LinkedIn has reached a point where you may be considered unprofessional if you don’t have a profile.  It’s easy to create – you’re visible on LinkedIn simply by registering and entering a few brief details about yourself.  However you must also demonstrate that you are fully invested and become engaged with LinkedIn as a social networking tool, to reap any kind of rewards from becoming a member.  Many LinkedIn users have duly filled out a LinkedIn profile, applied for jobs and then found they are not getting any interviews.  Using LinkedIn as a job board can work extremely well, but only if you are utilizing the tool well and to its full potential.

An assertive approach is key

If you are using LinkedIn as a Job Board, you cannot apply the same techniques used with a traditional job board.  You must network, be tenacious and be aggressive if you want to get your foot in the door.

First of all, bring value to your profile and to the network.  Be active and update your status.  What are you reading?  What seminars are you attending?  Which interesting industry people did you meet?  The more you put in, the more you get out.  If an active recruiter does connect with you on LinkedIn, they will expect you to be an active user and be able to read about your recent – and relevant – endeavors, not just past employment history.

Secondly, don’t limit yourself to networking amongst existing friends, colleagues and acquaintances.  Extend your reach.  For example, if you’re interested in the pharmaceutical industry, try searching with some pharmaceutical keywords – and connecting with some of the many small to medium businesses that pop up.

LinkedIn is your real estate on the internet. If you put the time in to maintain it and keep it looking fresh and up-to-date, you will reap the rewards.  If you don’t, you will find there is no benefit to owning your profile on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is Changing

LinkedIn has changed a lot over the last 18 months – and you have to keep up.  The good thing is that amongst all the changes, the usability of the site has improved.  The dashboard has evolved, and it’s useful to stay up-to-date when changes are made.  As many new fields and functions have been added and irregular users have fallen behind, creating gaping holes in many established profiles.  That just doesn’t look professional.  LinkedIn is sure to evolve further and it’s imperative to keep up appearances and not let your profile slide.

Some of the new tools added are great visibility-boosters, such as ‘Answers’.  Ask questions if there’s something you want to know about, but more importantly respond to questions and your profile will become more noticeable.  ‘Skills’ is another more recent key addition.  LinkedIn even suggests skills for you based on your resume and keywords in your profile – but you have to actively select those skills for employers to come across your profile in their search for a good candidate.

Now You’re Ready

If you’re satisfied your profile is the most up to date, populated and connected it can be, you’re ready to use ‘Apply with LinkedIn’. It’s worth noting that companies add this button to increase applications for a position – and you want to be the candidate that stands out for all the right reasons.  Impressive recommendations, established contacts, and a professional, well-written profile.  You’ll be sitting in that new role in no time!

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Join our open group on LinkedIn for more career tips > Resume Target – A Resume Writing and Job Search Strategy Company

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As the world migrates to a digital business community, resume writing has begun to lag behind, sticking to the more staid resume conventions featuring lengthy objective statements and overly flowery language that perhaps lacks real substance.  The ‘meat’ would be left for the interview.  In the last 12 months however, things have begun to evolve rapidly.  More and more candidates are finding that dusting off a resume from 10, 5 or even 2 years ago and simply adding in their most recent job description does not pull in the career opportunities. Employers in today’s market receive so many applicants that your worth must be instantly identifiable. In any job market, but especially in a depressed economy, it is crucial to spend time focusing on the true function of the resume – namely scoring that important interview.

So what does attract an employer?

It’s less about what you want and more about what they need.  So, throw out the summary explaining what your objectives are – and replace it with a company-focused value proposition, with one or two well-written sentences about what you bring to the table for your potential employer.

Then, most importantly, you need to get down to the real business of selling yourself.  Marketing your own self-worth is not within many people’s comfort zones – but that’s exactly what it takes to land an interview in today’s market.  Just as, if you’re a company doing business in 2011 without a website to back up your proposition you will lack credibility, it just doesn’t pay to be a job seeker these days without the whole package. An attention-grabbing resume and well-written cover letter is no longer enough – an active online presence in the form of a social media profile is imperative.

Resume’s worth their salt right now – and going forward – include links to professional networking and self-marketing sites such as LinkedIn and Google+.  But if you choose to include a link on your resume to your LinkedIn profile, you have to spend time getting it right.  A potential employer taking the trouble to visit your LinkedIn site isn’t going to want to see a bare profile, or an insignificant assortment of connections to your friends.  They want to see solid and relevant associations, personal references, a great portfolio and in short – a professional reflection of you and how others perceive you. A good rule of thumb would be 3 or 4 recommendations for every 100 contacts.  Be relevant and be thorough.  Cover every base; showcasing your public info where hiring authority’s can find you is more important than ever. Don’t forget to update your profiles regularly.

One further trend that we are beginning to see used occasionally in resume-writing is infographics.  A dashboard view of your skills and experience at a glance, infographics can be an attention-grabbing demonstration of your capabilities.  The resume examples at mostcreativeresumes.com are a case-in-point, showing how graphic designers have managed to get noticed.  Sites such as visualize.me and cvgram.me will guide you in that direction.  Adding a QR code can help differentiate you as well. This interesting visual representation of you can be incredibly valuable but it must be used carefully.  Be cautious in ensuring your resume still has substance (you still need a value proposition).  If your career has jumped around all over the place it’ll simply look like a gimmick, but if your infographic shows steady progression or demonstrates experience in a multitude of areas that the position you are applying for requires, then an infographic is a perfect way to stand out from the crowd.

Video resumes or personal video presentations are becoming more popular as well – but proceed with caution.  Yes, a great idea for an aerobics instructor or a public speaker, but for a shipping manager?  You’d better do it well or you’ll fall flat on your face. Rather than getting the interview, you’ll be standing out for the wrong reasons.

It’s worth keeping an element of control in mind with tools like Skype.  It can be easy to sign up to all manner of communication tools, advertise your connectivity and then promptly forget about ever joining, never mind keeping up with yet another profile.  If you join and add your Skype contact to LinkedIn, you must ensure you at least have a professional picture, keep Skype open and pick up your messages.

In summary, job seeking trends are following just one step behind the digital evolution.  Exploit all the new tools you can, but make sure your online persona is substantial and well thought out, with strict attention to detail.  Abide to the old adage – do it properly or not at all!

So will your profile eventually evolve into a sophisticated per-programmed hologram that can interview live anytime?

Is the standard resumé on its way out? What does the resume of the future look like?

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Join us on LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/stMM6Q

Connect with us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ResumeTarget

Got a career or job search question? amos@resumetarget.com

Many employees find themselves in a situation where their company has repeatedly promised to take care of them, however after months of waiting, it can begin to feel like they’re just paying lip service to the idea.

If this is you, it’s time to consider a high risk-strategy that some career-minded individuals are reaping the rewards from.  It’s not for everybody – but worth considering if you are determined to progress your career and want to give the process a kick start.  Do you want to live with the frustration of waiting to see if promises come to fruition – or are you willing to do something about it?

Leverage Can Work

If you’re good at your job and you know – or think – you are valued, there’s one sure-fire way to find out.  Get yourself an offer.  Prepare your resume, apply for opportunities outside your current company and get some leverage.   What’s the worst that can happen?  If you end up with a great offer on the table from a competitor to present to your boss, it’s crunch time.  Either they step up and increase your responsibilities or fulfill that promised pay rise – or they don’t.  If they don’t, you’ve got a good opportunity to pursue.  If they do, mission accomplished!  It’s win, win.

More often than not, its medium sized businesses where this strategy works best.  Small companies may not be in a position to boost your role; and large organizations often don’t have as much riding on individual responsibilities, unless you’re already on the management team.   Busy – and bottom-line focused – executives will overlook successful individuals over for promotion time and time again.  Whether you’re flying under the radar, too good at your current job to move on, or need progression but don’t have anywhere to go,  you need a catalyst for change if you don’t want to stay stuck in a rut.

Nicky Hoffman decided to take this approach last year – and has never looked back.  A sales rep at a successful engineering firm, she had long been promised a senior account manager role.  She knew she could procure another position, had established a huge book of business and was confident that her clients loved her:   “One year after the promotion had been broached; I knew I had to speak to my employer yet again, but it had got to the point where it was unprofessional to keep bringing it up.  I felt I had to take control of the situation.”  Nicky soon found out if she really was a valued employee, as she had hoped.   She secured an offer with a competitor, re-approached her company and the very same day she found herself in front of the CEO accepting the role of senior account manager, along with a 45% increase.  “They knew that if they lost me, it could have been a big problem.  Some clients would have been unhappy, some may have followed me to the competitor, plus it would have been hard to replace me – or swallow the cost of retraining – in the industry I’m in.”  By proactively seeking some leverage, Nicky helped her company realize they’d dropped the ball.  She didn’t complain, so she was still viewed as a team player; instead she succeeded in strengthening the respect of her peers for making a strategic move.

It’s true, the majority of those electing to use a counter offer find it doesn’t come to fruition.    But it’s a guaranteed way to establish your true worth – and that’s as good a reason as any to give it a try.

Have you successfully procured a counter offer and ended up with a promotion or pay raise? Or did job-seeking help you realize it was time to leave?  Would love to hear your stories!

Firstly, any job-seeking professional knows that the first thing you do before applying for a job is check out the company’s website.  Not only to arm yourself with valuable information for your application and hopefully interview, but also to decide: Is this a company that you even want to work for?  Are they a big player or a one man band?  Are they ethical and financially stable?  Are they a good fit with your career path?

The second problem that anonymous job postings present occurs when it comes to the all-important cover letter and resume preparation. It is of course imperative, as a professional, to tailor your cover letter and resume to the company and the specific role.  But if you don’t know the name of the company, how are you going to do this effectively?  If you knew what the company did, you could make a much stronger case as to why you’d be perfect for the job.  Not to mention highlighting and re-wording relevant aspects of your resume to ensure your potential employer can see that your experience is a great fit – especially if it’s an executive position. You certainly wouldn’t call on the resume writing experts to work their magic for an anonymous position.

The answer?

The solution is, don’t waste your time with a killer cover letter and tailored resume.  Get their interest piqued and find out who the company is, before you let them see more about who you are.

Simply send your cover letter as the body of an email.  Explain that you are conducting a confidential job search, that you’re incredibly interested in the role, and that after reading the job description you are sure it’s a position that you are a good fit for.  Then outline that if they’re interested in connecting with you, they can call or reply with details about their company and you would love to send them your resume.  Even include a link to your LinkedIn profile, but do not include your resume.

Provide them with an incentive to call you.  There’s nothing wrong with saying “If you’re confidential, then so am I.”  Leave the ball in their court – if they’re genuine and are in a position to hire, they will have no problem disclosing more information at this stage.

Get wise to anonymous postings.

The company you are applying to could have a legitimate reason for posting a position anonymously – many do.   They may not want internal applicants.  They may be about to re-shuffle or lay off current employees and don’t want the job-holder to get wind of upcoming changes.  The position may be funded off the back of a confidential contract they’ve just won.

For every legitimate anonymous job posting, however, there’s one waiting to lead you up the proverbial garden path.  Often (perhaps unprincipled) job agencies will post fictitious job roles to hook you in as a candidate, perhaps even try to charge you a fee for finding you a genuine position.  That’s the nature of job-hunting though – and if you haven’t put a huge amount of energy into your application, by replying as a confidential applicant, you can happily chalk it down to playing the game.

Have you had an experience (successful or otherwise) with confidential job postings?  Did you find it was a genuine position, a scam or a job agency?

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Got a question: amos@resumetarget.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/stMM6Q

Connect with us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ResumeTarget

Our ideal candidate must have:

A strong work ethic
A tenacious hunger to succeed
A need to have ownership in their role
A good track record in sales
Technical and business savvy

Typically, the ISS directs the entire sales process from initial account identification and on-going customer relationship. ISS represents the company to the customer (partner) and retains overall client responsibility. ISS are the primary contact and engagement point between the client and must be self-governing.

Our ideal candidate is a highly motivated, result driven and dynamic leader that can influence and drive new and renewal business of Service Solutions and Offerings to our customers helping them realize the potential use of their our programs.

The Role is also expected to continuously adapt the organization’s changing conditions, evolving priorities and ensuring readiness to meet future demand. The ISS will personally drive interaction with key clients

Primary Responsibilities include:

Manager coaching and development, and maintaining highly successful report that produce a healthy Services pipeline; Driving development of business growth in cooperation with Analyst Teams; Increasing customer satisfaction; Meeting services revenue commitments; Refining existing and developing new sales processes to improve efficiency; Partnering closely with the all directors, HQ Sales and Marketing team.

The ISS adds value to customers by providing an executive/professional presence and continuity to interface with customers at every level. Success in this regard is measured by customer satisfaction scores and anecdotal feedback, an expanded # of customer contacts and increased Services penetration into other areas of the customer’s network.

The ISS candidate must have proven experience in growing and managing a services pipeline utilizing CRM technologies. The candidate must have superior, business development and business management skills. The candidate should demonstrate an senior level of proficiency in conflict and negotiation management with a proven ability to provide timely feedback and influence direction. Depth of experience in a variety of applicable solutions sales is recommended and strong services business knowledge is needed. This individual must be able to understand and articulate vision to a variety of audiences.

Primary Commitments (Goals first year)
Services Quota Attainment
Services Strategy Target Attainment

Qualifications:

The candidate will have a minimum of 3+ years or more of proven experience in Solutions Sales/Services selling, with a minimum of 1 year proven Sales Management experience, preferably Services Sales Management, combined with a BA/BS degree or equivalent professional development and work experiences.

+++ CRM knowledge is a must (salesforce, zoho, Infusionsoft)
Desired Skills & Experience

Proven track record of sales success, meeting and exceeding sales targets, and penetrating new accounts/markets/competitive through proficiency in prospecting, lead qualification, sales and negotiations

· Highly motivated goal-oriented self starter with ability to work autonomously and as part of a team, takes initiative to make things happen, identifies what needs to be done and does it.

· Exceptional interpersonal skills strong verbal phone communication, effective benefit-oriented presentation skills and robust influencing skills with persistence to overcome objectives.

· Excellent organizational, project management and time management skills, including multitasking and ability to prioritize and meet deadlines, follow up and attention to detail. Adaptable to multiple requests and daily changes.

· Ability to interact effectively with all levels of an organization, both internally and with external customers.

· Creative Problem Solving –Strong analytical skills demonstrating ability to identify root causes of problems; generate and evaluate creative alternative solutions; implement problem resolutions quickly and effectively with fact-based decisions.

· Dependable: Being reliable, responsible, dedicated, committed, and fulfilling obligations

· Adaptable/Flexible: Being open to change (positive or negative) in response to new information, different or unexpected circumstances, and/or to work in ambiguous situations in a high paced environment with changing needs

· High Integrity: Accepting and adhering to high ethical, moral, and personal values in decisions, communications, actions, and when dealing with others

· Experience with Customer Relationship Management tools

Please forward your resume in confidence to: amos@resumetarget.com

A recent survey done by ResumeTarget.com on LinkedIn confirmed what entry-level professionals already know when looking for a job and going to job interviews: the biggest problem breaking into the market nowadays is a lack of experience. According to the numbers, 61% of the participants believe this to be the biggest issue.

“I am going to be a new grad in April 2012, so I have begun my professional job search just recently. Most of the job postings I have found require at least a year of experience. I don’t understand how entry-level positions can require that much experience. You would need at least four internships to get a year’s worth of experience”, says Curtis Denos, Math tutor at BYU-Idaho.

The survey also showed that (12%) chose lack of confidence as the other biggest issue.

11% of the survey’s participants pinpointed lack of information about the opportunity when they apply and read job descriptions. Lack of coaching for job interviews –  received 10% of the votes – and “difficulty in building a resume” came in at 7%.

The majority (60%) that answered the survey were men between 18 to 29 years old. The survey was done between September 19^th and October 4^th.

Because of the recession, young people have been finding it difficult to break into the corporate world. A degree is no longer a certainty of getting a good job after all. “School brilliance does not necessarily translate into real life applicability. I think those grads that have real work experience or solid volunteer experience demonstrating their skills and abilities will have a leg up when it comes to getting a first chance”, says Stephanie Douglas, owner and operator at Culture & Diversity Consulting for Our Colourful World.

For Hardik Jogani, Senior Design Capstone Project at Rutgers University, lack of networking skills can also be a problem. “There is a big emphasis on who you know and not only what you know. If a student builds his or her network early, he or she will be able to gain plenty of experience through internships and extracurricular activities.”

Sarah Gayer, owner of Sare and Associates, believes this is the key to success, be it for new grads or more experienced workers. “You need to start networking as soon as possible. While in school or employed. There is nothing like being approached by someone, who is all of a sudden asking you for a job when they could not be bothered before to even give you the time of day. Networking is something that needs to be done every day and it is ongoing, it never ends”.

She believes everybody should have a management plan and not only applying to job boards once in a while. For Sarah, the jobs are there, but, as they are not being advertised, you have to get known by the company.

But how do you get the employers’ attention if you don’t have enough experience? Deborah Rooney, who is the owner of Power Resumes & Coaching, suggests looking to the resume first. “The challenge for my new grads has been how to build a sharp resume and cover letter, how to navigate their job search, along with the important fact that many of their parents have been downsized. These parents have been unemployed at length and those jobs were eventually divided into multiple opportunities for grads.”

Steve Gallison, master team member at Career Management Alliance and founding director at POAC, believes you have to think out of the box sometimes. For his son, who graduated with a dual degree in business and marketing, the alternative was to open a large restaurant chain and create a plan to open a 40-seat restaurant/bar. “My son says ‘Since the ship wasn’t coming in, I was acquiring the skills and stamina to swim out to the ship’. Starting a restaurant business in this economy is iffy, but he will be poised to take advantage of the business when the economy gets back on its feet”.

In fact there are three things entry level professionals can do to compensate for the lack of experience. The first thing is to create a professional profile on social media websites.

The other two are networking and volunteering, and they can also be related.

Tip: Entry level professionals have to be more social and start networking early. Find places where they can meet people in their industry and start building out relationships. Another good alternative is to network through volunteering. This way, you can be referred you to other people, opening possible new opportunities of engagement with potential employers and hiring authorities.

I encourage entry-level candidates to stay tenacious, but also humble. You have to know how to use your transferable skills and know your personal professional pitch. You have to be able to communicate your value with clarity and without mumbling.

Got a question: amos@resumetarget.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tayts

Connect with me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Staff_MD

Steve Jobs’ death surprised me and left many individuals feeling that a genius architect was gone, the one person/face who did everything to enhance the companies mission. It came right in a moment when the Apple brand is gaining more value, and accumulating record earnings each quarter. As their 2011 fiscal year ended on September, the fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings release date is soon approaching. Analysts still expect strong growth after a record net profit of around US$ 7.31 billion (US$ 7.79 per share) in the third quarter, which was announced in July. For their fourth quarter, the company expects diluted earnings per share of about US$ 5.50, according to the previous release. Results are scheduled to be released to the media on October 18^th

Other PC and tablet manufacturers are struggling in the market, but Apple remains resilient. As the company’s year profit is to be released and analysts already have good expectations, it serves as a proper model of how essential personal branding is when establishing customer loyalty and targeting market success.

Personal branding is very similar to company branding, you just need to adapt some concepts. Specific images and icons become associated with the brands they represent. By developing a unique approach for yourself, you are not only maximizing your opportunities for exposure but constructing a career that distinguishes you from others. Whatever brand symbol you develop, it should also reflect your personality, background and interests.

Here are some tips to help you structure your personal branding statements and, as a company does, project yourself to the world.

1. Creating a personal brand is the first step in marketing yourself to a public audience. It is all about how people see you. So first of all, you need to organize what you like to do, your goals and how you want people to see you and feel about you.

2. Design your brand and promote it. In a product, you can see how a company communicates with their clients. This is also visible in the type of advertisement companies choose and how they make themselves available. That means their visual and verbal vocabulary is expressed in design, advertisement and networking. So first, you need to take care of your image and plan your actions. Visibility can equal credibility.

3. Use social networking tools like LinkedIn and Facebook to full optimize your public profile and also promote yourself. The social networking websites expand your network and help reach people that interest you. This is sure to get you noticed. Just remember you want to use a visual and verbal vocabulary that suits what you want to transmit.

4. Use “emotions” to show your brand. Having a vision is important. Let people understand what you think about things that happen around you. This way you sound approachable and involved in other people’s causes. Companies that have a vision statement, ethics and remain interested in clients’ lives are most likely to succeed. Just remember to establish a target so your goals are clear to your public.

5. Putting yourself into your target’s shoes helps you explain why you are an expert in doing something and how you can be useful to other people. Using Steve Jobs as an example again, he said Apple’s employers ask themselves what they would want as clients. That is now company motto.

6. Maintaining your public image can benefit you in numerous ways. Everything you do impacts on your image, including your online presence, communication skills, resume-writing style and even how you dress. Because you only have a few seconds to make a lasting impression, it is important you get it right the first time. Make sure your personal brand reflects who you are and that you continuously make an effort to improve it.

7. Take your message on the road to successfully market your brand and message. To take it to the next level, go in person to events that provide networking opportunities. Get together with people of your field and strengthen your professional connections.

8. Clarify, not persuade. Constructing a brand is more than just trying to sell your product – or yourself, in this case. The best way of gaining credibility, after making yourself visible, is to educate your audience. Clarify your accomplishments, use numbers, facts and ROI (Return On Investment). Be clear about what you can do and what you have done. Do not try to persuade by selling, but by educating. This is also one of the intricate strategies that a brand like Apple has used to capitalize their success.

No matter what, keep in mind that the brand you present must be consistent.

Well, I hate to be the barer of bad news, but people judge you based off of the clothes you wear. I don’t care if you’re walking down the street, or sitting in a business meeting; people are constantly looking at what you’re wearing.

Over the past 10 years I’ve dressed like a bum, worn decent clothes, and dressed like a boss. I must admit, there is a huge ROI in wearing nice clothes… especially in the business world.

The Bum Years

When I first started out as an entrepreneur I didn’t have much money. So whenever I went out to networking events I either wore baggy jeans that looked like I had poop in my pants or slacks and a shirt that typically didn’t match. Most of my threads were from Target.

As you can probably already guess, half the issue was that I had no sense of style and the other half was that I didn’t want to spend too much money.

Whenever I walked into meetings or went to a conference people wouldn’t really give me the time of the day until they got to know me. Once they learned I was somewhat smart they were willing to listen to me and potentially work with me. The issue was, it took people a while to warm up to me because no one wanted to waste their time talking with someone who looked like a chump.

After a few years of going through this, a friend of mine kindly suggested that I spend a bit more money on my wardrobe, pay more than 10 bucks for a haircut, and get a decent pair of shoes.

I invested two thousand dollars in making myself over. And boy, it made a huge difference…

Note: During this phase of my life, my hourly consulting rate was under $100.

My big break through

With my new clothes, a somewhat decent haircut, and nice pair of black shoes I made a break through. At first I noticed that people were more willing to talk to me when I went to conferences. I also noticed that during my business meetings people took me more serious.

However, none of those things really mattered because they weren’t big break throughs. What was a big break through was that people assumed that I was somewhat well off because I was dressing much better. When I starting talking to potential customers they naturally assumed that I was successful and my services were costly because I was better dressed.

So when it came down to locking in new deals these potential customers started offering me more money. As I got a taste of money making, I wanted more, so I decided to take things up a new level with my wardrobe.

Note: During this phase of my life, my hourly consulting rate went up to $250.

The Boss Years

From Gucci suits, to designer shoes, to 5 figure watches, I stepped up my appearance as much as I could within my financial constraints. And boy, not only was there a huge ROI, but it was a much bigger difference than I ever experienced between my bum and normal stage.

By dressing to impress, successful business owners started to flock to me when I attended networking events and people listened when I spoke in business meetings. In addition to that I was praised for wearing rare watches that other business owners wanted, but didn’t have.

This experience taught me that successful people like to hang around with other successful people as they tend to feel comfortable around themselves. Now, by no means am I saying that all successful people dress nice, but the chances are if someone comes up to you and they are wearing a 5 figure watch, they have money.

And when you start talking about business with these successful people, they know that if they do business with you, it’s going to be costly for the following reasons:

• You have an expensive lifestyle – if people realize you have money, they know that they are going to have to pay a pretty penny to work with you. They know that if you throw around small amounts of cash in front of you, you just won’t care.
• It has to move your needle – in business there is saying that if it doesn’t move your needle, it’s not worth doing. So if the amount someone is willing to offer you isn’t life changing, there is a much greater chance that you won’t accept it. Due to this business owners will throw out much larger amounts if they want to work with you.

By dressing like a “boss” my credibility went through the roof with other business owners and I was able to do things like close 7 figure business deals.

Note: During this phase of my life, my hourly consulting rate was above 4 figures.

Conclusion

Although you should dress to impress because there is an ROI, there are a few caveats that you ought to know about.

The first is that if you aren’t clever dressing to impress won’t work well for you. People will see right through it and you won’t build any valuable business relationships. So before you go out and start spending money on clothes and watches, make sure you know what you’re talking about.

The second thing that you need to know is that after you have “made it” and people know you’re successful, it doesn’t matter how you dress. Although I still feel I have a long ways to go in my career, most people see me as being successful. These days I wear sneakers, cheap t-shirts, and I don’t really sport fancy watches because I want to focus on work. That stuff was never me, and although I used it to get further in my career, I still prefer shopping at Target over Nordstroms.

In the short run, dressing to impress is definitely worth it, but you also have to make sure that it doesn’t get to your head. You can quickly start spending thousands of dollars on clothes and after a certain point, there really isn’t a big difference between a thousand dollars on a suit versus spending five thousand.

Now that you have heard my story, do you think it’s worth dressing to impress?

Original Source: QuickSprout.com

In the new comedy film Horrible Bosses starring Jason Bateman, we can all learn a thing or two about being mistreated in the workforce. It’s not a topic we often talk about, but it’s something that we can’t ignore. Although this film is quite funny, it has some serious undertones that address the darker side of the workplace. Bateman’s character Nick hates his boss for not giving him a promotion after the eight years he’s spent working for him. He thinks he’s done everything he can to deserve an office of his own but his high expectations are blown away when his evil boss, Mr. Harken (Kevin Spacey), takes the senior position that was intended for him.

Experiencing the same kind of trauma are two of Nick’s friends, Dale and Kurt, who have similar attitudes about their bosses. Conflicted by what to do, the three guys meet each other at a bar to discuss their misfortunes. There they also meet an old friend of theirs, who recently quit his job and is in dire financial debt. That’s when they realize it’s better to be employed than not at all. However, they still start a revenge plot to get back at their bosses for making their lives miserable.

According to the film, here are some invaluable lessons to be learned:

1. Never arrive late to work. Get there two hours early and stay there for two extra hours.

In reality, you should always try to arrive to work at least 10-20 minutes early and leave work 10-20 minutes after the 5 o’clock mark to keep things organized. You don’t want to constantly hit the door at 5:01 pm because it makes you look uninterested in your role. Employers need to feel you have ownership in what you do.

2. Say goodbye to your love life. You only have yourself.

In theory, your work is your life and you spend most of your time at work. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get out more and spend time with your friends and family. It’s never good to be secluded from the rest of society so don’t work too hard all the time – learn to manage your work/life balance.

3. Drink a whole glass of scotch at 8:15 in the morning because your boss manipulated you.

If your boss has a habit of abusing their power  – its not the kind of environment you want to thrive in. Try to keep up with your boss’s expectations but if they keep controlling you until your about to crack, maybe it’s time for you to find a new job.

4. Keep your job.

Even if you hate your job today, don’t let your frustration get the best of you. You may not have any other choice but to work at your current position, so be grateful that you have a job. Remember you still have to pay the bills! But if you are at this point already, it may be a good time to start building a job search strategy.

If worse comes to worse, seek a therapist about your situation. Perhaps you can find other ways to deal with your work-related stress before it becomes worse.

Although this film doesn’t suggest you to actually “kill” your boss to succeed in the workplace, it teaches us about self-discipline and workplace strategy.

So again I ask -  would you expose your boss’s wrongdoings if you were treated unfairly?

Got a question: amos@resumetarget.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tayts

Connect with me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Staff_MD

When it comes to job-hunting, phone interviews are tests. Everyone has them. They are sometimes the standard first step in the hiring process. If you pass, you’ll be offered a deeper, face-to-face interview. If not, that’s the end of your candidacy.

But phone interviews can be nerve-wracking. Only 30 per cent of the meaning we get from people comes from verbal communication. The rest comes from non-verbal cues. So, it’s tough when you have solely the voice to work with. But, surprisingly, job-seekers tend to undervalue the significance of phone interviews, considering it not as important as face-to-face interviews.

Since phone interviews can happen at any time during your job search, here I share my top tips to help you during your phone interview and make sure you do great and move on to next phase:

• Develop a rapport.

Selling yourself is not easy. Building rapport is one of the most fundamental sales techniques. In a sales capacity, rapport is used to build relationships with others quickly and to gain their trust and confidence – this means establishing a bond – or some sort of common ground – with your interviewer. It helps if you do some research on them. Know their alma mater, their specialties or even hobbies – if you have anything in common with them, that would make a good icebreaker. This means doing your research on whoever will be interviewing you and looking them up on LinkedIn to see where their background lies.

• Keep your answers simple.

Be clear, concise and structured with your communication. After all, hiring managers typically have dozens of phone interviews to get through.

• Set the stage of what you plan on telling the interviewer.

Part of being simple and compelling is being organized. As you share your accomplishments and skill sets with the interviewer, it’s a good idea to use what’s called signposts – words like firstly, secondly and thirdly – to signal where you are to the interviewer.

• Highlight unique accomplishments and results that are relevant to role and industry.

You should aim to highlight specific achievements in your past experiences. It could be anything being the first in the industry to launch a specific initiative, being among one of the top sales reps (if you’re in sales) or achieving a record-breaking promotion X years. Remember, you want to stand out from the dozen or so phone interviewees as much as possible.

• Use buzzwords, industry jargon in your answers.

Know the buzzwords for the job and the field, advises Mary Greenwood, human resources manager for the City of Winter Park in Florida. According to Greenwood, if you don’t understand a question because you don’t know what one of the buzzwords is, that could hurt your chances for the job.

• Speak slowly.

As you know, phone interviews are clearly not the same as face-to-face ones. It’s much clearer to listen to someone when you’re standing in front of them in flesh and blood. That’s why it’s important to “speak slowly and allow for pauses,” according to Kathleen Brady, career coach with Career Planners LLC, based in New York, and former director of recruitment of Jackson Lewis LLP.

• Be enthusiastic!

It’s always important to be enthusiastic in any interview. But it’s even more important in a phone interview. “The interviewer will not have the benefit of non-verbal communication (and) nor will you,” says Paula Soileau, former CFO of the American Heart Association and co-founder of Affintus, a recruiting and predictive job matching service. But Soileau recommends not to overdo it. Strike a balance between sounding passionate and blatantly sucking up.

Tip: Part of your checklist should be reading through the company’s annual report to see how they present themselves in the market using specific keywords.

Keep in mind to make a list of questions based on your homework on the organization. It speaks to your curiosity and interest in the position. And remember not to undervalue the importance of phone interview. You want to do your best to sound enthusiastic, professional and right for the company. That way, you’ll pass the test and the hiring manager will want to pursue you further.

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Got a question: amos@resumetarget.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tayts

Connect with me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Staff_MD