Craigslist in the job search

Craigslist in the job search Last week I met a cousin-in-law who Id only known from Facebook.   He has read my blog and tweets and knows my mind is in career management and job search and because of that he shared a cool story with me. He was working in a job that was okay but definitely not where he needed to be and he regularly was scanning for open positions.   He said he included Craigslist in his daily routine to see what new jobs came up. He told me he saw a new job posted on Craigslist (hes a senior level network engineer), applied for it, and within 4 days was hired.   It was very fast he was in the right place, with the right skills, and interviewed well, and Im sure hell do great at this new job (which is much more aligned with what he needed). Craigslist in a job search?   If you thought Craigslist was only a place to find or dispose of furniture you might be missing out on an opportunity to find your next gig. Susan Joyce, owner of JobHunt.org, has written about finding a job on Craigslist.     You can see her post titled Using Craigslist to find a job, where you can also download a free ebook with the same title. The idea is to use appropriate resources to find out about opportunities dont discount Craigslist. (however, I will say that if you go to the discussion forum for jobs you are absolutely wasting your time.   I think this is one of the darkest and most shameful areas that Craig allows on the site stay away from it) Craigslist in the job search Last week I met a cousin-in-law who Id only known from Facebook.   He has read my blog and tweets and knows my mind is in career management and job search and because of that he shared a cool story with me. He was working in a job that was okay but definitely not where he needed to be and he regularly was scanning for open positions.   He said he included Craigslist in his daily routine to see what new jobs came up. He told me he saw a new job posted on Craigslist (hes a senior level network engineer), applied for it, and within 4 days was hired.   It was very fast he was in the right place, with the right skills, and interviewed well, and Im sure hell do great at this new job (which is much more aligned with what he needed). Craigslist in a job search?   If you thought Craigslist was only a place to find or dispose of furniture you might be missing out on an opportunity to find your next gig. Susan Joyce, owner of JobHunt.org, has written about finding a job on Craigslist.     You can see her post titled Using Craigslist to find a job, where you can also download a free ebook with the same title. The idea is to use appropriate resources to find out about opportunities dont discount Craigslist. (however, I will say that if you go to the discussion forum for jobs you are absolutely wasting your time.   I think this is one of the darkest and most shameful areas that Craig allows on the site stay away from it)

The Complete Beginners Guide to Starting a Successful Blog

The Complete Beginners Guide to Starting a Successful Blog Starting a blog completely changed my life. In March 2010, I randomly started this blog. I was in business school at the time and also working a full-time job. The decision was made because of a group MBA project where I was assigned to come up with a plan to sell baby clothes on mom blogs online. I saw other women blogging and thought I could do it too. I had a week off of school for spring break and I started this blog for fun. It was just a hobby at that time and I had no idea that I even wanted to be an entrepreneur back then. Weve sure come a long way! Starting a blog helped me discover my passion and gave me the confidence to network and meet new people. It helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Going through this whole process and realizing that I could turn my blog into a business is what I want to cover today in-depth today in this post. Over the last 6 years, I have made a lot of mistakes and I dont want you to make the same ones. My passion is teaching so this post shares it all. Note: I also put this entire post into a starting a blog checklist with  9 blog resources I cant live without. I think youll love it too.  15 Major Blogging Mistakes to Avoid Mistake #1: Trying To Be Perfect I am a perfectionist. I want my blog posts to be perfect. What I have learned though is that I will never move forward in life and in my business if I try to make everything perfect. You need to be aware of this too. Done is better than perfect. I usually make my posts go live and look at them again as they go live on my site. If your content is going to help someone and if you dont hit that publish button, it cant help people. That is your purpose. My posts from 2010 are definitely not perfect. If I had never started in 2010, I wouldnt be where I am today and I would not have learned so much. Blogging is a journey of personal growth and learning. Mistake #2: Not Planning Ahead When I started blogging, I was very busy working a full-time job, getting my MBA and traveling for work. But, I still kept very consistent and this is important because people will come to your site and always want to see something new. If you can plan ahead at least 2-3 weeks in advance with ideas and topics, youll be amazed at the content that you can get out and blogging will actually be fun! Your content doesnt need to be completely done weeks ahead though. The topics are there. You should know the draft titles for a month ahead and schedule them in advance when they are ready to go. We use WordPress Editorial Calendar plugin so we can schedule posts in advance. When I was blogging my first year, I would go to work and my posts would go live while I was sitting in my cubicle. I had automated social media going out too and was getting a ton of engagement just during my client meetings. You dont want to blog last minute or you wont produce very good content. You also dont want to be stressed with trying to produce content. I would wake up in the morning and know exactly what I was going to blog about when I had a month of ideas ready to go. Mistake #3: No Email List or Way For People To Sign-up You must collect emails on your blog. There was a whole year that I never collected emails back in 2010. There were so many people that I could have connected with at that time that I missed out on. What a bummer! They were enjoying what I was writing and I never built that relationship with them. I have learned a lot since putting together a little networking guide and starting my first email list. Now I give away a free 90-day planner and you can see on every blog post here on the sidebar I give away something for free. Create a simple PDF, ebook or cheat sheet or even a copy of the blog post you have already written. Just turn it into a PDF. For instance, if youd like my free Start a Blog Checklist, you can get an example of what we give away. Mistake #4: Treating Your Blog As a Hobby Instead of a Business Treat yourself as a CEO of your own career and your own life. Hint: You must know that there are  SO MANY opportunities with blogging. I get so many emails every day with potential opportunities. That is why I hired my first VA to help me with all the email opportunities! Even if you dont want to make a business out if it, think of your blog as a business instead of a hobby. Just by having a blog and posting consistently over a long period of time, there are people who would like to pay you to post about their product or service on your site or your social media. They will pay you to post a giveaway or to go on a trip and stay in a nice, fancy hotel. I wish I would have known earlier to treat my blog as a business and myself as a CEO! Mistake #5: Too Much Comparing When you are so consumed so much with other people that you cant create yourself, you are in trouble. Blogging is all about creating, being yourself and putting yourself out there. Its about being unique and telling stories about yourself. You have to think back to big stories of your life and weave those stories into what you sell. In case you havent noticed, there is so much noise out there. Its very noisy online right now. You might be saying, I wish I had her site design.  This is when its important to put those blinders on because you have a mission and you have a purpose. If you are alway looking at what others are doing and you cant get the real you out to create the thing that is really great for you, you have to stop comparing. Now when I blog its really all me. I am constantly unsubscribing and hiding people from social media. I even hide Facebook ads. I have people I really trust like mentors and mastermind mama bosses I LOVE but my guidance needs to stay limited and extremely positive! I have people I cant follow because I wouldnt be able to write this post and create what I am capable of if I was wondering what other people are writing too. Make your own runway. Dont compare. Be unique. Mistake #6: Bad Blog Titles I picked some really bad titles when I started. Titles are so important because they are the first thing people see. Pinterest is one of my main traffic sources. Thats where I go to get ideas for great titles. I usually come up with 4-5 titles, narrow them down and get other peoples feedback to come up with my best title. It really has to capture attention. Mistake #7: No Images Pictures are everything. Since Pinterest is our #1 source of traffic, all of my attention is on beautiful images now. There are so many free image sites like picjumbo.com and pexels.com  where you can download great pictures for free. This was not an option when I started blogging. You can also try flickr.com for their creative commons licensed photos. Even better, we take our own pictures now. You most likely also have a phone with a great camera now. So no excuses! Images are what people are drawn to especially if you are blogging to women. Dont forget about the power of Pinterest. Its amazing.  We use picmonkey.com. Mistake #8: Paying Too Much For Your Website Many people ask me who our website designer is and who my branding person is. Its us. What you are looking at did not come from thousands of dollars from a website designer. We have had our site for 6 years updating and designing it ourselves. Some people may need a designer to get started but you dont need to spend that much money. You might need some technical support. You can get our  blog checklist  which has all the tools we use blogging. I just dont want you paying that much. I know that it isnt that difficult to build a site (but I dont want to get all my designers mad at me:). If you are just starting out you dont need to spend that much money when you are starting out. Start slowly. Dont go too fancy on your website. Mistake #9: Too Much Thinking, Not Enough Doing Maybe you have wanted to blog for years but you arent taking action and doing it. Just start. Do it this weekend. Hit publish. Build your website. Dont think too much and start doing more than you are thinking about it.  Stop saying you are going to do it and just actually do it. Mistake #10: Not Monitoring Your Traffic Please download google analytics. Its an easy plugin you can use so you can track where your traffic is coming. That is the #1 way you can see where people are coming and who is referring people to your blog. Most importantly, youll be able to find out what social media platform is the best for you. Previously, I spent too much time on Instagram and then realized that Pinterest was driving way more traffic to our site. What I teach now is figuring out what works for your content and utilizing that as much as possible. Mistake #11: Not Having a Reader Avatar You have to know who you are writing your blog for. Every time you write, think about who you are writing to. If I can imagine a real live person than I am way more myself in my posts and videos. Pretend like you are writing to a client or potential client or create your ideal client Avatar. Whats her name and her age? Learn more about her or him, how much money she makes and the TV shows she watches. This will help you figure out what you should blog about. Surveying will help you figure out your ideal readers fears, frustrations, goals and desires which will help you be a better listener and blogger. Mistake #12: Not Being Real and 100% You You have to be real. You have to put yourself out there. Theres a lot of fears that come with this. Its not easy. Something could go wrong. You could mess up. You have to put yourself out there. Be yourself. Share stories. Try journaling and put yourself back into the position of your clients. Mistake #13: Not Using Keywords and SEO I love the plugin for WordPress, Yoast SEO. I highly recommend it. For every post you create, there should be a keyword that you are writing the post to. Yoast SEO will tell you whether you have hit the greenlight SEO benchmark or not. If you have all green lights, you are set to go! All this stuff, I didnt think about when I started. I am glad I got out there, wrote blogs and wasnt perfect but I sure wish Yoast SEO was around when I started. I would have used it from the beginning and wouldnt be updating old 2010 posts now. ?? As far as SEO, Google wants to see at least 300 words in each article. We try to aim for 700 words at least but some, like this one, are way more. I have heard that articles that go to 2,000 words get the best traffic numbers because they have great content and value. Make sure you give as much value as you can in each post. If people are coming to your site, give them great content. If you are just getting, I would go with longer posts with great information. Mistake #14: Not Having Categories Every time we create a blog post, we put what category that article falls into. This will make it easier for people to be able to find the content they want on your site. It will even more important later on when you have a lot of articles. It will be easier to sort and it will help Google identify what your content and articles are all about. Mistake #15: Not Having a Blog Ideas List When I first started, I had at least 30 topics that I wanted to blog about. If you cant come up with a long list, maybe its not right for you to be blogging about it. You have to want to do it.  You have to be passionate about it. You want to have a ton of ideas and a running list of what to write about it when you get inspired to write. You can use excel first. Now we use Asana.com for organizing our tasks and we have a project on Asana with all of our blog content ideas. If you dont write it down, you are going to forget about that idea. You can also use Evernote. If I Was Starting a Blog Today, Heres What I Would Do I may start a blog again soon (in a different industry) so this was a good exercise for me. ?? This advice is mine personally. I know there are other ways to start a blog. But the tried and trusted way I tell all my clients is below. I  love the DIY aspect. I love teaching you how to do this very affordably as well and when you have limited time working a day job too. Heres what I would do first: 1. Use Bluehost.com to purchase domain name (Cost: $10/year) and hosting ($150/year). 2. Download WordPress.org through Bluehost (Cost: Free). Find a free WordPress theme or search for a theme under $50. 3. Design my logo myself in picmonkey.com. (Cost: Free) 4. Go to Target and spend $25 on the prettiest office supplies, notebooks, straws and pink staplers I can find. Check out the $1 section for some great deals. You can also get a white posterboard at Target as well for $1 and use your iPhone or phone camera! (Cost: $25) 5. Create Pinterest images on picmonkey.com.  (Cost: Free) 6. Use Yoast SEO plugin.  (Cost: Free) 7. Create a personalized Leadbox on every article using Leadpages to collect emails. I would give away a checklist or cheat sheet on every blog post that is directly related to the content of that article. (Cost: $29/month) 8. I would write one incredible article once per week with a ton of great info (just like this one!). I would stay very consistent. (Cost: Free) 9. Promote my blog everywhere all week long. Over and over again. Use quotes from the article and different images from the same blog post all throughout the week. Make it a great post. Have a great lead magnet for that post with a cheat sheet that went along with that blog post. Schedule this all using a great social media scheduler called ViralTag. (Cost: Free) 10. Create a video for every blog post. Embed it onto the site and upload the video to YouTube and Facebook separately. Also, share 1-minute sections of the video on Instagram. Video on mobile is so popular right now and its only going to grow over the next few months. You can reach so many more people when you upload videos on Facebook right now than just posting a quote. (Cost: Free) 11. Partner with other writers and share each others content. Ask them to share their articles on social media so it drives traffic to your site. Your readers will love reading different voices on your site as long as the writer is sticking with the categories of your site. The more often you post, the more you can share on social media and the better rankings on Google. I think this is a better strategy than guest posting since it drives traffic to your site rather than you driving traffic to other peoples sites. I love this strategy because I love creating communities and sharing other peoples advice because I feel like it creates better content and more value for the reader. (Cost: Free) Total cost is way less than $500 to start. Just go for it, ok!? Some of the links in this post are affiliate links meaning I may earn a commission through clicks or purchases made using that link.

3 Keys to Create Increased Success in the New Year! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

3 Keys to Create Increased Success in the New Year! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The transition to entrepreneurship is not an easy one. Personally, I was accustomed to having a team around me with whom I could confide challenges, ask for advice and discuss new ideas to improve my selling effort. I found being a solo-preneur lonely and filled with much uncertainty. Through the years I endured many trial and error scenarios. But I always examined all angles of the poor situation for what might work better. This past year I discovered the three keys for success. Key #1: Belief You must believe with your heart and soul all the ways down to your toes that you will be successful. You may not yet have found the way but it’s around the corner. With continued education you know you will find the success you desire. Key #2: Vision Unless you have a vision of what your success looks like, the strong belief will be in vain. You must always know what is on the horizon and where you want to be one, three, five, and then years out. Included must be the recognition of the legacy you are building. Key #3: Plan Without a plan, the vision and belief are just nice thoughts but will not come into being. So now that you do have the vision of where you wish to go and the belief you will get there, what is your plan to make this happen? As I stated above, not everything in your plan will work to perfection. Occasionally you might even experience a setback. Will you still hold your vision and the belief you will get past the disappointment? Belief, Vision, and Plan are a team! I had to come to grips with the fact that entrepreneurship requires all three. And I’m willing to say that for entrepreneurs the most difficult adjustment to make is the belief in oneself. Should you too have difficulty believing success is around the corner, the best thing you can do is to document your success monthly. Every six months review them for what worked best and celebrate how far you have come. Use the documentation as a planning tool, especially for the New Year. In honor of the New Year around the corner, what new services or products might you create to put you into higher visibility? Consider all you have done in the past is there a possibility it may be combined to offer a more attractive package for your clientele? For example, over the past 7.5 years, I have created several types of training programs and a complete product line. I will be combining these services into a business retreat in Sonoma County by end of first quarter. By presenting a bigger picture and knowing past clients have been very satisfied, I have the belief this program will be hugely successful, the vision for how it will unfold, and the plan to make it happen. Beyond the retreat, bigger and bolder visions and planning are in the works for increased success in the New Year. Wishing you a most Joyous New Year! Author: Elinor Stutz is the CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC a motivational speaker and the author of the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results” published by Sourcebooks. Elinor’s new book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews” is based upon years of community service teaching job-seekers how to land the job they desire. Elinor provides team sales training, private coaching to grow you business, and is available upon request for consultation.

Strategies for a sleep-deprived workday

Strategies for a sleep-deprived workday Chances are half of your colleagues at work are desperate for a nap. Many adults dont get enough sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation, the problem particularly acute among younger workers: one in three struggle to get out of bed each morning. Whats keeping them up at night? Not work worries. Marie Gagnon, 24, is a regular at Rumor, a nightclub in Boston. Though shes employed in a 9-to-5 job at an insurance company, she cant imagine staying home every weeknight: I dont want to be bored, she says. I love the energy of Rumor. What time does it get rolling? Midnight. Gagnon says clubgoers with jobs go home at 2 a.m. and the college kids stay later. Maybe theyd all get to bed earlier if they knew that research shows lack of sleep can make you dumb and fat. Those who get fewer than six hours of sleep a night might as well be drunk. The Sleep Foundation determined that people who remain awake for 18 hours straight function similar to drinkers with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent, the level states use to determine whether someone is legally impaired to operate a car. And, when you dont get enough sleep your brain starts thinking it needs to store food, according to Eve Van Cauter, a researcher at the University of Chicago. Leptin, a hormone that helps regulate hunger and body fat, drops from lack of sleep, triggering hunger. What to do about sleepiness? The most obvious solution is to change your lifestyle. I used to try to go out every night in college, says Gagnon, but now that Im in the real world, Ive cut back. Her job as a claims representative starts at 9 a.m. She says as long as shes home by 2 a.m., she can get to work on time. This leaves her short of sleep most people need seven hours a night. To compensate, Gagnon sometimes puts in longer hours and drinks coffee five or six cups at a minimum. But this is a risky strategy; after so much caffeine, the bodys response to the stimulating effects of coffee can become dulled. Which is why even after six cups, she still feels a slump in the afternoon: I usually have to go in early the next day or stay later to manage my workload. Sleep researchers advocate alternatives to Gagnons strategy. A bright light will keep you awake, says Daniel Kripke, professor of psychiatry at University of California San Diego. For those of you in the light bulb market, look for a bright white or bluish light. Fluorescent without ultraviolet. Administer the light to yourself in the morning, when it is most effective in the battle against sleepiness. But it probably has some benefits if you use it later in the day, too, he says. Napping works. However, napping is considered an office disruption, so you might have to book a windowless conference room to get away with this one. But a nap is well worth the risk. It will rescue your lagging performance, according to Sara Mednick, sleep researcher at the Salk Institute. Mednick currently is studying two groups of people in her lab. Those in one group do not get a nap, and their performances decreased as the day progresses. The other group napped and their performance not only did not go down, but it sometimes goes up after the nap. Mednick, not surprisingly, is gung-ho for naps, and in fact, she says, you can actually train yourself to be the kind of napper who can shut your eyes for 10 minutes and wake up refreshed. You only need to practice for a couple of weeks, says Mednick. Alas, the chronic under-sleeper probably does not have the discipline to nap efficiently and so risks waking up feeling more tired than before. Luckily, theres the caffeine nap. Caffeine can clear your body of the chemical adenosine, which makes us want to sleep. Researchers at the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University in England were investigating ways to prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel and causing car crashes. They found that the best way to regain alertness if you feel like youre falling asleep is to chug a cup of coffee and then immediately take a 15-minute nap. The idea is to get the sleep in before the caffeine takes effect. So you have to start napping right after that cup of coffee or a can of caffeinated soda goes down. Not a bad solution, but certainly not long term. The only long-term solution is to get a regular seven hours of sleep. So among all this research, the advice that stands out as the best is from Kripke: If you dont like how you feel the next day, then dont stay up too late.

How To Use A Professional Resume Writing Service For Teachers

How To Use A Professional Resume Writing Service For TeachersIf you want to increase your chances of getting your dream job, you should hire a professional resume writing service for teachers. This article will teach you how you can use this kind of service to make sure that you get a job.A professional resume writing service for teachers is an excellent way to get a job if you have professional writing skills. Most educators know the value of quality resumes and they know that you have to be experienced in writing professionally in order to get a good job. However, you can also consider a resume service for teachers, but only if you have no experience writing resumes.After all, no one wants to hire someone who has only been teaching for a short period of time, so you may want to hire a service that hiring people with experience and expertise in this field. A good resume service for teachers can easily help you craft a winning resume that will land you a very good job. Let's see how a professional resume writing service for teachers can help you land the job you have always wanted.The first thing you need to do is get yourself prepared for the interview. Tell your interviewer's all about your education background and your teaching experience. You also need to talk about the specific skills that will help you do your job well. The main key to good professional resume writing service for teachers is that you must show that you are a good candidate for the job you are applying for.So, what should you look for in a service? The first thing you need to look for is the list of potential employers. This should include the universities where you will be applying for jobs, as well as the national agencies and corporations that you would like to work for. A good service will also give you information on those job openings that they believe have the highest potential for hiring. You can choose the career fields you would like to apply for by listing them on the resume ser vice you are using.A professional resume writing service for teachers should also tell you about the online applications they recommend. These include Job Bank, My Online Profiles, and Live Chat. These services make it easier for you to search the job listings by filling out your profile information and uploading your resume. With these applications, you can get a head start in submitting your resume to hundreds of different companies at once.After you've submitted your resume, the next step is to go through the resume carefully and get feedback from the reviewer. That's when you learn more about the company that you are working for and about your professional standing in the field. In addition, you can find out about their policies regarding personal references, as well as their employment policy regarding educators' employment rights.A professional resume writing service for teachers will help you create a winning resume that will help you land a job in your desired field. After a ll, there are thousands of schools needing teachers, so you really don't have any other choice. You must find a service that can help you in your quest to find a teaching job.

How to Write an Excellent Cover Letter - CareerEnlightenment.com

How to Write an Excellent Cover Letter Follow a Simple Yet Professional Structure Many employees fail to understand the amazing benefits that an excellent cover letter could bring them. Unfortunately, this lack of understanding will cause them to “miss” many job opportunities. When you apply for a job post, you first send your resume, and along with it, the cover letter. Throughout the cover letter, you are selling yourself and you bring additional critical details that are meant to complete your entire pitch.You should keep in mind that a remarkable cover letter will put you in front of your competition. You can prove your worth in words, and you can detail on what makes you the perfect candidate by letting the employer know more about you and your personality. Moreover, display your genuine reasons for applying, and showcase the potential value that you’ll bring to the company.In order to develop a perfect cover letter, you should first know what you’re doing. In today’s post, we’re presenting an effective process that will help you write remarkable cover letters for all your future applications.Follow a Simple Yet Professional StructureWhen you write your cover letter, you should always acknowledge the fact that you’re writing it for a person who expects nothing less than professionalism. The way you choose to present yourself will show your level of interest. Therefore, we advise you to follow the following simple yet professional structure:1. Contact DetailsIn the top right spot of the cover letter, leave your contact information, preferably in this order: full name, complete address, phone number, and email, followed by your employer contact and the date. If you want to make it look professional don’t write a single sentence. Place the information in the header, one under the other. Make sure the information is precise and updated!2. The Introductive ParagraphMost cover letters are addressed to the employer or the recruiter who is hiring. So, it should begin like this: Mr./Ms. followed by the last name. Sometimes you m ay not know who is hiring, but who is stopping you to find out? Call and ask. Retain yourself from using “For Whoever May Concern” as it sounds very unprofessional.Throughout the introduction, you should begin to present yourself. In this paragraph, you have to catch the reader’s attention. So once you mention the post that you are applying for, you should present your professional career in a few words.After you mention your area of expertise, relevant experience, and certifications, show the interviewer that you’ve done your research by mentioning how your skills, experience, and personal goals are aligned with the company’s goals.3. The Persuasion ParagraphIn this paragraph, you have to convince the manager that you are the perfect job candidate. Show them how your experience skills earned from your previous professional occupations match the current post description.Do not write vaguely. Instead, emphasize your most relevant traits and talents, along with your unique v alue proposition. Keep in mind that every skill or quality that you mention should be backed up by an example.Moreover, if you had done your research, be smart and show a unique initiative to increase the company’s productivity by suggesting several suggestions, solutions, and ideas concerning the aspects that you believe to be improvable. By the way, you can split this paragraph in two. It looks more professional and it is easier to read. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. 4. The Closing ParagraphAt the end of the cover letter, you should restate (in just a few words) why you’ll be a valuable employee and why you actually want to join the company. Mention that you are looking forward to their response and that you’d really like to discuss further important details duri ng a live interview. Furthermore, let them know that you are thankful for their time and attention.This paragraph is always followed by your signature. Keep it formal. Use something like “Respectfully, / With appreciation, / Yours sincerely,” followed by your full name and your handwritten signature.Use a Proper Text FormatThe structure of a good cover letter is not the only thing that matters. The aspect is also important. Choose a simple and readable font, with a size no smaller than 12 points. Align the text to the right and put all the margins at 1”. Do not make it longer than an A4 page or shorter than a half A4 page. Stand out from the crowd with both the quality of your content and the aspect of your letter.Finishing TouchesThe last thing you want is to send a letter full of grammar issues, misspelled words, and wrong use of punctuation. I’d suggest you carefully proofread and edit twice. Also, put your text in a grammar app to detect extra mistakesMost importantly, m ake sure that all your sentences make sense and that you always present concise information. Making such mistakes will only showcase your lack of professionalism. Be careful because the devil is in the details.ConclusionWith all of this being said, you are now ready to craft an excellent cover letter. Do not forget to think outside the box, as no one likes to read the same basic cover letters over again and again. However, you shouldn’t step out the line, for your intentions may not be appreciated. Good luck!

Career positioning with your sweet spot - Hire Imaging

Career positioning with your sweet spot - Hire Imaging In my last post, I talked about the importance of crafting a strong positioning statement so that you can clearly and briefly tell others what they need to know to help you in your job search. Sometimes people get stuck on how to differentiate themselves from the competition. Often, it’s your passionâ€"or sweet spot that will shed light and bring answers. Client’s sweet-spot positioning story Ted had spent 12 years as a corporate accountant at a Fortune 500 medical technology company, until he was downsized out. He really loved his work, but was having a tough time drafting his positioning statement. “It just seems so â€" I don’t know â€" dull. There’s no sparkle to it,” he told me. “Okay. I’m an accountant. I have skills in auditing. Working in the division providing state-of-the-art diabetes devices, I audited multimillion dollar contracts with major healthcare systems.” Ted’s voice then trailed off. “Frankly, it’s not very exciting.” I could sense Ted’s frustration. I asked him: “What did you enjoy doing most at your last job, Ted? What excited you about it?” “I love finding mistakes. I really enjoy discovering that one wrong number in a stack of spreadsheets or reports. I get great pleasure when at the end of the day, I know I’ve found an important error,” Ted answered. “That probably sounds weird, but it’s the truth,” he said. “And …” As he was about to go on, Ted’s voice morphed, taking on an excited edge, with louder volume and a higher pitch. “I hadn’t thought about this in awhile,” he told me. “I found an error that saved the company $5.6 million over just 7 months! I’m very proud of that,” Ted said with a smile in his voice. “So, why don’t you include that in your positioning statement, Ted?” I asked. “It’s a given that your positioning statement should convey what you do wellâ€"your profession, your particular skills. But, it canâ€"it shouldâ€"also paint a vivid picture of how you are unique, what you really love to doâ€"your sweet spot,” I added. I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but it seemed that when Ted finished our call that day, his previous shy demeanor had switched gears dramatically. He sounded like a man with conviction and purpose. He was off to rewrite his positioning statement. What’s your professional sweet spot? My friend and colleague, Julie Walraven shared a great definition from Adrianna Llames, “When passion, purpose and skill intersect, you find the ultimate career sweet spot that makes it easy to commit yourself to success.” Julie often prods her clients with a great question: “What sets you on fire?” I love this one! What sets you on fire? Ted’s epilogue When I last connected with Ted about two months ago, he was pleased with how his search was going. He was landing interviews and felt an offer would come soon. “Oh,” he said in that last chat. “I wanted to let you know that I have another sweet spot. A new Harley that I’m taking on a weekend trip up north. Not sure if I’ll work it into my positioning statement; but you never know!” Photo: gotgenes