A new resume can jump-start your career. Your network contacts may ask for a resume and some industries absolutely, positively demand a resume as the price of admission. When you begin thinking of your resume as a power source, the results can be astonishing.

1. Your resume is a sales tool. It is not a place for therapeutic self-disclosure or true confessions. Be honest but present your accomplishments in the most positive way.

2. Leave tricky questions (“Why did you have six jobs in ten years?” “Why are you applying for an entry position after you’ve been running the show?”) for the interview. Practice interview responses with a support group, friend or career coach.

3. If chronology works against you, opt for a sales pitch letter or use your network to get past the screeners. If you can’t avoid a resume, some experts will advise a functional resume. However, once you show up for an interview, expect to be asked for a chronological review.

4. Focus on accomplishments. “Supervised ten people on a project that finished three weeks before deadline and saved megabucks.”

If you’re over fifteen, you do not have “duties.” You have “responsibilities” and “accomplishments.” Anyway, nobody cares about what you were supposed to do. They want to know what you contributed.

5. Exploring multiple jobs? Tailor your resume to each position and each field. Show that you understand your target firm’s problems — and are uniquely equipped to solve them.

6. Do not let anyone write your resume for you. Accept suggestions and feedback but the final product should be in your own words.

7. Use your network to review the final product. Ask at least six people in your field for candid feedback. The final test: How do you feel when you read the resume? When you feel proud of your resume, and you’re eager to share it with everyone you meet, you’re ready to move.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

“Ten secrets of mastering a major life change” mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294

7 Steps To A Job-Winning Resume – Updates

When you start a new job, you probably realize the first three months are critical to your long-term success. Everybody’s eye is on the “newbie” as you learn the ropes. “Does anybody want to go to lunch?” is the wrong thing to say in a run-during-lunch or never-leave-the-desk culture.

You may begin your job by reading a stack of manuals. Or you may dive right in to fix a crisis or install a much-needed systemd.

Your first step… Logical first steps, right? Wrong! Your very first step should be to set up a meeting with your boss to find out what will count in your new job.

What You Need to Know

* What does your boss expect: outcomes, budget, and dates. Be as specific as possible.

-If you’re designing a training program, by what date will you have brochures? Attendees?

-Will participant evaluations of the program influence your own evaluation?

* What is the next step in your career path?

-How can you prepare yourself for promotion?

* Does your company evaluate by numbers, e.g., 5 is outstanding and 3 is average?

-If so, what would you need to demonstrate for a top score?

* Is your boss expected to “curve the grades?”

-If the boss is limited to three “outstanding” ratings out of ten people, learn whether the top scores have traditionally been awarded to the same people each year.

* Try to learn how your boss will be evaluated. You may not be able to ask directly but you can expect to be rewarded for helping your boss score points.

Reality Checks

Begin keeping a record of your activities and accomplishments. Write entries every week, if not every day. Save evidence of accomplishments so you can be ready to document your performance.

Finally, as you learn the ropes, compare formal and informal rules.

Tom’s boss said, “We want you to revitalize this product line.” After considerable work, Tom managed to increase sales of a dying product. He was horrified to receive a “Below Average” evaluation. His company maintained the line as a loss leader. They wanted a caretaker, not a manager. Tom was the wrong person for that job.

Angela was hired “to raise standards and prominence” of a private college’s new program. She soon realized the school needed money and she would be rewarded for increasing the number of tuition-paying students. She turned her efforts from program content to marketing. If she were uncomfortable in that role, she would have sought a new job.

The Bottom Line

Don’t wait a six months or a year to find out what your boss expects. You may even be able to lay a foundation for these discussions during the hiring process.

Regardless, a supportive boss will welcome your initiative. Those who insist on vague standards (“hey, we all know what we’re supposed to do”) or feel insulted by the question (“are you worried I won’t give you a fair shake?”) are sending a loud, clear warning: “Danger ahead.”

I offer one-to-one consultations on career strategy.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

“Ten secrets of mastering a major life change” mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294

Prepare for Your Performance Review Before You Start the Job

In a crowded market, clients will be seeking personality as they read what you’ve written — they’ll click right past pages that feel “been there, read that.” They’re looking for a voice that says, “Hey, client, this is me!”

They want to know not just what you deliver — but how. Will you be funny or serious? A perky cheerleader or a sardonic commentator? Will your view of life be based on “believe and it happens” or “what you see is what you get?”

Here are some tips to add your own voice to your writing.

1. Write from the heart.

Too excited, passionate or angry to sit still? Best time to connect with your voice. Grab a pencil and scribble ideas as you jump around the room.

2. Say something new.

After forty articles on time management, your readers know about cutting projects into manageable chunks and setting priorities. Ho hum. Try “better than zero” or “turn your life into a time warp.”

3. Tape yourself talking to a good friend about a product.

Do your words sound different when you speak than when you write? Transcribe the tape into an article for easy reading.

4. Picture your ideal client (you do have one, don’t you?). Imagine that she is gushing about your service to a friend — highly recommending you. What words does she use to describe your services? What emotions come through?

5. Cut. Then cut again. When you have to trim your piece to meet a word count requirement, notice that you’re left with the most essential words — all yours.

6. Write fast. Get the words down before your inner critic has a chance to participate. Edit later.

7. Reveal yourself: family, mistakes, secret dreams. When you feel just a bit embarrassed, or feel your private persona has become more public, you’ve probably just touched your audience’s heart.

8. Be concrete — not abstract.

As writing guru Natalie Goldberg would say, “It’s a geranium, not a flower.”

9. If you’ve had voice training, be especially alert to creating the bland and the blah.

Julia Roberts could hold an audience while she reads the telephone directory. Your copy has to stand alone, without dramatic oratory. Exercise 3 may not work for you.

10. Don’t be afraid to break the rules: use slang and contractions. And it’s okay to begin a sentence with “and” or “but.”

Just tread carefully on the rules of grammar and spelling. “Your about to head off for you’re great adventure” can be a credibility-buster.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, editor, and consultant. She helps clients who want to use writing to sell and sell what they write.

Visit http://www.makewritingpay.com.

cathy@makewritingpay.com

Hey, Client, This Is Me! Sell With Your Writing Voice – News

How can you gain credibility and exposure for you and your business, reach a motivated audience, develop a far-flung network, hone your presentation skills — and get paid to do it?

Many writers, artists, speakers and entrepreneurs have found an answer: they teach classes in adult education programs.

Adult education is big business. In the new century, “change” is a hot topic and learning is no longer confined to traditional degree programs. As people want to grow their careers and enrich their lives, specialized programs have evolved to reach this market.

Some teaching venues require at least a master’s degree. Others allow you to share your unique skills, from designing brochures to tarot reading. Temple University’s continuing education program has offered a half-day class taught by a cleaning lady. The subject? Speed cleaning. If a target market exists for your business or if you have knowledge that people can use on the job, chances are a target market exists for you in the world of adult education.

By entering this world, you can demonstrate your skills to a receptive audience, meet some terrific people, learn more than you expected and even have some fun. Teaching requires more than a good speaking voice and a knowledge-filled brain. Every minute you are in the classroom, you are marketing yourself to your students. You must keep students involved for up to eight hours. Since the average adult attention span is about fifteen minutes, you have to design exercises, activities and questions. You have to deal with the unexpected. Students will arrive late, ask off-the-wall questions and challenge your expertise. Occasionally, students will be rude, insulting or even abusive.

Most people who teach find themselves exhausted after even a short class, yet also exhilarated. Teaching can be a high when everything goes well. The secret of successful part-time teaching is to identify your purpose in teaching and fine-tune your skills to your target market.

You want to reach students who are also potential customers. If a school features astrology and visualization, your course on finding the lowest mortgage rate won’t fit, unless you suggest people consult the stars to meet their financial goals.

People who have added teaching to their promotional toolkit report finding success and fun along the way. One public relations consultant gets forty percent of her clients from adult education classes. A writer has developed a secondstream of income and a never-ending source of ideas. The opportunities are available to everyone, everywhere.

Want to learn more? Read Cathy Goodwin’s ebook, published by intellectua.com: How to get started teaching in adult ed programs. For more information, contact Cath.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

“Ten secrets of mastering a major life change” mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294

Promote Your Business and Get Paid for Doing It! – Breaking News