If you’re a professional searching for your next opportunity in today’s aggressive job market, you’ve probably found that the task of marketing yourself on your resume is unlike any other.

How do you sum up a long, storied career in just a few paragraphs? What is the best way to differentiate yourself on paper–and to get employers to see your value?

Standing out among the pack requires an intense emphasis on your natural leadership abilities, the impact you have on your employer’s business, the feedback you get from colleagues, and the hard skills that you bring to the table.

This information comprises what is known as a “personal brand,” and it has become the cornerstone of a successful professional resume in the employment arena.

Here are 5 insider tips that can help bring out your personal brand–and get your resume to open more doors for you:

1 – Hone Your Message.

Many resumes contain too much detail, which is quite understandable given the long tenure that some candidates possess.

However, it’s asking a lot of hiring authorities to wade through more than 2 or 3 pages of information.

My recommendation? Sharpen the intensity of your branding message by zeroing in on your top 3-5 main qualifiers, including success stories and keywords that back these up.

In addition, focus on one career goal and skill set at a time. This may mean that you will create one resume targeting a role in Operations, and another that describes your skills for a Sales position.

2 – Don’t Bury the Lead.

As we used to say in journalism, get your critical information all up front and ready for the reader to absorb.

Just started a high-level MBA program? Get it on the front page. Held roles of increasing scope that lead to your destination as Sales Manager? Make it obvious.

Don’t bury this type of key information on page 2 of your resume. The top half of the first page is prime “resume real estate,” and your main qualifications deserve center stage here.

In addition, many job hunters benefit from a branding statement, which is a short sentence that serves as a marketing tagline. You can develop this sentence by jotting down some ideas on what you bring to the table, and how you achieve it.

A great branding tagline will tap into the heart of what you offer, such as these examples culled from the front-page position on professional resumes:

“Operations Leader Who Leverages Business Competencies to Create Profitable Ventures with Exceptional ROI”

“Account Executive Delivering Revenue Growth Through Strategic Relationship Building”

3 – Tell Your Whole Story.
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Most job hunters are able to spout figures and facts about their achievements, but it’s the story behind these accomplishments that will add weight to the resume.

Consider looking at your results in light of the C-A-R (Challenge-Action-Result) strategy, which asks you to describe the situation you faced at work (Challenge), what you did when faced with it (Action), and of course, the outcome (Result) that occurred.

The C-A-R formula is popular for a reason–these anecdotes can also form the basis for success stories that you can also use as a basis for your next interview.

4 – Carefully Format Your Presentation.

When creating a resume, it’s important to differentiate yourself from both your direct competition, plus distinguish yourself from lower-level applicants–and this means that it is best to make your document DIFFERENT from all the others.

Searching the Internet for professional resume samples will show you that there are many choices for font, format, and graphics that give flair to a resume presentation.

Above all, refrain from using the classic Microsoft Word template for your resume. Doing so will make your qualifications blend in rather than stand out, and lay the foundation for poor results.

5 – Use Those Glowing References.

Got testimonials? If so, you’re in good shape, as these form a key part of a successful personal brand.

Better yet, including this information on your resume will allow you to back up the stories you’ve told about your achievements.

Many professionals are able to use a quote or letter of reference as a striking addition to their resume, especially when it reflects what they’ve already noted about their skills and competencies.

If you don’t have access to this information, be sure to seek out colleagues, supervisors, customers, and even suppliers as a source of positive feedback. Then, take a shorter version of the most powerful testimonial to use as an endorsement.
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As an example, a COO targeting a lateral move might be able to include a quote such as “Ted’s resourcefulness and ingenuity are without equal. I have witnessed his ability to grow a startup into a maturing business and develop a multimillion-dollar venture in a difficult economic environment,” from a corporate officer onto the resume–thereby verifying performance from a key reference source.

In summary, there ARE effective ways to develop a masterpiece resume. It’s important to ensure that hiring authorities can quickly cut to the heart of your qualifications–and consider you for prime opportunities that closely match your talents.

Listen. Is that your phone not ringing? And after sending out 100 resumes, each of them four pages long, powder puffed, enveloped in coral green and sealed with a wax stamp? Maybe it’s time to take stock of that all-important document, and make sure it’s not stumbling around out there with its figurative foot in its mouth. Here’s 10 kisses of death, classic mistakes made in writing a job resume that have been known to keep phones from ringing.

1) Missing Contact Information

You’d be surprised how many people leave off their phone number on a job resume, or ignore the opportunity to include an email address in the heading. And on that latter point, make sure your email address is stable, long term, and professional sounding. Skip the one you use with your friends, PartyGirl@loadsofun.com, and opt instead for something that won’t raise eyebrows.

2) Too Long

If your job resume is over two pages, you’d better be a world-class CEO with instant name recognition. Then again, if you meet that description, you can get by with a single page, can’t you? Regardless of your real or imagined worth to a company, limit your job resume to two pages max, one page ideally. With regards to all the valuable ‘stuff’ you’re leaving off the job resume, be happy you’ll have something to talk about during the interview.

3) Over The Top Design

Ignore your impulse to write a white-text job resume on black paper, or include a scratch-and-sniff perfume spot on the page. Limit your font selection to one or two. Use the traditional and popular New Times Roman if you prefer lettering with a serif, or consider Arial, Helvetica or Verdana if you want a clean, more modern san serif font. Go easy on the bold and the underlining. And limit your paper selection to white or beige with a weight of 22 or 24 lb. Black type.

4) Misspellings; Poor Grammar

Nothing signals inattention to detail like a misspelled word on a resume. The job resume, the one document on which you intend to present yourself to your ideal company, and you’ve misspelled achievemints. Well, you won’t be adding to your list of achievemints with that company.

5) A Photo on a Job Resume

Never, never, never include a photo on your job resume–unless you’re applying for a job in Germany, or as a fashion model. U.S. companies outside of the modeling industry will trash your resume immediately to avoid any future accusations that they might have discriminated in a hiring decision.

6) Personal Information Not Relevant To The Job

You may be the Friday Night Dart Champion at Willie’s Bar, but leave it off the job resume. Likewise don’t mention your marital status, number of children if any, social security number, height and weight, hobbies, and sports–unless you’re an avid golfer applying to Titleist.

7) Missing Dates, Missing Employment Information

The hiring official doesn’t like to be left guessing how you acquired your superhuman talents, or where you acquired them, or when. If he is left guessing, you’ll be left guessing why you never get a response.

Hard To Read

Long, dense paragraphs are tough slogging. Make use of bulleted points. Don’t crowd your information. Weed out extraneous details and know what employers are looking for–which leads to the next point.

Weasel words are adjectives or action verbs that sound impressive as you’re typing them (extraordinary communication skills, vitally participated in conference XYZ, demonstrated ability to extricate donut from bag with minimal disturbance to icing) but to the trained eye (i.e., the eye of the hiring official) they are indicative of a desperate fellow scrapping the bottom of the barrel for anything positive to say about his time spent at Acme Wingnuts.

BONUS

11) Functional Resume

Many hiring officials have come to associate the functional format with a candidate seeking to hide some aspect of his work history. And for good reason–many are trying to do just that; hiding gaps in their work history, hiding too many jobs in too short of time.

While it can still be an effective resume, know that choosing a functional format will send up a red flag in the eyes of many employers, something your resume will have to overcome from the get go.

by Alexis Grant

The digital revolution may have changed the hiring game, but for most applicants, the resume is not dead.
Candidates can now expect to be Googled and scoped out on social media, but in most cases employers still want a resume to learn about your skills, experience, and career path. A resume also makes it easy for them to make the case for hiring you to colleagues or bosses.
Here are five common misconceptions about resumes and how you should approach them during your job search:
1. It has to fit on one page. We’ve all been told at one time or another to keep our resume to one page, but this old standard no longer holds true. If you have enough experience to highlight on two pages, go for it.
Of course, if you’re new to the workforce, one page should suffice. But now that resumes are often entered into an applicant-tracking system, it’s more important than ever to include keywords that help the system match you to appropriate positions — and you might need more space to do that. This is even more essential to workers in certain technical fields who need to list, for example, fluency in multiple technical languages.
So experienced applicants, if you need the room to show how you’re the best candidate for the position, don’t be afraid of that second page.
2. You need an objective statement. Objective are out, professional summaries are in. As our blogger Alison Green often points out, objectives often don’t help your case, and they have the potential to hurt it. Hiring managers want to know you’re passionate about working for their company, not any company that fits your vague description.
A professional summary, on the contrary, allows whoever’s recruiting you to understand what you have to offer in a quick skim. It’s also an opportunity to present your experience in a way that applies to your goals and the company’s goals. Don’t just summarize what you’ve done; take it a step further and show what you have to offer the company you want to work for.
“Companies who are interviewing you don’t care about your objective, they care about their objective,” says Tony Beshara, a recruiter and author of Unbeatable Resumes. He advises against both an objective and a summary on a resume and says job seekers should dive right into experience.
3. You have to include all of your past experience. A friend who’s looking for a new job after only a few months with her current company asked me recently whether she needs to include the last few months on her resume. Here’s what I told her: You don’t have to include anything on your resume. What you include is up to you.
Everything you write on your resume has to be true, of course, but omitting certain positions that won’t help you get your next job and replacing them with experience that will put you in a better light is not only acceptable, it’s smart. Your resume is your chance to tell your career story, so weave that story in a way that’s beneficial to you.
In this case, the friend would likely have to explain a gap in employment if she left off her most recent job, which might be a good reason to include it. But nothing has to be on your resume.
4. Once you send it in, you’re off the hook until you hear back. With a crowded job market, following up is more important than ever. Even if the company asks you not to follow up with a phone call or email, you have plenty of other options. Research the company on their website, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and look for ways to connect with employees. Figure out where those employees hang out online or in person. Contact them in a non-annoying way, establish what you have in common, and you might earn an “in” with the company.
You can also research the hiring manager specifically. And if the company has a Facebook page or Twitter feed, interact with them there. Your goal is to come across as interested and enthusiastic, but not desperate. Failing to follow up after submitting your resume is a sure-fire way to let it disappear into a black hole.
5. It has to look interesting to catch a hiring manager’s eye. Yes, you want your resume to be interesting, but more in content than appearance. Aside from the content you choose to include, the next most important aspect of your resume is that it’s easy to read. De-cluttering, or getting rid of experience that’s not relevant or necessary, is one way to do this. Another is to use bold type, bullets, and plenty of white space.
For the average position, your resume is in competition with 110 others, Beshara says. “If it doesn’t hit them in the mouth real fast by having what you’ve done and who you’ve done it for [front and center], it gets passed over,” he says. “They move onto the next one.”

First, you need to call your local Gecko Hospitality recruiter and….

Check your resume. It should be one Page without all the wordy details of what and who you were responsible for during each of your jobs.  Ok… 2 pages would be the maximum, after all you will be giving the company representative added info concerning your experience at  your first interview. Do not think your resume is THE selling tool! You must verbally market yourself and convince each person in the interviewing process that you are worthy of an offer.

Have an objective that states the job you are searching for with easy to read fonts and please do not add your picture, date of birth, how many children you have and/or your marital status.  Not important!

Spell Check, Spell Check… Spell Check!  It is so easy!  See the little ABC at the top?  Please use it!  Nothing turns an employer off faster than incorrect spelling.

Practice interviewing before you get to an interview, not when you arrive. Apply to jobs that match your talents. If you want to engage with an interviewer who does all the talking, take the leap and jump into the conversation.

Employers are most excited and interested in candidates who are positive, upbeat and outgoing!  I know you are probably going through a really tough time but, please do not let this be seen when you are doing a face to face interview.  Plus, when you during your phone interview – try smiling J   Your conversation with a potential employer will go much better.  It really does help!

Companies want to see you take a serious interest in their concept.  Visit their Web site and also make a visit to their nearest location to see if you could yourself in a career at this concept.  You do not want to interview at a place you have no idea of what they even have on the menu! Please be sure to let them know you are a frequent visitor of their establishment and you LOVE their food, as well.  You may want to even point out your favorite item.  Make it personal!

Prepare a list of questions that you will ask the company. Prioritize these questions so that your most important ones are asked.

No more than five questions, none of which should me the “what’s in it for me type.” Here are a few examples: (These questions indicate you have a long-term interest in them and not just looking for a Job).

1. What traits make a person successful here at this company?

2. What is your training program and where would I be training?

3. Do you have a mentor program and how does it work?

4. What community service projects does the company support?

5. Though I understand the responsibility to perform in whatever position you might offer, what is the typical career path someone like me would follow?

6. Based on performance, where can I expect to be in five years? In ten years?

So, keep the conversation positive, and answer each question as completely as you can. There will not be a second chance. Indicate you have a long-term interest in the company, and that you would enjoy working with the person with whom you are interviewing. Answer all questions honestly and in a positive, using simple words like will and can, not idea words such as perhaps or might. Lastly, ask for the offer! That’s why you came here, right?

Good Luck!!

You have your resume on a job board. It’s visible for all company recruiters to see you. For your co-workers to see you….for your friends to see you….For your family to see you……Then there is your boss that can see your resume or a person that tells your boss that you are on the boards! Is this what you want to do? Do you want to be visible to your current employer? This is probably not a good idea…
The best way to look for a job is using the people that have the most contacts in the industry….the contacts being the HR Directors and the Hiring Managers. You want the people with the most contact with many companies….which is the recruiters that specialize in your industry.
A Specialized Recruiter has many contacts in the field which are the HR Directors, the DMs, the Franchise owner, etc… They also have all the information about these companies…….the pros, the cons, how the company was formed, who the board of Directors are, the mission statement, the growth of the company, the salary and benefits, the turnover rate for this company, the goals for the company, and the process of the interview-steps. The recruiter can also give you tips for your interview such as what to say, what not to say what questions to ask, what to wear, etc….
If you have your resume out there on the boards, be prepared to not have a job tomorrow or next week…….it is a big risk….If your boss hears you are on the boards he/she is likely to start interviewing for your position or start getting paperwork done to possibility get you go. Is this worth it? Another reason not to put your resume out there is that your resume can be old news fast. You may get a few calls for interviews and if these interviews don’t go well, you become labeled and not as many calls will come in…..If you are up on those boards 2+ weeks, you are definitely old news. These companies want “New Sharp Managers that are not on the boards”.
The best way to start your hunt…..go see the ads on the different boards. Find a recruiter that is honest, been in the industry 5+ years recruiting, someone that is looking out for you and your family, someone that will call your back and get you feedback, and a recruiter that cares. You don’t want to apply right to a certain company….they get thousands of resumes per day….your sharp resume will get lost because the company HR Director had too many resumes to look through.
Find the right recruiter that will make sure that your resume is in the right hands of the HR Directors or recruiters or DMs within a few days. Find the recruiter who gives you feedback and more options as those jobs open up. Your future is important and you need to start this journey with the right recruiter that will get those doors open for you. So I would say…..do not put yourself out there on these boards……find the right recruiter (keeping your resume private) that will get you results in getting you interviews and feedback from your resume and your interviews. Good Luck on your future journeys!

There are lots of people looking for jobs especially in Today’s Economy.  Being patient, and preparing yourself for the task is a great start.  You have to make yourself standout over the other candidates.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Self-Assessment:  What type of position will you be pursuing?  Have you set your goals and priorities. Outlined your skills, strengths and weaknesses, financial needs, and family time, interests, leisure activities, and your health.   You must write these down and assess yourself and know what you want out of life and the type of position you will be pursuing.  This will help you to start preparing for the steps in finding the job that is a good fit for you and your family.  Also, assessing the strengths in your background to make sure you have the qualifications for the job you are pursuing.

2. Properly Prepare Your Resume: The purpose of a resume is to represent yourself so that the employers will see something that will motivate them to contact you for an interview.  This is your time to show all your accomplishments and experience so that they will want to meet with you.  Demonstrate your job worth and the skills and abilities that you can bring to their company.  Don’t make the resume to lengthy it should be informative and detailed but not too lengthy.

3. Research Companies: It is always a great suggestion to research companies you are interested in or will be interviewing with.  The internet is the best way to do this.  This will also help you in the interview process, it will help you with being prepared.  Visit the company speak with employees see if they are the right fit for you. It is also a great idea to go visit the business and she how they operate and see if you can see yourself working with them.

4. Submitting your resume:  Once you have put together a professional resume, next is sending it to the right people so that you can be called for interviews.  Don’t get too creative with the resume format.  It is an information sheet and should be easy to read and understand and should be summarized.  Don’t send in extra documentation unless the employer asks for it.

5. Develop Effective Interviewing Skills:  Communication is the key to a good interview, as well as being outgoing and articulate and showing a real interest in the company and position you are interviewing for.  You want to convince the recruiter that you would be a positive and beneficial addition to their company.  Practice what you will say and how you will respond in the interview.

6. The Importance of Following Up: Follow up with enthusiasm, determination and in a professional manner and provide the interviewer with further evidence of your suitability. Send a follow up letter, e-mail, or phone call and thank the recruiter for their time and restate your interest in the position and ask if there is any more information they need. Ask when they will have a final decision avoid sounding desperate. Be polite and professional.

Be patient, even though you may be in a hurry many clients have a process that they go through.  You need to wait to them to complete the various steps and get back in touch with you.  There are a lot of candidates looking for jobs in this economy and the clients are looking for the best candidates for the openings.  But they don’t want to be pressured.

Rhonda Gingell, CPC

Gecko Hospitality

Here’s a helping hand. The job interview is considered to be the most critical aspect of every expedition that brings you face-to-face with the future boss. One must prepare for it with the same tenacity and quickness as one does for a fencing tournament or a chess match.

1. Tell me about yourself.
Since this is often the opening question in an interview, be extra careful that you don’t run off at the mouth. Keep your answer to a minute or two at most. Cover four topics: early years, education, work history, and recent career experience. Emphasize this last subject. Remember that this is likely to be a warm-up question. Don’t waste your best points on it.
2. What do you know about our organization?
You should be able to discuss products or services, revenues, reputation, image, goals, problems, management style, people, history and philosophy. But don’t act as if you know everything about the place. Let your answer show that you have taken the time to do some research, but don’t overwhelm the interviewer, and make it clear that you wish to learn more.
You might start your answer in this manner: “In my job search, I’ve investigated a number of companies.
Yours is one of the few that interests me, for these reasons…”
Give your answer a positive tone. Don’t say, “Well, everyone tells me that you’re in all sorts of trouble, and that’s why I’m here”, even if that is why you’re there.
3. Why do you want to work for us?
The deadliest answer you can give is “Because I like people.” What else would you like-animals?
Here, and throughout the interview, a good answer comes from having done your homework so that you can speak in terms of the company’s needs. You might say that your research has shown that the company is doing things you would like to be involved with, and that it’s doing them in ways that greatly interest you. For example, if the organization is known for strong management, your answer should mention that fact and show that you would like to be a part of that team. If the company places a great deal of emphasis on research and development, emphasize the fact that you want to create new things and that you know this is a place in which such activity is encouraged. If the organization stresses financial controls, your answer should mention a reverence for numbers.
If you feel that you have to concoct an answer to this question – if, for example, the company stresses research, and you feel that you should mention it even though it really doesn’t interest you- then you probably should not be taking that interview, because you probably shouldn’t be considering a job with that organization.
Your homework should include learning enough about the company to avoid approaching places where you wouldn’t be able -or wouldn’t want- to function. Since most of us are poor liars, it’s difficult to con anyone in an interview. But even if you should succeed at it, your prize is a job you don’t really want.
4. What can you do for us that someone else can’t?
Here you have every right, and perhaps an obligation, to toot your own horn and be a bit egotistical. Talk about your record of getting things done, and mention specifics from your resume or list of career accomplishments. Say that your skills and interests, combined with this history of getting results, make you valuable. Mention your ability to set priorities, identify problems, and use your experience and energy to solve them.
5. What do you find most attractive about this position? What seems least attractive about it?
List three or four attractive factors of the job, and mention a single, minor, unattractive item.
6. Why should we hire you?
Create your answer by thinking in terms of your ability, your experience, and your energy. (See question 4.)
7. What do you look for in a job?
Keep your answer oriented to opportunities at this organization. Talk about your desire to perform and be recognized for your contributions. Make your answer oriented toward opportunity rather than personal security.
8. Please give me your definition of [the position for which you are being interviewed].
Keep your answer brief and task oriented. Think in in terms of responsibilities and accountability. Make sure that you really do understand what the position involves before you attempt an answer. If you are not certain. ask the interviewer; he or she may answer the question for you.
9. How long would it take you to make a meaningful contribution to our firm?
Be realistic. Say that, while you would expect to meet pressing demands and pull your own weight from the first day, it might take six months to a year before you could expect to know the organization and its needs well enough to make a major contribution.
10. How long would you stay with us?
Say that you are interested in a career with the organization, but admit that you would have to continue to feel challenged to remain with any organization. Think in terms of, “As long as we both feel achievement-oriented.”
11. Your resume suggests that you may be over-qualified or too experienced for this position. What’s Your opinion?
Emphasize your interest in establishing a long-term association with the organization, and say that you assume that if you perform well in his job, new opportunities will open up for you. Mention that a strong company needs a strong staff. Observe that experienced executives are always at a premium. Suggest that since you are so well qualified, the employer will get a fast return on his investment. Say that a growing, energetic company can never have too much talent.
12. What is your management style?
You should know enough about the company’s style to know that your management style will complement it. Possible styles include: task oriented (I’ll enjoy problem-solving identifying what’s wrong, choosing a solution and implementing it”), results-oriented (“Every management decision I make is determined by how it will affect the bottom line”), or even paternalistic (“I’m committed to taking care of my subordinates and pointing them in the right direction”).
A participative style is currently quite popular: an open-door method of managing in which you get things done by motivating people and delegating responsibility.
As you consider this question, think about whether your style will let you work happily and effectively within the organization.
13. Are you a good manager? Can you give me some examples? Do you feel that you have top managerial potential?
Keep your answer achievement and ask-oriented. Rely on examples from your career to buttress your argument. Stress your experience and your energy.
14. What do you look for when You hire people?
Think in terms of skills. initiative, and the adaptability to be able to work comfortably and effectively with others. Mention that you like to hire people who appear capable of moving up in the organization.
15. Have you ever had to fire people? What were the reasons, and how did you handle the situation?
Admit that the situation was not easy, but say that it worked out well, both for the company and, you think, for the individual. Show that, like anyone else, you don’t enjoy unpleasant tasks but that you can resolve them efficiently and -in the case of firing someone- humanely.
16. What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager or executive?
Mention planning, execution, and cost-control. The most difficult task is to motivate and manage employees to get something planned and completed on time and within the budget.
17. What important trends do you see in our industry?
Be prepared with two or three trends that illustrate how well you understand your industry. You might consider technological challenges or opportunities, economic conditions, or even regulatory demands as you collect your thoughts about the direction in which your business is heading.
18. Why are you leaving (did you leave) your present (last) job?
Be brief, to the point, and as honest as you can without hurting yourself. Refer back to the planning phase of your job search. where you considered this topic as you set your reference statements. If you were laid off in an across-the-board cutback, say so; otherwise, indicate that the move was your decision, the result of your action. Do not mention personality conflicts.
The interviewer may spend some time probing you on this issue, particularly if it is clear that you were terminated. The “We agreed to disagree” approach may be useful. Remember that your references are likely to be checked, so don’t concoct a story for an interview.
19. How do you feel about leaving all your benefits to find a new job?
Mention that you are concerned, naturally, but not panicked. You are willing to accept some risk to find the right job for yourself. Don’t suggest that security might interest you more than getting the job done successfully.
20. In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the most? The least?
Be careful and be positive. Describe more features that you liked than disliked. Don’t cite personality problems. If you make your last job sound terrible, an interviewer may wonder why you remained there until now.
21. What do you think of your boss?
Be as positive as you can. A potential boss is likely to wonder if you might talk about him in similar terms at some point in the future.
22. Why aren’t you earning more at your age?
Say that this is one reason that you are conducting this job search. Don’t be defensive.
23. What do you feel this position should pay?
Salary is a delicate topic. We suggest that you defer tying yourself to a precise figure for as long as you can do so politely. You might say, “I understand that the range for this job is between $______ and $______. That seems appropriate for the job as I understand it.” You might answer the question with a question: “Perhaps you can help me on this one. Can you tell me if there is a range for similar jobs in the organization?”
If you are asked the question during an initial screening interview, you might say that you feel you need to know more about the position’s responsibilities before you could give a meaningful answer to that question. Here, too, either by asking the interviewer or search executive (if one is involved), or in research done as part of your homework, you can try to find out whether there is a salary grade attached to the job. If there is, and if you can live with it, say that the range seems right to you.
If the interviewer continues to probe, you might say, “You know that I’m making $______ now. Like everyone else, I’d like to improve on that figure, but my major interest is with the job itself.” Remember that the act of taking a new job does not, in and of itself, make you worth more money.
If a search firm is involved, your contact there may be able to help with the salary question. He or she may even be able to run interference for you. If, for instance, he tells you what the position pays, and you tell him that you are earning that amount now and would Like to do a bit better, he might go back to the employer and propose that you be offered an additional 10%.
If no price range is attached to the job, and the interviewer continues to press the subject, then you will have to respond with a number. You cannot leave the impression that it does not really matter, that you’ll accept whatever is offered. If you’ve been making $80,000 a year, you can’t say that a $35,000 figure would be fine without sounding as if you’ve given up on yourself. (If you are making a radical career change, however, this kind of disparity may be more reasonable and understandable.)
Don’t sell yourself short, but continue to stress the fact that the job itself is the most important thing in your mind. The interviewer may be trying to determine just how much you want the job. Don’t leave the impression that money is the only thing that is important to you. Link questions of salary to the work itself.
But whenever possible, say as little as you can about salary until you reach the “final” stage of the interview process. At that point, you know that the company is genuinely interested in you and that it is likely to be flexible in salary negotiations.
24. What are your long-range goals?
Refer back to the planning phase of your job search. Don’t answer, “I want the job you’ve advertised.” Relate your goals to the company you are interviewing: ‘in a firm like yours, I would like to…”
25. How successful do you think you’ve been so far?
Say that, all-in-all, you’re happy with the way your career has progressed so far. Given the normal ups and downs of life, you feel that you’ve done quite well and have no complaints.
Present a positive and confident picture of yourself, but don’t overstate your case. An answer like, “Everything’s wonderful! I can’t think of a time when things were going better! I’m overjoyed!” is likely to make an interviewer wonder whether you’re trying to fool him . . . or yourself. The most convincing confidence is usually quiet confidence.

“I’m not paid what I’m worth.”

Who hasn’t said this at least once?

I certainly have.

But if we subscribe to classical economics — which says that the price paid for any given service is the price at which the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded — aren’t we paid precisely what we’re worth? And if we still believe we’re trading at a discount to our intrinsic value, is it possible to change the market’s mind?

In a recent conversation with a colleague of mine about our respective strengths, he identified as one of my strong points an ability to connect the dots between people and ideas, where others see no possible connection. Developmental psychologist Howard Gardner would describe this as searchlight intelligence, an intelligence that readily discerns connections across spheres and sees opportunities to cross-pollinate. My colleague then surprised me by wondering aloud, “I don’t understand why you don’t value what is such an apparent strength.”

I do value my ability to think across silos, I countered, but it’s true that I value my skill of building a financial model more, because it was so painstaking to acquire.

A tendency to obfuscate our strengths should not be surprising. If we’ve really applied ourselves to achieving competency, we are justifiably proud. Yet we often overlook our best skills — our innate talents — simply because we perform them without even thinking. As publisher Malcolm Forbes put it, “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”

As we look to close the gap between what we’re paid and what we’re worth, there is a lesson to be learned from the stock market. In my experience, the stocks that trade at fair value or even a premium to their peers are those that know what kind of stock they are, and then deliver, whether “disruptive innovation — emerging growth,” “sustaining innovation — best-of-breed,” or “being-disrupted — but dividend-paying.”

Not surprisingly, the stocks that lead with their unique or disruptive capabilities command the highest absolute multiples. The market historically rewards “disruptive innovation — emerging growth” stocks with multiples of 30x or more. The market pays top dollar, applying a premium multiple to disruptive innovations, because the odds for disruptors are much better — 6x greater in terms of success, 20x greater in terms of revenue opportunity, as Clayton M. Christensen wrote in The Innovator’s Dilemma.

Translating this to our careers, when we proffer to the marketplace a disruptive skill set, focusing on our distinctive innate talents rather than ‘me-too’ skills, we are more likely to achieve success and increase what we earn. For example, consider the outcomes for two presidential candidates: on the one hand, Mitt Romney, who highlighted his political views rather than his business acumen; on the other, Bill Clinton, who understood that, as smart as the former Rhodes scholar is, his real skill was interpersonal intelligence. In my own case, I may not get paid top dollar if I’m hired to sequester myself every day, constructing financial models: I build models well, but not remarkably so. But if I lead with my unique skill set of searchlight intelligence, following with “can build a model/value a company,” the calculus changes dramatically.

We all want to get paid what we believe we are worth, which may be even more than what we currently estimate. The trick then is to lead with unique or disruptive skills, offering the hard-won skills as a kicker. When you know exactly what your value proposition is, rather than perpetually trading at a discount, you’ll command the premium you deserve.

http://blogs.hbr.org/johnson/2010/09/to-get-paid-what-youre-worth-k.html

Most of us rely on e-mail as one of our primary communication tools. And given the number of messages we send and receive, we do it with remarkable success. But as with anything, the more e-mails we send, the more likely we are to screw one up. And simple e-mail mistakes can be disastrous. They can cost us a raise, promotion–even a job. With a new year upon us, this is the perfect time to go through some of the worst e-mail mistakes employees make and how to avoid them.

1. Sending before you mean to. Enter the recipient’s e-mail address only when your e-mail is ready to be sent. This helps reduce the risk of an embarrassing misfire, such as sending an important e-mail to the wrong person or e-mailing a half-written note.

2. Forgetting the attachment. If your e-mail includes an attachment, upload the file to the e-mail before composing it. This eliminates the embarrassing mistake of forgetting it before hitting “send,” and having to send another e-mail saying you forgot to attach the document.

3. Expecting an instant response. Don’t send an e-mail and show up at the recipient’s desk 30 seconds later asking if they’ve received it. They did, and they’ll answer at their convenience. That’s the point of e-mail.

4. Forwarding useless e-mails. I’ve never seen a single e-mail forward at work that was beneficial. Whether it’s a silly joke or a heartwarming charity, there’s never a time to share an e-mail forward using your work e-mail.

5. Not reviewing all new messages before replying. When you return to the office after a week or more away, review all new e-mails before firing off responses. It might be hard to accept, but odds are, things did march on without you. Replying to something that was already handled by a co-worker creates extra communication, which can lead to confusion, errors, and at the very least, wasted time for everyone involved.

6. Omitting recipients when you “reply all.” Unless there’s an important reason to omit someone, don’t arbitrarily leave people off the response if they were included on the original message.

7. Including your e-mail signature again and again. Nor do you need to include it at the end of an e-mail you send to your long-time co-worker who sits six feet away. If you have your e-mail program set to automatically generate a signature with each new message, take a second to delete it when communicating with someone who knows who you are. It’s always wise to include your phone number, but the entire blurb with your title and mailing address is often nothing but clutter.

8. Composing the note too quickly. Don’t be careless; write every e-mail as if it will be read at Saint Peter’s Square during the blessing of a new Pope. Be respectful with your words and take pride in every communication.

9. Violating your company’s e-mail policy. Many companies have aggressive spam filters in place that monitor “blue” language. From that famous four-letter word to simple terms, such as “job search,” don’t end up tripping the system by letting your guard down.

10. Failing to include basic greetings. Simple pleasantries do the trick. Say “hi” at the start of the message and “thanks” at the end. Be sure to use the recipient’s name. Be polite yet brief with your courtesy.

11. E-mailing when you’re angry. Don’t do it. Ever. Recall buttons are far from a perfect science, and sending a business e-mail tainted by emotion is often a catastrophic mistake. It sounds cliche, but sleep on it. Save the message as a draft and see if you still want to send it the next morning.

12. Underestimating the importance of the subject line. The subject line is your headline. Make it interesting, and you’ll increase the odds of getting the recipient’s attention. Our inboxes are cluttered; you need to be creative and direct to help the recipient cut through the noise. You should consistently use meaningful and descriptive subject lines. This will help your colleagues determine what you’re writing about and build your “inbox street cred,” which means important messages are more likely to be read.

13. Using incorrect subject lines. Change the subject line if you’re changing the topic of conversation. Better yet, start a new e-mail thread.

14. Sending the wrong attachment. If you double-check an attachment immediately before sending and decide that you need to make changes, don’t forget to update the source file. Making corrections to the version that’s attached to the e-mail does not often work, and it can lead to different versions of the same doc floating around.

15. Not putting an e-mail in context. Even if you were talking to someone an hour ago about something, remind them in the e-mail why you’re writing. In this multi-tasking world of ours, it’s easy for even the sharpest minds to forget what’s going on.

16. Using BCC too often. Use BCC (blind carbon copy) sparingly. Even though it’s supposed to be a secret, it rarely is. Burn someone once, and they’ll never trust you again. Likewise, forwarding e-mail is a great way to destroy your credibility. When people send you something, they aren’t expecting you to pass it on to your co-workers. The e-mail might make its way back to the sender, who will see that their original message was shared. They might not call you out on it, but they’ll make a mental note that you can’t be trusted.

17. Relying too much on e-mail. News flash! No one is sitting around staring at their inbox waiting for your e-mail. If something is urgent, use another means of communication. A red “rush” exclamation point doesn’t compare to getting up from your desk and conducting business in person.

18. Hitting “reply all” unintentionally. This is a biggie. And it’s not just embarrassing; depending on what you wrote in that e-mail, it can ruin your relationship with a co-worker or even your boss. Take extra care whenever you respond so you don’t hit this fatal button.

Andrew G. Rosen is the founder and editor of Jobacle.com, a career advice blog. He is also the author of How to Quit Your Job.

Many times throughout my day, I get asked the question from candidates “why should I use a restaurant recruiter?” or “what are the advantages of using a restaurant recruiter?”  And these are great questions that I am always very happy to answer.

First of all, one of the biggest advantages that we as recruiters can provide to our candidates is the advantage of having direct access to the hiring authorities within each company. In fact, in most cases, not only do we have direct contact with them, but we also have a well established relationship built over time. When a candidate sends his or her resume directly to a company, whether by email or through a website, they become one of hundreds if not one of thousands in some cases and can easily be lost in the shuffle. But when we as recruiters submit a candidates’ resume to one of our clients, that same candidate is now one of one, one of two, one of three, you get the idea. This now pushes the candidate resume to the top of the pile so to speak. Also, usually our clients are very busy in their day to day activities, and when they see a resume from us, they know that their jobs just got a little easier because the candidate has already been given a qualifying interview and references checked and should be a match to their hiring profile. This is a head start in the process and saves them valuable time. Another distinct advantage is the relationship we have built with our client. We know them. We know what they look for, we know the questions they are going to ask, we know what will kill the process and what will make the process move ahead. We then impart this information to our candidates prior to any interviews. This is what we call setting the candidate up for success. It is our goal to prepare our candidates ahead of time so that they know what to expect and eliminate any surprises. We provide confidence and insight. This gives our candidates a clear advantage over anyone that is freelancing themselves in an interview situation. Another advantage is that we know the process for each company that we work with. We know what to expect through each step, we do the follow up, and we communicate back to the candidate any information that we find essential to keep them moving forward in the process. In the interview process, insight and information are invaluable towards a positive conclusion and we provide both abundantly.

Lastly, an advantage that should not be over looked is the credibility that we as recruiters bring to the table. We (Gecko Hospitality recruiters) are all long time industry veterans. We know the industry from the inside and this provides a huge amount of credibility from both our candidates and our clients. We speak the language. We understand the life of a restaurant manager and the significance of changing jobs and the effect that has on not only the individual, but on a family also. It is because of that intimate understanding that we are able to work in a manner that moves people’s careers forward and not backwards. So it is clear that in the current hiring environment, having advantages is certainly the best way to find that dream job and there is no bigger or better advantage than using a Gecko Hospitality recruiter.

Dean Seese, CPC

Gecko Hospitality – New York