New Book

I’m writing another book. The last one, Job Search for Moms went over pretty well with mothers who were returning to the workplace. While it was also helpful for any job seeker, many men or non-moms didn’t want to pick up a book with the word Moms on the cover. The new book, still unnamed will be a handbook of job search techniques for everyone. It will contain stories and facts, worksheets and resources. Right now, all of that is floating around in my head and keeping me up at night.

One of the hardest things about writing a book is deciding on the content. It’s not the wording so much as deciding the chapters and the flow. I’m having trouble because many of the tasks and thought processes that a job seeker goes through in the job search circle back and affect all of the job search steps. Career assessment can be found in resume writing or interviewing; preparing for an interview is similar to preparing the resume and so on. With these thoughts in mind, I think that the job search process can be seen as a series of four steps; assessing, resume preparation, interviewing and networking. Networking is an action that floats around throughout the entire process. How can you network without assessing your strengths, weaknesses and skill set? How can you compose an elevator pitch or response to the “tell me about yourself’ question without understanding and being able to articulate the same things?

What do you think? What would you want to see in a job search handbook? Do you have any questions or stories?

Your Dream. You Can. You Will.

This is not a very flattering picture of me but I needed to put it somewhere so that I could send it out to a young man who is battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Talk about character, will, fortitude and strength; this kid's got it. He is also surrounded and cared for by a warm, loving, supportive family and a bundle of true friends.
I went down to the beach today and wrote this saying in the sand for him while wearing the tee shirt from his recent fundraiser for lymphoma.

It says, Your dream. You can. You will.

You will achieve this Zippy and so much more!

Job Skills and Moms

The focus of my book, Job Search for Moms, is assisting moms return to the workforce. While the tips and techniques within the 102 page handbook are meant for any job seeker, many women find it helpful for its brief, to the point worksheets and resources.

The media coverage of the Ann Romney/Hilary Rosen debate and the ensuing outrage over the definition of moms and work continues with the “experts” from around the country defining the skills and competencies that mothers use on a daily basis. These skills, as I mention in the book are sharpened and used on a day to day basis and are critical for success in the workplace. What are these skills? Here are just a few.

Oral and Written Communication Time Management
Problem Solving
Creativity
Negotiation
Interpersonal Skills
Collaboration
Networking
Organizational Skills
Leadership

Now let's add volunteering to the mom mix. Research from the 2010 – 2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook indicates that women “continued to volunteer at a higher rate than men did across all age groups, educational levels, and other major demographic characteristics.” The volunteer rate for parents with children continued to surpass those without children. These volunteer activities expand your skill set (multi-tasking, compromise, project management, time management, prioritization) while adding valuable networking opportunities.

Whatever your station in life, create a chart like the one above but add an extra column to write down specific examples of your use of the skills. You will be amazed at all that you do.

We Are All Working Moms So Let's Support One Another

Yesterday the news was buzzing about the battle brewing between democratic strategist Hilary Rosen and Ann Romney, wife of Mitt Romney. It seems that Mitt made a comment about listening to his wife on issues dealing with women’s policies and economics and Hilary said, "Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life." Since yesterday things have somewhat improved with Rosen apologizing and both sides of the political arena offering their opinions about the hardest job on earth; being a mom.

The battle is pitting women against women, stay at home moms against moms in the workplace. One class left out of the argument is the mom who chooses to go to work simply because she wants to go to work. And what about the stay at home dads? Do they not count?

This whole political mess stirred up a lot of different thoughts and memories for me and took me back to the days when women were at last making a real dent in corporate America. In the early 80s women were finally starting to climb the corporate ladder and assert their leadership, independence and business acumen. At long last women were making strides in the workplace and stepping away from the stereotypical job titles. Along the way though were the few overly aggressive women who took things a bit too far and who were labeled, well, “bitches”.

Fast forward to 2012, the careless comments from Rosen and I am again reminded of that ugly label from the 80s. Instead of supporting one another, some women criticize, are snarky and pit one against the other. If women want to continue to move forward and continue to be taken seriously they should think before they speak. Regardless of political affiliation, women need to support one another and respect all of our choices; if not we will fall backwards instead of moving ahead.

Creating a Resume (Template and Tailored)

Sometimes trying to remember your accomplishments as you write your resume is so darn arduous. With the experts reminding you to tailor your resume to each specific position, it can get tiring and overwhelming. Here are some tips to make it easier.

1. Create a resume template. This is your general resume and one that you can keep in your car or briefcase. It is the resume that you can handily pull out if someone asks for a copy.

2. Create your template and your tailored resumes by writing down your accomplishments. I created a tool just for this or you can make up your own.

a. For your template, draw a two-column chart listing the tasks associates with your position and the accomplishments that you have made towards achieving these tasks. Use measurable wording and verbs (created, designed, implemented, wrote, interacted, led, etc.). If it helps, ask yourself, who, what, when, where, why and how.

b. For your tailored resume, add a third column to that chart and list the tasks required of the new position. Match your accomplishments to these.

c. Review the “Requirements/Job Functions” of an open position and imagine that you are on an interview where the hiring manager will ask you specific, behavioral STAR questions. Write down your responses and from these you will get specific, measurable data to include in your resume.

d. Create a Word document of all of your tasks and accomplishments for the past ten- fifteen years. Spell and grammar check this and have someone else scan it for typos and wording. When creating your template or tailoring your resume for a specific position, pull from this document.

These tips will help you craft both a general template resume and tailored versions. While it can be time consuming to tailor your resume for each open position, it has become the norm. Once you get the hang of copy and pasting it does get a bit easier to pull it off.