Job Search Tip: Increase Your Starting Salary!

When looking for that  new position, wouldn’t it be nice to increase your salary by 5%-10% of your last position.  Even in these hard, economic times, this can be done.  The first thing you must realize is that you are in control of your destiny regarding your earnings through the choices and decisions you make.  You are probably asking yourself, what do I mean by that?  It’s simple, if you want to make $30k per year, then make the choice/decision not to apply for positions that pay less than $30k; instead choose/decide to apply only for positions that pay $30k or more. Its simple mathematics, if 75% of the jobs you apply for have an annual earnings of  less than 30k, you have reduced your opportunity to meet your salary expectations by 75%. If 100% of the jobs you apply for have annual earnings for $30k+, then you  have a 100% chance of making $30k or more in your new position.

Just because hiring managers are looking to hire you for the least amount possible,  doesn’t mean they are not willing to pay more for the right candidate. Who determines what you are worth? The answer is you do!  As a job applicant you should know the going rate for your desired position.  Do not over value your skills and expertise or do you under value your skills and expertise.  Over valuing and under valuing your worth has the same result, in most cases you don’t get the job.  To make $30k annually,  you must possess a $30k skill set.  Claiming that you are worth $30k when you actually have a skill set that is worth $25k doesn’t work and it will more than likely catch up to you in the interview process.  Be realistic about what you are worth and go for.  Before you know it you will be making 5%-10% more in income.

Online Job Search Tips

1. If you build it, they can come. 
Instead of simply posting your résumé on a Web site, take it one step further and design an easily-navigable Web site or online portfolio where recruiters can view your body of work, read about your goals and obtain contact information.

2. Check yourself to make sure you haven't wrecked yourself.
Google yourself to see what comes up -- and what potential employers will see if they do the same. If you don't like what you find, it's time to do damage control.

3. Narrow your options.
Many job boards offer filters to help users refine their search results more quickly.  You should have the option to narrow your job search by region, industry and duration, and, oftentimes, you can narrow it even more by keywords, company names, experience needed and salary.

4. Go directly to the source. 
Instead of just applying for the posted job opening, one of the best strategies to finding a job is to first figure out where you want to work, target that company or industry and then contact the hiring manager. Also, many employers' career pages invite visitors to fill out candidate profiles, describing their background, jobs of interest, salary requirements and other preferences.

5. Find your niche with industry Web sites. 
Refine your search even more by visiting your industry's national or regional Web site, where you can find jobs in your field that might not appear on a national job board.  More and more employers are advertising jobs on these sites in hopes of getting a bigger pool of qualified applicants.

6. Try online recruiters. 
Recruiters will help match you with jobs that meet your specific skills and needs.  Not sure where to start?  Sites such as recruiterlink.com, onlinerecruitersdirectory.com, searchfirm.com and i-recruit.com provide links to online headhunters for job seekers.

7. Utilize video résumés.
Video résumés are just one more way to stand out to employers.  Intended as supplements to -- not replacements for -- traditional résumés, video résumés allow job seekers to showcase a little bit of their personalities and highlight one or two points of interest on their résumés.

8. Run queries.
You run searches on everything else, from your high school sweetheart to low-fat recipes, so why not jobs?  Enter a query that describes the exact kind of job you're seeking and you may find more resources you wouldn't find otherwise (but be prepared to do some sorting).

9. Utilize job alerts.
Most job boards have features that allow you to sign up to receive e-mail alerts about newly available jobs that match your chosen criteria.  Or go a step further and arrange an RSS (really simple syndication) feed from one of these job sites to appear on your customized Internet homepage or your PC's news-reader software.

10. Get connected. 
How many times have you been told that it's not what you know, but who you know?  Thanks to the emergence of professional networking sites like LinkedIn.com, job seekers no longer have to rely on the old standby of exchanging business cards with strangers.  These sites are composed of millions of industry professionals and allow you to connect with people you know and the people they know and so forth. (A word of caution: When you sign up for online social networking sites, you are in a public domain.  Unless you are able to put a filter on some of your information, nothing is private, and it can be difficult to erase once it is posted.)

Job Search Time Savers

Strapped for time? Consider getting help writing or editing your resume.Resume posting services that post your resume to multiple job sites at once can save hours of data entry.  There is a lot to be done when conducting your job search.  Help like this will allow you to utilize your time more wisely and productively.

The Resume Chaos

Resumes are probably one of the most abused documents in existence! From the prospective hiring manager to the inexperienced resume writer, resumes take one heck of a beating. One reason is because a resume is very subjective and that is where the confusion begins. Whether you want to face it or not, this is a competition, and the resumes that stand out the most are the ones that get the interviews.  When your resume is in a stack of 200-300 others how does yours rise to the top of the pile?  You might be the best candidate. You might be the most qualified. However, if you do have a resume that stands out from the rest—if you do not make the right first impression—you will never land that interview. Moreover, if you never land that interview, then the job of your dreams is just that... a dream.

The truth is many HR professionals agree that 90% of the resumes they receive from entry level to executive are poorly written. Many of them lack a clear focus and are just a down and dirty laundry list of job duties, that lack the appropriate use of keywords and action oriented verbs. Most resumes contain sentence structure and spelling errors. Unfortunately hiring manager’s focus on these types of mistakes first and it can over shadow the content of the resume regarding of how skilled you are.  Most hiring managers can’t get past the mistakes to understand the candidates skills and qualifications. For example, once I reviewed a resume that had no less than 25 spelling errors within. This person actually misspelled the name of their high school. Yes, I could not get past it, so much so, that I contacted the person to let them know, so that they could stop distributing the resume. By the time I contacted this candidate they had already distributed 50 resumes or more. Don’t let your resume be the stumbling block of your job search. 

Unfortunately, hiring managers actually receive hundreds of resumes that have nothing to do with the job opening.  If your resume does not reflect the job opening then how are selling your skills in the best light.

Businesses leverage must ensure that their marketing efforts are at their best, they conduct research to ensure that they know what their customers want and they market their product and services accordingly. It is the same with your resume, you are competing for a position and you must make sure that your career marketing arsenal is intact. A well written career marketing arsenal can increase your salary by 10%-15%; open you, the job seeker, to many opportunities, which would have otherwise been unavailable to you.  With the intense competition in today’s job market, it takes more than a do-it-yourself, cookie cutter resume to land that all-important new job. You see, no matter how much education or professional experience you have under your belt, writing your own resume is no small feat!

Now let’s dispel some myths that are out there about resume writers. There are those who say that resume writer misrepresent the candidate, there is an implication that they misrepresent the truth, etc. these assumptions are all incorrect.  Resume writers are paid to present their clients in the best light possible based on the skills and qualifications of the client.  A good resume writer ask the appropriate questions and is well versed on the skills and qualification for the medium that they client is seeking employment.  They know the pertinent key words and based on the information provided they can determine the level the client functions in comparison to the expectations.  They don’t make things up just to make the client look good. Having your resume professionally written, takes your job search to the next level. Professional resume writers, work with you to ensure that your resume is accurate and markets you in the best light; compelling a hiring manager to pick up the phone and schedule an interview immediately.

The key to succeeding in the resume writing process, you must be able to identify the features and benefits that best “sell” you to a potential employer. Employers are looking for something new, distinctive and unique when they are reviewing resumes; professional resume writers are “experts” in understanding the needs of hiring managers, and write their resumes from that perspective.


When companies need to sell their products and services, they outsource the job to professionals. They hire professional marketers who know how to sell a company, how to market a product and to brand an image.


In many ways, you are in a similar situation with your job search. You need to sell yourself. You have to differentiate yourself from your competition. You have to brand yourself and put across the image of a winning, dynamic employee. In short, when your potential employer asks the question, "Why should I hire you?" You need to have a convincing answer.


In the modern job market, job seekers no longer have to go it alone. They can hire professionals to help them. They can outsource the difficult, challenging aspects of the job search to professionals who know how to get results.


Why use professional resume writing /career coaching services?


Your resume is one of the most important documents of your life. The resume is your calling card, your best chance to make a first impression. Without an exceptional resume, you will not stand a chance of standing out from the crowd and landing those interviews you need. A professional resume writer’s job is to get you interviews; their job is to sell your skills and your experience in the most professional and convincing way.

The old adage is true: Your resume has to capture your reader's attention within 10 seconds. If the reader is not impressed, then what's to stop them from moving on to the next resume?  Professional resume writers know how to make you stand out. In a situation when you need to be sure of quality, don't leave your future to chance. 

Do you know how to do that? Do you know how to sell yourself effectively? Do you know how to add the right keywords so that your resume will be found in resume databases? Do you know how to design a winning, eye-catching document? Do you know the proper resume format for your given career? Do you know the formatting that Human Resources professionals prefer?

The days when you could look at someone else's resume as a guide and punch up your own version on a typewriter are over. You need a resume that will grab your potential employer's attention. You need a resume that can sell your qualifications effectively. You need a resume that adheres to the proper professional formats and increases your chances of standing out from the crowd. Is your resume going into a pile with 100's of other candidates and their resumes? Does your resume stand out from the competition?

The Importantance of a Plan for Your Job Search

Ever heard the saying if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  When looking for a new position, planning is crucial!  Plan you job search, for example, you should have a list of companies that you want to work for, a networking list that will allow you to meet the right people.  Networking is a very important part of a successful job search.  You have to meet people who make hiring decisions, not people who have no power in the hiring process. Take charge of your job search from the beginning.  Don't let your job search control you!  You can land that dream job, if you just plan!

Email and Your Job Search

When you are using email as part of your job search, it's important that all your communications are professional in nature. In general, your email messages should include words, not acronyms or slang, full sentences, paragraphs, and detailed information on who you are and why you are sending the email. The email account you send your messages from, having a Subject Line completed, the files you attach, and your signature are important, as well. The first thing that stands out are misspelled words; misspelled words leave negative lasting impression with hiring managers. Don't take spelling for granite, proofread, proofread , proofread, once you hit the send button, you can't take it back.

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