In his new book, Confessions of a Hiring Manager: Sage Advice for Fearless Job Seekers and Career Changers in a Confused Economy, J.T. Kirk shows anyone looking for a job or changing careers how to get the attention of hiring managers. Kirk’s book takes the reader from developing a job search strategy right up through controlling the job interview and negotiating a salary that doesn’t leave money on the table. Included is a special chapter for returning U.S. military personnel for translating military expertise into marketable civilian skills hiring managers understand and need.

Confessions of a Hiring Manager shortens the timeline and increases the chances of getting hired or changing careers based on hard-hitting, focused, and tried-and-true strategies author Kirk has seen in his twenty-year career as a hiring manager in marketing, communications, and technical positions for Fortune 500 companies in energy development and high technology businesses.

Here are three of the strategies recommended in Confessions of a Hiring Manager:

1. Realize that the hiring process is not about you. It’s all about the hiring manager’s needs and how well you sell your skills, knowledge, and experience as his or her problem solver, solutions provider, or revenue generator.
2. If your cover letter contains more instances of the words ‘I/me/my/mine’ instead of ‘you/your/yours’, you are not addressing the hiring manager’s needs. This is a simple rule of thumb that indicates how well your approach targets the hiring manager’s needs.
3. Your resume must contain quantitative evidence of your accomplishments. Hiring managers want to know how much revenue you earned, what amount of costs were avoided, what percentage increase in improvement or efficiency you were directly responsible for. You can tell a hiring manager how great you are all day long, but it’s the quantitative data–the numbers–that tell the true story of your capabilities and accomplishments.

“The information in Confessions of a Hiring Manager gives job seekers a distinctly competitive edge, especially in today’s job market. I highly recommend it.”

Brian Jud, author of Job Search 101, Coping with Unemployment, and The Art of Interviewing

“J.T. Kirk has written the ultimate guide for properly positioning yourself for a job offer in this or any economy. No question is left unanswered in the process and the job seeker receives a valuable and powerful perspective from a hiring manager…this book covers it all…”

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)

Confessions of a Hiring Manager is available from Amazon.com.

Here at Career Info Online, we’re always on the lookout for interesting resources to help you choose, find, and manage your career, so when Lynette Chandler of BlogEnergizer.com offered us an exclusive interview, we jumped on the chance to ask her a few questions about becoming a professional blogger.

The interviews with the most votes will win some cool prizes, so if you find lots of good information here, be sure to vote for us!

Can a person with no professional writing experience earn a living as a blogger?

Yes. That’s the nice part about blogging. People aren’t typically looking for professional writing. Having said that, it is always a good thing to conduct yourself and your business like a professional. Take time to check your grammar, your spelling, put out a good product (your posts are your products), put out a good design – that’s like the clothing you wear.

Would it be more effective to dedicate a lot of time and energy to getting established as an expert in a certain area, or to spread out your efforts over a few different blogs?

I’m a fan of focused targets. If you spread yourself over several places you will not get the results you expected because each of those blogs aren’t given the attention they deserve. But we can also benefit by thinking of the blog not as extension of our selves, but a brand. Instead of establishing yourself as an expert, establish the brand as the expert. Here’s what I mean. When you think of CopyBlogger, you think about a blog with awesome writing and copy ideas, advise and can’t-help-but-read subject lines . We know who the individual behind the site is and while Brian Clark’s influence on the blog is quite strong, the brand is just as strong if not stronger. He’s done a good job not just presenting himself but the brand as the expert.

With so many blogs out there, how can a new blogger capture readers’ attention?

This is hard isn’t it? So many of us start off a blog with the high hopes we’d be the next blogging super star but never get anywhere near. I think you need to be realistic and truthful to yourself. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, aiming high. But you need to keep your feet grounded too and start with lower targets in the forefront while keeping the big juicy target just within view. Break it down into chunks and achievable targets and move on up.

Start with your immediate circle of influence. Invite these people to come and support you to help you get things off the ground. Get in front of the audience you want to reach. Seek out other related groups, embed yourself in their group, interact, get known there, help out and when they begin to notice you they will also notice your blog.

Write awesome guest posts for bigger blogs, accept and actively ask others if they would have you in their podcast or as a guest on their Internet radio show. Give away portions of your best stuff so others can freely share too. When you share good stuff, people will be curious to know what else you have and seek you out.

All this while, keep writing good content even if you think nobody reads it because you work so hard to get people to your blog, surely you don’t want to disappoint them. You want people to see some really good stuff when they come. Make it easy for people to recommend your work. Once in a while call in favors by openly asking people to share.

Blog Energizer sounds like a great program for generating blog content. Do bloggers use it on an ongoing basis, or is it more of a tool for when you’re just getting started or need a boost?

I’d say all of the above. Many of our members appreciate having someone else do research for them and this happens no matter where you are new or seasoned you will often find yourself researching topics to explore on the blog and things your readers can receive. They don’t always take everything we put out and that’s OK that’s not what we are there for but when we do find a resource relevant to their blogs, they really value that because they didn’t have to spend their own time to find it.

What is the most important piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to be a professional blogger?

I feel a need to say, I consider myself more a marketer than a professional blogger. There is a boat load of similarities between the two. You need to look at this venture as business. In a business there are things you have to do even though you don’t like to do them, you need to step out of your comfort zone not once, not twice but every time you wish to take the business a step further and it never ends. You may need to invest in some areas like learning new things or skills.

As if all that isn’t tough enough, it takes patience and time so better throw the overnight success dreams out the door right now. Most ‘overnight sensations’ weren’t created overnight if you really look deep enough. There’s a lot of background preparation and going through fire to get there. If this all sounds like too much work for you to bother then maybe you’re right. But if you think you can stick to it despite all that, you’ve got a chance at the game.

Before you go, won’t you tell Scott how much you appreciate him for bringing you this interview by voting at http://blogenergizer.com/teip-vote/ ?

Image: Tammy Munson

By Carole Martin
www.interviewcoach.com

Are you stuck in the notion that the job interview is just about the job duties – it’s NOT! Here is what the interviewer is really looking for.

“CAN HE DO THE JOB?”

The first item of business for an interviewer to determine is if you have the qualifications to perform the duties of the job. That is the basic part of interviewing – to determine if the qualifications and experiences fit the requirements of the position.

“DO WE LIKE HIM?” “WILL HE FIT IN?”

The next item of business is to find out if this person is a good “fit” for the job. In other words, will he fit into the team and the company culture? Although this is the more subjective part of the interview, it can make or break your chances of getting the job.

The way you answer a question could be sending the wrong message. Are you describing yourself in the best light?

QUESTION: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

On the surface this appears to be a straightforward question, but if you answer too hastily you may end up sounding like every other candidate. What makes you unique? How can you make yourself stand out and be remembered?

Interviewers ask this question for a couple of reasons; to hear where you place the emphasis in your description, and to see how quickly and creatively you can think on the spot.

SPICE UP YOUR ANSWERS

Don’t leave the interviewer with the same old answers everybody else gives. Think about new ways to get your message across and sell yourself.

“I am a high energy person.” This answer needs more detail and energy.

“I am a person who is energized by challenges and problems.”

“I’m a hard worker.” The most common phrase used. No imagination.

“I do whatever it takes to get the job done; sometimes working 10 hour days.”

“I am a quick learner.” An overused phrase which has lost its effectiveness.

“I can hit the ground running and come up to speed faster than anyone I know.

“I’m analytical.” A lack luster answer, that doesn’t reveal much information.

“I’m a whiz at analyzing data and transforming it into useful information.”

“I’m very organized.” This is a very understated answer.

“I am a person who can bring order to chaos.”

“I’m reliable.” This answer needs more information to get the point across. “I pride myself on my record of never missing deadlines.”

“I’m good with customers.” The answer needs clarification – good in what way?

“I build great relationships with customers – they always ask for me.”

SCRIPTING EXERCISE

Describing your personality is like writing ads for a product. What makes you unique? Are you the type of person who would fit into this organization? Your job is to convince your interviewer that you are that person. Make a list of personality traits that describe you. The qualities you would like the interviewer to remember after the interview. Use some of the same words in the job posting. Requirement: “Must have five or more years experience, managing a diverse population of employees.”

Your Answer: “I work well with all types of people.”

This is a rather flat statement and not specific. Try a new slant using more powerful words.

“I am a person who values others’ qualities and contributions. My employees would tell you that I am a very fair manager who listens when they have something to say.”

The more specific you are with your answer, the better your chances of leaving a lasting impression. Interviewers talk to several candidates in a single day. What will make you a memorable candidate?

In today’s competitive job market it is worth taking some time to think about how you can describe your personality in a way that will make you stand out. The buyer needs to be sold on your uniqueness and abilities. When you sound like everybody else, you look like everybody else. Distinguishing yourself from the pack will give you an edge. A little work before the interview will put some zip in your pitch.

To your job interview success!
Carole www.interviewcoach.com

PS: You can get many more examples of how to put “energy” into your answers at www.jobwinningbrand.com AND, if you are re-entering the job market or are looking for your first job after graduating, we have a special tool for you – we show you how to weave your past experiences into great answers for the tough job interview questions – go to www.jobwinningbrand.com and look for the Students Version.

The Interview Coach
F. Terrace San Diego, CA 92122 US

Many job seekers have difficulty recalling the details of their past positions when applying for future opportunities. Professional Organizer Jacki Hollywood Brown recently shared some excellent tips for keeping track of this information, including a free downloadable job information form.

Although her article was written specifically for students seeking summer jobs, her strategies would work well for job seekers at all levels.

Read Summer Job Organizing.

By Tag and Catherine Goulet
From the FabJob Guide to Become an Image Consultant

You might have seen them while watching TV shows such as Extreme Makeover, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, or What Not to Wear. Or you might have heard that Martha Stewart should have used them to give her advice on how to look sympathetic to a jury.

We’re talking about Image Consultants, and they have one of the hottest careers today.

Also known by such titles as wardrobe consultant, fashion stylist, or makeover consultant, image consultants are paid to show people how to create a fabulous impression. They might recommend wearing different colors or new styles, go through closets to toss out clothing that isn’t working, shop for a new wardrobe, and put together incredible outfits. They might advise a change of hairstyle, makeup, or grooming.

However, image is more than physical appearance. In addition to how someone looks, we also form impressions based on how someone talks and behaves. So image consultants may also advise people on their vocal communication (voice, grammar, vocabulary, etc.), non-verbal communication (handshakes, posture, eye contact, etc.) and etiquette – from dining to cell phones.

Most image consultants also develop a network of strategic partners they can refer clients to, such as hair stylists, makeup artists, nutritionists, dentists, personal trainers, plastic surgeons, and voice coaches.

Image consultants offer the kind of advice that can help people land a job, get a promotion, find someone to love, or just feel good about themselves.

It’s no wonder they are so well rewarded, typically earning at least $50 per hour advising individuals how to present a better image. A particularly lucrative avenue is presenting training programs for corporations. Image consultants can earn thousands of dollars a day teaching seminars on dressing professionally (including dos and don’ts for casual Fridays), telephone etiquette for customer service staff, communication skills for new supervisors, and other topics.

TIP: If you are one of the rare few who think image doesn’t matter, try shopping at a fine store dressed in what you would normally wear to clean your basement or move furniture. Then visit the same store looking well-groomed and wearing your best suit. Chances are the staff will treat you quite differently!

The first step to becoming an image consultant is to decide what kind of services you want to offer. You could specialize in wardrobe or fashion consulting, offer advice on communication skills and etiquette, or be a makeover consultant who gives feedback on “the whole package.”

The next step is to get some experience. While there are a variety of books and training programs you can use to quickly learn the basics, nothing beats hands on experience. Offer free makeovers for friends and family members who will agree to let you take “before and after” photos. You can then put the photos in a portfolio or on a web site to help you get paying clients.

There are many types of clients who use the services of image consultants, including: women who want a new look, job-seekers, corporate executives and their spouses, beauty pageant contestants, lawyers and their clients, cancer survivors, television personalities, transgender individuals, politicians, and singles seeking a partner.

“It is a great time to get into the field,” says celebrity image consultant Gloria Starr. A 20 year industry veteran who has helped shape the image of clients such as Destiny’s Child, 3M, and Celebrity Cruise Lines, she shares expert advice on how to get started in the FabJob Guide to Become an Image Consultant.

“This is the busiest time in my 20-plus years. People are looking for the edge in business,” says Starr. “Presenting themselves for success by dressing well and using appropriate business and dining skills opens the doors for greater recognition and success.”

Is a career in image consulting right for you?

• Skills that can help you succeed in this career are a strong visual sense as well as excellent communication skills. You must be able to diplomatically tell someone what they need to improve about their appearance.
• Image consulting is a service business so it doesn’t require a large investment to get started.
• You can start part-time while working at another job.
• To be credible, you must have a professional image yourself.

Based on the FabJob Guide to Become an Image Consultant.The complete guide gives detailed advice on how you can break into image consulting and start your own image consulting business. Visit www.FabJob.com/imageconsultant.asp for information.

Every 30 seconds, someone, somewhere in the world takes the MAPP (Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential) career test. Nearly 15 years after going “live,” the MAPP test is the first and most comprehensive online career test for consumers, who receive a free partial assessment and five career matches.

Now, when nearly one in ten wage earners in the U.S. is out of work, many people are reevaluating their job and work orientation and looking for a new career with growth potential that fits their personal motivations and interests. This is exactly the type of person Assessment.com is attracting in droves, in addition to students and recent graduates.

“If your job lines up with what you love to do, you’re a lucky person,” said Henry Neils, president of Assessment.com. Neils started Assessment.com in 1994 after a distant relative showed him the 400-question written career test he had developed for the forestry business after WWII. “I took the test and it ‘nailed’ me,” Neils said. “I could see it was a diamond in the rough. But I knew I had to make it much easier for people to take and deliver it over the Internet.”

The MAPP career test has now been translated into 15 different languages and is offered by 3,500 corporate psychologists, human resource managers, outplacement firms and career counselors at high schools and universities. The 71-question test takes roughly 15 minutes to complete, and the resulting free assessment identifies the user’s work interests, talents and motivations. Users can click on five different careers to see if these are a good fit, and can upgrade to one of several packages ranging from $19.95 to $129.05 to receive a more comprehensive narrative and match themselves to all of the careers and tasks they are best suited for.

The MAPP career test has come a long way since its inception, when it was originally marketed to businesses as a tool to help them recruit people who would be the best fit for sales and other types of jobs. Around 2000, Neils decided to rethink the business model and go directly to consumers. “After reading Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing, I understood the power of free, and that’s when we began offering free assessments for consumers,” he said.

“When we started the test, we knew there was a whole world of testing out there – it’s a multi-billion dollar industry,” Neils said. “But these tests are marketed to professionals who administer them to their clients and must interpret the results for them. We think our business model offers the best of both worlds: the MAPP test has undergone extensive reliability and validity testing by a number of psychologists, including correlating the results to the Strong Interest Inventory.® However, the MAPP can be taken and read by consumers without having to engage the services of a professional.”

The MAPP comprises 71 different triads, or three statements that users indicate they would most prefer or least prefer, with one left blank. Since there are so many different combinations of answers, there are literally more than a trillion trillion different test results – more than there are people in the world.

“A key time for individuals to consider alternate career paths is after they’ve been laid off,” said Ann Hackett, career transition consultant at Quest Outplacement, Champlin, Minn., adding that the MAPP career assessment is part of the outplacement package her firm offers to employers that are downsizing. “The MAPP career test helps downsized employees clearly understand their unique strengths and offers information on the possible career paths that would best utilize these strengths,” she said.

Neils and his staff at Assessment.com are optimistic about the future of the MAPP career test and its application for students, job seekers, and the millions of people who have been laid off in the current recession.

“Mark Twain said, ‘The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation,” Neils said. “I can relate because I built this sandbox 21 years ago and have been playing in it ever since,” he said, referring to ZH Computer, the parent company of Assessment.com, Syntactica and other technology companies. “I’d like everyone to enjoy what they do for a living as much as I do.”

Assessment.com is the home of the MAPP (Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential), the first and most comprehensive online career test for consumers. The MAPP assessment, which has undergone extensive validity and reliability testing, comprises 71 statement triads that ultimately define the test-taker’s interest, temperament, aptitude, and motivation toward various jobs and tasks. Over 7 million people in nearly every country in the world have logged in to take the free MAPP career test.

The innovative Wagele-Stabb Career Finder (WSCF) was unveiled at the International Enneagram Association Conference in San Francisco this past weekend. It is the first tool to map hundreds of jobs to career competencies associated with Enneagram personality types.

The WSCF features the nine basic personality types encompassing 45 career strengths, such as logical thinking, empathy and social networking. The tool then matches the personality type and career strengths with corresponding jobs in fields such as business, entertainment, information technology, health care, government, and education. The Career Finder also features green jobs, high-growth jobs, and recession-proof jobs. Each job is rated according to the career strengths required for that line of work.

“For each Enneagram style you will find thoughtful and clear descriptions of how each style relates to the spectrum of career choices and a powerful method to determine the path that best fits you. You will discover what career best fits for your style and, in the process, a more fulfilling life.”

David Daniels, M.D., author of The Essential Enneagram
(available from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca)

Stabb and Wagele are co-authors of The Career Within You which was released earlier this year and may be ordered from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. They developed the unique Career Finder tool while writing the book, which helps people find rewarding and fulfilling careers based on personality.

By Carole Martin, The Interview Coach
www.interviewcoach.com

The question is, “How can you make yourself stand out when there are so many other candidates looking at the same job?”

The answer is to “focus” – focus on what makes you unique.

Let’s assume that you have an outstanding resume and that you make it to the top of the stack of resumes of people to be called for an interview. You, and maybe nine or ten other equally qualified people for the position, that is.

Because companies have so many candidates to choose from, they are interviewing more people so that they can select the “best.” When you are lucky enough to be invited to an interview, it is essential that you be ready to sell yourself, to let the interviewers know what makes you unique, what added value you can bring to the position – in other words, why you are the best person for the job.

Step 1

List the skills and experiences you have that would be required in the type of job you are seeking. For instance, a technical job would focus on programs, languages, and platforms, etc.

Step 2

Give some thought to those skills in which you excel, those that are referred to as the “soft skills.” These skills can be viewed as transferable– you can take them with you to any job you hold.

Step 3

Next, think of the personal traits that make you unique. Maybe you never miss deadlines, or perhaps you are willing to do above and beyond what is asked, or perhaps you have a great attitude. (Don’t dismiss these traits–many people have been fired for negative personal traits rather than for lack of knowledge).

Step 4

Make a list of those strengths and some examples of when those strengths have helped you achieve results on the job. It will be essential that you can not only identify your strengths, but that you also have examples and stories of times when you demonstrated those strengths in the past.

Step 5

The next step is to make a list of 5 points you want the interviewer to remember about you – the ones that combined – make you unique.

When you walk out of that interview room, your interviewers may not remember all five of your points; but if they remember even two of the points that make you unique, you will be ahead of the game!

If you want to put together your five points and do it with the help of a new, quick, software tool – check out www.jobinterviewbrand.com

“Tell me about yourself” — could you do that in two minutes – and do a good job? Where would you focus and what would you want “them” to know about you. Presenting a new tool to aid you in being able to “talk about yourself” in a confident, focused manner — personal or professional.  www.jobinterviewbrand.com – Carole Martin www.interviewcoach.com

Members of Generation Y, from ages 15 to 31, are entering the workforce in large numbers, similar to their parents’ generation, the Baby Boomers. Gen Y makes up nearly one-third of all Americans living today. Born after 1980, they’re now pouring into the work world with values, aspirations, and approaches that differ markedly from their parents and coworkers.

Tamara Erickson, author of Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, explains the forces affecting attitudes and behaviors in earlier generations — Traditionalists (born 1928-1945), Boomers (born 1946-1964), and Generation X (born 1965-1980) — so Gen Y can start relating more productively with bosses, peers, and employees.

In her book, Erickson reveals a framework Gen Y’s can use to develop their own criteria for making career choices, how X’ers and Boomers view Generation Y, and the top 10 rules that can help Generation Y’s succeed in the corporate world.

On a recent episode of Total Career Success, Erickson shared how Gen Y’s can use their unique strengths to understand and influence their professional relationships, to figure out how they define “success,” and to help them find their way in the changing workplace.

Co-host Sheryl Dawson said,

“Tammy Erickson is an expert in workforce trends and talent management solutions. Tammy helps you decide what you want and shows you how to go about getting it. The great thing that helps Gen Y integrate at work is the fact that they love their parent’s generation – the Boomers! This helps Gen Y’s establish trust among older colleagues and bosses quickly and provides a foundation for developing positive working relationships.”

Erickson’s interview is available for download or listening online at http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47353. Her book, Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

Donna D. Buskirk was laid off from Microsoft in November, 2009. This is the third time she has been laid off, but the first time she has used unemployment benefits. Buskirk was a technical writer and recently started writing freelance articles for a small-town weekly newspaper.

The author is offering her full 123-page e-book free, after reading headlines about increasing baby-boomer suicides. She hopes that teachers and facilitators around the country will use the seven-step workbook to teach people in their communities the basics of starting a small service-based business.

She says, “I actually wrote and published How to Make Money While You Look for a Job, Start a Very Small Business on a Shoestring, A Step-by-Step Workbook the first time I was laid off after ten years at MCI, but I didn’t know how to promote it. Now, I’m taking a course in online marketing while I look for a job, but I still couldn’t get up the nerve to go public.”

We don’t know how to work for ourselves. We have to learn.

Buskirk lives with her two youngest children and husband on a small farm in North Carolina. Her husband was laid off and, after unsuccessfully looking for a job in the nearby Research Triangle Park for a year, he recently accepted a position in Northern Virginia. He makes the five-hour commute every weekend. She says, “I was busy and still shy about getting the book out there, but then I read an article about baby boomers not having enough retirement savings. When you add job loss to that, it inspired me to do a search on ‘increase suicide boomers.’

“I found headline after headline asking, ‘Why Are Boomers Killing Themselves?’ That made me get up off my fear and finish the book with just that new content I had. It’s a really good resource now, at 123 pages, including workbook pages,” says the author.

A June 11, 2010 New York Times article titled In Midlife, Boomers Are Happy — and Suicidal cites a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that found, “…for the second year in a row, the group between ages 45 and 54 had the highest rate of suicide, a reverse of historical trends.”

Buskirk says, “Of course I know there are other factors, but I hope the book helps someone. It’s very encouraging”. The book, describes seven steps, starting with, “Step One: Realize You Can,” to help others who are fearful of going out on a limb.

She plans to send a short daily email to people who sign up for her email list at SevenStepsToMoney.com, covering each step in turn. The steps are:

1. Realize you can
2. Decide which service to provide
3. Set up your home office
4. Create your action plan
5. Advertise
6. Sell (Yes you CAN)
7. Grow your business.

“Plus,” Buskirk says, “you get a real kick-in-the-pants in each email. I love motivating people.”

The paperback edition of How to Make Money While You Look for a Job is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.