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Broken Arrow, OK (ContentDesk) April 24, 2006 — A new podcast series on executive job search strategies was launched today to help executives find a job in a tough job market.

The first podcast, 8 Interview Tips, covers unique job interview strategies including:- 2 surprising reasons candidates should prepare their own interview questions to ask their interviewers;- How candidates can develop an elevator pitch to communicate their brand and stand out from other candidates during their job search; and- Practical tips a candidate can use get their “inner game” right before a job interview.

The podcast is available for download at: feed://www.1-find-a-job.com/Podcasts/find-a-job.xml and is also available at the Apple iTunes music store.”Most executives do very little to prepare for a job interview,” said Phillip Wilson, a former HR Director and President of the executive career marketing firm HireExposure. Wilson teaches the podcast series. “Using just a couple of the tips on this podcast candidates can very quickly set themselves up to impress their interviewers and get a job offer.

Wilson stated that the podcast series teaches executives powerful methods to take their career marketing campaign directly to hiring managers, the best way to find and win an executive position today. “Executives have no idea how hard it is to find a job in today’s market - tactics that may work for entry level workers don’t work for executives. This podcast series will teach executives what works today.

Future podcasts will cover tips on executive resume writing, avoiding gatekeepers, developing career marketing documents, salary negotiation tips and much more.HireExposure is an Executive Career Marketing firm, helping executives find and win jobs based on the principles taught in the podcast series. The company also offers a free eClass to executives on how to find a job today - more information can be found at

http://1-Find-a-Job.com

.. HireExposure offers a number of job search services to clients including executive resume writing and direct career marketing to its database of over 11 million hiring managers throughout the United States.

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By Ron Bates

If you are looking for your next career opportunity, take charge of your job search campaign by not simply passively relying on your Internet presence and resume postings to make your phone ring.  Maximize your exposure to career opportunities by reaching out directly to as many hiring authorities, recruiters, and networking contacts as possible.

How? After you’re finished with your resume writing and have a pin-sharp resume. It starts with having the right tools.

Get a desktop email campaign software tool (e.g., Group Mail, EmailUnlimited, Gammadyne Mailer, et al.).  A typical desktop email campaign management tool allows you to send HTML formatted emails -with- attachments (i.e., your resume) right from your PC.

Who do you send your resume to? Read more

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by: Annemarie Cross

Millions of dollars are spent annually on marketing research by savvy companies aiming to maximize their marketing dollars when showcasing their products and services to their prospective clients. They recognize that to capture the attention of a potential customer and successfully elicit a subsequent purchase, their wares must be targeted specifically to their clients’ needs. Unprepared companies that lack thought and consideration in their marketing research and going in blindly with their promotions are often left feeling disappointed at the lack of response their advertising campaigns receive.
When it comes to your job search and ‘advertising’ campaign, which company are you most like? Do you carefully plan and perform extensive research of your potential ‘buyer’ enabling you to align your experience with their needs, or do you just go in blindly? Strategic research and revealing the needs of your potential ‘buyer’ is also crucial for a job seeker. Just like the company not paying much attention to their clients’ needs, if the company’s needs are neglected by the job seeker, they too may be setting themselves up for disappointment.
If you are not currently performing any real research and are not convinced this process is vital to your job search and interview campaign, here are a few of the key reasons why you should. Researching a company and job requirements will allow you to:
1. Prepare responses with relevant examples pertinent to the job’s requirements avoiding elimination as you will be positioning yourself as a serious contender for the role; 2. Demonstrate a fit with the company culture; 3. Strengthen your understanding of the company’s structure; 4. Establish whether or not you believe this position and organization is a good fit for you, to prevent a possible fallout down the track were you to accept the role only to realize that it was not as expected.
Your research should endeavour to pinpoint:
1. The company’s products and services; 2. The company’s target market; 3. The company’s competitors; 4. The interviewer and their role within the company. [If you gained this interview opportunity through one of your network contacts, you may be fortunate enough to gain inside information as to characteristics, mannerisms and communication style of the interviewer]; 5. Special projects the company is working on (that perhaps you may have been involved in during previous employment); 6. Whether the organization is a large or small enterprise which can impact on salary negotiation. Large and longer established companies could have a larger revenue base and may be able to offer a larger salary base compared to a smaller/start-up organization; 7. What structure the interview will follow. Whether it will be a panel (who is sitting on the panel); a group panel, involving psychological assessments etc; 8. Allows you to develop powerful questions to ask the interviewer.
To begin your research regime you can try the following resources:
§ Company website § Advertising brochures and other promotional material § Newspaper articles, professional journals § Your contacts that may have dealt with, or are dealing with the company including suppliers, customers, existing/former staff § Business Review Websites § Company Research Websites, and the list goes on
The information you compile will assist you in preparing relevant situations from your work experience, qualified with past performance and examples. This information should be strategically aligned to the needs of the organization, thus positioning you as the best candidate for the job.

Annemarie Cross is a triple-certified/multi award winning Resume Writer, Career Coach, NLP Practitioner, author, and founder/principal of Advanced Employment Concepts, a career consultancy offering specialised solutions/programs for people striving to achieve success, meaning and fulfilment in their careers. Annemarie can be contacted at www.annemariecross.com [All content is subject to copyright ©2005-2006]

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by: Steve Hill

Anybody who has to live life with a stammer will know just how much of a hinderance it can make what fluent people see as simple tasks. Making a phone call, ordering a drink, going out with friends and attending a job interview can be very hard for people who stammer or stutter.
My name is Steve Hill and I am one of these people who have had to endure the affects of stammering. I am now very happy to report that I have been fluent for the last ten years and life has never been so good.
I was never willing to accept my stammer despite what many other so called stammering experts said. These people wanted me to stop fighting and to realise that I would live with the stammer for the rest of my life. In their eyes if I accepted this fact it would be a lot easier for me to cope. These experts are fluent people and it is easy for them to say.
Throughout my life I have tried to improve especially in the areas that I was not happy about. For me stammering was the ultimate problem in my life and I was certain that I would continue my search for a cure for the rest of my life. There was no way I was going to ever accept it. Whenever anybody says to me that a particular thing can not be achieved, I always think of this as a very negative approach. I have now decided to try and avoid these negative type people as they are the ones who are weak and I do want them to have any influence on my life, as they can easily if I am not careful bring me down to their level.
I found stammering to be a very frustrating problem. At times I could actually speak quite well, for example after I had drank quite a lot of alcohol. I was able to talk well to one person but not to another. For many years I could not work out why this was. To find some answers I attended speech therapy at various points in my life. Unfortunately these people did not have the required information to help me. My search for a cure for stammering would have to continue in a different place.
My advice for anybody who has a stammer is to never give up or accept your stammer. This is in a way accepting second best which is exactly what I did when I had a stammer. I had to accept second best in my work, social and even love life as having a stammer made me believe that I could do no better.

Stephen Hill helps to promote a number of websites including:

stuttering treatment

Stammering Information

Logo Design Information

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For those who want quick tips on writing a great resume, scan below.   

By Carla Vaughan

You have to create an excellent resume if you want to get a great job.  Review these awesome tips and make sure your resume is the hiring manager’s dream resume.

Resume Tips:

Do not think simply in terms of duties and responsibilities.  You must also demonstrate accomplishments from your job history.

Choose items from your work experience that show the employer that you can do the job you are applying for.

Be consistent in your use of tense-specific statements (i.e. prepared, designed, created).

You want a resume that is bold and stands out, but not so much that it makes the hiring manager wary. Read more

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Technorati Tags: Resume Tips

What does Business Casual mean anyway? - Easier

27 Oct 2006 at 1:53pm

Easier What does Business Casual mean anyway?
Easier, UK - 17 hours ago
…. spending just as much time evaluating their wardrobe as they do researching the company or practicing interview questions on the night before a job interview .. ….

GETTIN’ A ‘FEEL’ FOR IT (New York Post)

27 Oct 2006 at 5:49am

A renowned job-interview expert showed off his gift for gab by conning a prospective employee into taking off her clothes so he could show her how to give a therapeutic massage - and then groped her, court papers say. But Dr. William Swan says he…

Information provided by Google and Yahoo

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by: Annemarie Cross

Due to the increasing competitiveness of todays job market requires the job seeker to be far more aggressive in their overall job search campaign, particularly when developing their career-marketing document – the resume.
With a window of opportunity often as little as 10 seconds for the resume to spark the readers attention, demands a dynamic document that portrays the candidate’s expertise and overall value offered. Gone are the days of a tasked-based resume with an inventory of a position’s responsibilities, coupled with a standard (and boring) list of personal aptitudes. This has been replaced with an achievement /accomplishment driven document that depicts you as a pro-active candidate that demands results and demonstrates the significant value on offer to the organization.
Your resume is your initial handshake and must therefore not be second-guessed, so the aim is to demonstrate your ability to fulfill their requirements and to build an interest in the benefits and value you bring to the organization. Strive toward developing a document that will motivate the reader into action by requesting an interview.
So what strategies can be followed to create a professional marketing document that promotes your overall value and portrays you as a passionate contributor to the ongoing success of the company that demands an employment interview?
Here are some tips to inspire your writing:
• Replace an uninspiring career objective with a succinct career profile that summarizes your expertise and includes accomplishment highlights with quantifiable results. This is bound to impress the reader and concentrates on what you can deliver for them, rather than on what you want.
• Incorporate industry-related key words as well as action words that will grab the reader’s attention. For instance:
Orchestrated, devised, instructed, spearheaded, maximized, led, directed, streamlined, oversaw, managed, motivated, controlled, delegated, consolidated, generated, implemented, proposed, specified … and the list goes on.
• Identify challenges you overcame; the action or solution you undertook to alleviate the challenge; and the (quantifiable) result, and script into a powerfully written statement. For instance:
Challenge: Staff turnover high, performance levels extremely poor, with overall costs to recruit and train new staff high.
Action: Developed staff monitoring and incentive programs; implemented staff training programs.
Result: Increased staff knowledge base; decreased staff turnover by 66.7%; increased staff morale and collaboration; increased productivity levels by 77%. Then by incorporating a number of action words, the above can be written as:
Enhanced staff morale; optimized productivity levels by 77%; and reduced staff turnover by 66.7% through implementation of strategic monitoring and incentive programs.
Notice the deliberate detailing of the quantifiable results at the forefront, followed by the method in which this accomplishment was obtained.
• Ensure your document is consistent in its formatting; if you bold a position title, bold all job titles throughout your document. Make certain your overall document is well structured (plenty of white space), and aesthetically pleasing (professional headings and layout).
• Refrain from providing details of every single position you have ever had. As a guide, generally the last 5 – 10 years is appropriate (if the position being applied for is relevant to what you have been doing), with a maximum of about 15 years.
• For far greater impact when identifying your professional experience, create a strategically written paragraph outlining your main accountabilities (remembering to incorporate attention grabbing action words), followed by a bulleted list of achievements.
• Lastly, edit, edit, and edit again. Then ask a family member or friend to read through the document to ensure your career-marketing document is error free.
Happy writing!

Annemarie Cross is a triple-certified/multi award winning Resume Writer, Career Coach, NLP Practitioner, author, and founder/principal of Advanced Employment Concepts, a career consultancy offering specialised solutions/programs for people striving to achieve success, meaning and fulfilment in their careers. Annemarie can be contacted at www.annemariecross.com [All content is subject to copyright ©2005-2006]

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Maybe you’re one-dimensional?  No, you’re not.  I’m just kidding.  Read about a unique approach to your resume.  You’ll be happy you did. 

By Heather Eagar

Choosing a resume style is as difficult or easy as choosing the
most suitable dress or suit for that all-important interview. It
is all too simplistic to say that a one ‘jacket fits all’
strategy will work for everyone when deciding what resume style
to use – still, most job seekers take this approach and use a
functional resume, even when it may not be well suited to their
specific situation. One appropriate alternative to the
functional resume is the combination resume. You may wonder how
this type of resume will work for you. What you need to
understand is the fact that each person’s situation is
different, and resume readers (your potential bosses) are
different people with variable moods and different points of
view.

A combination resume can be an effective alternative to a
functional resume in many cases. Let’s take a look at what a
combination resume really is.

Combination Resumes

As the name implies, a combination resume is one that merges
the styles of both the functional and chronological resumes.
The combination resume doesn’t just present the facts in
reverse chronology but also highlights the functional aspects
of each position that you have held, such as your unique
skills, the experience gained in all previous jobs and your
knowledge.

How Will A Combination Resume Work For Me?

Combination resumes suit all those who have varied (read:
checkered) employment histories. This can be due to gaps in
employment or having held substantially different positions. If
you are changing your career, a combination resume will most
likely work well for you. This is because they emphasize your
skills and adaptability more, which is typical of changing
careers at regular intervals. A combination resume is also
perfect for students and new graduates with only part time or
internship experience.

The crux of the matter is that the combination resume provides
the perfect platform for highlighting and presenting your soft
skills, in addition to allowing you to list your work
experience in a chronological sequence. For all these reasons,
a combination resume is a workable alternative to a straight
chronological or functional resume.

Here is a snapshot of candidates that would benefit from using
a combination resume:

1.Entry level candidates who have very short work experience to
speak of but strong academic excellence and marketable skills.

2.Older employees - they can make use of the summary section to
highlight their strong credentials from their long careers.

3.Frequent career changers. With the caveat that if you are
radically changing your career, it is more advisable for you to
use a functional resume than the combination resume.

4.Candidates who have had gaps in their employment for long
periods of time and are now attempting reentry to the job
market.

5.Lifers. Those job seekers who have spent a long time in a
single job or similar jobs without breaks or any changes
whatsoever. They could very well use the chronological style,
but the combination resume will present them as more polished
and adaptable (key here).

Doing Double Duty

The key to a combination resume really lies in how effectively
you market your skills and abilities on paper. Use the
combination resume to head off possible red flags that can
torpedo your chances with a particular employer or for a
particular position right from the start. Take advantage of the
benefits of a combination resume by positioning your unique
combination of skills and accomplishments upfront.

By using a combination resume, you give the employer what they
want, (because employers either consciously or unconsciously
look for a chronological-format resume) and give yourself an
immediate advantage over the competition - candidates that use
other resume types.

About the Author: Heather Eagar is a former professional resume
writer who is now dedicated to providing job seekers with
resources and products that promote job search success from
beginning to end. If you need resume examples and tools, go to
http://www.NothingbutResumes.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com

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Technorati Tags: resume, Combination Resumes

If you’re job seeking, how can you afford a resume with even one error?  No way.  It is the first impression of your first impression.  Be sure you make a positive one! 

By Jaimie Marzullo

Writing an effective résumé can certainly be challenging.
There are numerous rules and none of them apply 100% of the
time.  It is often much easier for people to craft their
document if they understand the boundaries within which they
will need to operate 100% of the time - the mistakes that
should never be made and will brand a job-seeker as
unprofessional.  Eliminating all of these errors from your
résumé will go a long way in improving your chances of securing
an interview.

1. “Responsible for…”

The Problem:
This is one of the most common, and most amateurish, résumé
errors.  There is no greater example of weak, passive writing
than the overused “responsible for.”  There are two base
reasons why this phrase is to be avoided.  The first is that it
is already understood that the information included in your
résumé are activities that you were responsible for; this is
the equivalent of writing “we cook…” before an item listed in
a restaurant menu.  The second reason is what I alluded to
above: “responsible for” is passive, bland, and boring.  It
does nothing to draw in the reader, and demonstrates no
specific or relevant skill.  With the average résumé being read
in approximately seven seconds, the first word or two in each
sentence is absolutely critical because it is the information
that will be read first and most.  Whether anything else in a
given sentence will be read at all entirely depends on if the
first couple of words strike a chord with the reader.  If the
hiring manager holding your résumé does not spot keywords of
interest in those vital locations, then the entire résumé is
probably going in the trash, no matter how great the rest of
your information is. Read more

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Technorati Tags: résumé

by: Ford R. Myers, M.Ed.

As a Career Consultant, I work with clients on all the tools and techniques that are needed to succeed in the job search – including interviewing skills. One thing I have noticed over the years is that candidates often get “trapped” in certain interview questions that are designed to make them say something negative or self-defeating (which generally leads to rejection). Indeed, job-seekers are not even aware of how negative many of their answers sound at interviews! So, I instruct all my clients to “never say anything negative, or anything that could possibly be construed as negative!” Candidates can avoid being disqualified by stating all their answers in positive (or, at least, neutral) terms.
The following are some of the most commonly-asked interview questions, along with suggested approaches for answers. It is important that job candidates practice these responses until they are able to handle all the questions effectively.
Why do you want to work here? How can you help our company? Why should we be interested in you? Answer is always based on information you’ve researched in advance about the company and their needs.
If you were choosing someone for this job, what kind of person would you select? Answer is to generally state your own general qualifications, without being too “obvious.” Leave out the details.
If you could have any job which one would you want at this company? Answer has to do with the most general description of the job – NOT A SPECIFIC TITLE.
What weaknesses do you have for this job? TRAP QUESTION. Never state anything negative! Answer is to ponder for a while and then state that you can’t think of any weaknesses that would compromise your performance at this job; or negatively impact your performance of the job’s responsibilities.
What do you expect to get in this job that you haven’t gotten in you current/previous job? TRAP QUESTION. Do not say anything negative. State that your current/previous jobs have met or exceeded your expectations. With the new position you would hope to have broader responsibilities and make greater contributions.
What do you see as your future here? I would expect to be contributing at higher levels and have increased responsibility over time.
Are you considering other positions at this time? TRAP QUESTION. Simply say “yes.”
How does this opportunity compare? >From what I’ve heard so far, very favorably … and I would like to learn more.
What other companies/opportunities are you looking at now? As I’m sure you can appreciate, I’m not at liberty to say as I am still in discussions with these companies. I need to protect their privacy, as I would for your company under similar circumstances.
What are your short and long term goals? Short range: To secure an appropriate new position where I can apply my skills and experience to increase the company’s productivity and profitability. Long range: Assume more responsibility and make greater contributions over time for my employer.
What motivates you? Focus the answer on your core values, and also on the values and priorities of the company you are interviewing with (which you should have identified through your preliminary research).
What have you done to improve yourself during the last year? Talk about professional development, training programs, educational curricula, study in your field, on-the-job training, skill-building, relevant books you’ve read, etc.
How do you spend your spare time? Say something inoffensive, apolitical and innocuous. (reading, exercise, travel, home projects, gardening, family activities, home projects, etc.)
Tell me about your health. My health is excellent.
If you could re-live your last 15 years, what changes would you make? Nothing is perfect, but overall I would say that I’m quite satisfied with the way my life and career have developed – so I wouldn’t make any significant changes.
Tell me about your greatest achievement/disappointment in your life. Give one personal example (like meeting your spouse and getting married; putting yourself through college and graduate school; or saving-up to buy your first house, etc.). Then give your best professional accomplishment story. As for the disappointment, give an answer similar to the one above, implying that “overall, I would say that I’m quite satisfied with the way my life and career have been developing, so I really can’t think of any major disappointments.”
What did you like best/least about your last job? TRAP QUESTION. Never state anything negative! Explain what you liked best. Then say that while every job has its challenges, you have been fortunate enough to learn and grow professionally in each of the positions you have held.
In your last position, how much of the work did you do on your own, and how much as part of a team? Which did you enjoy more? Talk in terms of your flexibility and adaptability – your ability to work in whatever mode seems appropriate to the situation. Make it clear that you have been equally effective in teams or working independently, as each case demanded. You enjoy both; it’s more about what will work best for the project and the company at that time.
What are some of the more difficult problems you have encountered in your past jobs? How did you solve them? Tell two or more pre-prepared accomplishment stories. Keep it POSITIVE!
Did you ever make suggestions to senior management? What happened? Say “yes.” Tell some accomplishment stories and results, in which you positively influenced senior management.
At your previous job(s), what did you think management could have done to make you function more effectively as an employee? TRAP QUESTION. Never state anything negative! Say that the employer was very good in providing resources and support to your position, and that you have no complaints about this.
What has kept you from progressing faster and farther in your career? TRAP QUESTION. Never state anything negative! State: “I don’t know what could have given you the impression that I am dissatisfied with the progress and pace of my career. I am quite satisfied with where my career is at this point in my life. However, I am ready to take on greater challenges.”
What else should we know about you? Tell one or two more of your best accomplishment stories. You can also repeat how well-suited you think you are for the opportunity, and how interested you are in the job.
Tell me about the best/worst boss you’ve ever had. TRAP QUESTION: Never state anything negative! Say that while every boss has been different, you have worked productively with, and learned something from, each one. (Be prepared to give some examples of what you have learned.)
Everybody likes to criticize. What do people criticize about you? TRAP QUESTION. Never state anything negative! Say that you can’t think of any criticisms you have received from colleagues on the job. Of course, there have been areas for development – such as when your supervisors would have given you your “employee review,” and they might have made a suggestion for improvement. State that you have always taken these kinds of suggestions seriously and have taken steps to make the improvements that were requested, and that this has made you stronger as a professional. (State at least one example).
Everyone has pet peeves. What are yours? TRAP QUESTION. Never state anything negative! Turn this question around, by talking about your high professional standards. Your only “pet peeves” are with yourself – pushing yourself hard and not accepting mediocrity, for example – or how you are always striving to reach your full potential on the job, etc.
What is your leadership style? Talk in terms of your flexibility and adaptability – your ability to lead in whatever mode seems appropriate to the situation. Explain that it’s more about what approach will work best for the project and the company at that time. Give an example or two, demonstrating different leadership styles, using your accomplishment stories.
Are you geographically mobile? (or) Are you willing to put in a lot of extra time? Ask for clarification – what exactly does the interviewer mean? Then, according to their answer, either say, “that would be no problem at all,” or tell them “you’d like to give it some thought and get back to them within 24 hours.”
You don’t have the experience/background for this position. How could you handle it? Say you’re confused by their comment, that you’re quite confident that you DO have the experience and background for this position, and that you’re a very strong match for the responsibilities. Ask what specifically concerns them about your background; what’s missing in your experience? (Sometimes the interviewer is just testing you.) Re-state your qualifications as needed, tying your accomplishment stories to the employer’s requirements.
You’re overqualified for this position, aren’t you? (even if you are slightly overqualified) State: No – I see a lot of challenges in this opportunity, and I’m sure that I would find the work extremely interesting. Give some examples of what you mean, and talk about the new dimensions of experience and skill that you would bring to the position, almost as though you would expand the level of contribution in this job, thus making it more than it is at present.
We have all the information we need. We’ll be in touch. Take the initiative. Ask such questions as: “Where do I stand? Am I being considered as a strong candidate? When should I expect to hear from you, or would you prefer that I contact you in a day or two? What is your time-frame for making a final decision? Is there anything else I can provide to facilitate the process?” etc. Then re-state your strong interest in the position and your confidence that your background is an ideal match to the job.
In conclusion, I strongly recommend that you prepare for your interviews by studying and practicing these answers. Get someone to help you, by doing a “role play,” in which your friend can be the interviewer and you can play the part of the job candidate. You will reduce your anxiety, boost your confidence and perform much better if you “know your lines” in advance! And remember – never say anything negative in a job interview!

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