The Gift of Career Fulfillment

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Everyone loves a gift card, but don't you think they would appreciate career fulfillment even more? while you can't gift someone career fulfillment, you can play a key role in helping someone you care about secure a new position or move further down their career path.

When pondering gifts for friends and family, don't forget about the power of new job search documents and/or career development services. To help make the decision easier, I am offering a promotion through the end of the month: When you purchase Tandem's Toolkit or Tandem's Essentials as a gift, I'll give you 10% off. Just be sure to mention this blog post.

I have had the pleasure of working with many clients who were gifted career development and resume writing services. Those clients are always over-the-top grateful and leave with a renewed sense of confidence and excitement.

This holiday season, consider giving a gift that could change the trajectory of someone's life.

Happy Holidays!

Tandem's Toolkit

You’re viewing an archived post. This post was originally published by The Change Laboratory, which is now part of No Vacation Required — our platform for Everyday Fulfillment. While this content is archived, it’s still full of solid advice and timeless insights.

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A few years ago, I introduced a new and improved Tandem's Toolkit.  It's surpassed all of my expectations and has become one of my most popular offerings.

One of the hallmarks of my service – what I believe is a huge differentiator – is a commitment to creating a “best in class” experience. That means, in addition to staying on top of what’s going on in the world of Human Resources and Career Development, I want to ensure that I am always providing the highest quality, most relevant services and tools.

Over the years that has meant regularly refining my approach to HR consulting – striving to offer the tools and advice that can help to make organizations the best employers that they can be. On the Career Development / Resume Writing side, it has meant continually tweaking my process so that it provides the most value for individuals on a quest to find and maintain fulfilling careers. It’s about a lot more than a new resume, and clients love it.

Any top-notch HR professional will tell you that a resume is a critical piece of the job search puzzle, but only one piece. As surprising as it may be to many, I am regularly saying that an outstanding resume is only a prerequisite, a starting point, a foundation. It’s the beginning of what should a be a multi-pronged approach that moves you from “looking for a job” to “managing a career.”

Hello Tandem's Toolkit....

The foundation of the package is my most popular suite of job search documents – Tandem's Essentials.

In addition to a powerful resume and a compelling, individualized cover letter template, Tandem’s Essentials includes:

• A personalized resume follow-up letter template, allowing you to send a targeted letter after each resume submission.

• A sharp, LinkedIn-ready companion to your resume – ready for posting on LinkedIn or other boards of interest.

Tandem's Toolkit  also includes a favorite of Tandem Powered clients: YouFinder. It's raising the bar in terms of clients' preparedness to take their careers to the next level.

YouFinder – an easy to complete, 20-minute assessment – opens the door to an entirely new way of looking at yourself and your career by bringing to light details of your Type.

Now, beyond providing information about their Type, I'm providing YouFinder participants with an enhanced written analysis that includes information on strengths and individualized tips / areas for exploration (information the formerly was provided in extra coaching calls).

If there's anything I've learned in the last decade+ of doing this work, it's that 1) knowing your strengths and natural talents is key for a successful career (and life!) and that 2) most clients are not in touch with their strengths and natural talents.

The contradiction between #1 and #2 keeps many careers from flourishing.

And, if you do decide to add on coaching calls, I've implemented a best-in-class approach for providing clients with useful tools that will help them throughout their careers.

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Make this the year to energize your career! Get in touch for further details about Tandem's Toolkit and other service offerings that might meet your needs. 

Thank You!

You’re viewing an archived post. This post was originally published by The Change Laboratory, which is now part of No Vacation Required — our platform for Everyday Fulfillment. While this content is archived, it’s still full of solid advice and timeless insights.

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As many of you prepare to celebrate the holidays, I want to take a moment to say just how deeply grateful I am for those of you with whom I have had the pleasure of working. I talk a lot about career fulfillment on this blog and with clients as we move through the process of creating new job search documents and more rewarding carers, but I don't often share how fulfilled I feel doing this work.

The opportunity to help individuals learn more about themselves, identify work that is a natural extension of their strengths, and better navigate the complex process of securing that work, well, that brings me a great deal of joy.

Thank you for allowing me to be truly fulfilled in my work and for allowing me to help you do the same.

Everyone's Resume Is A Mess

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People don't get in touch with me because they think their resume is excellent and working well for them. Just the opposite, of course. Many of my clients reach out because they are frustrated with their current resume (or lack of a resume). Additionally, many are confounded about how to deal with what they perceive to be unique problems with their experience (e.g. windy career paths, job gaps, etc.) that makes creating an effective resume especially challenging.

If this sounds like you, I've got good news. You're not that alone and you're going to be just fine. Here's the truth… It may feel like you are the only person in the world who: has a career gap, didn't complete your degree, took a position that isn't related to what you really want to be doing, etc., but it simply isn't the case. There are very few professionals who have perfect, pretty, linear resumes. 

• Let's remember, we went through a crippling recession during which lots of people lost their jobs.

• New parents set their career ambitions aside to raise families all of the time.

• Entrepreneurs start businesses that ultimately fail everyday.

• Companies are constantly downsizing and reorganizing.

• Sadly, students have to leave college to find work and provide for themselves or their families far too often.

No matter how complicated your career path or how many roadblocks there have been to your success in the past, there is a way to deal with it effectively on your resume. Trust me, I have seen it all! If you have been holding off on pursuing career goals because you don't know how to effectively deal with your past (on a resume), it is time to jump that hurdle. You just need to get in touch.

Tips For Public LinkedIn URLs

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When it comes to resumes, details matter. One such detail is the URL for your LinkedIn profile. There are a few things that many users of LinkedIn don't know or don't understand about the URL for their public profile, so here are a few tips. First off, though, if you don't have a well maintained LinkedIn profile and are not including the URL for that profile on your resume, then it is time to change that; you are missing an excellent opportunity to tell more of your story.

The URL for your public profile is different than the URL you see in your browser when you are editing your profile. More often than not, when I ask a client to share their URL with me, they send the URL that is used to edit a profile. So let's clear this up.

1. Your public profile starts with "www.linkedin.com/in/...".

2. The URL for editing your profile is "www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_tab_home_top".

International LinkedIn URLs work without the country specific prefix (i.e. uk.linkedin.com/in/… works the same as linkedin.com/in/…). This is good news for international candidates who are applying for US-based positions because it means that you can remove the country "prefix" when you list your LinkedIn URL on your resume.

LinkedIn makes it easy to customize your public profile URL. This means that you can have a cleaner and more memorable LinkedIn URL on your resume, which is a nice thing. When choosing your custom URL, I recommend using some variation of your name.

You Have to Target Your Resume

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Sending a generic resume is a mistake.

The lack of targeting – aligning your skill set with the job requirements – puts you at a big disadvantage. Hiring managers can smell a standard, one-size-fits-all resume from a mile away. 

Some basic tips to help:

1) Start with a "core" resume that is easily tweaked and targetable.

2) Use the job requisition as your guide. What is the company looking for? What does the position require? How can you bring those things to the forefront in your resume?

3) Do not underestimate the power of automated resume screening software. Are you using terms that represent your abilities and match up with what you are seeing in the requisition?

The Value of a Deep Process

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More than anything, I want potential clients to understand the value of a deep process.

So often, people contact me when they are in "quick fix" mode, which is not a great long term strategy.

"I need this promotion!"

"The job closes tomorrow!"

"I just need to put a bandaid on my resume in order to get it submitted."

By seeing the value in – and accepting – a robust process, clients are validating that they are in it for the long game, and not merely focused on the resume that "has to go out tomorrow!"

I am most satisfied when clients accept responsibility for their own career growth and development, and they choose to utilize me as a key resource. I use me years of experience to be a guide and facilitator, helping people to greater self awareness and, thus, career success. I am not a magician that can guarantee my work will produce certain outcomes.

You are the primary player in the narrative of your life. Accept that reality.

Check out this post for all of the reasons why Tandem just might be the perfect partner as you go about growing your career and life.

The Best Job Search Sites

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One of the questions that I receive most often is which job sites are the best when it comes to searching for posted job openings.

When it comes to career sites, I can't say that I specifically recommend one over the other, mostly because I think it is important to tap all of the resources available to you. Having said that, if you are looking for a good place to start, I can suggest the major career sites: indeed.com, monster.com, simplyhired.com, and careerbuilder.com, to name a few. There are also some sites that cater to more niche audiences or specific industries. For example, dice.com can be great resource for technology focused professionals. For those in or looking to break into the non-profit space, idealist.com is a great jumping off point.

Another increasingly big player in the job search game is LinkedIn.com, which has a whole portfolio of additional benefits, so should definitely be considering LinkedIn a key part of your job search strategy.

Beyond job search sites, I recommend exploring companies’ career portals. Individual company career portals are excellent because, generally speaking, you are starting by identifying the organization that you want to work with and looking for ideal positions with that organization. That means that you can more easily speak to your interest in a specific organization (its culture, its products, etc.), not just a position, which can increase your likelihood of getting noticed.

Ultimately, though, there is no better resource than your professional network and colleagues. No job search site or career portal is as effective as building and leveraging a professional network. 

Making A Career Transition

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Setting someone up for success with a new or improved resume is always gratifying. However, it is most rewarding when the process involves a significant career transition. Often, clients that fall in this category are competing for a big promotion or, perhaps, transitioning away from a company that is eliminating jobs. More and more, though, projects look a lot like Angela's, a client I recently worked with.

When Angela contacted me, she was ready for an entire career shake-up. She couldn't continue to go through the motions of working in a position that ignited no passion – that didn't call upon any of her true strengths. That's a tough reality to wake up to day after day. Well, I just heard back from Angela; she's doing exactly the work she wants to be doing in the Social Responsibility department of a company that she had targeted.

Are you invigorated as you head off to work each day? If not, lean into the possibilities that exist when you make the decision to put your strengths to work in the right place.

The Wrong Job Search Attitude

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I am surprised by the number of people I speak to who believe that achievements and an accomplishments-centric resume are "not appropriate" for their field.

To present yourself as someone who raises the bar – who achieves things – is always in order. Even if you are in, say, Science or Education you can present achievements without diluting the need to also present what you've done.

Remember, the point of a resume is to present your background, experience and potential in a compelling way that separates you from the crowd. There is no need – no matter your field – to present yourself as part of the pack.

If you don't make yourself standout, there will be another candidate who will.