More and more job seekers are turning to professional resume writers in hopes of getting a sharp edge in a competitive job market. As with any significant purchase, it’s wise to do your homework, investigate your options, be clear on what you’ll get, and carefully screen the businesses and individuals you are considering working with.

Joann Lublin said all that (and much more and much better!) in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. She interviewed me extensively to obtain the quotes and information featured in the story. I was very pleased to give her some positive information to counteract the sad tale that leads her article.

I know literally hundreds of resume writers who are talented, ethical, and deeply devoted to the interests of their clients. In fact, I wrote a book (Directory of Professional Resume Writers) that lists many of these writers and provides comprehensive guidelines for how to choose the right pro and how to best work with him or her to achieve a positive outcome. Bottom line: Do your homework; be sure your expectations are clear; and participate fully in the process of developing your career marketing materials.

If you’re in career transition, your current business card might not be the best thing to hand out. And if you’re currently unemployed, you certainly don’t want to be circulating an outdated card with email and phone contact information that no longer works.

The answer – in both cases – is a “contact card,” an updated (and better!) name for a business card.

It should include your contact information, of course, but why not go one step further and use your card to ideally position yourself for your target jobs. You can include your target job title, branding statement, and snippets of your most notable career achievements. List your URLs (LinkedIn, VisualCV, your own blog or website).

Here’s a sample:

Flor San Miguel  

Strategic Marketing Executive
Marketing strategist, innovator, and tactical leader of enterprise-wide initiatives that build brand value and result in sustainable, profitable growth.

• Smythe Associates: Delivered a branding and communications redesign that positioned firm for accelerated expansion in strategic market segments.
• Pioneer Health Services: Introduced new product portfolios that drove sales up 50% and market share 40% in just 2 years.
• Fifth Third Bank, Procter & Gamble: Improved sales, profitability, and market share through creative marketing and new product initiatives focused on strategic goals and the bottom line.

513-249-8786 • 513-604-3943
fsan@cinci.rr.com
7943 Village Circle Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45241

According to a Harvard Business School study, stars who switch teams might not shine so bright in their new environment. In fact, they often “underperform,” according to Professor Boris Groysberg, who has written some interesting articles on leadership.

Whether you’re Randy Moss of the New England Patriots or a star corporate performer, be aware of what you need to perform at your best – and when you’re considering new opportunities, carefully vet the environment to be sure you are getting what you need! Often that is a skilled, supportive team as well as the resources and authority to transform vision to results.

Randy Moss has excelled in Minnesota and Boston, not so much in Oakland. What’s YOUR Oakland, and how can you avoid it in future?

Watching your 401(k) drop,  your industry or your company falter, even your job teeter on the precipice can be scary! My friend (and career expert extraordinaire) Andrea Kay offers a great take on this in her recent newsletter:

 ”The world may be in an uproar. But that doesn’t mean your career goes up in flames. What’s happening ‘out there’ (which you don’t control) does not control your career… please do not–I repeat–do not feel powerless.”

Interestingly, I haven’t seen or felt any despair, desperation, or even resignation from the people I’ve been working with these past few weeks. In every case they’ve been jazzed about future opportunities and eager for their next career challenge. Perhaps I attract clients who are unusually resilient and optimistic — two of my strongest traits!

If you’re stressed about the current economic situation, look away from the macro and toward the micro — not the entire crisis/recession/credit crunch picture, but instead your own skills and strengths, the companies that will need people like you, the opportunities that you see in this interesting environment. Then go forward with vigor and confidence toward those challenges/opportunities. You’ll feel powerful, not powerless.

P.S. Andrea’s new book, “Work’s a Bitch and Then You Make It Work: 6 Steps to go from Pissed Off to Powerful,” can be your invaluable guide along the way. You can check it out (along with my many books on career topics) at Amazon.

Well, if you’re a New England Patriots fan or if Tom Brady is on your Fantasy Football team, no doubt you are devastated at the news that the star quarterback will miss the entire season after suffering an injury in the first quarter of the first game of the year. As the Boston Herald puts it, a “primal scream” has erupted ’round the world.
All I know is that Sunday afternoons and Monday nights will be a lot less comfortable and enjoyable in my part of the country.

But think about what comes next – an almost-as-interesting drama that totally relates to corporate scenarios when the “superstar performer” goes down for the count or leaves the team.
Ask yourself, what would YOU do if you were facing this scenario?

• Will the backup stand up? If you’ve been the steady #2, here’s your chance to shine. Or, you can stay a second-tier player the rest of your career.
• Will the team coalesce? It’s tough to lose your leader, but perhaps you can play an instrumental role in rallying the team and keeping everyone focused on the goal.
• Will a new leader emerge? Is this your chance to rise, fill the void, and provide new leadership?
• Will the playbook change? You have to adapt to a different team, different capabilities, different leadership. Figure out what needs to change and do it quickly rather than relying on strategies that might not be relevant.
• Will the competition seize the opportunity? Maybe one of your competitors has lost a big gun. You can swoop in and capture the victory – if you are prepared, poised, and agile enough to take advantage.

When handed lemons, make lemonade. What seems the sourest note could end up being the sweetest thing that ever happened to you – if you look on it as opportunity rather than tragedy.

Job hunting stinks. There’s almost nothing fun about it. Yet to be most successful it must be endured – in fact, embraced with fervor! How do you rev yourself up for a task you don’t enjoy? Maybe some or even all of these strategies will work for you:

• Visualize the end result. Every day, before you start your job search activities, imagine yourself in your new dream job – what you’ll be doing, how you’ll be feeling, how it will differ from your last job or your current unemployment. With your “eyes on the prize,” you’ll feel much more enthusiastic about what you need to go through to get there.
• Make a to-do-list. For some people, there’s nothing more satisfying than checking off items accomplished. Start each day with an ambitious yet realistic list of activities, and check them off as you complete them. At the end of the day, you can bask in a feeling of accomplishment even if you didn’t (yet) land your new job.
• Do the tough stuff first. What do you hate to do most? Call network contacts, write cover letters, research companies, refresh your resume, refine your elevator pitch? Whatever it is, get the elephant out of the way by doing that first. Everything else will seem much easier.
• Vary your activities. Moving from one task to another rather than remaining rooted all day will give you fresh perspectives and change your energy level.
• Reward yourself. Don’t be too easy on yourself, but when you’ve accomplished a certain number of tasks or persevered through a difficult assignment, give yourself a tangible reward. You’ve earned it! Try not to make it food too often, though, or you’ll have to double up your efforts on the next item.
• Get some exercise. Regular exercise makes you feel healthier, stronger, happier, and more optimistic. Build gym time or outdoor activities into your life a least four to five times a week. It can be one of the most energizing and important parts of your day.
• Build a support network. We all need to vent from time to time, and a sympathetic ear and supportive shoulder can make the world of difference. Your network ideally should include people who are savvy about your professional aspirations and the business world in which you operate. Not only can they give you genuine help and support, they can serve as a sounding board and sometimes a devil’s advocate. You should have complete trust in your inner circle.

Finally, recognize when/if you get stuck and have resources to help pull you out. While you can expect some emotional ups and downs, if you find you are seriously depressed or unable to make any progress, don’t wallow too long. A counselor or coach might be the perfect addition to your inner circle.

I feel like I should have written this post on Independence Day. But I just came across a terrific article in Peter Weddle’s newsletter about the importance of pursuing our dreams – especially during a tough hiring market. I love what Peter has to say about happiness:

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“Recent research indicates that happiness is a cognitive, not an emotional state. It occurs when we overcome a challenge we view as meaningful and worthy. In other words, we are tested in a way that produces our best efforts, that stretches us to perform at our peak and even beyond that point, beyond our own expectations of what we can do. And, the only place such challenges routinely occur is at work. ”

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My feelings exactly. So much of how we feel about ourselves and our lives relates to our careers. We owe it to ourselves (and to our loved ones) to find that Happiness and let it carry over to the rest of our lives, rather than letting disappointment or unhappiness or frustration at work extend to our home lives.

So go ahead – pursue your own Happiness. It’s the American way!

Culling the “top 100″ from a field of probably hundreds of thousands was a mighty effort, and Eric Shannon (who runs LatPro.com and DiversityJobs.com) has generously shared his findings here.

On the same topic, Jason Alba offers some very sage advice about using job boards, from the first-hand experience of someone who spent “60 hours a week” job-boarding and thought he was running a productive job search.

Key takeaways:

• Choose a handful (not dozens or hundreds) of job boards that offer a good selection of jobs in your target areas. The more specialized, the better, in general.
• Use technology tools to make your job board activity (reviewing and responding to ads) as quick and efficient as possible. Set up email alerts around tight parameters, and have a quick process for tailoring and sending your cover letter and resume.
• Integrate your job board activity with other, less passive, job search strategies. If one of your target companies is advertising, mine your network to get a connection rather than simply zapping off a resume.
• Realize that time spent on the job boards is time not spent in more active and fruitful activities. So (1) limit your time and (2) don’t count job-boarding as a “real” job search effort.
• Don’t get frustrated when you don’t hear back even when you are a 100% match for a posted position. Given the enormous response that ads draw, employers might be looking for 110% (and you don’t even know what that elusive extra 10% is) or might simply have garnered a strong candidate pool from the first wave of responses.

Yesterday I spoke with a client who has been in an active job search about six weeks. He called for a quick “tune up” to be sure he’s maximizing his opportunities. We agreed that he is doing everything right – targeting his companies, finding the right people to talk to, making direct contact, arranging meetings, discussing how he can add value to the organization. He sets a benchmark of 6 direct-contact phone calls daily. In these six weeks he’s had 2 third interviews (flown to HQ cities) but was not selected for those jobs.

We fine-tuned his message a bit to better explain his reason for looking, but all in all he’s doing everything right and I predict it will simply be a matter of time before he lands a great opportunity.

Formula: Preparation + Method + Gumption + Perseverance = Interviews + (eventually) Offers

VisualCV.com gives you the chance to build a unique web portfolio – a richer, more compelling version of your traditional paper/Word resume. You can add graphics, documents, audio and video files and go from telling about what you’ve done to showing… and selling.

The site recently held a “best VisualCV contest,” and not only are the winning entries inspiring, they have also led to job offers!

Oh… and the best part? You can build and host your VisualCV for free. No fees, no ads, no sponsorships.

I have been affiliated with the company since the planning stages – I’m on the advisory board and I wrote an “Insider’s Guide” for creating a powerful VisualCV. (It’s a free download.) So yes, I guess I am biased! But I haven’t seen anything that comes close to the ease and value of this free portfolio service. Not to mention the other value-added benefits that include connecting with employers, recruiters, and others.