February 2016 |
Transition-e-news Volume 3 Issue 115 |
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Transition Insight
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USA Today Veterans Affairs - Special Edition Magazine
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Your #1 Career Tip for 2016 and How to Capitalize
by Barbara Adams, MFCA-T, MFRW. MMRW, CPRW, CEIP As I write this, February is nearly gone. But you can take action right now to make this your best year yet. And there's no better time to invest than now. But I'm not talking about the stock market. I'm talking about investing in yourself and your career. The economy and job outlook are actually really strong and more jobs are available in the federal government www.usajobs.gov and in the private sector www.indeed.com than in 2015. Investment vs. Cost The experts tell us that investments are much different than costs. A cost is just that; all outlay with no significant expected return. Investments, on the other hand, are costs with an expected return, and, more than likely, a return that far surpasses the initial cost. Your career is an investment you need to make to see significant return. But you have to be smart about it. This quote from Austin Kiplinger, publisher of Kiplinger magazine nails it: "Look at your career as your primary investment. Keep your earning power at its highest level. The money you spend doing this will return more to you than all other investments you're likely to make. You are your own best investment!" (CareerPro Global: Testimonials) YOU are your own best investment! And there are many ways to invest in yourself. For example... "The person you are in five years is determined primarily by two things: the books you read and the people with whom you associate." (Unknown) Invest in your earning potential Both are investments in yourself. And you should take that investment seriously. As mentioned in the quote above, investing in your career will likely return far more than any other investment you make. Think about your earning potential for the next 40 years. If you start out in an entry-level position and build your skill set, track-record, and experience, raises will naturally come. But the key is to document that experience on your resume and keep it updated and ready for the next opportunity. Hire a professional Each position you apply for will need a flawless resume prepared professionally. This isn't where you want to skimp. You want the best in the business. Is it going to cost some dough? Absolutely! Will it be worth it? When you get that call back for a second interview...or the offer you were looking for...the answer is simple. Yes! Look at it this way... Before you invest in a stock, you do research, right? When you buy a new car (although some would argue whether this is an actual investment), you do your research. For the next step in your career, you absolutely must do your research. And part of that research is finding the best partner to help you build the career you want and deserve. It starts with the resume. You've worked hard and now's not the time to let that hard work take a back seat. So the best thing you can do is have a flawless resume. It's your calling card. It speaks to your accomplishments and your track-record. It toots your horn and helps you reach for the next goal.your next assignment. A well-prepared, professional, and updated resume will: - Give you the confidence you need at your current position, especially in uncertain times - Prepare you for future opportunities, because they sometimes come along sooner than expected - Tell a perspective employer exactly what you have to offer, and how it affects their bottom line - Get you the interview-a superior success rate (the best in the business) - Further your career like nothing else - And much more.... There's no such thing as luck You should be continually investing in yourself so you're prepared for the next opportunity. There's no such thing as luck. But the more prepared you are, the luckier you get. The opportunities will come. The question is, will you be ready? www.careerproplus.com can help! Barbara Adams, President and CEO of CareerPro Global (CPG), the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com, has been a member of the careers community for the past 20 years. Ms. Adams holds four prestigious industry certifications. CareerPro Global is the only ISO 9001-2008 Certified Career Service in the industry, as well as one of the fastest-growing Military, Federal, and Civilian Resume-Writing and Careers-Coaching companies. The team of Certified Professional Federal and Military Resume Writers at CPG assist thousands of clients in applying for and gaining employment each year. We can help you land your military to civilian job. |
Phone Screen, The Common MistakesReprinted with Permission: HRNASTY.com Phone screens are the great unknowns in the job interview process. I believe the phone interview is the easiest interview to prepare for and the intent of this post is provide reasons why and confidence. My goal is to change your view and potential fears of the phone interview. Most candidates fear the phone screen because we don’t know what to expect with this first call. If we do well in the phone interview and land the coveted in-person interview, we have an indication of what to expect based on the initial phone screen. When it comes to in person interviews, recruiters will often give the candidates some insight into what to expect and the names of the folks conducting the interviews. On the flip side, the phone interview is “first contact” and we don’t know what to expect or prepare for. If you are having a tough time moving past the phone screen, then you are probably missing something important on this call and hopefully this post will help. First and foremost, we need to be positive about the phone interview. Thinking about failure will become a self – fulfilling prophecy and recruiters can sense interview insecurity. It doesn’t smell or wear well. Remember, preparation is the best way to project confidence. The number 1 reason you should not be fearful of the phone interview is because you are one of the chosen ones. For most jobs out there, the recruiter or hiring manager has a LOT of resumes to pick from and they picked yours. Yes, for once, you are a horse in the race. HRNasty’s reasons on why you should NOT be fearful of the phone screen If you landed a phone interview then you can assume the hiring manager feels you are qualified. You have to believe you are qualified. If there are no qualified candidates, we will change the headline on the job description or tweak the content of the job description. Recruiters will avoid candidates who are not qualified. We won’t waste anyone’s time, especially ours. So, don’t fret. You are not just in the ball-park, you are on base. The hiring manager is not just interested in you as a candidate, they are hopeful you will be the chosen one. Concentrate more on being qualified than how you might not be qualified. They called you! Play your cards right Gomer because you can win this pot. HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE PHONE INTERVIEW I have conducted a lot of phone interviews over the years and with most candidates, this stage is a weak link. It is surprising to me how many candidates do not have a grasp on the message they want to deliver. I would say that most of the candidates I talk with are technically qualified but they weed themselves out of the process because of how they present during the phone screen. In most cases, this interview is only 30 to 45 minutes long. What this means for most recruiters is that they only have time to ask about 10 questions. Remember, within this call, recruiters need to make introductions, conduct a little bit of chit-chat to take the nervousness off the candidate and then give the candidate an opportunity to ask questions. This only leaves time for 10 or so questions, but with this limited time, we should know what is coming. They are not going to waste time with “what is your favorite color” or “if you were an animal, what would it be?”. But what 10 questions are asked during a phone screen? Any quick Google search for “top phone screen interview questions” will get the job done. If you want to be an over achiever, add more detail to your search with the following: Top phone interview question for Customer Service Representatives Phone interview questions for Product Manager’s If you are lazy, just check out my link to the interview questions on this site here. These are not necessarily phone interview questions, but show the format of HOW to answer actual interview questions. Remember, the scheduled time will limit the number of questions that can be asked. This is not a session on the couch with your counselor. This is speed dating and we need to make an impression quickly. Here is what I want to know. You should absolutely have prepared answers for these questions. What are you most proud of? What do you know about Acme Publishing? What is your weakness? What did you like about your last manager? How much do you want to make? What is your long-term / 3 year / 5 year plan? Why should we hire you? Why did you leave your last job? Why are you considering a new job? What do you look for in a manager? When can you start? If you are like most candidates, you read through the list and felt good about your ability to answer the above questions. Based on the answers I hear, I believe most candidates read each question, formulate the first sentence to their answer (or came up with a general concept for an answer) and are quickly moving onto the next question. If you were one of the folks that came up with short one-sentence answers and moved to the next question, the interview process will probably end after the phone screen, if not before. You may not know it, but in the recruiters mind, finito. I hear a lot of great first sentences to interview answers during the phone screen but then most candidates stumble. They have a general concept of what they want to say, but they are not able to articulate a complete answer. This is a deal killer. Lack of articulation will equal the lack of an in person interview. One of the best ways to prepare for a phone interview is to write out a complete answer to the interview questions and then tape record what we sound like when we answer these questions. You will be surprised with what you hear. Remember, there are no “lemme start over” 2nd chances. Common problems with phone screen answers: The most common problem is that the candidate isn’t articulate. There is obviously an idea of what the candidate wants to say, but there is a lot of stumbling and a lack of well formulated thoughts. Many phone interviews literally sound like this is the candidates VERY FIRST EXPERIENCE with an interview Having well thought out answers to the questions, writing out the answers in their entirety, and then practicing the complete answer out loud will make a big difference in how we present over the phone. With practice, we don’t miss points we want to make and the answer will flow. This isn’t cheating. If you were hired and later asked to give a presentation to a customer or the CEO, you would practice your presentation. You would not wing it. You would not come up with the first sentence and then assume “I got this bitches”. The other thing that listening to your phone screen answers will do is help ensure that we are answering the question. One of the big phone screen killers is being asked a question and not providing an answer. Having a pre-planned answer and then listening to what our answer is, ensures we are giving the interviewer what they want. Most candidates that fail the phone screen have one thing in common The candidates are asked an interview question and the candidate gives a long explanation and background before actually answering the question. The hiring manager is losing interest in us as a candidate when we give background explanations before answering the actual question. Make sure to answer the question first and then provide any necessary background information. EG: Q: What do you know about Acme Publishing? Non Answer: “I have done a lot of research. I have talked with friends, I obviously went to your web page and I have read forums on your customer service. I took a look at your year-end financials for the last quarter and saw you guys have a great Twitter following. I know that you guys did well last quarter and posted a profit. I saw on Twitter that you have 10K followers which is really good. I only have about 300 followers. Your web page says you were established in 1980 and have been in business for 25 years. I shit you not, I hear this stuff. The candidate thinks they are answering the questions, but they are really just providing me fluff and the first 4 sentences didn’t answer the question. Those first 4 sentences were DOG sentences. Each single sentence was equal to 7 sentences of a dog barking up the wrong tree. Better answer: Well, Acme Publishing was founded in 1980 and specializes in book binding and color catalogs for sports equipment. Customers are all over the world and include X,Y, and Z. Recently Acme has expanded to online web work and I am really excited about this part of the business. Per the financials, “we” posted a profit of about $1.2M on revenue of 15M and had year over year growth for the past 5 years. If the recruiter says “enough already”, you know you answered the question. The point is, answer the question. If you have a phone interview coming up, prepare well thought out and complete answers and then record your answers to ensure that you are presenting your best self. The sighs, the heavy breathing and loss for what to say will disappear quickly. |
All candidates say they would help veterans, but who actually has a plan?© Copyright 2016 Stars and Stripes - Used with Permision WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — Promising to take care of military veterans is an easy win for presidential candidates. All of them agree on the need to overhaul the scandal-riddled U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and end delays in accessing the health care that veterans were promised. This is especially a key issue in the South Carolina primary, where veterans make up 11 percent of the adult population. White House hopefuls have stressed the issue in debates and town halls. But a closer look at their public platforms shows a vast discrepancy in the level of detail in their plans, ranging from footnoted documents of seven-step plans to bullet points to a single flashcard. Which of the candidates have detailed plans that would address the kinds of problems faced by the Williams Jennings Bryan Dorn Medical Center in Columbia, S.C.: long wait times for appointments, concerns about benefits and difficulty in promptly reaching VA representatives? The hospital was one of the most dire examples of the systemic issues facing the VA when 2014 investigations exposed that a number of veterans were dying after long waits and delayed care. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush rolled out his plan to overhaul the VA last August. He focuses on giving veterans the ability to choose among health care providers, enhancing services for female veterans and modernizing the VA clinics. He briefly mentions his Florida record before launching into an annotated seven-step plan. Bush says he would find the extra funds by cutting excess administrators and eliminating “billions in waste, fraud and abuse.” This would include more competitive bidding for department contracts and firing poorly performing employees. Bush also proposes some technological improvements. His plan suggests teaming up with the private sector to create a secure online credential that can prove residents’ status as veterans. In his plan, public-private partnerships would also replace “shoddy software” that makes it difficult for veterans to refill prescriptions online, a feature he points out is available at most pharmacies across the country. Donald Trump is the candidate who has drawn the most public attention to veterans issues by skipping the Iowa debate to hold a fundraiser and often making veteran supporters a key focus of his rallies. He released his own plan last October, which like Bush’s centers on allowing veterans to see private doctors. He also proposes modernizing the VA, expanding investment in technology, embedding clinics in rural areas and firing incompetent executives. Trump said his proposed changes would cost less than the current system because he would eliminate inefficiencies. His plan does not include details about how much it would cost or how he would pay for the changes. A campaign representative did not return calls requesting additional comment. Despite his vocal support for veterans’ advocacy, Trump turned off many in the military community when he denigrated Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain’s military service during the Vietnam War. His rally in Iowa was also criticized by many veterans groups, who said he was using them as a political prop. Hillary Clinton proposed a plan to revamp the VA in November, promising that as president she would push for more coordination among different insurance providers and allow for some private-sector care “when it makes sense to do so.” Her plan includes establishing a new oversight governance board. Clinton goes into detail about her opposition to privatizing the department, which she says would send veterans into a health care market that is poorly suited to their needs. In an extensive section on overhauling the VA, she says she would revamp performance evaluations and bolster whistle-blower protections in the department. A few weeks before she released her plan, Clinton was criticized for suggesting that the scandal about the VA’s long wait times and delayed care had been exaggerated by Republicans for political gain. “It’s not been as widespread as it has been made out to be,” she said during an MSNBC interview. Marco Rubio’s public platform about veterans’ issues on his campaign website focuses on his record in Congress. It highlights his work on legislation with House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller that allowed the VA secretary to fire employees who weren’t doing their jobs. Similar to Bush’s and Trump’s plans, he proposes allowing veterans to use their health care funds to see approved private-sector providers of their choice. He does not give details. Some groups have pointed out that the Veterans Choice program, part of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, already allows veterans to access federally paid medical care from non-VA, local doctors. Bernie Sanders’ public platform on veterans’ issues focuses heavily on his record in the Senate. He offers only five brief bullets points as a plan, including fully funding and expanding the VA and offering improved dental and mental care. Sanders has been vocal on veterans’ issues since the beginning of his campaign. He has touted his record as the former chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which worked to provide billions in extra funding to boost health care for veterans. On the campaign trail, his wife, Jane, has often told the story of how Sanders decided to run for president when a disabled veteran thanked him for helping him secure benefits. At the same time, Sanders has been criticized for defending the VA in the midst of the 2014 scandal and initially dismissing its systematic failures. When pressed on the issue in recent interviews, he admitted, “We should have done better.” Ted Cruz does not have a dedicated plan for veterans’ issues on his public platform but includes three brief bullet points in his defense plan. He calls the management of the VA “unacceptable” and, like his Republican rivals, says he would expand veterans’ health care options. Ben Carson was criticized by veterans’ groups and the military community last August when he proposed eliminating the department altogether. “There is a lot of stuff we’re doing that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “We don’t need a Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Affairs should be folded in under the Department of Defense.” His website contains only a flashcard graphic under the veterans tab, with a short quote promising to restructure the VA and allow veterans their choice of health care provider. Ohio Gov. John Kasich does not address veterans’ issues on his campaign’s public platform, although he has touched on the topic in debates and speeches. ——— ©2016 McClatchy Washington Bureau Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau at www.mcclatchydc.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
Volunteering for Job Search Success© Copyright, 2016, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved. If you do quality work in a role that is related in some way to what you want to do as a job, volunteering can be very helpful for your job search and career in many ways. How Volunteering Benefits Your Job SearchYou help an organization or cause which you support, and…
You may even conclude that being employed by a nonprofit is where you can find the most satisfying work. All the benefits above help with a nonprofit job search. Choose the Best Opportunity for Your Job SearchBe careful choosing the organization and the role within that organization. Volunteer for an organization or a charity which is a nonprofit or not-for-profit. As much as possible, choose an organization with a mission you can support unconditionally. Look for a role in that organization which:
When the organization and the role are a good fit, the benefits are substantial, particularly when you are unemployed. Double-check that the organization is a genuine nonprofit. In the USA, you can search through the IRS database of “exempt organizations” (a.k.a. charities) here: Exempt Organizations Select Check. Plug the organization’s official name into the “Name” block, and click the search button. Demonstrate the High Quality of Your WorkSince you aren’t being paid, it’s easy to feel less committed to the organization and the work. But, that’s a mistake for many reasons. Think of your volunteering efforts as more than just a way to have something to put in LinkedIn and your resume to take up space. Like your visibility in social media, your volunteering is an example of your work — your quality as an employee, even though you aren’t being paid for your volunteering. In many ways, volunteering is an audition, and needs your best efforts. How to Make Your Volunteer Experience Most Helpful for Your Job SearchFocus on being the best volunteer you can be! 1.) Choose a good fit for your target job/industry/profession and your personal values.If you don’t believe in the cause, you’ll have a difficult time demonstrating enthusiasm for what you have done for them. That will show up in job interviews and in your other public visibility (like your LinkedIn Profile). If you wouldn’t continue to support the organization after you find a job, don’t support it while you are unemployed. 2.) Show up when you are expected to be there.Don’t make a commitment you can’t keep. Being undependable, even as an unpaid volunteer, will hurt your reputation. You will be seen as untrustworthy. Not good for you. 3.) Keep your commitments.This fits with number 2. As inspired and committed as you may be to the mission of the organization, don’t agree to do more things or contribute more hours of work if you know you can’t handle the commitment. You will be hurting the organization and your own reputation. 4.) Be honest.If you really don’t know how to use QuickBooks, don’t claim that you do. You can offer to learn it (on your own time or with help from another volunteer) especially if it’s a skill you would like to add to your work experience. Make it clear that the task would be a “learning experience” for you when asked to do something you don’t know how to do. 5.) Be easy to work with.Do your work as professionally as possible, but be cooperative with management and other volunteers. Accept management suggestions as you would in a “real” job, and treat your co-workers with the respect you normally have for co-workers at work. Follow the organization’s process and standards. If those standards or processes need improvement, tactfully offer suggestions to make them better. Leave if you feel the organization is too “non-standard” to be acceptable, but don’t trash the organization publicly either before or after you leave. Finally, don’t forget to have fun and enjoy your volunteering experience Make Your Volunteering VisibleDescribe it accurately on your LinkedIn Profile. If you are employed, add it to the volunteering section of your Profile, describing the organization as well as the job performed. Describe the accomplishments, focused on those that are relevant to your career. If you are unemployed, include your volunteering experience in the Work Experience section of your Profile. When something you have done or learned is relevant to a job you are seeking, include the relevant description in your resume or job application. More About VolunteeringVolunteering: A Silver Lining in the Job Crisis Why Volunteer if It Doesn’t Lead Directly to a Job Handling Those Job Search Blues About the Author… Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 2011, NETability purchased WorkCoachCafe.com, and Susan has been editor and publisher of WorkCoach since then. Susan also edits and publishes Job-Hunt.org, is a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a columnist on HuffingtonPost. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+ |
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