If we are looking to advance our careers, reinvention is a must. It’s not what you think it is if you’re thinking makeover (although sometimes it is). Your reinvention efforts must fit and deliver what the employer’s need. I talk about it in more detail with Anthony Quinones.

What does reinvention mean for your career?

Here are three ways you can let us know:

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

Let me share more about Anthony’s background:

Anthony is the Founder and Chief Reinvention Officer at Q-Ball Media, home of the “Your Point of Q” podcast. You can go to his blog here to listen. He has published several articles on Huffington Post and has made several other media appearances.

He has published two books:

Repackaging Everything

The Brandpreneur Beginners Guide

Here are highlights of our conversation on reinvention:

* People used to look at reinvention as a cool and nice thing, but now it’s a necessity

* New opportunities are now coming through temp work, contracts, and volunteering

* Relationships are key to starting the reinvention process

* 62% are finding jobs through referral

* More job stability from the job search process from relationships than applying online

* Employers trust a new hire who was referred by a current employee than a new hire who applied online

* Trust is a key benefit from an employee referral

* Saves money for the company

* Your references help embed trust

* Six types of key relationships: Friends, family, coworkers, ex-classmates, associations, people you know of (pyko or pee-co)

Reminder:

I am here for you! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page. I try to pack as much value in my newsletter to more than 2,000 subscribers as possible.

Grab my updated “118 Job Search Tips for the Modern Job Search in 2018”  here.

I decided to create an extensive resume advice show that offered many practical and actionable tactics and strategies. I invited Jessica Dillard back to the show to discuss personal branding aspects of resume writing and resume writing trends for 2018.

I will love it if you offer your struggles or tips for resume writing.

Here are three ways you can let us know:

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

Here’s more information about Jessica: 

Dillard & Associates is a National Career Staffing and Resume Writing Firm and has worked with thousands of job seekers. I first met Jessica in 2014 when she joined my newsletter list a few years back. Jessica created her firm in 1997 and possessed awards throughout her 20+ years in business.

Highlights from our discussion: 

* Resumes are supposed to invite the employer’s engagement

* Ask yourself when writing your resume, “What is it your trying to convey?”

* Relevance is the key to holding an employer’s interest and capture their attention. Relevance dictates the resume’s length

* The most relevant information will be your last 10 years of employment. Go back further only if it’s relevant and needed

* Consider your reader is using a mobile phone — length is even more essential

* Method and timing of delivery matters. Keep a mobile version, upload it to a cloud service (Gmail is the most popular)

* Your resume is optimally effective is when your career choice is clear, specific, and targeted. Write towards one position

Reminder:

I am here for you! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page. I try to pack as much value in my newsletter to more than 2,000 subscribers as possible.

Grab my updated “118 Job Search Tips for the Modern Job Search in 2018”  here.

Tis the season for layoffs. You might need a new job search in 2018. As we speak, there are companies putting the final touches on separation agreements and/or severance packages. Well, the talk about departures or the rumored occurrences lately includes Adtalem, AAP, Aetna, AFLAC, Allscripts, Allstate, AIG, Anadarko, Arris, AT&T, ADP, Avaya,  Baker Hughes, Bank of America, Becton Dickinson, Bed Bath & Beyond, Boeing, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Broadcom. Not to mention every company that hired seasonal workers recently. This is why I am welcoming back to the show Tom Spiggle of Spiggle Law.

 

I want to hear from you of how this layoff episode resonates with you.

Here are places you can add to the conversation at large:

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

 

More about Tom: 

Tom Spiggle is a former prosecutor and former Assistant U.S. Attorney. His website also has a very informative blog found at spigglelaw.com  He is regularly quoted in the media in such outlets as the Washington Post, CBS News, and many law journals.

Our discussion today is based on the article on Tom’s article on his blog, ” The Anatomy of a Severance Agreement.” This time of year is often feared for layoffs or departures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics clumps layoffs/departures as separations. Tom has a 6 part series to offer when you sign up with your email address.

Here are some highlights from our layoff show: 

* Separation agreement – agreeing or wavering the right to sue, could include package with severance, outplacement services, etc  

* Companies are not legally required to offer a separation package, no obligation

* Talk to financial advisor to get your ducks in a row

* If you think you may be laid off,

Thanks for joining us for the last show of the season. The next show will be on January 19, 2018. I want you to stick around for this show. Janine Truitt and Chris Fields are back to discuss Janine’s recent article, “I Used To Love D&I: Why I’ve Fallen Out of Love With Diversity and Inclusion.” I wanted to Janine to share her perspective as she has worked with several companies to help roll out their Diversity and Inclusion initiatives and why it doesn’t shape into an effective program.

We would love to hear from you in one of three ways: 

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

Janine Truitt is the founder of her company, Talent Think Innovations, LLC is a multi-disciplinary business strategy and management consulting firm. She has been in HR and talent acquisitions for more than ten years. Her media features include Black Enterprise, Entrepreneur Magazine, and US News and Careers.

Chris Fields is the founder of the Resume Crusade, and also an HR professional and resume writer. He helps around 150 people yearly with resume and job search advice. His career advice was featured in O Magazine, Mashable, and Monster Working!

Here are some of our talking points:

* Janine explains her article in stating diversity and inclusion programs are a sham, prohibiting to have the real conversation

* Has it been a value-add, or does it need to be scrapped?

* People are afraid of the more intimate conversations, no investment of emotional or personal disclosures

* Many won’t face their biases, won’t face the overall problems

* Diversity and Inclusion programs are often created to make the brand look good

* Inclusion should be evident to all, to prove Diversity and  Inclusion initiatives shows the lack of effectiveness

I am here for it! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page. I try to pack as much value in my newsletter to more than 2,000 subscribers as possible.

Grab my updated “118 Job Search Tips for the Modern Job Search in 2018”  here.

You can buy my guides listed here for 99 cents each for the rest of the year! The regular price is $5.00 for most of the guides.

You’ve heard me say before small organizations should be on your list of target companies to research and get hired. One of the premiere nonprofit job boards to use is idealist.org and get job advice from idealistcareers.org.

Join in on the conversation

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

Victoria Crispo a Career Development Expert, and Manager of College and Professional Outreach at Idealist.org. I first met her as she was the Content Manager at IdealistCareers.org. IdealistCareers.org is a not only a nonprofit job board but also has good content for your job search.

Here are a few highlights of our conversation:

* We talked about the revamping of the idealist.org site

* Its job board includes nonprofit organizations, support organizations, and recruiters for nonprofits

* Idealistcareers.org is the companion for the job board as a companion online publication that offers career advice

* The online edition started in 2013, and the job board is one of the first for nonprofits starting back in 1995

* Published jobs – the need is usually immediate

* Best way to use it: Make a list of organizations that align with your mission – network actively

Do you need coaching or instruction?

I am here for it! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page. I try to pack as much value in my newsletter to more than 2,000 subscribers as possible.

Grab my updated “118 Job Search Tips for the Modern Job Search in 2018”  here.

You can buy my guides listed here for 99 cents each for the rest of the year! The regular price is $5.00 for most of the guides.

Thanks so much for your interest in this episode. Bias has different faces, sizes, complexities, and issues, and it’s hard to talk about them in one episode. Sheila Caldwell, Ed. D. is the Advisor to the President on Diversity at the University of North Georgia. She is the eyes and ears for the University on all things for diversity and inclusion and reports directly to the President of the University. I was happy she agreed to come on and share her journey in mitigating bias as well as the university students.

Join in on the conversation

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

More about Sheila Caldwell

Sheila recently received her doctorate of education in workforce education. She has completed a certification program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Busines for “Strategies for Building and Leading Diverse Organizations Executive Education program.” Sheila is actively involved in working with students and staff in making the University of North Georgia inclusive and safe for all.

Few highlights from our conversation

* Bias occurs in the workforce and college campuses but manifests differently in their respective environments

* Students must gain a strong identity of self to endure the narrow perspectives fellow students and coworkers will have

* Colleges are trying to do a better job in preparing students for the workforce diversity

* Students needing to feel a belonging at a diverse university while combating bias

* Sheila shares the latest reports of graduates show money, not intelligence, is a primary reason for students of color not finishing a degree

* Sheila discusses how women dominate the graduate rates yet not enough women are STEM and engineering majors in college

* How bias includes cultural appropriation and how it affects campus and the workplace

Do you need coaching or instruction?

I am here for it! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page. I try to pack as much value in my newsletter to more than 1,100 people as possible. If you want to see an example of what I send out, go here.

 

Melissa Cooley, of MelissaCooley.com, is a Certified Resume Writer, Interview Coach, Career Consultant, Blogger, and a contributor to the career book, Nourish Your Career. Her blog, The Job Quest, equips job seekers with tools needed for a successful job search and job interview. Melissa is also a friend and this recorded conversation is the first time we have talked person-to-person since connecting online for the last four years. Her insight into coaching job seekers is worth modeling because she goes beyond the surface practices. That is what made it easy to ask her to share her knowledge in this area. If you want to read a post from her blog that demonstrates her insight, read “3 REASONS WHY YOU STILL NEED TO DO INTERVIEW PREP. (YES, EVEN IF YOU ARE A “SHOO-IN.”).”

Job interviewing is a skill requiring more practice than 95% of job seekers are willing to do. If it is hard to spotlight your best attributes, then your interviewing skills have equal to or less value than your resume.

One of the questions I ask Melissa is what are a few of the techniques she uses to prepare job seekers for the job interview. She cited a technique from Dr. Lynn Joseph, creator of the Job Loss Recovery Program. Melissa says that by visualizing interview success as part of the preparation really has helped a few of the clients she coached.

We also tackled some of the areas job seekers are challenged with such as, communication, networking, and deciding if it is appropriate to go to an interview sick.

I am slightly embarrassed that I flubbed her introduction. My attempt was to roll out the red carpet, but instead, the carpet was spotty in one place. Otherwise, I think this serves the job seeker community well and has advice that is worth putting into practice.

 

Here is a partial transcript:

Mark Anthony Dyson: And we appreciate you joining us back here at The Voice of Job Seekers, we thank everybody who is downloading the podcast. Hopefully, you are getting great value out of what we are sharing. Amongst all of the guest we have, today I have a very special guest. A few years ago I stumbled upon Melissa Cooley of MelissaCooley.com and she has a blog called JobQuest and I was really intrigued that her blog was a whole lot better than what I was writing at the time. Nevertheless, she reached out to me in conversation and then from that point on I think for 3 or 4 years we always had the conversation.  We have shared each other’s content and we have shared a few to follow lists. Most of all, what’s important about Melissa is that she is a resume writer also co-author of  “Nourishing Your Career.” Welcome, Melissa and thank you for joining in.    

 

Interview

Melissa Cooley: Thank you for having me, Mark.

 

Mark Anthony Dyson: This is really great because Melissa is actually a friend that I talk to her all of the time so we are going to be pretty comfortable in talking to each other and it won’t be the standard interrogation that I may perform at times. We are going to try to make this engaging and involving if you guys want to comment feel free to comment on the blog or you can send me a voicemail on my site. I have a “send a voicemail” or “use your microphone” on your computer and leave a comment or a question as well. Melissa, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

 

Melissa Cooley: I started up the JobQuest about 4 years now. It’s something that just came about because I had a loved one that was laid off during the recession and I was helping him with getting his resume together, helping him with networking, giving him tips on interviewing, and everything that goes into that. During that time, I got on to twitter and started to talk to some more...

Parental Leave and its nuances may change and possibly alter your career in some way. Who knows, maybe parental leave benefits will wane? We can’t say until we know for sure the stance our government will take. My return guest, Scott Behson parses some of what we know to date, and how parental leave is a viable option for America. Will it affect your career aspirations, plans, and goals? Probably. Listen how you can make sense of it for your career.

I hope you enjoyed the introduction this episode. I wanted to surprise you a little.

Join in on the conversation. Here’s how:

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

Today’s guest,  Scott Behson is a professor of management at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has a doctorate in Organizational Studies, and blogs at Fathers, Work, and Family. He is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Time, Wall Street Journal. He’s the author of The Working Dad’s Survival Guide: How to Succeed at Work and at Home.

Highlights:

* Scott mentions the push for a national parental leave policy. California is the first to adopt 12 or 13 years, then Rhode Island, and recently, New York

* The ideal program would allow a tax to pay into a plan. If you travel to another state that has the program, you will qualify.

* Program–it’s like disability insurance or unemployment insurance

*

E.g., “..the maximum in New Jersey that anyone could get taken

out of their paycheck in a given year is twenty-eight dollars. And it funds an insurance system where  you could take in New Jersey up to six weeks of Family leave, and you get wage replacement up to a certain amount that is paid out of the insurance funds.”

* Scott continues to say,

*

“…this is not money that comes out of an employer’s pocket just the employer has to give you the time off and you

 know to guarantee your job upon your return.”

* Under the Family Medical Leave Act–Only 60% of Americans are covered

* Why can’t we have the same level of benefits like the United Kingdom, Canada, or Australia who are similar to our culture

* Many companies see paid parental leave as a way to attract good employees while other companies don’t look at employees in the same way

Do you need coaching or instruction?

I am here for it! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page. I try to pack as much value in my newsletter to more than 1,100 people as possible. If you want to see an example of what I send out, go here.

Still conflicted with building your brand online. Have you tried defensive googling, yet? Concerned the data or the lack of data about you on Google it’s vital to your job search? Did you know the 40-hour work week is obsolete? We address all three of these questions in today’s episode.

We have two segments today I hope will improve your career. You’ll learn more about finding yourself and strengths can guide you to positive career outcomes. You should also stop looking for a 40-hour job. More on this in the show. Finally, You’ll also learn practical steps in using Google to correct, protect, and build your online presence to make yourself attracted to employers.

Join in on the conversation. Here’s how:

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

Susan is the founder and a pioneer in the online job advice space. She is the founder of job-hunt.org and is an online job search expert. Susan also owns WorkCoachCafe.com. Both are Forbes 100 Best Career Sites. She is also a Personal SEO Researcher and Writer and writes for the Huffington Post and Forbes.   I want you to hear what Susan Joyce and I talked about Defensive Googling. I invite you to listen to the conversation, then go practice what we discussed. It could be the difference between knowing your value as a job candidate and not knowing why you’re getting rejected.

Here are some of the advice Susan gives about defensive googling:

* Good bad and ugly of Googling or defensive Googling

* People used to call it vanity Googling or ego-surfing for your name

* Everyone should practice defensive googling once a week

* 100% of employers and recruiters when considering potential candidates

* Lack of information or misinformation on Google can ruin your reputation

* Lack of knowledge to employers means irrelevance, or you’re hiding something

* How often should you Google yourself? Once a week is best

* Do a private search – Chrome is best – Use the “New Incognito Window” using the dots top right and choose – Google will ignore your preference through this window

* You want to see what the world sees

* Do the other browsers: Bing, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go – Find the “Private Window” choice (See Safari browser)

* Include searches on your position

The second conversation is with Diane Phillips who is the co-author of The Job Book: Find Yourself and a Job in 30 Days. She has more than three decades of experience spanning the globe that includes working with Fortune 100 executives and corporations, Nobel Prize winners, radio and TV programming and production, school curriculum development and author. Expert in personal and professional development of executive leaders and their teams, driving impactful outcomes and systematic solutions.

Here are some of the highlights from Diane about finding yourself and the 40-hour work week: 

* The forty hour work week is obsolete and the ideal workplace

* Good work often results in more action the following weeks

* Companies and employees would benefit most wh...

 

Employers want employees and new hires to good writing skills. If you find writing a challenge, this is a good show for you. Susan Rooks, the Grammar Goddess is back to revisit the value of good business writing.

I also mention it’s National Punctuation Day and what better way and reason to celebrate it.

How important is good writing to you?Let’s discuss! You can do this in three ways:

* Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

* Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

* Send email feedback to [email protected]

NEED A HOLIDAY JOB?

In the first segment of the show, Victoria Crispo offers some holiday job search advice. She is a Career Development Expert, Manager of College and Professional Outreach at Idealist.org. I first met her as she was the Content Manager at IdealistCareers.org. IdealistCareers.org is a not only a nonprofit job board but also has good content for your job search.

More about the Grammar Goddess

Susan Rooks is the Grammar Goddess and can be found at the GrammarGoddess.com. She is a copy editor and a corporate educator. Susan traveled the world training audiences on various subjects including business writing.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

* Susan talks about manners in writing in using “please” and “thank you”–not used enough

* The misuse of commas–the Oxford comma she says is still essential–Helps guard against misinterpretation

* E.g., My heroes are my parents, Superman, and Wonder Woman vs. My heroes are my parents Superman and Wonder Woman

* Susan advocates a refresher on grammar usage. It has been since high school most people have taken a class

* Most people should stop using colons and semicolons because they are often misused

* I reference using Grammar Girl and Strunk and White, “The Elements of Style”

* Although Word grammar check helps, it covers only a fraction of grammar usage

Do you need coaching or instruction?

I am here for it! Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top of my page.