CAREER COACHING TIPS:

A. Consistently refine your resume. Your resume should concisely state:

1. Solutions offered by your employer

2. Your responsibilities within that company, including product and services offerings.

3. Please include company URL for further research by managers.

4. Quota and Quota Attainment history (if applicable)

5. Book of Business - Your strongest asset is with whom you have current business relationships.

6. Awards, Certification, Skills

B. Work with Louis-John professionals to define your talent as it relates to each job description presented. A co-authored Executive Summary will further define your qualifications as they pertain to the desired qualifications.

C. Maintain a current reference list of Executives, Customers, and Colleagues. You may have a short turnaround time to produce this list.

D. Be flexible when negotiating base salary. Understand the total opportunity, company stability, and career path associated with this opportunity.

MAINTAIN GOOD HABITS:

1. Remind them who you are. They conduct numerous interviews for this position.

2. Restate your strengths as they saw it.

3. No smiley faces please, on any communication with your prospective employer.

12 BIGGEST RESUME MISTAKES:

1. Failing to customize your resume to the job - With resumes, one size does not fit all.

2. Failure to attach a cover letter - It looks lazy.

3. Not sending Thank You notes for every interaction you have with your perspective employer.

4. Lying - This is playing with fire. Candidates loose job opportunities for falsifying college degrees. Background checks reveal employment, education, credit and criminal record backgrounds.

5. Failing to catch typos - It calls into question your attention to detail.

6. Listing reason for leaving your current and past jobs draws attention to your career movement - Your recruiter needs to address this for you and also when you make it to the interview. Your answers should not be negative and should place your work in a positive light. An exception would be a string of bad luck with companies being sold.

7. Submitting a resume more than 3 pages long - Appropriate for sales only.

8. Taking an overly informal conversational tone - This is wrong whether it is in the resume or cover letter, your e-mail correspondence with your potential employer, or the email address you use. E-mail addresses are free. Get a new one for your job search that gives you a professional identity. i.e. Kissmeunstoppable.com and daveweirddudes.com

9. Including hobbies and interests - We are presenting a candidate who is all about work. For instance, you may think snow boarding makes you seem adventurous and well rounded. The potential employer may think you are more interested in your hobby, than in your work. Save this for the interview “small talk” to bond when asked.

10. Including your salary requirements - It is too soon to bring up the subject of money when you haven’t even landed a job interview. Your recruiter will qualify your requirements before you are submitted, as well as matching the salary range offered, and negotiate the best salary.

11. Using distracting fonts, formats or graphics - When your resume is emailed to the hiring manager, you cannot be sure of the appearance of the output. Use standard fonts to be sure your words can be read across multiple hardware platforms.

12. “Dissing” your past and present employers - This can only reflect negatively. It signals that you were not part of the team, and you do not get along with others.

Email us for more info: info@louisjohn.com

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