Stratford Office: 203-386-8800 | Stamford Office: 203-325-3799 | Candidate/Client Login

Is it Time to Rebrand Yourself?

September 22nd, 2017

Sometimes even the most popular and profitable brands need a reboot from the experts found in fullypromotedfranchise.com site in order to stay fresh and hold their position as market frontrunners. If something isn’t broken, there’s usually no need to fix it, but even reliable classics need an update every few years so their storyline can stay consistant with the changing needs and priorities of their audience.

The same rule applies to job seeking employees. When you’re fresh out of college, bursting with ambition but short on practical experience, it’s okay to sell yourself based on your potential. As you get a little older and more immersed in your industry, it’s wise to reboot your profile so “potential” takes second place after the hard-earned lessons of experience. And as you enter the third phase of your career, it’s time to consider yet another update. If this describes your situation, keep a few job search and re-branding tips in mind.

Focus on Your Biggest Successes

Eagerness, a can-do attitude and a megawatt smile are worth more than gold for entry-level job seekers. And these qualities bring the rewards and honors that signal success. But gold stars for performance at the entry-level don’t shine as brightly for experienced workers, so at a certain point, it’s time to tuck these things away and replace them with more meaningful counterparts. The megawatt smile should give way to the thoughtful frown of someone who knows how to make hard leadership decisions, and cheerful eagerness should be replaced by the ability to say no, to speak honestly, to take a stand, to negotiate, and to embrace the mistakes of the past instead of hiding them.

Raise the Bar

At the entry-level, simply showing up on time can be praiseworthy. And after a few years of experience, easy wins and participation in successful team projects deserve top billing on a resume. But as you enter the second half of your career, make sure the top items featured on your profile reflect the rising expectations that come with age and experience. Don’t try to show off every detail of your career; instead, delete the easy victories and focus on the serious accomplishments that your younger competitors can’t claim.

Don’t Edit Out Your Past Careers

While it’s fine to edit out your early accomplishments and replace them more recent and impressive claims, don’t delete your previous careers. By the time we reach the latter part of our career, most of us have moved through several jobs and sometimes even completely different industries, so if you’re looking for an accounting job and you used to be in retail, share this fact, don’t hide it.

Your experience can work in your favor and can become a powerful selling point for potential employers, but only if you embrace it and show off your new brand strategically. For more information, turn to the career management experts at Merritt Staffing.

Proving Your Time Management Skills

July 28th, 2017

Most hiring managers in most industries seek a few core qualities from prospective candidates. In addition to job-specific skills, almost every hiring manager—from those in manufacturing to education to food service—wants employees who commit themselves fully to the job. They also want employees who don’t require extensive oversight and those who can handle tasks and solve problems independently. And almost all managers want a team who can manage their time to the best advantage of the company.

If you know how to break your day down into hours and minutes and use each hour to complete useful tasks that move the company—and your own career—forward, then you’re a master of time management. And you’ll need to highlight this ability in your resume and cover letter. Here are few moves that can help you accomplish this.

Be direct.

When in doubt, it’s okay to simply say “I’m a master of time management”. You can use this exact statement in your cover letter or your job interview, but keep in mind: You’ll have to provide evidence to back it up. What specific events or accomplishments from your past can you share to drive this message home? Gather two or three concrete memories or quantifiable victories and list them as bullet points in your resume. As for your interview, get ready to tell your story, even if you aren’t specifically asked.

Explain your strategy.

People aren’t usually born as exceptional time managers. Babies aren’t very good at this skill, no matter how their personalities develop later on. So if you’re an efficiency wizard, explain how you got where you are. Explain the methods and strategies that you’ve discovered and how they help you stay on track. Share what you’ve learned, and share how you learned it.

Be open to growth.

Recognize that no matter how organized and driven you may be, there are always moves you can use to get more out of the day, multitask, delegate, coach and strategize your way to improvements in this area. Stay receptive to new information.

Explain how you’ve gone the extra mile.

Don’t just boast about what you’ve gained from your time management expertise; be sure to mention what you’ve invested. If you stayed late to develop a new plan, or broke the rules to chart a new course that ultimately worked out well, bring these facts and stories to your reviewer’s attention. Describe the risks you’ve taken, the losses you’ve sustained, and the mistakes you’ve made—But focus on the happy endings and lessons that resulted.
For more on how to grab the spotlight and show off your time management skills, turn to the Westchester County job search experts at Merritt.

© Year Merritt Staffing. Site Credits.