Author: bs6102

Picture by Adrianne Harris

 

Article by Adrianne Harris

Following on from my last blog Resume Tune Up: Your 10 Point Safety Check this article discusses what happens when you engage a professional resume reviewer to help you.

If you are applying for a particular job, before you draft your resume and before you seek feedback, you should ring the contact officer for the position and ask all or some of the following:

1. What sort of person are you looking for?
2. What key skills and experience do you expect the successful candidate to have?

Why should you do this?
You should do this so that you can tailor your resume and responses to the vacancy, and what the job is required to do. Sending a generic resume or cover letter make it much harder for recruiters to see how you are a good match for the position being advertised.

After you have drafted your resume, cover letter or other documents (for example selection criteria) you should then seek some feedback on your drafts.

Why should you seek feedback?
“You can’t see the wood for the trees” is an old saying meaning you won’t see the obvious in front of you and it sometimes takes someone else to see that what you have written doesn’t make a lot of sense, is too long, too waffly, not on point, or needs more information. That’s where a professional reviewer can help.

When working with a resume coach, the process generally goes:

1. You discuss your situation and what you would like to achieve from having a coach review your documentation
2. You send your documents to the coach for an initial review
3. You make sure you are available to answer any questions where further information is required
4. Then you go back and forth until you are happy with the documentation or are happy to complete the application yourself.

The last point is important, a resume reviewer will always ask you to review the documents and to make sure they express your voice, as they are a document meant to express your skills and experience, in your voice and not in the voice of the reviewer.

What does a resume reviewer look for?
Some of the things a resume reviewer is looking at are:

• The words you have used: does the language of your resume match the language of the industry and job you are applying for? A reviewer will check your documents against the job, the industry and the organisations recruitment process.
• Have you used active verbs to describe your work?
• Is it organised logically and are all job duties and relevant achievements listed?
• Are all aspects of a resume included in the right order and are irrelevant details deleted?
• Is it clearly expressed?
• Your formatting: first impressions count and this applies to your documents as well, a reviewer will check for consistency, readability, layout and formats used.

The Christmas and end of year holidays are often a favourite time to review your resume, you never know when your dream job might be advertised and it’s a good time to make sure all of your achievements have been captured. Once you have drafted your resume, sit back, crack a Christmas beer or pour a cup of iced tea and let your resume reviewer get to work.

Find out more about Broadly Speaking’s document Review service.

I spoke at the recent Reinvent Your Career Expo in Sydney and also spent some time listening to the other presentations and chatting to the employers in attendance. Some of the presentations included: Teaching as a Career, Interview Strategies, Building a LinkedIn brand, Redefining a Career after 30 and Skills Needed in the Future.

Employers were on hand to discuss entry level and career development opportunities. Aged care, teaching, paramedical services, and hospitality are areas with plenty of jobs now and into the future. Did you know that teachers can earn a starting salary of around $64,000 and might only pay $8 rent per week if they teach in a rural area?

I spoke on how to manage your nerves during a job interview. Some of the key tips I shared included:

1. Find out what sort of interview you will be attending – is it one person, two, a panel, a group interview?
2. Find out the structure of the interview – will it be a free roaming discussion, a structured interview, will there be any tests or assessments?I explained that there are five key areas to focus on when preparing for an interview:

1. Preparation before the interview – reviewing key job application documentation and company details
2. Arrival at the organisation and meeting the interviewers
3. Opening questions
4. Questions about skills and experience
5. Closing questions

Another tip from the expo is to take notes with you to the interview that you can refer to – a sheet of paper with prompt words, examples, and questions is a great idea to help you stay on track and show the interviewers you are prepared and have thought about the interview.

The consensus on when to arrive at the interview was “early, but not too early”, you certainly don’t want to run into any other candidates and you don’t want to be nervously waiting for a long period of time.

The other great tip was get yourself a coach to practice with, a coach can give you feedback on your responses and can build confidence so that when you attend the interview you are as prepared and practiced as you can be.

The next Reinvent Your Career Expo will be in October 2017.

Contact me to discuss how a practice interview session can help you.

 

Article by Adrianne Harris

What is a Career Journal?
Simply put, a career journal is like a travel journal, but instead of containing information and pictures of your holidays and adventures, a career journal summarises the path and places that your career has taken you. A career journal can be anything as simple as some blank sheets of paper or something more structured that includes thinking and reflection activities and exercises. It can be electronic, a scrapbook or even a combination of both. A career journal can contain pictures, colour, stories, anything that helps you visualise where you have come from and where you are going.

Picture: Use pictures to show what you loved doing when you were younger

When Should I Use a Career Journal?
Career journals can be used at various points in your career. However, you are likely to get more out of the process of career journalling when:

• First starting out on your career
• Undergoing a career transition
• After having been made redundant or undergoing organisational change
• After a career break and before rejoiniong the workforce

Scheduling regular times to review your journal and to add to is is also a valuable exercise to ensure you are on track in your career.

How do I use a Career Journal?
A career journal can be used to:

• Review where you have come from
• Dream about where you want to go and what your future looks like
• Identify what you’d love to do more of and what you’d like to do less of
• Consider your reality against your vision and how you navigate both worlds

Your journal can be as neat or as messy as you like, you can draw pictures, glue in photos, place dream job ads inside, write notes, use colour, or write in it. There is no right or wrong way when completing a journal, the idea is that it speaks to your heart using the language that inspires you.

A career journal (structured or unstructured ) allows you to see key trends or themes of things you like, or don’t like, and it can give you clues as to future job satisfaction. You might find that you doing things you don’t really love, just because of circumstances, and now might be the time to take active control of your career into the area you would prefer to work. You might find that a passion you had forgotten about or havent thought about it a while might emerge and the spark be rekindled.  

Picture: tell yourself a story using colour and pictures

I’ve coloured it all in – what now!?
Creating a beautiful (or simple) career journal is only the start. The important thing is giving your self the time and space to reflect and match that with who you are now and where you want to go in the future.

Review the journal and ask yourself:

• Am I doing what I love and less of what I dislike?
• Are my childhood passions reflected in my adult life and work?
• Am I working in the most ideal environment for me?

If the answer to any of the questions above is NO then it’s time to do something about your career and the job you are in.

Get Your Own Career Journal!
You can purchase a career journal by visiting Broadly Speaking’s Career Shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article by Adrianne Harris

When you go for a job interview you don’t get to see how the other candidates perform, what their answers are or how they interact with the recruitment team. This week’s blog takes a look at interviews and how you create a great response by sharing some video links that explore how you prepare for an interview and how you create a good first impression from the very first question you are asked.

Before you arrive you should review your application documents and the position description, or other information you have regarding the role. The key to success is to match your skills and experience to the skills and experience the organisation is looking for. Make it easy for the recruitment team to see how well you fit into the vacancy. Think about what the role needs to do and be prepared to share examples of when and where you have previously performed those tasks

You should think about the interview as a conversation, this video is a great introduction.

Spending time thinking about the selection criteria and examples you can use to show your experience is important, but you should also spend plenty of time thinking about the response to the very first question you will be asked: “why should we employ you/why did you apply for this job/why are you the best candidate for this job?”

Whilst is sounds like a trick question, it’s not really. It’s your opportunity, in a few sentences, to summarise your skills and experience and how it relates to the position being applied for. Focus on the needs of the organisation, not your needs.

This video is a nice summary of how you can create an opening pitch that introduces your skills and experience to the recruiter:

The next video is an excellent summary of how you match your skills and experience to the requirement of the job when answering the question “why should we hire you?”

Think of your response to these opening questions as your “elevator pitch”. The idea is that if you are in an elevator with another person and only had a minute or two to introduce yourself to them and give them an idea of your skills and experience, what would you say?

You should then tailor your elevator pitch to the job you are going for, highlighting the most relevant skills and experience that the job requires.

Finally, practice this opening out loud so that it flows easily. Practice your opening until you have a polished and professional response to the question “why should we hire you?”.

To arrange a practice interview, contact me at Broadly Speaking.

Don’t sweat the small stuff says Richard Carlton. Do sweat the small stuff say others. Focus on the big picture your CEO says, but your team leader says pay attention to the details.

Sometimes it’s hard to know if today you’re gazing at the moon or counting the number of stars.

In reality we focus on both and hold the big picture vision for the organisation in our mind while focusing on the small details, the steps that will get us there.

The big picture is critical for the organisation to know where it is going, but it’s the staff that will get the organisation there, and for some of us, the little things in our lives matter. The big ticket items, like visions statements, training programs and incentive schemes motivate some employees, but the little things tend to matter to all of us. And best of all, the little things are often free.

It is:
• Having a good induction plan and program to welcome a new employee that includes a good social orientation to the organisation as well.
• Saying hello in the morning, not rushing in head down and getting straight on with work. You don’t need to have a deep and meaningful conversation with everyone you come across, but saying hello to your whole team is a great way to start the day and engage your team or your manager (yes it goes both ways!)
• Starting an email with a courteous salutation, like “Good morning George…”, or “Dear Jane…”. It’s not starting an email with just the person’s name or even worse, their initials, or nothing at all!

The small things in a meeting are also the things that are likely to make or break it.

When I’m planning a meeting, I am focused on the smallest of details:
• Can everyone see well from all seating positions – yes, I try them out!
• Can everyone hear from anyone or anywhere in the room?
• Have I clearly and in detail explained the purpose of the meeting and what I want from each person who has been invited?
• Have I spelt their name right, have I practiced how to pronounce it?

When I’m running a meeting, the tiniest of details are important:
• Do I notice any subtle movement, is it someone trying to get a word in, should I call on them to contribute?
• Do I stick to the time limit and finish the meeting when scheduled?
• Do my methods match my big picture vision for the meeting?
• Do the minutes and notes accurately reflect what was said and decided?
• Do I thank everyone for their time?

The little things are the steps you are taking to achieve your goals and your organisation’s vision.

What little things do you do each day?

(Article and photo by Adrianne Harris)

Article by: Adrianne Harris, Broadly Speaking

The Australian Careers Service (the publishers of the Good Careers Guide), recently held their annual Career Adviser Seminars around the country and I went along to find out more about new study and employment opportunities.  This article summarises some of the more salient points from the day.

A presenter from SpotJobs indicated that young people need to be advised earlier in life to start working on their skills in order to have a smooth transition to the workforce, including:

1. Attitude towards work
2. Responsibility and reliability
3. Presentation
4. Expectations
5. Work experience
6. Further training
7. Job search and application skills
8. Awareness of employer attitudes

I would add, this list is a great list for anyone thinking about their career at any stage.

The 6 most common mistakes that SpotJobs sees in most applications are:

1. Spelling and grammar mistakes
2. Not customising a response to match the selection criteria
3. Not attaching a resume
4. Applying for roles they are not qualified for
5. Not completing information request
6. Having an unprofessional email

Indeed, danceallnight@gmail.com is probably not going to convey a professional image to a future employer.

The importance of a strong network was highlighted by various presenters throughout the day. A tip on building a network when starting in an industry is to take a number of lateral or sideways moves. Firstly this helps build up a broad range of skills and knowledge, and secondly it helps build a strong professional network.

The Academy of Film, Theatre and Television shared a presentation about the diversity of potential employers now compared to only a few years ago. The information shows an explosion in the opportunities for people to work in or support the creative industries. Academy of Interactive Entertainment also showed the large variety of roles available in the Australian market. The JMC music academy is another provider linking with the entertainment industry providing real opportunities for graduates to find a fulfilling career. The AIE even has an incubator grant scheme that graduates can apply for.

A key tip from all of the presenters working in the creative areas was the importance of a portfolio if you want to apply for a course. It can be quite simple, but needs to include some samples of your work and show creative potential. If you are applying for any if the performance courses you will need to audition, which might include a monologue (or three), a song (or two) and dancing. Portfolios and auditions are a fact of life in the creative industries.

Migas outlined the ten key steps in applying for an apprenticeship, they have a great set of resources for anyone considering an apprenticeship. Mature workers seeking an apprenticeship can find opportunities in horticulture.

The Endeavour College provides degree level opportunities for those wishing to study natural health, and the college even has a Wellness clinic in which students gain experience and understanding of all aspects of a career in natural health. Graduates will finish their courses with the degree and hundreds of hours of practical experience.  Sage offers personal training qualifications for people seeking a career in the personal training industry. The course is a comprehensive approach to fitness training and they have a great support network when you finish your studies that will support you in finding relevant employment. Career nights are a feature where you hear from professionals sharing tips and tricks for employment and career management.

A lot of the providers also have scholarships available. The ability to pay upfront, defer fees to the Fee-help scheme or apply for a scholarship are just some of the options that you can pursue to cover the course fees, which in some cases are quite expensive.