Upcoming Stuff

It's my birthday today, so I'm taking it easy ... or as easy as I can considering I have two weeks worth of work to finish this week, in anticipation of meeting up with some of you next week in Savannah.

In the meantime, I wanted to give a heads-up about some items on the publishing schedule.

• We released the second edition of Write Great Resumes Faster earlier this month, and have sold a couple dozen books so far! Considering the first edition sold more than 150 copies with limited promotion, sales are going well! As many of you know, I'm a resume writer first and foremost (Resume Writers' Digest came later, as a way to help me learn more about the industry, and share those ideas at the same time), so these are ideas that I compiled to help me when I was stuck. I wrote an article about it for the newsletter, got good feedback, and decided to put the tips into booklet form. The new, second edition is more of a "book" -- nearly 70 pages of ideas, resources, and reference material to do exactly what the book's title says: write great resumes faster. Thanks for your purchases -- they help support the newsletter and website. (You can order using the Paypal link on the right side of the page.)

• On or about Oct. 1, we will release our first Special Report -- on Subcontracting! Diana LeGere has done a fabulous job of researching and writing this report, interviewing more than a dozen resume writers to share tips and tricks for making money as a resume subcontractor. This has been a topic I get a *lot* of questions about, and the information she's providing is top-notch.

• I'll also be publishing a Special Edition of Resume Writers' Digest the first week of October. It's a preview of the Career Directors International conference but will also have a couple of articles that have been percolating on my to-do list in the past couple of weeks.

• The next "Regular" edition of Resume Writers' Digest will be published in early November. If you have an article you want to contribute, please e-mail me at RWDigest@aol.com. We don't have a budget for paying our contributors yet, but you'll reach our hundreds of subscribers, gaining valuable publicity and visibility among your peers. (Plus, you'll have my gratitude, which is priceless!)

That's it for today!

Personal Development

I find myself advising my clients to keep their skills current. I ask them about additional training, education, and skill development they can seek out to make themselves more marketable.

But do we heed our own advice? Probably not. Don’t let you or your skills become obsolete. Develop your professional skills to achieve your financial and career goals. But don’t just add new skills willy-nilly. Develop a plan. Lay out a vision of your life and then map out how you’ll achieve that picture.

Here’s some tips to help you develop your game plan for lifelong learning:

• Take an honest look at your worth. Once a year, take a good look at your competence and skills. If they don’t match what your clients need or are asking for, figure out how and where you need to improve. For example: Do you have clients asking for coaching or interview training, and you don't offer these services? Consider training and certification in this area.

• Stay on top of technical skills. Make sure you’re competent on basic applications and have a command of available technology (the Internet, Microsoft Word, and communication devices, to name a couple) to make you more efficient. Stay abreast of technological change by reading relevant publications.

• Make upgrading your skills a priority. That means accepting lifelong learning as a principle. Take classes online, go back to school or take continuing education classes applicable to your job or the job you want. Check out the teleclasses offered through several of the professional resume writing associations.

• Get a mentor. Look for someone who will help you navigate the political arena and help direct your professional development. Look for someone who also has a proven track record of advancement, skill and knowledge.

— Adapted from Black Enterprise

Most Effective Tactics for Job Search

According to Monster.com, these tactics are among the most effective for individuals conducting a job search. Research has shown the most successful job seekers use a variety of these job-seeking strategies:

Direct Employer Contact
Research and identify employers for whom you'd like to work. Contact each employer by letter or phone, indicate how you can be of value and ask for an opportunity to visit and discuss employment opportunities.

Use Your Network
Contact your relatives, friends, and professional colleagues and ask them to share valuable advice and employment information. Remember, the more people working with you, the more leads you can produce.

Employment Recruiters
Contact employment recruiters who place people in your career field and industry.

State Employment Service
Each state offers a wide variety of information and assistance designed to help you find employment. Check out their career centers for valuable information on career and industry trends, salary surveys, job-hunting tips, interview techniques, and more.

Placement Office
If you're a college graduate, contact your placement office and inquire about employment assistance, including job leads, available to graduates and alumni.

Professional Associations
If you work in a professional career field, several state or national associations likely exist and provide career information and services to members. Find associations in your field through your local library and contact them to ask about employment assistance.

Job Hotlines
Employers nationwide have created job hotlines that you can call -- usually via a free 800 number -- to learn about employment openings. Most bookstores and libraries have books listing hundreds of job hotlines.

Source: Monster.com

Career Changer

The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the sidewalk, and stopped centimeters from a shop window.

For a second, everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said,"Look mister, don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me!"

The passenger apologized and said he didn't realize that a little tap could scare him so much.

The driver replied, "You're right. I'm sorry. It's really not your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver. I've been driving a hearse for the last 25 years."

I always enjoyed this joke, not just because it's funny, but because it illustrates the power of transferable job skills -- but also how those skills need to be adapted to the new job.

I've worked with a number of career changes from the mortgage industry recently, and it's a lesson they can learn from. Not everyone who worked at Enron, or for subprime mortgage lending firms, or Worldcom -- or whatever -- was bad, but when you change jobs, you need to be more alert ... watch for the signs of trouble early. Warn your clients not to let themselves be "startled" when they see the same things happening in their new industry.