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When you are applying for a specific job you need to identify the key words that the employer is looking for. What are key words? They are the specific qualities or attributes that an employer desires from a prospective applicant. Finding key words is easy, you can identify key words by obtaining 5 or 6 job postings for the same position and underline the similar words in each of the job postings. The words that you underlined are the key words for that specific job.

You may ask why key words are so important. The best way for me to describe it to you is by asking you a question. What type of pizza do you like? Let’s say that you only like pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni. I have the greatest pizza in the world for you; it has pepperoni, anchovies, pineapple, jalapeños, and onions on it. I am offering it at the same price as the pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni, do you want it? No. Why not, it is the same price. You do not want it because that is not what appeals to you. The employer feels the same way, so to satisfy the employer you have to use the key words that the employer is looking for. Key words are the pizza toppings.

When you write your resume, focus it to a specific job posting and make sure you use the keywords that the employer is looking for. Now that you know what to look for, it will be easy to do and be of benefit to you. Resume key words are an essential ingredient in developing a resume to help you get your next dream job.

I had the opportunity to review a product that will beneficial to you when you start to write your resume, “How To Make A Great Resume”. Richard Adams has developed a book that uses a number of the same tips and tools that I used in teaching resume skills to scores of professionals. You will find his book, straight forward and easy to understand and follow.

One note of caution, if you think you are going to write a good resume in an hour then do not even bother buying his book. This process takes time and like everything else I have shared with you it is well worth the investment especially when you start to receive call backs for face to face interviews. After all the goal of writing the resume is to obtain an invitation to interview for the job of your dreams.

A number of people ask me why they need to have a business card outside of their normal work business card. Well your work business card is great for business transactions but if you are testing the waters for a new opportunity you may not want a prospective employer calling you on the job. If someone else answers the phone the word might get out that you are looking before you want it to.

I recommend that you have your own personnel business cards made with an e mail and phone number that your prospective employer can contact you. I number of people use their cell phone as their main number of contact. This can be a good and bad idea at the same time. If you decide to use your cell phone as a business contact then you are also making a conscious decision to answer all calls on that phone in a professional manner. More about this subject will be discussed in future posts.

Vista Print is the site that I use for my personnel business cards. You can select to purchase free business cards or premium business cards. If you choose the free cards there are a number of cards themes that you can select from. Remember to select a theme that looks professional, because you will be planning to use this card when networking and on your interview. I normally purchase the premium business card. They sell for $19.99 on sale 50% OFF Premium Business Cards & FREE Return Address Labels
and provide a broader range of themes to select from. You can also select to have the cards printed on a thicker card stock and have it laminated in a glossy finish for an additional charge.

I recommend upgrading to the premium card with a thicker card stock and having them laminated as well. Your business card says something about who you are and it might be the only thing that a person has to remember you by. Having a card that is unique (laminated) and feels good in the person’s hand (thicker card stock) says that you are a person of quality and pay attention to detail. It is a little more expensive to upgrade your business cards but you are well worth the investment.

One of the best things you can do when preparing your resume and prior to an interview is to research the company that you are targeting as your future employer. You can find out a number of things about a company if you use Google, but you may not find specific information that will set you apart from the crowd. I have found a site that will help direct your research and provide you with inside information and most of it free of charge. The site is Researching Companies Online. This site provides a step by step tutorial to help you in the process of researching a company.

Why should you spend the time to research a company? You will be more knowledgeable about the products and services the company offers. Having this information will allow you to ask meaningful and thought provoking questions during an interview that will give you insight to the culture of the company. You may be able to identify who might be interviewing you and this will allow you to obtain some back ground information on them and find areas of common interest that may allow you to connect and deepen the relationship during the interview process. This is your career, take control and do not be afraid to dig deep. Remember, they do not call it buried treasure when it is sitting out in the open. Set your self apart from the crowd, research the company online and find the hidden information, your buried treasure.

Looking for your dream job? We all have dreams, big ones, small ones, and middle size ones but if you are like me, you have a problem getting started to make those dreams a reality. I found a free tool to help you get started. Keith Ferrazzi has developed a free tool to help get you on the road to achieving your dreams. You can go to: www.KeithFerrazzi.com/lifecoachtool and follow the instructions. There are 3 steps to take in completing this tool.

Step 1 � Get Focused - Become clear about what you want to achieve.

Step 2 � Diagnosis - What are the behaviors that prevent you from being a success?

Step 3 � Share � Create your dream Team, a group of dream supports that will help you
in this journey.

Listen to the video, use the free tool and you are on your way to finding your dream job.

Please forgive the blurry video

Have you ever heard of putting your resume on the back of a tee shirt? No, I am not crazy. There is a fellow from Lexington Kentucky who has done just that and would be willing to do the same for you for a fee. His name is Larry Dinsmore and if you click on his name it will take you to his web site. I have masked the name of the URL for his web site because I do not want anyone to be offended: www.D***INeedAJob.com by now you have a general idea. When I first saw this I thought how out of the box and creative this concept was. Here is a man who took matters in his own hands in a very unconventional way.

Let me go on record to say that I do not recommend that you purchase a shirt as suggested by Larry and go to your local news station to drum up publicity, but I do recommend learning from Larry. In a situation where Larry could have been depressed and given up as a result of little or no response to the countless number of job openings he applied to he made a choice to create an his own opportunity. So many times we become over burdened with the problem that we sit and worry about it instead of being creative and working on a solution.

Think of your situation in terms of how you can create an opportunity for yourself. It may mean, going to association meetings for your industry and networking with people there. Call up old colleagues and ask if they would inform you if they hear of any available positions that would be of interest to you. Go to the golf course, house of worship, or other places that people in your industry visit on a social basis to provide the opportunity for you to speak with people who you share a common interest. Remember, you are not looking for a job, but a referral to someone who currently has a problem that you have addressed in one the positions you held in the past. Not everyone is going to be as lucky as Larry, but everyone can create their own opportunity. Reading his web site and watching the video made me smile. I hope it made you smile too.

When you are going to an interview you want to make a good first impression. An essential aspect of this strategy is to bring your interview materials in a leather portfolio. Why not bring your resume in a manila folder? To be honest, a manila folder looks inexpensive. You want to give the impression that you are serious about the interview and are the type of candidate that pays attention to details. Having a leather binder to present your interview material says that you are not the average candidate but one who takes pride in their work. Select a binder that provides room for you to place a note pad and an extra pen. The note pad in the portfolio gives the impression of you being organized and prepared for the interview. Bringing an extra pen is important because you do not want to be in a position where your pen stops writing and you do not have a spare.

Another strategy that you may consider is researching the company that you will be interviewing with. Go to their web site and find out all you can about the organization, CEO, financial statements, position in the industry, and where the position you are interviewing for fits into the organization’s structure. Print out this research and after you review the information and become familiar with the content, fix the pages inside your portfolio using a small black clip. When you sit down and open the portfolio in front of the interviewer they will see that you took the time to research the company and you will have the information for need available for easy reference. If you do not have a portfolio I recommend Staples Office Supplies as a resource to purchase one. They have great prices and I shop there for all of my office supplies and interview preparation materials. It is defiantly worth the investment to purchase a leather portfolio to make a good impression when interviewing for your next dream job, beside you can continue to use the same portfolio to attend meetings once you get the job. I did.

I’ve just set up a new notification list to inform you of the latest trends and techniques in mastering the interview process. You will find a number of helpful hints and tools that will be instrumental in landing your next dream job. I would love to hear from you and discuss topics of special interest to you.

Just click here to fill out the short form - and join us on early notifications and special interest topics.

Your cover letter is the key that separates you from the rest of the crowd when applying for a job. It gives you the opportunity to speak to how you can address the needs of the organization and the skills and techniques you used to achieve similar accomplishments in the past. In my research I discovered a process developed by Jim Sweeney that will help you produce that focused cover letter that you need to get that job interview. Amazing Cover Letters will help propel your cover letter from the normal mundane cover letters that everyone else writes to stellar status. Remember you are after that dream job, and you are the best candidate for this position. Don’t be overlooked for the interview because your cover letter did not reflect your talents, check out Amazing Cover Letters.

There is a tool on the internet that can be your Trump Card for finding that next job of your dream. The tool is called Linked In. It is a social networking tool that allows you to post your resume on line where prospective employers can find you. If you think that is great you have just touched the tip of the iceberg. By becoming a member of Linked In you are given access to the world where deals are made and hidden positions filled. Yes. It is true. A number of employers post positions exclusively on Linked In. This means that Linked In is like Lotto “You have to be in it to win it.” More importantly joining Linked In gives you an advantage over non members, because you have the opportunity to look up people that work in companies that you are targeting in your job search and obtain inside information on everything from the culture of the organization to the reason the incumbent left the position.

This process has become so noteworthy that it was featured on
Good Morning Amercia at the following site:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TakeControlOfYourLife/story?id=3171218

Check out the article and join in this new innovative way to network yourself to your next dream job, go to Linkedin.com.