If our lives aren't going the way we want them to, we have the power to do something about it. If there's a habit or thought or behavior that would help you get to where you want to go, you can develop that in yourself. I think that the key is to start today and feed yourself with positive, motivating material. Always think positively.
What are things that a lot of people get stuck on in their career lives? You may be getting stuck on inner thoughts like being positive or having confidence. You may be held back by actions you need to take but aren't: networking, participating on LinkedIn, contacting hiring managers, or even negotiating a better compensation package. Whatever it is, you can develop new habits, thoughts or behaviors that will make you better and stronger than before.
Lynn was able to transfer from a temporary position to a permanent one because she made the investment in herself by getting training and preparing for her behavioral job interview. She said it was invaluable--it made her more confident and gave her better interview answers.
Not all job seekers make the effort to invest in themselves, but it always pays off and Lynn is proof that it works. Congratulations Lynn!
Peggy, (and team!),
I sat in on several webinars and it really helped me keep my motivation, skills and morale up! I joined the [Total Access Coaching Club] and it was invaluable!
I am happy to say I did land a nearby government job with good pay and excellent benefits. I had submitted an online application, had attended a job fair just after that, signed up with one of their main temporary agencies and got on quickly for a short temporary position. In a couple of weeks, I was called in for a behavioral interview and I was very confident and thorough in my answers.
Your advice helped me clinch the job! I am very grateful and want others to know that even after age 55, there are great jobs out there! Just keep looking!
Your resume is the foundation of your job search. If you don’t get it right, you won’t move forward—but it is all too easy to make a mistake with this critical document.
What should you never include on your resume?
Mistake #1 - A 3rd Page (or 4th page)
This can be a big issue if you have 20+ years of experience. Naturally, you want to show how much you know, how much experience you have, and how valuable you are.
However, hiring managers (employers) don’t like seeing extra-long resumes. They only take a few seconds to glance over a resume anyway, and they want to take it in quickly. If you’ve given them too many pages, chances are they won’t look at them.
Here’s the rule: No resume should be more than 2 pages unless you have publications or (possibly) if you are at the C-level in your career (CEO, CFO, COO, etc.).
If you do have 20+ years of experience, you have an advantage here, because you can edit your resume to show the most impressive accomplishments of your career. You’ll have 2 pages of ‘wow.’
The key to making your resume or application stand out from others vying for the position is to share the unique qualities you bring to a job. There are many terms you can use to describe yourself that have become boring and cliché. If you use the same terms as everyone else; your resume will end up at the bottom of the pile with all the rest. Here are a few ways to write your executive bio,resumes and cover letters for resumes in ways to get attention and help you land the job.
It's easy to get upset or even depressed if you don't get the interview, or if you interview and don't get the job offer. (Believe me, I want you to get as many of both as possible so you have choices.) But sometimes it just isn't meant to be.
Instead of dwelling on what went wrong or what's wrong with you, learn what you can from the experience and move on to the next opportunity.
The more opportunities you find, the easier this is. This is why I always recommend to job seekers that they focus on contacting hundreds of hiring managers to find hidden jobs and get in front of the person who can actually hire you.
Hidden jobs account for a lot of opportunity--for every job you see listed, there's at least one more that isn't (for a lot of reasons). The only way to find them is to contact hiring managers.
If you don't get an offer but you have 10 more interviews to go to, it's a lot easier to stay positive and move forward.
Get my Hidden Jobs Finder to find the names and contact information of hundreds of hiring managers, and use the messages included to help you get the interview.
We just received this email from Jane. I wanted to share it with you because it goes to show that the most talented and qualified of us can have a lot of trouble landing a new job simply because of how we present ourselves to employers.
Jane had been downsized, was living in an unfamiliar city and 63 years old. She made it to final interviews 6 times and lost every one, which killed her confidence--until she got our 30-60-90-Day Plan and landed a job within 2 weeks:
I love your program & assistance! After getting your 30-60-90 plan 2 weeks ago & listening to several of your webcasts, I spent Labor Day weekend preparing for my 3rd interview with the same employer. I had to do a video conference on 9/7. I emailed the 30-60-90 plan following my interview with a thank you note.
I have been job hunting for almost a year now, after a traumatic downsizing, from my employer of 10 yrs. They transferred me across country 3 yrs ago, with promotion. I worked 60 hour weeks & was on call 24/7. I am 63 & was facing a lot of age discrimination as well as not having a professional network in my new city.
Getting thru to HR, computer screenings etc & multiple interviews, I made it to the finals on 6+ occasions, only to be excluded. It was a nightmare & very humbling as well as depressing!
I am happy to tell you that 3 hours after my video interview with the hiring managers, I received a call & awesome job offer!! Thank you for all your help & knowledge!!!!
Best regards, Jane
Congratulations Jane!
Simply changing how she presented herself to employers with a little training and a 30 60 90 day plan made all the difference, as it has for thousands of people. I can't recommend it enough to anyone interviewing for a job today.
Just because one step of a larger process is the shortest doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the easiest. Take a job search, for example. The resume is often the briefest part of applying for a job. It’s often one page in length, and recruiters themselves only glance at them for a few seconds. However, the quality of your resume can make or break your ability to get hired. While you only have a few seconds, you should make them count. Figuring out how to market yourself to employers through your resume is the trickiest part. Luckily, our team of professional executive resume writers have helped us put together a list of ways you could be hurting your resume and your chances of landing your next position.
American inventor Thomas Edison was one of the hardest working, most persistent people the world has ever known, with a record 1.093 patents to his credit. With all his successes came plenty of failures, too--but he didn't see them as failures. He said, 'I have not failed. I just found 10,000 ways that will not work.' That 'try one more time' attitude made him incredibly successful. It's a fantastic attitude to borrow for your job search.
The job search is a numbers game. You may send out your resume 10 times and get no interviews...but the 11th time may be what gets you your dream job. Your task is to keep going, and keep trying one more time until that job shows up.
At the same time, it's important to work smart. Don't keep doing things that aren't getting results (like applying online). Instead, do the things that are proven to work.
Qualified executive Tom had trouble landing the job for 8 months...until he brought a 30-60-90-Day Action Plan to his interview. His new boss thought it was what set Tom apart and helped him beat out two other qualified candidates. Congratulations Tom!
Hi, Peggy,
After 8 frustrating months, I just landed a VP level position with a well known company. Being 62 years old made this even more remarkable. My resume was already in the format you suggest, but handing the 30/60/90 day plan to the hiring manager made the difference. There were two other qualified candidates, but my new boss specifically mentioned the action plan as something special. Thanks for your help!
Tom F.
I speak to a lot of people in their 60s who have real trouble getting a job...but with the right approach, you absolutely can get a great job. At any age, how you present yourself to the employer makes all the difference.
Anyone who has endured or is in the middle of a job search knows the struggle of sending out resumes to hundreds of recruiters, only to be met with either no response or a response that comes months after applying with a rejection attached. When this is your situation, it is easy to feel discouraged. The job market is still difficult to navigate, and the number of applicants in today’s world makes it that much more important to stand out among the rest. One of the best places you can individualize yourself is your resume. Below you’ll find a list of handy tips to create the best executive resume format for your job hunt.
Zanetta Siciliano - Career Coach, IT Recruiter, Sales & Marketing Expert
Coaching can make the difference between you getting a so-so offer (or even a job offer at all) and a fantastic offer. It's a fast, easy, customized solution for one of the most difficult, complicated, life-changing events in our lives. See more about how coaching can help you and find out more about Zanetta below.
We'll give you a comprehensive strategy for your resume, interviews and salary negotiations. Get the promotion, enter a new field or more. (Can be broken up into segments.) Best Deal - Get 3 Hours for the Price of 2!
We'll help you find more opportunities, get you prepped for the best interview of your life, and more!
Career Coaching cuts through generic job search advice to laser-focus on what YOU need. It's a super-fast, personalized solution for some of the most demanding, high-stakes tasks we face in our career lives: job hunting and interviews. With career coaching, you can pinpoint whatever may be holding you back and find the right solution for it fast.
Create a resumethat sells you to employers (specific recommendations for YOU)
Know what to say to employers to show your value, based on your background and personality
Refine your interview performance so you consistently get offers
Discover personalized strategies for contacting employers in YOUR space
Craft a great explanation for that awkward situation (job loss/employment gap/etc.)
Find solutions that specifically fit your personality and style
Target your approach to go after your dream job
With expert advice tailor-made for you, you gain inspiration and encouragement to tackle your job search with confidence.
Zanetta's Background
As VP of Sales and Marketing at Career Confidential, Zanetta Siciliano has a valuable blend of experiences that make her a powerful ally for your job search. Her 15+ years in IT recruiting, 5 years in medical recruiting and 3 years in executive recruiting give her sharp insights into what hiring managers really look for in a candidate they will hire. Her 18 years in sales and marketing greatly benefits job seekers who must sell themselves for the job.
Every day, she guides job seekers through cutting-edge resume writing, interview prep, job search methods, and social media skills (she's a social media wiz).
How a Career Coaching Call with Zanetta Works
All coaching will be done by phone or Skype. You can buy coaching time in several options: 30-minute increments, 1 hour spots, or 2 hours (when you buy 2, you get 1 hour free)--as much or as little as you need.
Once you purchase the time, you can use it as you see fit--all at once, or in increments over several weeks (whatever works for you). Your phone calls can be recorded (let Zanetta know) and the audio sent to you--this is amazingly helpful when you're covering a lot of information you don't want to miss.
Supercharge Your Job Search in as Little as 30 Minutes
If you are struggling in any area of your job search, personalized coaching can make all the difference in the world. As little as 30 minutes can supercharge your job search and transform it into an exciting, rewarding experience. If you need more time, you can discuss it with Zanetta--the decision is yours. Once you try it, you will agree that it's the best job search decision you've ever made.
Get Started Now - Click on the option that works best for you.
This actually happens a lot--I recommend to a job seeker that he or she take some action, and they balk, because it's maybe a little different than what they're used to, or more aggressive than what they're comfortable with.
Garrett was paying consultants who were giving him conflicting advice, and still not getting a job (for 7 months). He came to one of my free online workshops and thought my advice was 'nuts.' Then he decided what he had been doing for months wasn't working, so it was time to take a chance with me.
With my advice and tools, he got an 'amazing' job with a $20,000 salary increase. Congratulations Garrett!!
He estimates that if he'd contacted me when he was first unemployed, he would have an EXTRA $40,000 in his bank account right now (with his savings still intact).
The takeaway here? Don't wait to get the job search or interview help you need, and make sure you're getting that help from someone who is proven. (To date, Career Confidential has helped more than 22,000 people in 90 countries get hired--see some of our success stories.)
Hi Peggy,
I wanted to send you a little note to thank you for all of your help and assistance on my job search.
After six months of sending out resumes and basically harassing my network of contacts I decided to use your services after watching one of your webcasts. I had spoken with multiple “career consultants” before seeing your webcast and all of them would make recommendations that went against what the others said. I was very skeptical of your services as I believed it would be a similar experience and after watching and participating on a few webcasts I thought you were just interested in selling your services but decided I needed to try something new so I was not doing the same thing over and over and over month after month after month.
I thought you were out of your mind with the recommendation to make the email the actual cover letter. I thought you were completely nuts when you recommended I change formatting on my resume to a bullet format. However, I followed your recommendations and what a difference it has made for me.
I received an amazing public relations job offer for a great company and best of all . . . I negotiated a salary increase of $20,000 a year to the top of the range the hiring manager was comfortable with. Had I reached out to you when I first lost my job, I would have made more than $40,000 over the last seven months instead of spending all of my savings and depleting most of my financial assets.
Thank you very much for your help, valuable advice and insights into the hiring process. Your systems and services truly work and are absolutely worth the investment. I start my new job this Thursday – X/X/2016 and can’t wait to get back into the workforce.
There are a plethora of jobs to be found on LinkedIn. Once you have an optimized LinkedIn profile, you can start using the platform to find employment opportunities; however, how to optimize your LinkedIn profile is a whole different article. Most job seekers just check the Job Board on LinkedIn. After browsing the board, they spam some resumes and call it a day.
This method rarely works. LinkedIn is a social media site created with business networking in mind. There’s no networking in spamming resumes to job postings. Luckily, there are a number of different ways to find work using the platform with the help of your Linkedin profile writing service. Here are a few ideas for finding more great job opportunities on LinkedIn.
I love this quote, and think it really applies to your job search. When you're in the middle of the search, it can be too easy to count how many days you've been off work, or how long until you think you'll get a job.
I want to encourage you to take your focus off those negative thoughts -- don't count the days.
Instead, make your days count. Every day, focus on doing the things that will get you hired:
Are you over 50 and in the job search? Plan on being more aggressive than you may have ever had to be before. You are fighting some biases and pushing past some obstacles, but it can be done.
Tom got 4 interviews and 2 job offers even though he was over 50 and hadn't interviewed in 20 years. Because he interviewed so well, the company elevated the position and the pay. (Goes to show that even if you're not entirely sure about the job, interview for it anyway and bring your A game--you never know what will happen!)
Hi Peggy,
I've been involved in some of your webinar presentations and purchased the 30-60-90 day plan (I thought it to be genius!). I just turned 50 & was 20 years at previous employer then took a few years off to recoup, educate & focus - several items to work through when seeking a new employer.
After your materials I became more aggressive & focused in job search - found five opportunities of interest, interviewed live after a phone interview for four and was offered two - the position of most interest initially paid less but they elevated the position and increased the pay. I had another final interview scheduled but declined based upon this new opportunity fitting so well into my life.
Your materials and information are "point-on" and a huge benefit to anyone in the job market especially those over 40!
Thank you for your information & I have shared your contact with about anyone I know looking for a next position. I am sure this new position is not my last and I look forward to learning, refining skills and going onto the next.... with your material assistance!
Thank You!
Tom K.
(Tom, congratulations on your job, and I love that you thought the 30-60-90-day plan was genius! I agree!)
What I hope you take from this is that it doesn't matter that you're a little older...you can be just as successful as ever, but you're going to have to turn up the heat and be more aggressive.
If you'd like more information about what being more aggressive in your job search really looks like, please attend one of my Free Job Search and Interview Training Webinars that I hold for job seekers every week.
HOW TO WRITE A 306090 DAY PLAN - These do take some work to research and put together, but the investment you make in time and effort is going to pay off big for you in terms of money and job offers
read more...
Your resume is the foundation of your job search. If you don’t get it right, you won’t move forward—but it is all too easy to make a mistake with this critical document.
The key to making your resume or application stand out from others vying for the position is to share the unique qualities you bring to a job. There are many terms you can use to describe yourself that have become boring and cliché. If you use the same terms as everyone else; your resume will end up at the bottom of the pile with all the rest. Here are a few ways to write your executive bio, resumes and 
We just received this email from Jane. I wanted to share it with you because it goes to show that the most talented and qualified of us can have a lot of trouble landing a new job simply because of how we present ourselves to employers.
Just because one step of a larger process is the shortest doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the easiest. Take a job search, for example. The resume is often the briefest part of applying for a job. It’s often one page in length, and recruiters themselves only glance at them for a few seconds. However, the quality of your resume can make or break your ability to get hired. While you only have a few seconds, you should make them count. Figuring out how to market yourself to employers through your resume is the trickiest part. Luckily, our team of 
Anyone who has endured or is in the middle of a job search knows the struggle of sending out resumes to hundreds of recruiters, only to be met with either no response or a response that comes months after applying with a rejection attached. When this is your situation, it is easy to feel discouraged. The job market is still difficult to navigate, and the number of applicants in today’s world makes it that much more important to stand out among the rest. One of the best places you can individualize yourself is your resume. Below you’ll find a list of handy tips to create the 
I LOVE to get notes like this...
There are a plethora of jobs to be found on LinkedIn. Once you have an 
Are you over 50 and in the job search? Plan on being more aggressive than you may have ever had to be before. You are fighting some biases and pushing past some obstacles, but it can be done.
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