Are YOU blocking YOUR career destiny?

Are you stuck in career transition or are in the process of changing careers?

The first activity most people take is to retool their resume and immediately hop into the job search mode. Looking for the same position they previously owned BUT with another company. This is natural and completely understandable because that is our comfort zone and we have to react as soon as possible.

STOP!

You have skipped a few critical steps in a successful
and effective career management campaign.

It is hard to take a breath and regroup. This is the time to assess the situation and bring it into full view. Do you know who you are, what transferrable skills you possess and what skills are in demand, who your competition is, what the business landscape is on a local or national level?

The reality is every day we hear the doom and gloom around us, we have bills to pay, and food to put on the table and for some leaving a job is devastating and leaves them lonely. Change is uncomfortable, the unknown can be very scary or it can be somewhat liberating.

Another dose of reality is while many companies are reducing forces to re-energize, re-invent or restructure on the back end they are hiring the people they need to be part of their new plan and team. There are opportunities and those with successful career management campaigns seize the moment and land the jobs they want.

What is a successful career management campaign?

As The Career Activator SM and strategist I designed The Career Activator System by blending two core principles organizations regard: The Employee Life Cycle and Strategic Planning. The Career Activator System is a straightforward career management strategic plan broken down into four steps, packed with tools and techniques to guide serious career seekers through every step of the career transition cycle from exploring themselves to the finish line of the on-boarding process.

Career Management Campaign Tips

Assess yourself - Take a deep dive into who you are, where do you want to go and what value do you bring to your next employer. Understand what you are passionate about, what you liked about your job and what you did not. Based on this information you will know what positions and companies to target.

Develop a robust Marketing "Me" strategy that goes beyond a resume. Create The PERFECT resume that sells your skills and tells your future boss what you will do for them. Your resume must be reflective of you, your brand and is accomplishment-driven. Companies hire their brand.

Start Networking: Get out there and move around! Connect and re-connect with people, join meet-up groups such as The Career Lounge in Las Vegas and your local pink slip mixers group www.pinkslipmixers.com. Develop an elevator speech that can tell anyone you meet who you are and what you do in 30 seconds or less.

Be readied and prepared to Interview 24/7. Know: Companies who call you to interview want to hire you. The interview is your job to lose.

If you are committed and serious about taking control of your career destiny contact Linda A. Panaro, TCA at 702.269.0738 or email her at linda@metacareersNOW.com to set up a free no-obligation consultation.

To learn more about Metacareers and The Career Activator System visit www.metacareersNOW.com


Sincerely,
Linda A. Panaro, TCA
The Career Activator
Metacareers
re-invent and re-energize your success

Seize The Opportunity

As I told you the business landscape has changed dramatically over the past 6 months. The proof is in the latest statistics reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. There are 5.4 job seekers for every employment opening in April. This is up from 4.8 in March and 1.7 in Dec. 2007.

These numbers are staggering and can be discouraging - the upside is you know what they are and CAN sieze the opportunity.

During your career search your personal brand becomes a critical facet to stand out from the pack. Your marketing tools must showcase what makes you unique and tells your future boss what you will do for them.

The career search is the only competitive sport where you do not know or see your competition.


How to Stand Out from the Pack.

Ask yourself a few questions?

*Do you have a focused search strategy?
*Do you have a personal brand? What makes you unique, Why you?
*Does your resume reflect your brand? The brand your future employer is looking for.
*Is your resume accomplishment or task driven? A resume is to land you an interview and needs to be your features and benefits sheet that sells your skills and tells your future boss what you will do for them.
*Have you made the right reconnections and connections?
*Are you getting interviews but not landing the position of your choice? By the time you get to interviews the job is yours to lose.
*Are you making the right choice when you are offered a position?

Metacareers has you covered and offers a full-service suite of career transition solutions to help you get pass through this phase in your life with a crystallized vision, enabling you to stay motivated, get your career back on track and stay ahead of the pack.

For more information about Metacareers visit my website at http://www.metacareersnow.com/.

I offer to you a no-obligation FREE 30 minute consultation session to determine if Metacareers is right for you.

Happy careering and beyond,

Linda A. Panaro, TCA
The Career Activator

Metacareers - re-invent and re-energize your success

Perfect Resume Top Five List

The purpose of a resume is to land you the interview with your future employer.

Think of a resume as your personal advertisement that sells your skills and tells your future employer what you will do for them.

A perfect resume grabs the attention of your future employer, gets you placed in the YES pile and results in the call for the interview.

Perfect Resume Top Five List

1. Start Strong
An Objective tells a reader what you want. Instead, start your resume with a Profile section that briefly identifies your strongest qualifications and tells your future employer what you will do for them.

2. Quantify
Don't just say you're good at sales. Give ballpark figures on how many sales you've made, how many clients you've brought on, or how much you've reduced costs.

3. Stay on point
A resume isn't a full disclosure document. Omit anything more than 15 years old, any jobs that lasted less than a year, and anything personal or irrelevant.

4. Keep it clean
Complicated formatting, like bolding, italics, or font changes, is distracting and unprofessional. Use an attractive and readable resume design.

5. Get professional help
Do you want your resume to land the interview or gather dust on someone's desk? Don't rely on the advice of friends or coworkers. Consult with a professional who knows industry standards and best practices to make your resume a stellar marketing tool.

Compiled in collaboration with Angela Ashurst-McGee President of GreenLight Resume and RedRocket Resume. Visit Angela at http://www.redrocketresume.com to learn how to combine a professional resume and career transition services from Metacareers.

What is your resume doing for you?

Objective of a Resume: Entice your future employer to call you to further explore your candidacy for the position you applied for.

Do you want your resume to work for you? In today’s market the competition is fierce, the number of qualified candidates for a single position has doubled since last September and employers will hold out for the “right candidate.”

You can not underestimate the importance of your resume – it is your communication device and marketing tool – think of it as your advertisement, it is the bridge between you, the position you want and deserve and your future employer. It has to be perfect, flawless and be a compelling document. That is a pretty hefty job for a couple of sheets of paper.

Oh! By the way your resume more times than not will be your first impression with your future boss. You can not redo a first impression and to make matters worse you have anywhere between 5 and 20 seconds to WOW the reader and get placed in the potential candidate pile.

How important is your resume? You have to answer that question. Having a resume that is not doing its job - is working against you which is couter productive to the energy you are putting in to your search strategy.


If you have been applying for positions with your current resume and are not receiving calls, there could be a couple of reasons:


1 - are you over qualified?
2- are you under qualified?
3 - does your resume need to be reviewed?


You can take the following RESUME QUIZ to identify whether your resume is doing its job. Answer yes or no to the following questions.

Does your resume…….
R epresent you – is it a reflection of you?

E ncompass quantitative accomplishments – it is not good enough to list tasks of a position you held. You need an accomplishment-driven resume to make a difference today.

S howcase your skills - aligned to the position you are going after?

U ser friendly and easy to read – formatted, organized and specific.

M arket you – Arming yourself with a distinctive resume – highlight your brand, and is focused becomes your competitive advantage.

E nitice your future employer to call you in for the interview?


If you answered no to any of these questions it may be time for you to seriously think about changing your resume and let it do its job!

Metacareers will critique your resume and give you feedback on what you need to do to turn your resume around. For more information visit our website http://www.metacareersnow.com/