| FRANK TALK ON CAREERS
A
newsletter from Frankly Speaking: Resumes that Work!
Greetings! Welcome to
this periodic FREE E-newsletter to keep you informed of the
latest trends in the job search field and offer helpful
information on career management.
A service of:
Frankly Speaking: Resumes That Work!
(813) 926-1353,
fax (813) 926-1092,
http://www.callfranklyspeaking.com
COVER LETTER BAND-AIDS: FIX THOSE BOO-BOOs
How well-written are YOUR cover letters???
 Do you enjoy
reading form letters? They don't hold your interest well, do
they? Isn't it more enjoyable to read a well-written,
personable letter from someone who knows you?
Targeted, personalized
cover letters impact the reader positively. Learn to "let your
cover letter do the talking" and employers will
listen!
Cover letters are
business letters that should inform, entice and captivate
prospective employers. Too many job seekers follow outdated
and conventional rules about cover letter writing. As a
result, they write generic, hard-to-read, and ineffective
letters.
The goal is to
create an easy-to-read letter that stands out from the sea of
generic-sounding correspondence and makes the reader want to
learn more about you. Give them a reason to read the attached
resume!
Avoid common cover letter mistakes:
1) OVERLY
STILTED LANGUAGE:
Before:
"Salary should be commensurate with experience."
After: "Salary
is negotiable based on the exact responsibilities of the
position."
2) OVERLY
FORMAL TONE
Before:
"Allow me to introduce myself" or "Dear Sir/Madam" or
"Cordially Yours."
After: Replace
with a name, or "Dear Hiring Professional." End with
"Sincerely" or "Thank You."
3) "ME, ME,
ME"
Before:
"Seeking upwardly mobile, challenging position utilizing my
skills in. . ." Remember, the cover letter is supposed to be
about what you can for them, not what they can do for
you.
After: "If your
department needs a seasoned customer service manager who can
create and deliver training to new representatives. . ."
"
4) TOO
GENERIC
Before: "I
am submitting my resume and application for the job you
advertised in the local newspaper. . ."
After: "A
recent Wall Street Journal states that you are entering the
global market. At my previous company I led similar efforts
and successfully built sales in Europe and South America. .
."
5) TOO
PASSIVE/WEAK ENDING
Before: "I look forward
to speaking with you about a position at your company." This
often-used phrase gives all the power to the reader, and
strips you of an ability to follow up. Keep control while
showing enthusiasm and persistence.
After: "I would
like to talk with you and see if I can help your company with
its marketing efforts. If I don't hear from you, I'll give you
a call next week."
A well-written
cover letter allows the reader to create a personal
relationship with you. They will be eager to meet you in a
personal interview!
EMPLOYMENT TRENDS WHY WOMEN LEAVE THE "FAST LANE"
Why Women Leave
the "Fast Lane" : Harvard Business
Review featured an interesting article on what keeps talented
women on the road to success in March .
In a survey of highly
qualified professionals, these statistics emerged:
Top 5 reasons women leave the fast lane:
* Family
time - 44%
* Earn a
degree, other training - 23%
* Work not
enjoyable/satisfying - 17%
* Moved
away - 17%
* Change
caree
Top 5 reasons men
leave the fast lane:
* Change
careers - 29%
* Earn a
degree, other training - 25%
* Work not
enjoyable/satisfying - 24%
* Not
interested in field - 18%
* Family
time - 12%
Though the average amount of time that women take off from
their careers is surprisingly short (less than three years),
the salary penalty for doing so is severe. Women who return to
the workforce after time out earn significantly less than
their peers who remained in their jobs.
Salary
Implications for Time Out:
* Salary of those who
took no time out - 100% earning potential
* Salary of those who
took less than one year out - 89% (or an 11%
reduction)
* Salary of those who
took three years or more out - 100% (or a 37% reduction)
FRANK TALK HUMOR Funny commentaries about the world of work: careers,
jobs, employment, resumes, interviews and more!
 FUNNY EXCERPTS
FROM PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS These quotes were
taken from actual performance evaluations:
1. "Since my last
report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has started
to dig."
2. "His men would
follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid
curiosity."
3. "I would not
allow this employee to breed."
4. "This
associate is really not so much of a has- been, but more of a
definitely won't be."
5. "Works well
when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a
trap."
6. "When she
opens her mouth, it seems that this is only to change
whichever foot was previously in there."
7. "He would be
out of his depth in a parking lot puddle."
8. "This young
lady has delusions of adequacy."
9. "He sets low personal
standards and then consistently fails to achieve
them."
10. "This
employee is depriving a village somewhere of an
idiot."
11. "This
employee should go far - and the sooner he starts, the
better." .
BUSINESS TRENDS Top 10 Trends in Human Resources
Top 10 Trends in
Human Resources
The Society
of Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed the top 10 human
resources trends in its SHRM 2004-2005 Workplace Forecast:
A Strategic Outlook.
As you review these trends, consider how they might or
could impact your work and chosen career paths. Is a change in
YOUR future?
1. Rise in
health care costs
2. Focus on
domestic safety and security
3. Use of
technology to communicate with employees
4. Growing
complexity of legal compliance
5. Use of
technology to perform transactional HR functions
6. Focus on
global security
7.
Preparing for the next wave of retirement and labor
shortage
8. Use and
development of e-learning
9.
Exporting of US manufacturing jobs to developing
countries
10.
Changing definition of family
JOB-SEEKING IS A COMPETITION! Why you should hire a professional resume writer
 Are you the best
candidate for that new job? You might be the best one. You
might be the most qualified. But if your resume doesn't
present you just right--if you don't make the correct first
impression-- you won't get an interview. And without an
interview, you won't get a new job.
Job-hunting is a competition. The problem is that your
competitors are hidden from your sight. You have no way to
gauge who is competing with you for a position. Realize this:
every time you get "no response" to a sent resume, you have
"lost" to another competitor who is better than you. . . at
least according to their resume.
A reader scans your resume for 8 to 15 seconds. Then they
decide whether to keep it or move to the next one. That's it.
To raise the stakes higher, instead of a human eye, resumes
are often scanned by a computer looking for the "correct"
terms. How confident do you feel about your resume's ability
to impress both humans and computers?
You need to stand out. Do you know how to do that? Do you
know how to present yourself effectively? Do you know how
resumes are different from other business documents? Do you
know how to add keywords for resume databases? Do you know
which resume format will emphasize your strengths and downplay
your weaknesses or inexperience?
The right professional resume writer can look at you, your
career history and your goals. They will craft a unique,
specialized document so the employer sees you as a candidate,
a contender for the job.
It takes time to craft the resume. It takes trust and
openness. It takes lots of questioning and clarification. It
takes lots of rewriting and editing. Together we can present a
proposal for that job and get you the interview you want!
WHO IS FRANKLY SPEAKING? Why should you hire us??
 Please call when you have questions, concerns, or need
to update your resume or other career materials. We also offer
one-one-workshops and training. Mastercard and VISA are
accepted to make it easy for you! We specialize in working
with clients long distance!
This E-newsletter is from Frankly Speaking: Resumes that
Work! The editor is a Nationally Certified Resume Writer who
offers resume writing and job and interview coaching, who also
works as an trainer and consultant for top outplacement firm
Drake Beam Morin. She is a Harvard graduate with a background
in Brand Management and Marketing with Fortune 500 companies.
TESTIMONIAL Here's what people are saying!
A recent
testimonial:
"Gail Frank's
blog on resume writing is write on! (excuse the pun). In my
coaching business, I'm often shocked by how little people who
are looking for a job know about presenting themselves
well.
Anybody who is
looking for a job should start by reading Gail's informative
article -- and then rereading it before they put together
their resume. She knows her stuff, and as evidenced by her
Harvard education she speaks Veritas (the truth). Keep up the
good work Gail."
Bud Bilanich | The Common Sense Guy
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