An Interview with Syndee Feuer

Recently, as part of my research for an upcoming Resume Writers' Digest special report "Your First Year in Business," I had the opportunity to talk with resume writer and career coach Syndee Feuer, of Career Tactics, LLC in Jupiter, FL, serving the south Florida market primarily. Syndee spent 28 years in corporate America, working most recently as a Senior Global Training Director for Convergys, overseeing call centers around the world. When her position was eliminated, she decided to go into business for herself, and opened her business in October 2006, although she says she wasn't officially "launched" until June 2007;.

Like most new resume writers, Syndee is finding attracting clients to be the most difficult part of the start-up. We talked about several marketing tools she is using, or has available to her. In particular, I was interested in Syndee's website, since this is an important marketing tool for new resume writers.

RWD: How did you decide what you wanted your website to look like?

Syndee: I had been to many websites that suffered from "information overload." The website has to catch your eye. I read a lot of different websites, and decided on a minimalist approach. I found a local web designer and gave her some content. She's not just a website designer; she also has an eye for marketing.

RWD: What were some of her suggestions?

Syndee: She suggested I use my picture on the website, since resume writing is very personal -- it's a very personal service. It took me six months before I did it. Initially, I had the four apples on the home page (see below); she suggested changing it around. She wanted the site to be visual and textual.

RWD: How long did it take you to get the website completed?

Syndee: It took about two months -- much longer than I anticipated -- to get it up and running. And, of course, I continue to work on it.

RWD: Do you use paid search?

Syndee: No, I work to keep my site active in natural search. If you type in "Resume Writing South Florida," (without the quote marks) on Google, my site is in the top five natural responses.

You'll be able to read more about Syndee's marketing tactics in the "Your First Year in Business" special report.

Happy New Year!

I hope this year is the fulfillment of everything you've been dreaming of achieving.

Be sure to write down your goals -- and we'll check back in on Dec. 31, 2008 and see how we all did.

Calculating the Value of Your Time

If one of your resolutions for 2008 is to get more organized, this handy little tool is sure to help your motivation. It's a calculator to help you determine the impact of wasted time -- in terms of the financial impact it causes!

Guest Author: Three Keys to Interview Success

By Michael R. Neece, CEO of Interview Mastery

"In job search, the interview is everything."

1. Interviewer Questions

Write down and practice your response to typical interview questions.

Typical interviewer questions include;
- “Tell me about yourself.”
- “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
- “What are your salary requirements?”
- “Why did you leave your last position?”
Be sure you're ready to respond to these and other Frequently Asked Interview Questions (FAiQ). Each question is an opportunity. You need to know how to structure your answers. Having a template (or framework) helps you respond to any FAiQ.

Interview Mastery shows you exactly how to handle FAiQs with fill-in-the-blank templates and structured response strategies.

2. Your Questions

Interviewers are more impressed with your questions than any selling points you try to make. Create questions before each interview that you'll ask. When the interviewer asks if you have any questions just take out your list. Your questions should start with “What” or “How”. The following are examples of questions you can ask. Be as company and industry specific as possible when creating your own questions.
- What are the reasons driving the need for this position?
- What are the three top challenges that I'll face in this job?
- What are the key metrics for measuring success in this position?
- How do the position's responsibilities align with the department's goals?

3. Opening Questions

Ask one “opening“ question at the start of every interview.
Interviewing is like playing darts in the dark. The target is each interviewer's screening criteria. Each dart represents a dimension of your talents. To win this interviewing "dart game" you have to locate the target and decide which three “talent darts” to present. Asking the right questions at the start of the interview is the key. Examples of effective "opening" questions you'll ask include;
- “What are the key skills you feel are required for success in this position?”
- “What parts of my background are you most interested in learning about?”
- “What did you see in my resume that created your interest in my background?”

-- Interview Mastery is the job interview program for candidates covering more than 50 interview topics and situations. The program is based on 20 years of research and authored by Michael Neece, the “Interview Master” from Monster.com who has written extensively on interviewing for both companies and job seekers. Interview Mastery is the most widely used program of its kind and used by job seekers in 66 countries.