Lip-Sticking

Resume Not Required

Guest post by Hannah Morgan, the Career Sherpa

If you had a job and wanted to meet with someone, would they ask for your resume? Probably not. So why are people asking you for your resume? Is it because you confessed in your request for a meeting that you were job hunting? Is that really necessary? Really? If you are networking and people are asking you for your resume, let me suggest you are doing it all wrong!

Why Networking With a Resume A Bad Idea?

Any time you present your resume to someone, it sends the message “Hire Me! I am looking for a job.” Your state of employment (or unemployment) is a distraction from the main purpose of the meeting. You want the conversation to center around gaining information and idea-sharing. When you introduce the fact that you are job searching, the conversation often switches to pity, resume critique, or worse, they feel like they can’t help you because their company isn’t hiring, thereby cutting he conversation short. What you really want from them is information. You want the people you meet with to trust you and like you, and ultimately, refer you to new contacts to gain more insight. This is the true purpose for networking.

Applying For Jobs Isn’t Enough

Guest post by Hannah Morgan

When you submit your resume to an online job posting, how many other people do you suppose are doing that exact same thing? Hundreds? Thousands? The odds of your application rising to the top of the pile are as good as your odds of winning the lottery. The good news is, you can do something to increase the chances of your application getting the attention you want.

2 Steps Is What It Takes

Most job applicants won’t take the time to do this, and that’s the very reason you should! The first step is easy and familiar. You find a job online and modify your resume to showcase your most important and relevant qualifications and include a cover letter that explains why you want to work at that company (this requires you’ve done research and know more than the company’s name).

Write A Thank You Letter That Stands Out

Guest post by Hannah Morgan, The Career Sherpa

The interview is over and you are relieved, but don’t relax yet, your work isn’t done. Thanking the interviewer could be one of the most important step you can take in closing the deal! Do you wonder what you should you say? Here are the answers to the five most commonly asked thank you letter questions.

 When Do I Send My Thank You?

You should send your thank you immediately following your interview. Usually that means within 24 to 48 hours. Actually, let’s step back a second. Before you leave the interview you must ask a couple of really important questions!

1. What are the next steps in the process

2. What is their time-frame for making a decision AND if you don’t hear from them by the stated date, what is the best way for you to follow up?

These questions serve a couple of purposes. First, asking these questions shows you are interested in the job and will take accountability for following up. Second, you now know when you should follow up and you’ve gotten their permission, so you won’t feel like a pest when you do follow up.

Stop Interrogating - Start Discovering

Guest post by AmyK Hutchens

At best, an interview is contrived. An interviewer asks, What's your greatest weakness? Only to hear the interviewee respond, "Perfectionism." This line of habitual, rote questioning leads to bad hires. An interview process that actually leads to finding a great candidate stops the interrogation tactics and starts a process of discovery. The goal of any interview is to step into the mind of the interviewee and determine if s/he will be a great fit for your company going forward. The better interviewing questions can ascertain the truth of someone’s past experiences, her future potential, and her ability to enhance your company culture. Utilizing better questions that foster critical thinking leads to better hiring decisions that help your company’s long term results. Done well, interviewing is both a science and an art.  Specifically, the interview process should be built on a foundation of structure and consistency so that managers can quantifiably compare candidate to candidate.  It should also reveal important psychological aspects of the candidate to determine her learning agility and fit within the prospective role and organization.

 

13 Things You MUST Have to Start Your Job Search

Guest post by Hannah Morgan

Your Job Search Doesn’t Begin with A Resume

So how do you begin your job search? It starts with assessment and research. Yuck, I know. But doing an assessment of what you want to do and what you like to do will focus your job search on the right opportunities. By pulling together these 13 items early in your job search, you are in fact doing an assessment and research and it will prepare you to get moving in the right direction faster

1. Portfolio of work and evaluations - Dig through your files or call Human Resources for copies of your performance reviews. Look for copies of complimentary emails from customers or colleagues. Perhaps you have samples/examples of your work such as project plans, revised processes, work instructions or reports.  These may be confidential or proprietary information, but they can be helpful in reminding you of what you accomplished.
2. Professional greeting on main voicemail - It may be obvious, however, it is a frequently overlooked step. Make sure your home voice mail and mobile voice mail include your name so the person contacting you knows they have the right number.

The Woman Who Made Furs Fabulous

Article by Chloe Spencer 

While I was doing research for my Huffington Post article I was writing on the fur industry and why you should buy faux fur, I came across a site called Fabulous-Furs. But the furs on this site were faux, and looked just as real as their counterparts.

I was amazed…I looked through the collections of full-length white mink coats, coyote vests, and fox shawls, which all looked so real, except that they were only a few hundred dollars each instead of tens of thousands of dollars each! All beautifully made with high quality fabrics, and the best part, never harmed an animal in the process.

In fact, animals were helped in the process. Fabulous-Furs donates to hundreds of non-profits for animal rights every year. It is also the finest faux fur clothing company in the World, with celebrity customers, TV appearances and products sold at Saks Fifth Avenue. You're probably thinking, wow that is fabulous! All thanks to a woman named Donna Salyers, who put the fabulous into furs.

Introducing….You!

Guest post by Hannah Morgan

As you are out there networking (or just having conversations with people you know) have you found yourself stumbling over your words when someone asks you “What do you do?” You’ve probably figured out you need a way to introduce yourself, but what makes a good introduction?

 

 

Loss of Identity

I think job seekers struggle with this because they either don’t know what they want to be when they grow up or because they can no longer say “I work at XYZ company as a ___________”. Overcome this by researching and figuring out what you want to do. Even asking “what do they call this where you work” can make for an interesting networking meeting!

Humility Reigns Supreme (or does it)

Most people I know generally don’t like selling themselves. They say they were raised not to boast or brag. But that isn’t what I’m suggesting.  I merely want you to take credit where credit is due.

A Milkshake a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Guest post by Chloe Spencer 

You may be thinking, in regards to the title, how in the heck do milkshakes keep the doctor away? Well, maybe not in literal terms, but when referring to the newly launched non-profit, Milkshake, communities in third world countries and in places suffering because of disease or disaster all over the globe are helped through all sorts of different causes using this new site. Charities on Milkshake also include causes to help the environment, abused animals, and people making a difference.

I love eco-friendly shopping and discovering new creative causes, and I came across Milkshake after it was mentioned to me by a friend. I took a liking to their site and what they were doing, so I got an interview with the founders, and I incorporated all their answers into an article to share with all my readers on Lipsticking.

So, what is Milkshake?

Women mean business: this cookie isn’t crumbling

By Amanda Ponzar

What never ceases to amaze me is how unstoppable some women are. Take Kerri White. She not only works full-time, but on the side, launched her own business, Zettie’s Confections. Although she won’t share her secret recipes, I asked Kerri to share her secrets to being successful as a start-up. (She’s already shared her cookies with me, and I love them.) 

Question: You've achieved remarkable success earning local TV coverage; what is your secret?

Answer:  For me, it's about putting myself out there, taking chances, and not letting the word "no" keep me from trying to be successful. I believe in my products, and in myself, and I think that confidence is what has helped me promote Zettie's in such short time. Not to mention, tasting is believing! (My note -- Kerri brings her goodies to work, parties, events, etc. plus sends samples to media; she is a GENIUS!)

Q: What types of social marketing do you use (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and which has been most helpful promoting your business?

Social Media is the topic of this week's WCEOhq Internet Radio Show. Please join us!

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

 The use of podcasts and Internet radio shows have been growing in popularity this past year. In May I had the honor to be a guest on WCEOhq Radio, an interactive two-hour Internet radio show that you can listen live on Fridays from noon to 2 pm EST, or download the podcasts to listen to at your leisure.

The show was launched in March of this year by a good friend and colleague of mine, Bruce Peters. Bruce is a co-host along with Diana Palotas, a former news anchor person, who together have been interviewing top business thought leaders and CEO's mostly from the Western NY community. Yvonne DiVita was actually the show's first guest which you can listen to her interview here.

WCEOhq is brought to you by The Washington Times which is on the WS Radio Network. WS stands for World Syndicated Radio and claims to be the largest independent Internet talk radio station in the world. It now has about 150 shows and growing all produced using professional broadcasting equipment.