the changes to current practices are:
· Realistic self-assessment of skills, experience and accomplishments
· Knowing what resources are available to do effective research
· Stop using the time honored resume and learn how to present your credentials in a compelling way that will get the attention you want
· Learn how to seize an interview and become a competitive contender
· Learn specific techniques for being prepared for an interview and actually being in charge of the interview
· Learn effective follow up and seizing the next interview
· Learn how to get the offer you want with little negotiation, because you already know a great deal of what is planned by the prospective employer
· Learn what the steps are to preparing for the first days of employment that will set your career path on the one you want for the future
I am sure many have heard similar points. The difference is in the specific techniques and how to apply them. Career Track Experts can train anyone in these steps. From the entry level person to the seasoned executive we have created a process that “fits”. They are proven techniques that have been used by us for a combined fifty years. But, if you do not choose to use our training, it is important to get that training somewhere. It will be the best investment youl have ever made. Even if you invest in another training of some type and you find it not satisfactory, we will be glad to provide you with the training that will allow you to achieve the success you want.
Neither you nor we at Career Track Experts can change how the economy is being handled. It is not terribly important if we agree or disagree with how that should happen. The reality of the situation is many are seeking employment the same way it has been practiced since the 1960’s. It has never been terribly successful. The lack of success is being highlighted daily now in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Why not take the road to success by gaining the training you need. You invested heavily in your career training, invest a little now to get your career back on track.
¹ Murray Rothbard, America’s Great Depression, (Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1963) 186
You can find our job search training at http://www.careertrackexperts.com/.
“To help all those who desire success in seeking a new career opportunity by providing skill-based training that is time-tested and proven. To deliver real world training, not theories, in a proven job search system practiced on a daily basis and delivered in actionable steps.”
Nevertheless, we think there are a number of relevant points that can be brought out about job searches and the economy.
As a degreed economist, I may take a number of things for granted that are not common knowledge to many. It is no different than someone with an IT background discussing something with me and assuming some points that I am not at all knowledgeable about. I might think I understand but I am sure whatever I say would indicate my severe lack of knowledge in that area.
To set a baseline knowledge of economics, I will bring out some fundamental points. I hope they help illustrate why the economy is not doing well overall. Of greatest importance, I want to point out that those seeking a new job can still be successful in spite of the poor economy.
The most common comment I hear or read is, “my job search will go better when the economy turns around.” Or, “if the government would just get off its duff and create more jobs, then I would be able to get one.”
There is no question that if there were more jobs it might be easier for many to obtain employment or change jobs. The fact is that there are fewer jobs. With almost 36 million people out of work and an added 393,000 jobs according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. That is not much help.
How does the economy play into this issue? I want to make this brief and by no means am I looking to start long-winded discussions about economic theory. None of us have that kind of time. My purpose is to be of help, not put you to sleep!
The lack of jobs in the US is a result of the poor monetary and fiscal policy of the past and present administrations. For many years, Alan Greenspan and the Fed artificially lowered interest rates. The government also continued to print money. In addition, the administrations (past and present) have continued to spend money they did not have, continually increasing the debt.
Artificially lowering the interest rates creates what is referred to as malinvestment. Companies use interest rates as one signal to determine if they should and can borrow money for capital expenditures. If rates are low enough, they will borrow and spend on projects, expansions, acquisitions, etc. The problem with this is it is a false signal and the other costs associated with the projects, expansions, acquisitions, etc., are typically higher than would be acceptable to the company if the interest rates were controlled by the market. The end result is what many refer to as a “bubble” is created. That has to come to an end and when it does; there is the “bust”. Unemployment rises, jobs disappear, companies fail, and others contract.
From a historical perspective, this has happened over and over again. How the government responds is what really makes the difference when the bust happens. Keynesian theory encourages heavy government interaction. It wants to see massive government spending. It likes massive printing of money and more regulation of interest rates. All of this is done in the name of stimulating the economy. Other command and control theorists want more regulation of banking and other financial institutions.
Heavy intervention is the type of reaction the government responded with in the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it caused the depression to last until after WWII. If the government’s reaction is one of letting the market take care of the problem, the response by the market is much different. Interest rates will go much higher. If money is not printed, its value actually increases slowly over time. If businesses are not “rescued” (read made public institutions) those that were inefficient will fail. While it is not painless, it is not as bad as the government taking them over. The assets of the failed company will be bought by other companies and they will continue the business. They may even take many of the former employees, as they will be increasing their business and have some needs.
Many see letting the market operated freely as unfathomable. Just as there are historical events that show the downside of government intervention in the events they created, there are historical events that show leaving the economy in the hands of the market and not doing anything heals the economy faster.
Just before the Great Depression of 1929, there was another depression in 1921-1922. It has received little attention. The reason is that the recovery was so quick is that it went almost unnoticed. Murray Rothbard stated in his book, America’s Great Depression, “In the 1921 – 1922 depression, government intervened to a greater extent, but wage rates were permitted to fall, and government expenditures and taxes were reduced. And this depression was over in one year – in what Dr. Benjamin M. Anderson has called “our last natural recovery to full employment.” (my italics)¹
Job creation does not occur as a result of the government spending of money they tax away from businesses and individuals. Nor is it from creation of money and deficit spending. Job creation is the result of savings and investment. The savings become the capital for entrepreneurs and businesses to invest in capital expenditures which create new jobs.
Real job creation is being hampered by the government. Increases in jobs will be slow to see real improvement. That creates an environment where reality has to be looked at for what it is and knowing how to work within that environment has to be learned. It has to be learned by those seeking new employment and those wanting to change employment.
I have said enough about the truths of why the economy is its current state. I have also said enough in this discussion about how it can be resolved.
Now let’s turn to how a successful job search can be conducted in the face of the economy today.
Even now, there is good reason why many can achieve their job goals. It is a matter of how it is done. In a previous article, Your Cure for the Symptoms of Unemployment (http://www.careertrackexperts.com/29.html), I addressed some of the problems current job search practices create. The bottom line is that they fail to help a job seeker find a job.
There are numerous industries that are doing well. One avenue that can be pursued, is considering another industry if the one you are in is continuing to contract or it is stagnant. There may be a price attached to that change. It may require some additional training or convincing of a hiring manager that your skills, experience, and accomplishments parallel their industry. It is not impossible. There are several keys to that transition. You must understand the industry you are considering. Heavy research is required. The second key is to learn what the industry’s major issues are, the opportunities seen and how companies plan on capitalizing on them. This requires live discussion with those within the industry such as; producers, vendors, suppliers, and customers. The third key is to present your credentials to hiring managers in a way that clearly indicates to them you have the skills, experience, and accomplishments to help them accomplish their goals and objectives. The 1960’s resume model which is commonly used, falls flat on its face in this objective. Then again, what other objective could a resume have?
If you learn the skills to transfer and integrate yourself into another industry, you will have a great deal more success than following traditional practices. The cover letter and resume to HR will only create disappointment in the majority of attempts. Those answering more job postings will increase the rejections. Contacting more recruiters will continue the silence you will get from most of them.
Why not learn the skills necessary to cut through all of the above issues and find the right job in the industry you currently know, or whatever industry in which you want to be employed? Like any other learned skill, there are steps that need to be taken to master them. They need to be practiced in order to execute them and achieve success. Those who learn a new sport, learn to paint, learn to dance or, get an education to be a teacher, engineer, doctor, etc., learned those skills necessary to succeed. They did not pick them up by simply thinking about them or taking the advice of friends or even strangers. Most individuals actively sought out how to learn the skills to become accomplished at the vocation, sport, or activity they desired.
The same is true with learning how to be successful in a job search. There are skills that are easy to learn, but not obvious to the job seeker. With a little practice and training, they can be executed well to achieve success. Some of the changes to current practices are:
· Realistic self-assessment of skills, experience and accomplishments
· Knowing what resources are available to do effective research
· Stop using the time honored resume and learn how to present your credentials in a compelling way that will get the attention you want
· Learn how to seize an interview and become a competitive contender
· Learn specific techniques for being prepared for an interview and actually being in charge of the interview
· Learn effective follow up and seizing the next interview
· Learn how to get the offer you want with little negotiation, because you already know a great deal of what is planned by the prospective employer
· Learn what the steps are to preparing for the first days of employment that will set your career path on the one you want for the future
I am sure many have heard similar points. The difference is in the specific techniques and how to apply them. Career Track Experts can train anyone in these steps. From the entry level person to the seasoned executive we have created a process that “fits”. They are proven techniques that have been used by us for a combined fifty years. But, if you do not choose to use our training, it is important to get that training somewhere. It will be the best investment youl have ever made. Even if you invest in another training of some type and you find it not satisfactory, we will be glad to provide you with the training that will allow you to achieve the success you want.
Neither you nor we at Career Track Experts can change how the economy is being handled. It is not terribly important if we agree or disagree with how that should happen. The reality of the situation is many are seeking employment the same way it has been practiced since the 1960’s. It has never been terribly successful. The lack of success is being highlighted daily now in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Why not take the road to success by gaining the training you need. You invested heavily in your career training, invest a little now to get your career back on track.
¹ Murray Rothbard, America’s Great Depression, (Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1963) 186
You can find our job search training at http://www.careertrackexperts.com/.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hlep Us With Your Input and Thoughts
Today we have an important question we would like to ask, and we thank you in advance for your responses.
What would empower you to feel confident you will get the job you want?
If you have a list, please feel free to include your complete list. We know that not having a job is very difficult to say the least. It creates many, many side effects that most don't think about until they happen. All of the emotional issues that can be created along with using practices that are not working can quickly make you lose your confidence. It is understandable.
Please let us know your thoughts.
What would empower you to feel confident you will get the job you want?
If you have a list, please feel free to include your complete list. We know that not having a job is very difficult to say the least. It creates many, many side effects that most don't think about until they happen. All of the emotional issues that can be created along with using practices that are not working can quickly make you lose your confidence. It is understandable.
Please let us know your thoughts.
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