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We recently touched upon the life coaching industry (Parts 1, 2, 3). Since Brazen Careerist focuses on professional development, I thought it might be useful exercise to visit a few people who guide the job search process.
If you’re like me, you’re skeptical about paying for someone to help you find a job. But a trusted career advisor, or 3, can make your transition from student to worker bee or from one industry to another less painful.
What can you expect from job search advisors? According to Miriam Salpeter:
Typically, my clients work with me to jump-start a search – they need a resume and tips regarding how to get started. My goal is to “teach a client to fish.” In other words, I give job seekers key tools (a resume and cover letter) and then give them the resources they need to write their next cover letters and update their transformed resumes. I coach about how to look for a job and how to interview well. This typically takes a few sessions at most.
Sure, you can buy lots of how-to books that proclaim to help you put your best foot forward. But a resume writer can make it a lot easier, and Lauren Hasson offers 3 reasons to invest in one.
1. It’ll save you hours and hours and hours of time! As professionals who do this full-time, résumé writers have the skills and experience to knock out killer résumés in as little as two hours — which would take most people weeks to do right.
2. More importantly, they know what employers are looking for. To be perfectly honest, your résumé only has a few seconds to tell the employer why they should hire you. A résumé pro knows how to get your key selling points across quickly and clearly.
3. A professional can give you an objective look at your qualifications. Let’s face it: writing about yourself is not easy. And even though you know yourself pretty well, it’s almost impossible to be objective in this situation. You can really use someone who’s on your side, and who also knows the tricks of the trade.
As I’ve learned through personal experience, an outsider can often draw a better picture of you than you can. Rarely are we the best judges of our won worth because we all have stumbling blocks and sensitive spots that sometimes shadow your true self. Just like your friends and family might describe you differently than you would yourself, a resume writer might be better able to get the you the outside world sees.
Lauren shares
I see a lot of “do-it-yourself” résumés that inadvertently come off as either too humble or too boastful — and that’s only because we all have trouble being objective when we write about ourselves. You may not be able to see things — valuable, persuasive things! — that a highly trained outsider can quickly pick up on . . .
[A] client of mine had some trouble “accentuating the positive.” She had gone to a decent school, got an average GPA but had great grades in her major. She wanted to go into marketing but she thought the fact that she spent most of her summers working at a camp — rather than, say, a marketing firm — wouldn’t impress employers. She said to me, “Do I have any chance of getting noticed?”
Yes! But, like I told her, it’s all in how you present your qualifications. Here’s how I positioned her: She attended a reputable school, had great grades in a demanding major, and demonstrated her dependability and work ethic through consistent employment. Sounds better, doesn’t it? And it will probably attract more employers than the overly humble approach!
As with other forms of life coaching there are countless career advisers proclaiming to be your best option. Much like with designer labels, sticker price isn’t necessarily a guarantee of quality. So what should you be looking for in a resume and job search expert?
When you’re for someone to guide you through your quarterlife crisis or break with emotional eating, you’re probably looking for a coach that has struggled with the same issues. But job hunting? Look around you. Instead, look for a coach that can demonstrate he or she knows the job market for the industries you’re interested in.
A veteran in the industry, Miriam comments
I believe that work experience as a head of a University career center (as in my case), recruiting experience, and human resources backgrounds may help qualify someone to offer advice regarding a resume and job hunt.
It is most important to ensure that a potential coach is current with trends for today’s market. Someone who recruited for years but doesn’t even have a linkedin profile may not be up-to-date on what is happening in the workplace today. (In my case, I maintain an advisory board of industry experts and constantly follow news regarding trends.) Evaluate if the coach is aware of a variety of job search and resume writing techniques. Ask questions. For example, if the coach doesn’t know about video resumes and can’t confidently explain why they are or are not a good choice for you, you should find another coach.
Miriam makes a great point. Have you ever met someone who proclaims to be an expert when it comes to a certain topic? The more you talk to that person, you realize you know more about that topic than he does. When you’re job hunting, you want to avoid that scenario as you seek advice.
As a relative newcomer to the field, Lauren is a:
a bona fide read-a-holic (I read all the college career advice books so my clients don’t have to!).
I also keep in regular touch with recruiters and HR professionals, so I can understand exactly what they’re looking for in candidates. And I’m constantly “talking shop” with other résumé writers to exchange ideas and best practices.
We’re all looking for a job we can be passionate about, so make sure you’re hiring a job search professional that is just as excited about their work.
And resume advisers shouldn’t be keeping all their tips under lock and key until they have your paypal payment. My friends and I have signed up for free teleseminars on resume writing that are nothing more than informercials for what the host could do for you for $X hundred. The barker will tease you with vague references to how she can help you, much like a politician, but won’t provide concrete examples. It’s a waste of your time.
Instead, seek out their websites and read their blogs. Miriam notes
I believe a blog is an ideal way to demonstrate expertise in a subject matter. Does the coach give advice that resonates with you? Does he or she blog once a month or several times a week? I believe that one indication of a coach’s qualifications is his or her ability to confidently and competently blog several times a week and dispense advice that seems on target for the client.
Remember the proof is in the pudding. Miriam reminds readers to ask for “‘before’ and ‘after’ samples of resumes.” If you don’t like the work this consultant has done for others, chances are you aren’t going to be happy with the results on your own resume makeover.
Once you’re happy with your resume, you’ll want to share it with the world. Head over to Blackbird Tees, home of the Resume Tee. Pick the catchy slogan of your choice, upload your resume and engage in some shameless self-promotion by literally wearing your resume on your back.
Until the end of September you can enjoy a 15% discount on your Blackbird Tees order using the code “brazen” at check out.
I’d like to thank our visiting experts. Leave your questions in the comments, and I’ll be sure to have them follow up.
Miriam Salpeter is a Career Action Coach. She helps “clients approach what can be a difficult situation (looking for a job) with confidence, clarity and know-how. Part of that involves writing a great resume, the other parts involve sharing information, tools and other resources to make sure the client is well prepared to be successful.”
The Résumé Girl, aka Lauren Hasson, helps college students and recent graduates all over the country land their dream job. If you’re setting out on your first big job or internship search, The Résumé Girl can not only write your résumé for you — she’ll also give you one-on-one interview coaching and tons of real-world advice.
Disclaimer: I have never been a paying client of either of today’s experts.
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