2016…What Next?

Well, it’s that time again. The final month, the last weeks of 2015. As we scramble around to manage last minute plans with friends and family, and splurge on holiday gifts for loved ones (or ourselves, admit it!), it’s easy to lose sight on the goals we’ve had for the past year. But once all the festivities are over and January 1st dawns, we will step into the new year with a list of hopeful resolutions–and for many of us, at the top of that list is the goal of landing a new and better job.

As 2016 approaches, I find myself in the same boat as many of my clients: ready for a change. I love helping people pursue their dreams and probably won’t be stopping any time soon, but even so, the question of “what happens next” is looming over my head.

Going after a new job is frankly terrifying, especially when you’re not even sure what you want to do. Like my fellow millennials, the future of my career is murky at best. With the job market constantly changing, the path of the professional writer is in constant flux. Where once it was possible to gain permanent employment with publishing houses or newspapers or marketing firms, now much of the work has shifted to the competitive realm of freelance. In some ways it’s ideal–freelance work allows you to set your own pace, choose your own projects, and of course as everyone loves to point out when they hear what I do for a living: spend all day in your pajamas. But it’s not all rainbows and comfy flannel.

Between getting passed over for jobs due to lack of experience, and facing the overwhelming burden of self-employment tax, being a full time freelancer has some major downsides. The independence is wonderful, especially for those who dislike being forced into a schedule. But when the work is slow and the options limited (who really wants to spend their time writing technical manuals or developing advertising copy for athletic equipment?) the world of stable employment starts looking real nice.

Thus far I’ve primarily received offers from insurance companies to become a sales person, and encouraged to purchase a resume makeover from the very same company I’ve worked with for nearly three years.

But I’m not giving up hope.

Somewhere out there is the perfect opportunity for an eccentric English major who loves kids’ cartoons, Swedish mystery books, and coffee.

Probably.

So as we step blindly into the new year, clutching tight to our list of resolutions we probably won’t keep, and trying not to think too hard about the moths flying out of our empty wallets, let’s think positively. After all, anything can happen. Just like every year, 2016 will no doubt bring as many challenges and tragedies as it will bring opportunities and accomplishments.

What’s most important, is that we own every minute of it. Instead of setting unattainable goals, focus on the idea of self-empowerment. Find your confidence, ignore the critics, and acknowledge your personal triumphs, no matter how big or small. Embrace your inner badass–the rest will follow.

5 Pieces of Advice for Starting Your Job Search in the New Year.

We’ve survived our first week into the New Year. Some of us are already back to the grindstone. Some of us may still be enjoying our visits with family. Some—like me—are desperately trying to fit in as much fun as possible before returning to the snowpocalyptic world that is Chicago.

But some of us are already working hard on fulfilling our New Year’s resolutions–and a big one for many of you will be the search for your dream job. As you get ready to engage in the year’s most busiest employment-seeking season, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. New jobs mean sacrifice—but don’t sacrifice your own happiness.

Whether you’re looking to leave a bad job, or trying to escape the cycle of unemployment, you might be tempted to make some sacrifices in order to get that coveted new job. When you’re ready for a change, things like lower pay, a field you hate (*cough* retail *cough), or a hard to get to place of work may seem small concessions. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking in the short-term. It’s better to hold out for a job you like—or can at least tolerate—than to jump into something that will make you miserable.

2. A lot of stuff happened last year—update your resume and online profiles.

Even a resume writer like myself sometimes brings up their resume only to find old information, wording you once thought was clever (but isn’t), or new things you’ve forgotten to include. Set aside some time to look over everything—resumes, Linkedin or Monster profiles, personal websites—and make sure everything is correct and up to date. Chances are you’ll find things that need attention.

3.New Year, clean slate—toss out everything you don’t need.

A cluttered house is a cluttered mind. The old paperwork and junk you collected around the house last year (we all have that drawer in our house), and the emails that have been clogging your inboxes have got to go. Now is the time to move forward, unburdened by the past. Do yourself a favor and throw out all that stuff that’s getting in your way of moving on. You may even find a few things you lost last year!

4. Be good to yourself—don’t get lost in the chaos of job searching.

January and February are two of the busiest months for hiring. The opportunities are abundant, but the competition and pressure are steep. Take time to breathe in between applications and interviews. This will help you avoid burning out and giving up. When you get a rejection letter, have a party. After an interview, buy yourself a coffee. Job searching is tough, but don’t let it get in the way of enjoying life.

5. It’s never too late to learn—take some classes and educate yourself.
You may not have the job, but you can still gain the skills. There are thousands of educational opportunities out there. You can audit classes at a university, become certified in a new trade, or enroll in free classes online through Coursera, Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and more. If you’re unemployed or lack the skills for the job you’re seeking, show your potential employer that you are proactive and motivated.

Finally, when you get stuck or need support, there are hundreds of helpful job sites out there that can offer advice, job searches, and online communities to make the process easier. Check out my list of resources for some of the leading job assistance websites.

And as always, if you have any questions, or are interested in purchasing my writing services, you can contact me at clarerushing@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting!

New Year’s Resolution: Get A Job

Midst holiday preparations and expectations of fun, food, and family, you’re probably feeling the burden of something else–an empty wallet. Dead end jobs, immanent New Year’s layoffs, promotions just out of reach, and unemployment can be a real drag on the holiday spirit.

Thousands of people will soon be going full-force with their job search, so in support of those of you who are anxious to get off to a good start this New Year, I’m reducing my prices for December.

Prices through January 1st will include:

Resume Critiques—$15

Makeovers—$25
Resume/Cover Letter Package—$35

Additional services will also be discounted by around 50%.

According to Monster.com, two of the biggest months for hiring are January and February. So give yourself or your job-seeking loved one an advantage against the competition in 2015!

All gifts will include a personalized note to give the recipient, explaining the service they’ll be receiving.

Email me for more information at clarerushing@gmail.com.
Happy Holidays!

The “D” Word

In a few lines, I’m going to tell you a word. And when you hear this word, I want you to sit and think about it for a moment, read this blog entry, and then banish it from your vocabulary.

Get ready.

Dynamic.

“What?” You say. This word is fine. It’s not a swear word. It’s fun, it sounds like dynamite, it calls to mind enthusiasm and energy and everything a good employee should be. Right?

Wrong.

In fact, CareerBuilder.com lists “dynamic” as number 13 on their list of “The Worst Resume Terms”, alongside other no-no’s like “best of breed”, “synergy”, “bottom-line”, and “go-to person”.

Now, people who use this word (you know who you are) do have the right idea. You understand that any good employee should be “vigorously active” and “energetic”. Maybe you’ve even been told to use “action” words in your resume and thought, “what word is more action-y than this?”

Think about it this way.

A dynamic painting has a lot of movement and energy and action. But if you want to give someone a clear idea of a painting, you don’t give them a generic umbrella term. You tell them how beautiful the colors are, what medium the artist used, whether it’s an abstract painting or a portrait or a landscape or still life. You describe the painting to the person so that they can “see” it in their mind.

Your resume works the same way. The employer can’t see you or hear you or talk to you. All he or she has to go on to form an opinion of you is a piece of paper.

Using the word “dynamic” to describe yourself basically just means you are, in fact, alive and capable of moving on your own. It says nothing about who you are as an employee—especially when half of the applicants before you have used the exact same word to describe themselves.

When you’re an employer sifting through potential candidates, and every other resume describes the applicant as a “dynamic professional” who influences “dynamic results”, the word loses all meaning.

Have you ever said a word so many times it doesn’t sound like anything anymore? 

Wherever you are right now, I want you to say the word “dynamic” out loud until it’s just a bunch of letters and syllables with no purpose. If you’re around other people, all the better. Maybe you’ll annoy them enough that they’ll never want to use the word again either.

Now, when you’re finished, pat yourself on the back, because according to CareerBuilder, you just gave yourself a 12% increased advantage over other job seekers (the ones who use the D word).

You’re one step closer to a perfect resume and your dream job.

Did You See That Guy’s Resume?

“Did you see that guy’s resume? It was so cool!”

Words everyone would like to hear.

Not long ago Business Insider posted a great article about 10 resumes that went “viral” on the internet, meaning basically everyone saw them, including websites like Yahoo Finance and Reddit.

While turning your resume into a chocolate bar or an Amazon product page may not be practical, all of these resumes have two critical things in common: creativity, and enthusiasm.

Having completed hundreds of (more traditional) resumes, I can tell you right now that these guys are nothing special in terms of experience or talent. What they are, is creative. Understanding how competitive their fields are, they found unique ways to stand out. Don’t get me wrong—their skills are vitally important. But what won them the attention of millions of internet viewers wasn’t a Bachelor’s Degree or strong attention to detail. It was the amount of effort they put into inventing a new way of representing those skills.

These ingenious job seekers didn’t just build their resumes and hope people might notice them. They actively sent out their finished product to major companies.

If you’ve done any amount of job hunting you know that most job descriptions are pretty boring. A summary of the company and the role plus a basic list of qualifications. The average job seeker submits an equally boring resume, including their objective or career summary, list of skills, and the things they’ve done. What sets you apart from the Average Joe applicant is your creativity.

I’m not telling you to go out right now and spend the next week figuring out how to turn your resume into a Coke can (though that would be pretty cool). While these job seekers managed to have just the right recipe for getting noticed, most of us don’t, and plenty of employers wouldn’t get the humor or ingenuity of a 3D-Printed head being sent to their office anyway.

But you can still set yourself apart as a creative thinker, while staying within the general rules of the standard resume. A visually appealing, “pretty” format, clarity, uncluttered content, and elegant wording will give you an instant advantage over your competition.

Once you realize that the majority of resumes are basically plain (and often jumbled) lists of skills, it’s easy to understand that a dash of creativity is a breath of fresh air to a bored hiring manager.

I’ve read plenty of resumes that were dull as dish-water. While some people do just have a hard time marketing themselves, it’s important to understand that a dull resume is going to make you look dull as a person. If I don’t know you, all I have is the information you’ve given me to go on. So if that resume is unformatted and sounds like you copy and pasted generic, job descriptions from the internet, I’m going to assume you’re a) not creative, and b) don’t care about getting the job.

Applying for a job is a competition. You can’t just assume that you’ll win based on your experience alone—no matter how impressive it is. If I have two resumes with the exact same skills and accomplishments, but one of them is plain and boring, and the other is beautiful to look at and interesting to read, who do you think I’m going to pick?

If you’ve seen another “viral resume” out there on the web, or have other ideas about creative job-hunting, leave a comment or email me at clarerushing@gmail.com

What’s in a Name?

Unfortunately, even today with progress made all over the country for racial and cultural equality, there are still some deep rooted biases that work against people with names that do not sound traditionally “American”.

This does not necessarily pertain only to people of non-Western European descent. For example, Antje and Gerlof have a lesser chance of getting an interview than Andy and Gerald.

So why the racial and cultural discrimination, when many employers claim to support minorities and diversity?

A few possibilities—

Profiling. In some cases, it is a simple matter of prejudice and bigotry. In this scenario, you’re better off missing out on a job rather than dealing with a racist boss.

Social Anxiety. It may sound silly, but some hiring managers would rather pick a less qualified candidate whose name they can pronounce, than deal with the embarrassment of mispronouncing a candidate’s name on the phone or in person.

Unconscious Bias. While a hiring manager may be forward thinking and accepting of all cultures, internalized prejudice does still exist. It’s worth noting that this is not an intentional form of racism, and the manager is likely unaware of their bias. 

So how do you avoid being racially or culturally profiled by your potential boss?

Here’s how Jose Zamora handled it:

The idea that you’d have to change your name to get a job is not only degrading—it goes against decades of movement towards racial and cultural equality and acceptance.

But today, working with the system is sometimes the only way to beat the system. Altering your name is a small price to pay for getting that job you’ve always wanted.

Above all else, remember this:

Changing your name on paper, does not change who you are. Nobody can force you to give up your culture—and if they try, they’re not worth working for anyways.

Check out these articles for more information on name profiling:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/how-an-ethnic-sounding-name-may-affect-the-job-hunt/article555082/

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34063244/ns/business-careers/t/it-or-not-name-can-impact-your-career/

http://www.chicagobooth.edu/capideas/spring03/racialbias.html

 

If you’d like to learn more tricks to getting a job, or want to share your opinion on racial profiling in the workforce, leave a comment here, or drop me a line at clarerushing@gmail.com.

 

Beating the Online Job Questionnaire

If you’re a customer service worker, failing one of those pesky online questionnaires can ruin your chances of getting a job, regardless of how great your experience is.

I’ve put together a little guide to help you get through the questions in one piece (mostly).

During your questionnaire you’ll see a lot of questions that go more or less like this:

1. It’s never okay to steal from work.

A)     Agree
B)     Disagree
C)     Not Sure

And later on:

2. Sometimes I take little things home from work like pens or notepads.

A)     Never
B)     Rarely
C)     Sometimes
D)     Always

And still later:

3. One of your co-workers has been taking things from the break-room every day.
   What are you more likely to do?

A)     Report the theft to a manager. Stealing is wrong.
B)     Confront your co-worker.
C)     Do nothing. It’s their business.

The BEST answer to all is A. Why? Because each question is a variation of the first.

By asking this question three times, they gauge firstly what your general opinion of stealing is, secondly how serious you are about your convictions, and thirdly, whether you feel strongly enough to go out of your way to try and prevent further loss to the company.

Another example:

1. It’s important to leave your emotions at home when at work.

A)     Agree
B)     Partially Agree
C)     Disagree
D)     Not sure

And then later

2.   Sometimes I get angry at customers.

A)     Never
B)     Rarely
C)     Sometimes
D)     Often

And finally

3.   When a co-worker becomes very upset while on the clock–

A)     Tell them to work through it. They need to be professional.
B)     Take the time to ask them what’s wrong and see if I can help.
C)     Offer to take on their responsibilities until they’ve calmed down.
D)     Do nothing. It’s not my place.

The BEST answer to each of these is A, for the same reason as before. The first one is straightforward, but the second and third questions are a good example of the sort of morality-bending you’ll have to do to get through the test.

Question 2.  Most of us wouldn’t tell a co-worker to just suck it up and deal with it. But choosing anything but “never” indicates that while you agree it’s important to keep emotions out of the workplace, you don’t always act on it. Inconsistent.

Question 3. Any of the four answers can be justified based on the situation. But answer “B” wastes time—especially if this happens during work hours and not on a break. “C” is another time waster; handling the work of two people will most definitely slow you down.

When a co-worker is completely out of control, “D” is probably the best choice. But for the sake of the question, it’s the weakest, as it isn’t applicable to every possible scenario. It may not feel natural to choose A but it’s the best answer out of the four.

There are three helpful rules to remember when you trudge through one of these questionnaires.

1. Always be consistent. Your early answers will define the rest of the questionnaire.
2. Never go for the middle ground. Pretend those neutral answers don’t exist. Choosing answers like “sometimes” or “maybe” or “I don’t know” or “do nothing” makes you seem weak and indecisive. Even if you are a naturally mild-mannered or neutral person, it’s better to aim for the extremes. “Yes” rather than “Possibly”, “Never” rather than “Occasionally” or “Rarely”.
3. Don’t look for the RIGHT choice. Instead, try to figure out what the BEST choice is out of the options you are given. If you’re thinking in terms of right and wrong, you’ll be approaching each question from a personal, moral standpoint, rather than logical.

Questionnaires are a pain. But if you know how to beat them, your chances of getting an interview are significantly better. When I figured out the system, I got contacted for interviews about 99.99% of the time. The questionnaires are annoying, pointless, and guaranteed to make you feel like a soulless robot. But get through them, and you’ll be golden.

 

For more advice about getting through online applications, or job searching in general, contact me at clarerushing@gmail.com.