I came across this article today on "How to Justify Conference Attendance" and it caught my attention because of the survey I'm conducting on professional conference attendance among resume writers. (Remember, if you want the link to take the survey, e-mail me at RWDigest@aol.com -- and be sure to sign up for the Resume Writers' Digest mailing list using the form in the upper-right hand corner of the blog.)
Of particular use is the worksheet to estimate costs to attend -- and then some suggestions for improving ROI.
Ideas, information, and resources for professional resume writers.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Free Teleseminar: Eight Ways to Enhance Your Personal Brand
How do you correctly apply personal branding to two of the hottest online networks (LinkedIn and Facebook)? This teleseminar -- scheduled for Thursday, March 13, 2008 at Noon Eastern time -- will give you the information you need to get up to speed quickly.The one-hour teleseminar will be lead by William Arruda, founder of Reach, the leading global personal branding organization. The presenter will be Jason Alba, author of "I'm on LinkedIn- Now What?" He also co-authored "I'm on Facebook-Now What" and is CEO of JibberJobber.com.
There is no cost to attend -- but enrollment is limited to the first 200 participants. Register here.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Malcolm Gladwell on Psychological Testing
I came across an article on author Malcolm Gladwell ("Blink" and "The Tipping Point") that led me to his online archive of articles from The New Yorker magazine. There I found an interesting article on employment testing -- specifically, the role of the personality test in the selection process.
Personality testing is a $400 million-a-year industry, and there are more than 2500 kinds of tests out there.
Gladwell points out that one of the fundamental flaws of personality testing is in individuals' lack of consistency:
We have a personality in the sense that we have a consistent pattern of behavior. But that pattern is complex and that personality is contingent: it represents an interaction between our internal disposition and tendencies and the situations that we find ourselves in.
Gladwell's articles are often quite lengthy, but worth the read. I'd recommend this one in particular.
Personality testing is a $400 million-a-year industry, and there are more than 2500 kinds of tests out there.
Gladwell points out that one of the fundamental flaws of personality testing is in individuals' lack of consistency:
We have a personality in the sense that we have a consistent pattern of behavior. But that pattern is complex and that personality is contingent: it represents an interaction between our internal disposition and tendencies and the situations that we find ourselves in.
Gladwell's articles are often quite lengthy, but worth the read. I'd recommend this one in particular.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A Cautionary Tale: Avoid the Hard Sell
The resume writers and career coaches I know are extremely ethical and reputable, but as our fees rise (as they should!) we have to be careful not to be lumped into the ranks with the Bernard Haldane firms of the world.
Prominently featured on Nick Corcodilos "Ask the Headhunter" website is the story of "Executive Career Counselors, Inc.", a fictionalized name for a real firm ... not a professional resume writing firm, mind you, but one of those firms that promises "access to the hidden job market."
I urge you to read it carefully -- and consider the promises we make to our clients. We are ethically bound not to overpromise -- and we must ensure that they take an active role in their own job search, lest they spread the word about you and your firm.
"Mr. CFO" is complicit in his own misfortune too -- he claims he knew better than to "spam" HR personnel, but admits he sent out over 6,000 resumes through his affiliation with "ECC." They did have some useful ideas for him -- joining professional associations and attending industry conferences -- but he was reluctant to throw good money after bad. He'd spend $10,000 on the EEC services, but not $1,200 to get face-to-face with peers in his industry who know of job openings (by attending conferences).
These types of individuals are ripe for being sucked into scams -- they would rather spend money than their time -- but they are also the first to blame you when "the resume" doesn't get them the job. (Nevermind that, like Mr. CFO, they change the resume.)
It's a cautionary tale -- not just for job searchers but for the careers industry. We are lumped in with these firms and the myth is perpetuated that anyone who you pay to help you with your job search is out to rip you off.
Even when the company name is fictionalized, stories like this give us all a bad name.
Prominently featured on Nick Corcodilos "Ask the Headhunter" website is the story of "Executive Career Counselors, Inc.", a fictionalized name for a real firm ... not a professional resume writing firm, mind you, but one of those firms that promises "access to the hidden job market."
I urge you to read it carefully -- and consider the promises we make to our clients. We are ethically bound not to overpromise -- and we must ensure that they take an active role in their own job search, lest they spread the word about you and your firm.
"Mr. CFO" is complicit in his own misfortune too -- he claims he knew better than to "spam" HR personnel, but admits he sent out over 6,000 resumes through his affiliation with "ECC." They did have some useful ideas for him -- joining professional associations and attending industry conferences -- but he was reluctant to throw good money after bad. He'd spend $10,000 on the EEC services, but not $1,200 to get face-to-face with peers in his industry who know of job openings (by attending conferences).
These types of individuals are ripe for being sucked into scams -- they would rather spend money than their time -- but they are also the first to blame you when "the resume" doesn't get them the job. (Nevermind that, like Mr. CFO, they change the resume.)
It's a cautionary tale -- not just for job searchers but for the careers industry. We are lumped in with these firms and the myth is perpetuated that anyone who you pay to help you with your job search is out to rip you off.
Even when the company name is fictionalized, stories like this give us all a bad name.
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