Looking Forward Our Way

We speak with College Nannies and Tutors at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about College Nannies and Tutors on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

We speak with State Auto Insurance Company at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about State Auto Insurance Company on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

We speak with Age Friendly Columbus at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about Age Friendly Columbus on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

We speak with Costco at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about Costco on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

We speak with YMCA of Central Ohio at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about YMCA of Central Ohio on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

We speak with New Directions Career Center at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about New Directions Career Center on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

We speak with A Plus Staffing at this year's EFS Career Expo.

Find out more about A Plus Staffing on their website.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

With us in the episode is our special guest Sharon Hamersley. Sharon is the Principle Coach for The Resume Coach and has over 20 years’ experience helping individuals of all ages make a satisfying career decision or change. She's also a longtime supporter and volunteer of Employment For Seniors as well as the facilitator of all of the workshops the career workshops that we do here at Employment For Seniors.

 

Accomplishments and Skills

Differentiating between job duties and accomplishments

Job duty = what are the activities that the job requires, e.g. answering phones, greeting clients, preparing documents.

Accomplishment = expected outcome of these required job activities. Also, any activity not necessarily specified in your job duties that benefit your company, clients, or co-workers.

STAR Method

Situation/Task (Opportunity or Challenge): describe the situation as you found it and the possible challenges or opportunities arising from it.

Action: how did you address the opportunity or challenge? (Note: these actions validate your skill sets, e.g. problem-solving, communication, research, negotiation etc.)

Result: what was the result of your actions? What was different or better? What impact did the result have for the company, clients, or co-workers?

Quantity/Quality outcomes

Quantity: easy to measure, e.g. total sales, widgets produced.

Quality: more difficult to measure, focus on meeting or exceeding requirements for accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or improved/enhanced work environment and performance.

“But I was just doing my job…” Have you ever:

Done more with less?

Seen and solved some problem others did not see?

Started a new program or process?

Managed a team? How many?

Saved the company money?

Been recognized for outstanding performance? Why?

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network

With us in the episode is our special guest Sharon Hamersley. Sharon is the Principle Coach for The Resume Coach and has over 20 years’ experience helping individuals of all ages make a satisfying career decision or change. She's also a longtime supporter and volunteer of Employment For Seniors as well as the facilitator of all of the workshops the career workshops that we do here at Employment For Seniors.

 

Volunteer experience: Including significant volunteer experience is important for several reasons:

If you are providing your expertise to an organization pro bono it validates that skill set and helps demonstrate that you are keeping up in your field.

Many companies look for volunteer experience on the resume because they are community-minded, and volunteering is an important part of their company brand.

Volunteering is also a great answer to the question “what are you doing while unemployed?” Of course, you are spending a significant time on job search, but that should be balanced with outside activities.

Education and training:

Pros: if the field of study is related to your career goal, including that can indicate that you gained some of your expertise in an academic setting.

Cons: some employers may view the fact that you did not complete your post-secondary education as a negative. If you include the information, be prepared to answer the question “Why didn’t you finish your degree?”

List most recent degree or certification first. Add a date only if obtained within the past 2 years or expected within the next 12-18 months.

If you attended a college or university but did not graduate, you need to decide whether that information should be included.

Definitely list all professional licenses and certifications that are expected or required for your occupation, e.g. RN License – State of Ohio, or PMP (name of certification body and most recent date renewed.)

You do not need to list your High School Diploma or GED unless that is your last educational certification.

What not to include in the resume:

If including volunteer work for a religious or political advocacy organization, use a generic term to describe the organization when listing it.

If you have any physical or mental disability, do not disclose unless you will need an accommodation to successfully complete the interview. For instance, a quiet room if you have hearing loss, in order to be able to hear and answer questions.

Hobbies – some candidates believe this makes them appear more “well-rounded” but generally they are not of interest to the employer. If a hobby is actually part of your qualification for the position, list it under experience.

Any information that would indicate you are part of a “protected class” that cannot be discerned from your basic data. This includes racial/ethnic background or national origin, religion, sex, age (if over 40), familial status, and physical or mental disability.

 

 

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating and a review in iTunes.  Click here to learn how! 

Discover more podcasts like this at Circle270Media Network  

  

 

Image already added

With us in the episode is our special guest Sharon Hamersley. Sharon is the Principle Coach for The Resume Coach and has over 20 years’ experience helping individuals of all ages make a satisfying career decision or change. She's also a longtime supporter and volunteer of Employment For Seniors as well as the facilitator of all of the workshops the career workshops that we do here at Employment For Seniors.

Contact information:

Name: as you are generally known to your professional community.

Address: City and State are usually adequate. Street addresses hold a risk of being used for purposes you did not intend.

E-mail address: is yours professional? Recommend getting Gmail account that you use exclusively for professional activities. Accounts such as @aol.com or @hotmail.com indicate that you may not be tech-savvy. Also, be aware of your username – do not include any numbers that could be interpreted as a date, such as a birthdate or year of graduation.

Cell phone: you have exclusive control over your cell phone. Check to make sure that your voicemail message conveys a professional image. Employers will move on to the next candidate if your message is not professional, or if you haven’t set up your voicemail, or your voice mailbox is full.

LinkedIn profile URL: increasingly employers are looking at LinkedIn profiles to gather additional information about a candidate. Make sure yours is complete, current, and attractive.

Summary statement:

This is your first (and often only) chance to impress the employer with your unique qualifications.

Be very clear about what skills and accomplishments you bring that will help the employer meet their needs and achieve their goals (but don’t write an essay – be brief!)

Mirror the wording of the job posting. This indicates to the reader that you have actually read the posting and are responding to the need stated there.

Use keywords – the words describing the required skills and experience that are included in the job posting. This increases the chance that when submitting an online application, the resume scanning software will pick up on your resume and forward for further review.

Work experience:

Generally, 15 years’ experience is all that should be presented in detail. If you worked for the same company for 20+ years, present the last 10-15 years in detail and add a section “Foundational Experience” listing previous roles without dates.

For the resume, only include years of employment, not month/year. 

Begin with the most recent experience. Include Company Name, Company Location, dates of employment, and job title.

Optional: a brief description of the company/industry if necessary to position role within the company.

Focus on major accomplishments, don’t just list job duties. Use numbers if available, or qualitative descriptions of results. (Stay tuned for a separate podcast on creating accomplishment statements.)

Managing dates:

Generally, 15 years’ experience is all that should be presented in detail. If you worked for the same company for 20+ years, present the last 10-15 years in detail and add a section “Foundational Experience” listing previous roles without dates.

For the resume, only include years of employment, not month/year. This makes the content flow more smoothly and also minimizes gaps in employment.

 

The Successful Encore Career is a service of Employment For Seniors and sponsored by Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, and Nationwide Insurance.

This podcast is free to you and available on your favorite podcast player.  If you have benefitted from this podcast and would like to help us defray costs involved in producing the podcast, we welcome your support. Click here to donate via our safe and secure PayPal account.  

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or SubscribeOnAndroid.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We'd love it if you could please share this podcast with your social media friends!

If you liked this episode, please leave us a rating