7. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
What You Do Best Employers Need Most
Experiences
Abilities
Personality
Interests
Values
Spiritual Gifts and Calling
Occupations
Employers
Locations
Income
Platforms
Culture
Learn What Employers Need Most
Page 34
1. Informational Interviewing
2. Associations
3. Newspapers / Magazines
4. Websites
8. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Faith Based
• My steps have held to your paths; my feet
have not slipped. – Psalm 17:5
• Kings [Employers] take pleasure in honest lips,
they value a [person] who speaks the truth
- Proverbs 16:13
• Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom,
discipline, and understanding. – Proverbs 23:23
12. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Realize it takes more than a resume in today’s
job market
• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Business Card
• LinkedIn
• Networking Guide
• Elevator Pitch
• More…
17. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Personal Brand Statement (PBS)
Detailed statement, 3-4 lines
Strong, core statement that differentiates you
Must include audience, value, and uniqueness
Example:
Engaging cutting edge technologies to advance
corporate-wide initiatives to expedite manufacturing
processes and achieve aggressive revenue growth,
cost-cutting objectives, and profitable margins.
21. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
The Basic Elevator Pitch
• Hi, my name is ____________
<Insert Name>
• I am a ___________________
<Insert Title>
• I am known for ____________
<Insert Tag>
• I am seeking a new position in ________
<Insert Geography or Industry>
• But enough about me,
who are you and what do you do?
30. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Above the Fold
• Get the reader’s interest
• “Read” in 8-12 seconds
• Summary vs. Objective
• Key Qualifications, Skills, Credentials
• Recent Graduates: include education
31. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Key Qualifications
• Serves as the Executive Summary
• Emphasizes credentials, skills &
experiences you have based upon the 5 job
descriptions
• Don’t just use a “pick list”
• Should be supported by the resume
32. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Previous Experience
• Information to include:
– Company Name, Location, Dates
– Job Title / Position and Dates
– Job Description – Paragraph format
– Accomplishments (STARs) – Bulleted
format
• Education
• Anything relevant to getting the job
33. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Tips
• Use only 1 phone number, professional e-mail
address
• Do not need to preface phone or e-mail with
title
• Get a new e-mail address if currently using
AOL or hotmail
• Use Google Voice number to supplement out
of state number
34. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Keywords
Weave keywords throughout your entire resume:
Craft solid sentences with both action verbs and strong
nouns
“Designed award-winning Excel certification training for
900 actuaries and statisticians"
Replace pronouns with the relevant nouns
"Certified in Microsoft Excel and use Excel daily for
revenue audits"
35
35. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Keywords
Weave keywords throughout your entire resume:
Put keywords in "context"
While a keyword section is useful, some search engine
penalize the "lumping“ of excessive keywords together
Call out companies and clients by both the short and long
names
Use variations of your keywords throughout the resume
35
36. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Resume Tips
38
Use standard fonts, like Arial or Times New Roman – size
11
Keep it to 1 or 2 pages (3 if you have many publications,
etc.)
A clear Summary, Headline or other Role indicator at top
Action verbs and strong nouns (keywords) – lots of them!
STAR statements – at least one for every job/role held
37. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Resume Tips
38
1-inch margins are preferred…at least .65 of an inch
Check for format issues, grammar issues, spelling errors
Pick one date format and stick with it for every date used
Education at the end (except for new graduate or
educator)
Use generic titles if specific job title is uncommon /
confusing
38. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Resume Tips
38
List active and relevant industry certificates after
education
List job history back 8-12 years…not more than 15 years
old
Once you have a good resume, work on a LinkedIn profile
41. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Overall
• Consistent, complete, correct, and quality
– Spelling
– Grammar
– Font
– Format
– Spacing
– Bullets size and style & use of periods after
bullets
– Your name
– Indentation
• Include a cover letter as the first page
42. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Don’ts
• Do not include a picture
• Do not add “references available upon request”
• Do not include personal information (martial
status, children, politics, religion, etc.)
• Do not use pronouns
43. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Don’ts
• Do not use colored paper
• Do NOT overdo font styles
• Do not include reason for leaving
• Do not send references or salary information
• Do not use company or industry jargon
• Do not use fluffy words
53. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Profiles – LinkedIn as an Example
38
Enter a solid Summary to give
the reader a quick
understanding of who you are
(no more than about 5-6 lines
or bullets)
Enter a brief variation of the
history section of your
resume
Focus on successes, skills and
accomplishments
54. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Profiles – LinkedIn as an Example
38
Use one of the
“applications” that
LinkedIn offers to attach a
document or presentation
that shows off your skills
If you blog on topics
related to your profession,
provide a link to your blog
NO personal stuff
Professional headshot
Get 3-5 recommendations
to start
More about LinkedIn in following Steps
56. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Altitude Review
Identify a single Occupation/Industry
Marketing Material Development
This is not a 1-time event
We are in the “Me, Inc.” generation, so develop a strategy to
keep your career, resume, and branding current and engaging
60. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Leaders
General
• Be sure all volunteers giving advise are trained
on the new materials
• Be sure emphasis is not just on resume &
LinkedIn
• We read left / right, top to bottom so what we
read first is most important (dates therefore
do not go left)
62. www.CrossroadsCareer.org
Business Card
• Vistaprint.com/TV for 250 of the Premium
cards, no vistaprint logo on the back,
advanced editing, select from all designs, free
shipping, only $10
• Leave white space on business card for them
to write; no glossy finish
• Some job seekers take running out of cards as
a bad sign; it is good if they are doing it right
Leaders