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Career Challenges
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Career Challenge details
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Additional Content
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Included in Consultant's Report
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| *The Perfect Cover Letter* | I have heard that with the thousands of resumes floating around, adding a cover letter is basically a futile effort. I used to do so in past job searches, however if it is of no value added, I’d just as soon not waste my time. Would a simple form letter do as well? | How to Stand Out in the Crowd | The relevancy of customizing cover letters is addressed head on. We show how the best cover letter could lift you out of the general job search population. We define 8 things you can do to accomplish that. |
| A Big Mid-Career Change | A.C. was uniquely accomplished and well paid in her career, but when her spouse was promoted and relocated, her own career couldn’t transfer. It looked to her as if she’d have to start over in another direction at half the salary. Well, not necessarily. | Keeping a High Salary Despite Changing Fields | Full story, counselor process/advice, two resume samples in different formats, summary and principles for success |
| Burned Out | KJ faced a triple whammy—an overwhelming executive job, a complicated divorce and assuming responsibility for an aging parent. She couldn’t relocate, but was burned out and needed a change. | Reducing Stress | Full story, counselor’s process/advice, options for negotiation of flexible work schedule and telecommuting, sample chronological resume, summary and principles for success |
| Caught In a Salary Trap | While she worked her way through college, PS went from part-time to full-time in a job where she succeeded. With her finished degree she wanted to upgrade with her current employer, but her "low wage" image in that job had her in a trap. | Getting Paid What You Are Worth | Full story, counselor’s process/advice, resume, cover letter excerpt, summary and principles for success |
| Digital Resumes | I have always kept my resume up to date. Now that it looks like layoffs are coming, I’ve started to shop around and been told I need an "Internet Resume" in digital format. Up till now I’ve pasted my regular resume into boxes on web sites. How do I use this digital approach and still keep my resume looking good? | Converting a Presentation Resume to Digital | Suggestions about when to use a "presentation" resume for the best impression, and how to convert it to digital forms for email, job banks, attachments, company web sites and prospecting. Making sure the right key words are included as well as the "value statements'" that make them meaningful. |
| Family Politics | AJN was a rising star, consistently successful and showing growth, but the owner’s son gets the promotion he expected and he’s transferred laterally and out of town. Fight back on the merits or move on? If he quits, what kind of recommendation will he get? | Getting Out Of A Bad Spot | Full story, counselor process/advice, personal business plan, summary and principles for success |
| First Job a Drag: Graduate School? | MLP took a year’s job after graduation to test her plans to enter law school. Her financial support worsened during that year. Disappointed in the legal culture but wanting more education, what should she do? Work her way through school (law or graduate school) or just forget more school? | Making An Early Career Change | Full story, counselor process/advice, resume sample, summary and principles for success |
| Getting Job Search Back in Gear | Far too many people do the first 75% of their job searches pretty well, and then sit back and wait, and wait and wait. It is natural to think the automation gives us time for a breather. Like any campaign, once started, you have to see it through to the end. | Important Follow Up Strategies | Here are six different strategies for active follow up as well as a discussion about reversing turndowns and gaining important feedback. There could be a breakthrough awaiting your next difficult follow up call if you know how to do it. |
| Knock Out Zone | I know how important the emphasis on the "technical" or key word terms is, however how do I get to speak of my accomplishments and things about me that are less "technical" I have a variety of managerial and leadership skills How do I use them? | Going Beyond Key Words on Your Resume | We include a full traditional action verb list, information about having the most powerful information "above the fold", a dissertation on how to prepare objectives, and a final review checklist. |
| Liberal Arts Grad, No Job | After LL graduated last year with a BA in Journalism, no paid job offers showed up. So he accepts a non-paying, one year internship at a prestigious publication. He loves the work and knows the prestige is valuable – or is it? And what about getting paid work? | Trading off Good Experience Vs. Immediate Pay | Full story, counselor process/advice, sample targeted resume, summary and principles for success |
| Losing It At The Interview | JK had three interviews in six weeks and no offers. She compared these with the interviews she had when she left college with three offers. “I suppose things are more competitive now, but what do I need to do? | Power Interviews: Part I | Comments from an employer panel on mistakes people most commonly make in interviews; an exercise in formulating the most powerful answers; a list of questions to prepare before any interview; tips on answering difficult questions and how to dress for success. |
| Lost My Motivation | I feel like I’ve tried everything. I’ve put my resume in all the best search engines. I’ve networked with everybody I know, but I’m just spinning wheels. I’m losing my motivation. Most people agree that nothing’s going to change until the economy gets better, but that won’t help me pay the bills in another two months. | Rebuilding Your Motivation | Plenty of advice and three exercises: success affirmations, get more no’s faster, identifying barriers and taking action on deeper barriers. |
| Making The Most of My Best | I got average grades at an average college, and this makes me nervous in a competitive job search. I’ve had one job since I graduated, and that was part time work. I don’t know how to sell myself and my real talents. How do I convince an interviewer I can do more than take inventory? | Firing Up Your Strengths | An exploration of what Jackson calls the Tyranny of Job Titles, the exploration of a variety of descriptors of talent: capabilities, skills, keywords, accomplishments and results. A 4 page skills inventory process. |
| Mastering The Electronic Monster | Is it unusual to post a resume, pay an upgrade fee and wait six months without a meaningful response? Now I hear that electronic resumes are being sold back and forth like commodities. I guess the electronic job search market is over subscribed. But where does this leave me? Can you recommend any particular sites? | Getting The Most from Digital Job Finding | A detailed discussion of the movement of job search to the Internet and commercial services. Dangers of using services that do not protect your identity. A step by step process to make the most from your Internet career search. |
| Military to Civilian: Disability | CF had a distinguished career in the Marine Corps and served in the Persian Gulf where he suffered trauma resulting in a mild emotional/mental disability. He tried to hide this in interviews unsuccessfully. Find out how he used this condition positively and avoided sabotaging otherwise excellent interviews. | Keeping a disability from being a negative factor in a job search. | Full story, counselor process/advice, recommendation letter, resume, summary and principles for success |
| Negotiating At The Interview | Because of the scarcity of good work, I feel hampered in my ability to negotiate from strength in the interview, especially true around salary levels. Do employers push against you when jobs are competitive, and how do I offset that? | Power Interview II | You’ll get a list of the decision factors every employer uses after an interview; seven very useful strategies for negotiating your best salary; includes the five most penetrating interview questions you should be prepared to answer for any and all interviews; tactics to handle negatives in your work history and more. |
| Personality Stifled by Job | SM built a stable career in bookkeeping over seven years working for a firm specializing in retail clients. Unfortunately her work has become so repetitious she gets no satisfaction from it. She is afraid to make a risky change. Should she take the chance? | Secure And Bored or Risk Change? | Full story, counselor process/advice, before and after resumes, summary and principles for success |
| Pointing Myself to the Future | ZG stayed too long in the same job field since that was where he had his first work experience. He kept on to build up his credentials. Now he feels typecast in this one field and doesn’t know how to change without losing earning power. | Taking The Past Out Of My Future | Tom Jackson explains how to avoid the tyranny of past job titles in looking at your future; a case history of how a person totally turned his career (and salary) around with a redefinition of his talents; a job targeting process and a description and sample of the Targeted Resume process and a sample. |
| Professional Woman in Family Crisis | Successful and single big city lawyer solely responsible for aging, infirm parents faces moving to their faraway town for an extended period. Her job is deeply fulfilling. Her parents are her treasures. What should she do? | Work and Family in Conflict | Full story, counselor’s process/advice, personal proposal for part-time work with same firm
business proposal to make a compelling case for this change, summary and principles for success |
| Searching for Meaningful Work | MM got a BS and a Masters degree, thinking the more she was educated, the better her chances for a well paying job. Today, with no serious job prospects she is panicked that her education is a hindrance, not the big plus she expected. She desperately wants to discover meaningful and practical work. | Don’t Let Your Education Stop You | Full story, counselor process/advice, two resumes in two different formats, summary and principles for success |
| The Chronological Resume | I have had a successful career so far, however the market has changed significantly and I’m not getting the kind of responses I’ve expected. My experience has been consistent in my field. I’ve changed employers a few times, but each time for a bigger job. How can I accomplish that now? I am worried about a salary cut. | Chronological Resume: Building on a strong past. | You will get all the rules and guidelines for writing any resume in any format. You’ll also get specific guidelines for the best chronological resume writing. There is an annotated Chronological Resume sample and two more samples with brief explanations. |
| The Functional-Combination Resume | I have a somewhat varied work history. I’ve used very different skills sets in these jobs over the years. Now I want to combine some of these skills for something new once again. I have a chronological resume, but it doesn’t look as good as I’d like it. What should I do? | The Functional/Combination Resume: Emphasizing skills rather than employers | You will get all the rules and guidelines for writing any resume in any format. You’ll also get specific guidelines for the best Functional/Combination Resume writing. There is an annotated Functional/Combination Resume sample and two more samples with brief explanations. |
| The Resume Alternative | I have significant gaps in my work history and a lot of down time from my last job. Any resume I write tends to focus completely on my deficits, though I can easily explain them. I don’t know how to get across my real skills and capability. | The Resume Alternative: When a letter is better and a standard resume doesn’t do the trick | You will get all the rules and guidelines for writing any resume in any format. You’ll also get the very specific instructions and rules for writing this unique piece. There is an annotated Resume Alternative sample and a simpler version of he same sample. |
| The Targeted Resume | I have excellent skills in an area of work I’ve been away from for three years. I want to return to this work and it’s highly competitive. I’ve kept up with that side of the business and I want to come in with a hard- hitting approach. Is a good cover letter my only hope? | The Targeted Resume: making a highly focused sales pitch | You will get all the rules and guidelines for writing any resume in any format. There is an annotated Targeted Resume sample and two more samples with brief explanations. Finally, we include three pages of worksheets to facilitate your writing in this format. |
| The Thrill is Gone. Move On? | CG has had a secure full-time job for awhile. Now he’s overworked and over-stressed. For several years he’s moonlighted in his dream job with moderate success. The transition seems right since he’s burning out at job #1, but how does he dare take the chance? | Moonlighting and Your Own Business | Full story, consultant’s process and advice, functional resume sample, proposal to current employer for new hours, excerpts from employer -focused cover letter, summary and principles for success |
| Two Mothers – Four Kids: One Job | MK is a stay at home mom living in the suburbs with a traveling husband and two kids in elementary school. She longs for challenging work to break up her homemaking and trade off on her business experience. But so far all she can find are low skill retail jobs and unsteady temp work. She discussed this with a friend in the same situation. | Two Heads Together Create One Fabulous Shared Opportunity | Full story, counselor process/advice, sample two-person resume, excerpts from a sample job- sharing proposal, summary and principles for success |
| Unexpected Layoff; No Savings | EL and his wife were a two-income family spending most of what they earned. He was suddenly laid off and she pushed the panic button. Emotions were running high. Depression married to anxiety. HELP! | Pause; Step Back and Take Stock | Full story, counselor’s process and advice, sample resume, summary and principles for success |
| Working the Web | I got an MBA eight years ago and worked in the securities business until they closed down here. Now I’m on an Internet Job Search and stumped about what to use for keywords and phrases. I have had almost no response to my resume postings. How do I use the right buzzwords to get an interview? | Keywords and Key Phrases | Quoted stories and good tips from recruiters, an exercise on how to penetrate the hidden job market not only to develop potential work opportunities, but also to gather buzzwords and keywords; case histories of people who successfully used the Internet; a worksheet for developing networks. |
