The Great Resignation. The Big Quit. The Great Reshuffle.  
Three of the many headlines describing recent labor market shifts.

If you’ve been thinking about making changes in your career, you may have decided that this a good time.

But what if feelings of overwhelm get in the way of the changes you want to make? How do you steady yourself so that you don’t stay stuck?

Or maybe this career transition wasn’t your choice. Or are you finding it more difficult than you expected. If you’re feeling a bit lost, try the simple tool below.

Significant Changes (including Career Change) Take Time  

There is no doubt that making changes in your career is demanding. For most people, it takes longer than you expect. According to  Professor Ibarra, leading researcher in the field, major career transitions typically take about three years.

Change Events and Transition Experiences May Not Be Concurrent 

Change may begin with a sudden event. A change in your health status. An unexpected layoff. A relocation because of your partner’s job.

Change event often occur in a short space of time. But the adjustment that is part of any transition typically take longer. Understanding this difference is helpful for many people in understanding what can feel very confusing.

The Benefit of Describing your Experience Specifically (even when it’s dynamic).

Changes don’t arrive one at a time in an orderly fashion. Typically career change ripples across several areas of your life. Even changes that you plan and want can be disorienting. This makes it difficult to make the choices and take the actions needed to move forward.  

Here is a simple but powerful step to try. Leia Francisco, author of Writing Through Transitions, recommends “naming the change” as a first step.

Find a personally meaningful way to describe your experience. This enables you to step back. Naming your experience not only gives you  space to reflect on and gain insight into the things that are the biggest hurdles for you, but also to see new opportunities. 

When you’re choosing a name, trust your intuition. Begin with what comes to mind. Maybe there’s an image, experience, or object that captures your experiences. 

When I worked with families relocating internationally, one phrase that clients often used to describe their experience of moving to live and work in another country was that it was like being on a rollercoaster. Ups and downs. Highs and lows.

Even though this was a shared experience, it wasn’t the same. The same description can mean very different things, even for members of the same family moving to the same place.

For one person, riding a rollercoaster describes a fun and exciting experience. But if you are someone who is afraid of heights or experiences motion sickness, you might feel terrified most of the time.

In the same way, even apparently similar career changes may be experienced very differently. Choosing a name is a way of gaining insight into your personal experience.

Explore and Revisit the Personal Meaning of your Career Change Description

As Leia and I discuss in this article, the value comes from choosing the description that makes sense to you. Your experience is influenced by many things including your circumstances, preferences, and history. 

Insight into your own experience helps you make better choices about what you need to stay the course and make progress. Naming the change facilitates this understanding.

Your experiences won’t stay the same. As you progress through your career change, check back on the names you chose earlier. You may be surprised at how the names you choose to describe your experience change over time.

The post How  to Find your Balance Again When Your Career Change Feels Out of Control appeared first on Positive Transition.

Use Story to Show your Skills and Career Accomplishments 

As we discussed last time, your can strengthen your career communication by applying story structure.

For career changers, it’s essential to share your career accomplishments in ways that make sense both in conversations and in writing. This requires more than providing information. You need to showcase your skills in credible and engaging ways. 

Many professionals are not accustomed to talking in this way about their career achievements. A story makes this easier because you can “show” rather than just “tell.” As you’ll see below, by following a step-by-step process, you can create your own career stories.

Choose a Simple Story Structure To Organize your Career Communication

Let’s begin with the most basic 3-part story structure –  beginning, middle and end. One of the ways this has been adapted specifically for careers is the 3-part structure of challenge, action, results (often described by the acronym CAR). This type of framework makes it easier to organize your information. Yet it’s flexible enough to adapt to your personal situation. 

The CAR model is often recommended as a support for interview preparation. But you can use it in a variety of career communication contexts, from in-person networking conversations to formal written career documents, such as your resume or CV.  

As you might imagine, there are other frameworks available. The five steps below combine the best of several models. The important thing is to choose a structure that makes sense for you. Make it yours by adding content from your own experience.

1. Set the Scene for your Career Story

Your first goal is to engage your readers or listeners. To get their attention, you need tell them what you will be talking about. You might think of this step as introducing them to the landscape or lay-of-the-land.

Your audience needs just the right amount of background information to help them make sense of what you are saying. They need enough information to begin to relate what they hear from you to something they already know. But not so much detail that they “switch off” and you lose their attention.

2. Beginning your Specific Career Story

Next, you share information that helps the reader or listener connect to your specific career story. How you do this will depend on your style and personal situation. Typically this is a description of a challenge, problem, or dilemma that you experienced.

Tell your audience what they need to know to understand your challenge. Choose the most important details. At this point, your audience doesn’t yet know the outcome. This element of uncertainty or suspense enables emotional connection to your story.

3. The Career Story – Middle

Once you have briefly described the problem, your next task is to tell your listeners or readers how your responded to the challenge or problem you encountered. This is the action part of the story. Challenges are often complex. You may have had to make difficult decisions. The middle may be messy and it’s important to choose the right amount of detail.

Describe how you handled the situation. This might include how you assessed and analyzed the problem, your decision-making processes, any actions you took, and how you addressed any issues that emerged.

Work-related problems are often solved by teams rather than individuals. This doesn’t mean that you can’t share this type of career story. When preparing, get clear about your personal role and what you were responsible for so that you demonstrate your skills in this type of context.

4. The Career Story – End Results

Now that you’ve described what you did to overcome the challenge or solve the problem, it’s time to bring your story to a close. Do this by sharing the results or outcomes with your audience.

What was the impact of the change you have described in your career story? Prepare by asking yourself questions about the results of the change. Who benefited? How did they benefit? How did you know? How did coworkers or managers know?

Consider describing benefits in quantifiable form where appropriate. For instance, maybe customer satisfaction increased by 21%. Or 8% fewer patients missed their clinic appointments. Maybe the project met a deadline that was in danger of being missed. The results will be specific to your situation.

5. The Difference you Made

Finish strong by connecting your career story to things that concern your audience. Don’t assume that the significance of your contribution is clear.

Help your readers or listeners “connect the dots” by stating clearly the benefits, not just for your current or previous employer, but also in the future. For example, you might initiate a discussion that relates your career story to some of the challenges prospective employers want to solve by hiring you.

Summary

Although many of the professionals I work with are highly competent, that doesn’t mean they find it easy to talk about how and why their contributions matter. Applying a story framework can help you get clear about what you want to say and how to communicate more powerfully about your career achievements.

A story approach is not just for career change situations. You can also use career stories when updating your LinkedIn profile, posting on social media, networking, or preparing for a performance or salary review. 

Taking the time to reflect and organize your information in this way build confidence. Having a solid base of unique stories helps you communicate in ways that bring your career achievements to life. 

The post 5 Simple Steps to Use Story Structure for More Powerful Career Communication appeared first on Positive Transition.

Common Challenges of Career Communication 

Doing excellent work doesn’t mean that it’s easy to talk about your career accomplishments. Your understanding of what you contribute is not enough. You need to be able to communicate it to others.

This can be challenging when you are changing direction in your career. The good news is that using story structure makes it easier to overcome some of the most common career communication challenges.

 Three challenges that career changers face are: 

1. How to choose the right information and level of detail for your audience  
2. How to communicate with people who may not “get it” because they don’t share your expertise
3. How to stand out from others with similar qualifications and experience 

Using a career story framework can help with these challenges by making it easier to: 

• Organize you information more effectively
• Engage with others
• Differentiate yourself from other candidates with similar credentials

1.  Use Story Structure to Organize Information about your Career Accomplishments 

Unless you are right at the beginning of your career, it’s likely that you have more information that you need for both your written career documents, such as your resume or CV and social media profiles, and for your career-related conversations. So how do you choose what to write or say? Story structure provides you with an already-proven organizing framework.  

Findings from recent brain research confirm what has been known for centuries. Humans are wired for story. We’ve used story to communicate and influence since pre-literate times. Some researchers have coined the term the “storytelling brain” to describe the power of story to enhance communication. 

Modern career communication requires us to get the message across in more succinct formats. Using story structure to share your career accomplishments makes it easier to do so while still being influential.  It is flexible enough to use in different contexts.

2. Use Story to Engage your Audience (even when they’re outside your career field)

A second common challenge, particularly for career changers, is that you need to communicate with people who, because they don’t share your expertise, may not “get it.” To be effective, you need to get your message across in a meaningful way. 

Say, you’re a researcher working on developing new cancer treatments. Most people won’t understand the intricacies of your work. But story structure gives you the opportunity to add the details that connect your work to something familiar when you’re sharing career accomplishments with non-experts.  

For example, journalists report on events by telling more than just the facts. They often include the story of one person’s experience. Fundraisers for famine relief tell us about the difference our donation would make to one particular child. They use the power of story to communicate at both emotional and intellectual levels.   

Applying story structure enables you to bridge different worlds. It helps you to discover ways to connect with your audience that enable listeners to engage emotionally as well as intellectually. 

3. Tell Career Stories to Stand Out from Other Candidates (with similar competencies) 

A third career communication challenge is differentiating yourself from candidates who also satisfy the job requirements. A career story is a great way to stand out if, for example, the factual information about your career looks similar “on paper” to other applicants.  

Stories are more powerful because they allow you to “show,” rather than just “tell.” What you say is more memorable if you communicate it through a specific event from your own unique experience. For instance, it’s easy to say you have leadership skills. But it’s much more credible if you share a story about a specific time when you demonstrated these skills and the difference it made. 

Using story structure strengthens your ability to communicate your career accomplishments. This approach also provides opportunities to communicate less tangible information, such as the personal qualities that influence how you work and are important for cultural fit.

In today’s ever-changing work environments even hard-earned skills may have a short life cycle. But through career stories, you can share not only your skills and abilities, but also the personal qualities and values that make a difference.  Next time, we will consider some of the story frameworks that have been used successfully by career changers and job seekers so that you can adapt them for your own use.

The post 3 Ways that Story Structure Helps Career Changers Overcome Common Career Communication Challenges appeared first on Positive Transition.

If you’re a career changer or job seeker, you’ve heard it many times — networking is the fastest way to achieve your career goals. 
Simple to say.
Easy to understand.
Not always easy to put into practice.

Prioritize Person-to-Person Connection 

When we meet someone new, we have questions in mind, whether or not we are consciously aware of them. Communication experts Lynn Waymon & Anne Baber list three unspoken questions:

• Who are you?
• Why are you here?
• How do we relate each other?  

When you first meet someone, keep these fundamental relationship questions in mind. Consider what you might share to address some of these questions and begin to build this new relationship. Don’t forget that you also have questions. What questions are at the back of your mind?

By starting with a focus on person-to-person connection, you expand the scope of beginning conversations. The questions above can help you choose what is appropriate for the situation, the audience, and your style. 

One option is to look for areas of shared experience.  Maybe the only thing you know you have in common is attending the same meeting or event. That can be your starting point for discovering other shared experiences and interests.

As a career changer, seeking new professional connections, you have an agenda. When you feel a bit nervous, it’s easy to either jump too quickly to your own agenda, or avoid it altogether, because it feels awkward. As we’ll consider next, being prepared can also help. 

Create A Schema for Your Professional Introduction 

Begin by clarifying your agenda. What are you looking for at this point in your career change? What do you hope to get from this meeting?

If you ask for help, you need to provide enough context so that the other person is clear about what you are asking for. Your professional introduction is a good first step. But this can be a challenge especially when you’re still figuring it out. It helps to have a schema on which to build. Consider preparing a message that you can adapt. Begin with a simple structure.

 Here is a “3-part template” suggested by Laura Labovich and Miriam Salpeter their book, 100 Conversations for Career Success.  

You might see this described as an elevator speech. But for some people, viewing it in this way adds unnecessary pressure. Instead, think of clear expression and not an attempt to impress. Think of it as an introduction. Keep it simple. Using a structure and filling in the blanks can help you get started.

Once you’ve written it out, speak it out loud. The purpose of your introduction is to exchange information in a way that makes continuing the conversation easier. Try it out. Notice what happens in the conversation. Adjust as needed.

When you’re changing careers, it’s likely several of your conversations will be with people outside of your industry. Keeping your language understandable by avoiding jargon is particularly important when your goal is to connect rather than create distance.

Individuals are unique and no two conversations are the same. If a template approach doesn’t work for you, consider the style of your message.

In his book How to Get a Job you Love, John Lees suggests working on a two-breath message to introduce yourself. In addition to being short – not more than two sentences – your introduction should be memorable, simple, and upbeat. Consider these qualities as ways of improving your professional introduction.

Of course human communication is a complex two-way process. Successful communication requires us to consider the context and to adapt to each person. 

Maybe you dislike the idea of preparing in this way. But taking the time to think through and practice what you might want to say will boost your confidence during career transition. When you feel prepared, you will be more relaxed. You can focus more on putting the other person at ease, and less on concerns about your professional introduction.

The post How to Introduce Yourself: Tips for Career Changers Who Would Rather Be Working than Networking  appeared first on Positive Transition.

References and Career Change 

A shortage of candidates that meet the job specifications may be good news for career changers. Employers may consider a wider range of applicants. But that doesn’t mean that they are less concerned about the risks of poor hiring decisions. When you’re changing direction in your career, your references may be even more important. 

Let’s consider some of the risks for employers. Employing the “wrong” person includes direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include the time and resources involved in the hiring process itself. There are also the costs of on-boarding, training, and delays in getting the work done. A poor-fit hire may have also have a negative impact on both team members and customers. There may also be the costs of finding a replacement. 

Different employers use different approaches and may request references at different stages in the hiring process. For example, they may ask for references for short-listed candidates. Or they may make an offer subject to satisfactory references. For some positions, additional background checks, such as security clearance, will be needed.  

Hiring mistakes are costly for both candidates and employers. By following the three steps below, you will be better prepared with the references you need to succeed. 

1.  Identify The Right People to Provide your References 

The first step is identify the people that you feel will be suitable. Employers will often specify the number of references and roles they should occupy. Typically this will include your current managers and exclude family members. 

If you’re returning from a career break, changing direction, or have changed jobs frequently it can be a challenge to choose the right references. Begin by writing a list of people that come to mind.

Consider individuals who know you and your work and have observed you in work-type situations. This could include unpaid roles. If you are not currently employed, think of former employers, coworkers, and mentors.  You may need to re-connect with them if you’ve lost touch. 

Perhaps the most important step is to always ask permission first.
While working in universities, I often got requests for references from former students.  Sometimes these requests were from individuals some years after graduating. Unless they got in touch first, the information I could provide was very limited. 

2. Prepare your References by Giving Them the Information They Need to Do A Good Job

Once you obtain permission, preparing your references is easy. You already have people who’ve agreed to support you. This is a great starting point. The question to ask yourself now is “how to help them help you.”

Like you, they probably have busy lives. Provide them with the relevant information in an easy-to-use format. This will vary with the person and the situation. 

Examples might be an up-to-date copy of your resume and role or job descriptions that you are applying for. If you are not sure, make some suggestions and ask what would be useful. 

Employers have different approaches to requesting references. Some may conduct an online survey that includes a wide range of questions to be rated on a scale. Some employers may limit their questions to factual information such as attendance record. Others may schedule a personal conversation via phone.  When possible, let them know what to expect.

3.  Keep Track and Keep in Touch 

If you are applying for different positions at the same time, you may want to request support from different people so as not to overload a single individual. Your choices may be limited by employers’ requirements. But since you will often be asked for three references, you will have some influence over the process. 

Here are some logistical questions to consider:

• Do you have their current contact information? 
• Will they be available during the time frame the reference requests will be made? 
• If your potential employer takes references by telephone, will being in different time zones require some planning?

By considering such details ahead of time, you can reduce delays to selection decisions. Whatever your situation, it’s essential that you keep in touch and have a way of keeping track of your requests. 

3 Steps to Better References: Summary

In most cases, a request for references from a potential employer is a positive step in your search for new career opportunities. Don’t assume that references are a mere formality and therefore unimportant. Include preparing your references as part of your career communication planning.

As a candidate, keep in mind that references are a formal opportunity for others to support your career. Do what you can to help them do a good job. Let the know you appreciate their efforts by updating them. Avoid the mistake of leaving consideration of your references to the last minute, or to chance. 

The post 3 Steps to Getting References that Support your Career Goals appeared first on Positive Transition.

If you want to to get better results from your requests for help with your career change, begin with the three questions below. You can’t control how people respond, but you can improve your career communication.

1. Does my Message Include the Basic Essential Information?

Ping. A new text. An unfamiliar number. No name. Probably spam. You delete it. A week later, you get an email. Did you get my text? So, it wasn’t spam after all. 

You may think you won’t make this kind of “silly mistake” in your career communication. But when you’re juggling a lot of things at once – as is typical while working on your career change –  simple errors are easy. 

Before hitting send, stop. Think of the person at the other end of your message.

What do they need to know? Are you introducing yourself for the first time? Is it some time since you’ve been in touch? If it’s someone you’re already familiar with, what is their preferred methods of communication?

As the sender of the message, you want a response. Ask yourself if you are making it as easy as possible for that to happen.  

2. What is the Best Content for my  Career Communication Message in this Context? 

You’ve heard many times that networking is the key to faster progress in your career change. But many professionals are reluctant to contact people who may be able to help either because they are not sure where to begin, or their efforts up to now are not getting the hoped-for results. 

As already mentioned it’s important to keep in mind is the type of connection you have. This is your best guide on how the shape the contact of your message. Don’t use a generic message.  

Instead, consider what your already know. Think of the people you come into contact with in your everyday life and the different contexts in which you meet and communicate. How might you communicate with a family member or work colleague that you see most days? What about someone you’re contacting for the first time? 

By reflecting on your personal experience of different types of communication in different contexts, you will make better choices about the content of your career communication messages. 

3. Have I Communicated my Request Clearly (and is it reasonable)?

Career changers often feel reluctant to ask for help. Sometimes for “good” reasons. Not wanting to be a nuisance. Being unclear about a direction. Being unsure about what to ask for or how to go about it.

And so on. We each our own list of reasons not to ask for help.  

If this resonates with you, try this. Write down some the things that you think would be helpful to you at this point in your career change. Review your list and identify the requests that are very easy for someone else to respond to. Begin there.

Typically this will be a request for specific information, such as knowing someone who works in a specific industry or profession.  Make your request specific and easy to respond to.

Begin with these types of requests and and see what happens. Not everyone will be able to assist you but you may be surprised by how helpful people often are. Don’t forget to ask if there is anything you can do in return.

Summary 

Understanding that asking for help with your career change is likely to mean faster progress doesn’t mean that you will find it easy to do. More choice in modes of communication may not make your career communication easier.

But there are simple steps you can take to be more effective in how you communicate when you are in career transition. Make it easier people who are willing to help to do so by checking that your messages include the essential information, paying attention to the context, and beginning with specific requests.

The post Don’t Send Yet: 3 Questions to Ask First if You’re A Career Changer Requesting Help appeared first on Positive Transition.

What is A Networking Resume or CV (and When Might I Need One)?

You can think of your networking resume or CV as a snapshot.  Consider it a showcase document customized for a particular purpose.

If you’ve been following this series on different career communication tools you’re already familiar with how to create and use a bio. Your networking resume or CV is a bit different. While your bio enhances your credibility by telling the story of past achievements, your networking resume or CV includes a focus on the future.  

Painting a picture of where you want to go, as well as where you’ve been in your work-life is particularly important for career changers. Even as you clarify your next steps, you need to communicate your potential to be successful in the future. This can be a challenge in the context of many unknowns. But a networking resume can help you communicate more confidently. 

How to Use A Networking Resume or CV 

When you’re making changes in your work life, the connections you have make a big difference. But many career changers need to expand the network they have. Maybe, like many professionals your network is limited. Are most of your contacts similar to you because you know them from your current employment or from the same industry?

So how can a networking resume or CV help? The best way to understand is to consider an example. You can adapt whatever might be useful from this scenario to your personal situation.  

How to Build your Connections More Easily 

Say you’re a financial professional planning to move from business to the non-profit sector. Providing evidence that you have the technical skills is straightforward. But to make a successful transition you need to demonstrate that you understand the unique challenges of the sector you want to move to. How do you do that?

The fastest way to learn is to talk to people already working in the sector. But what if you don’t have any personal connections with  the right people? You can ask for a referral. It’s likely that if you talk to friends and family, someone will be able to help. 

But it’s not enough just to identify who can help. Once you find someone who wants to help, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to do it in a way that is effective.

At this point, it’s crucial to communicate that you are not “asking for a job.” You don’t want to put your supporters in awkward positions. For now, unless requested, it’s not appropriate to send your full resume or CV. If you do, you’re more likely to get either no response, or a “sorry, no openings” response. 

But your networking resume of CV may well be useful. Since many of your personal contacts will be in different industries, their understanding of your professional work is probably limited. If you provide them with a one-page snapshot, they are in a better position to make a good referral. A quick scan of your document gives them enough information to introduce you. They also have the option of forwarding this to their contact.  

Can’t I Just Use LinkedIn (or similar)? 

LinkedIn or your other social media profiles may be an alternative. But the advantage of a networking resume or CV is that it’s customized. You can quickly change the content to prioritize what is of most interest to a known audience.

In contrast, your public LinkedIn profile is available for everyone to read. If you’re targeting more than one narrow audience, it may not make sense to be as focused as you can be in a customized document. 

In addition, a one-page document may just be what you need to differentiate yourself. You can assume that your competitors will also have LinkedIn profiles. If you are meeting in person, in a context where conversations are short, a one-page document can be a helpful way of following up an introductory conversation. 

As with all career communication, the context matters. It’s important to use your judgment as to what is the best tool for your particular circumstances. A networking resume or CV is one tool that’s worth considering, especially if you are a career changer who wants to expand your network and find out more about potential opportunities for the next phase of your work-life.

The post Build Crucial Support For a Faster Career Change: How a Networking CV or Resume Can Help appeared first on Positive Transition.

Summary: Tips for Career Changers and Job Seekers on How to Create Effective Job Proposal Letters

In the right circumstances, a job proposal letter is mutually beneficial for employers and for job candidates. But is it a good option for you? If you’re looking for creative approaches to find your next position, change direction, or advance your career, read this post to decide if a job proposal letter might help you reach your goals.  

1. What Is a Job Proposal Letter? 

Have you ever benefited from being in the right place at the right time? This is the essence of a job proposal letter. You are in a position to offer an effective solution to a specific problem that is important to your targeted employer. 

Unlike your CV or resume, designed to meet a range of requirements for a position, a job proposal letter is much more specific. When writing a job proposal letter, your objective is to make your case for a particular solution. Let’s begin by considering the essentials.

2. What are the Ingredients of An Effective Job Proposal Letter? 

Your job proposal letter should demonstrate three things:

– you understand the problem that an organization wants to address as a matter of urgency

– you have the specific skills and abilities to solve the problem and a track record of success in this area

– you communicate confidence in your solution and clearly account for the costs and benefits of your proposed solution in a way that aligns with the goals of the organization. 

If you can satisfy these criteria, a job proposal letter may be a good option for you.

As already noted, a job proposal is not some generic or vague proposal.
It requires an in-depth understanding of a specific problem and evidence that you are the “right person at the right time” to solve it. Without this, your job proposal letter won’t have the impact you want.  

3. What Are the Benefits (in comparison to traditional job search methods)?

A job proposal letter can be a way to stand out and engage directly with decision-makers. It can save time and resources for both employers and job candidates.

Some job seekers and career changers feel a lot more comfortable focusing on “the work itself.” A job proposal letter offers a way to do that.

For example, you might use a job proposal letter to advance your career or change direction within the same company. Maybe you offer specialized skills or knowledge that a company urgently needs to expand or move into a new market. In some circumstances, a job proposal letter may be an appropriate follow-up to an interview. 

Think about your personal situation. Does this sound like it might work for you?

As noted above, being “in the right place, at the right time” is a factor. But it’s not merely a matter of good luck. Sometimes it is possible to create opportunities through what your already know, your research and the connections you develop.

So what should be included in a job proposal letter?

4. What Does A Job Proposal Letter Look Like? 

Whatever your field, you’re probably familiar with developing a proposal for some type of project. Even if you haven’t written formal proposals as part of your paid work, think about personal experience that you can draw on.

If you bring to mind times in your life when you have observed a problem, offered a solution, and had it accepted you have a good starting point. Build on what you already know and create a succinct targeted proposal. 

There is no one format to follow for a job proposal letter. As with all your written career communication, it’s essential that your job proposal letter is presented with readers in mind. Show that you understand their challenges. Explain how what you offer will address their needs.

Consider how to make your communication as effective as possible for the person to whom your letter is directed. For some audiences that may be a formal written letter. For others it may be a video demonstration. 

Whatever channel of communication you choose, your message should be clear, succinct, relevant, and easy to understand. 

The post Creative Approaches to Job Search: Job Proposal Letters for Career Changers and Job Seekers. appeared first on Positive Transition.

Cover Letters and E-Notes for Career Changers and Job Seekers? -Redundant, Recommended, or Required

Career changers and job seekers often have questions about cover letters. If you’re uncertain about what to include in your cover letter, or even if you should write one at all, read this post. 

There is no single solution for all career changers.

Here are key questions to consider to help you choose the best approach for your personal situation.
Let’s begin by asking “why write a cover letter?” 

Should Career Changers and Job Seekers Write Cover Letters? If so, Why?

A cover letter is typically a brief document (not more than one page) that job applicants write to decision-makers such as hiring managers, charged with selecting the best person for the job.

As a candidate, how do you differentiate yourself from other candidates who also satisfy the requirements for the job?
A well-written cover letter is one way to achieve this. 

How To Write A Cover Letter

As with all written career communications, form and presentation matter. The format and means of sending will vary depending on the system used by the hiring organization.

You may use a traditional letter form. More often, your cover letter will be in the form of an e-note, delivered by email, or by uploading to an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). 

The content should be both customized for each position and user-friendly. As more organizations rely on automation to streamline hiring, it even more important to find ways to connect with the humans that are part of the system!

The cover letter or e-note should tell the reader right away why they should spend more than six seconds or so scanning your application. Hopefully the result of a more in-depth review is that your application is added to the short-list pile.

What can you include in your cover letter that will strengthen your case? This is the time to try to step back and consider the employers’ perspective.  As an applicant you have expertise about the job. You can do research to find out more about the company. Use what you know to make better choices about the content of your letter.

The tone of your letter is also important. This may be your best opportunity at this stage to make a person-to-person connection with key decision-makers.

Think not only about requirements for the job, but also about the soft skills that you have developed. Use specific examples to back up the assertions you make about your skills and abilities.

Read the letter aloud. Does it sound friendly? Ask a trusted colleague or friend for feedback.  

When Not To Write a Cover Letter (and When you Should)

If the job application instructions specifically tell candidates not to send a cover letter, then the decision is easy. Simply follow this direction. 

Maybe, you’ve read headlines along the lines of  “the cover letter is dead” or listened to debates about the demise of cover letters. If there are no specific instructions, should you write one?

Of course, it’s up to you.

But for most career changers and job seekers, why not? The cover letter is a unique opportunity to communicate less formally but still professionally. 

If you’ve been involved in recruitment and selection, you know first-hand the time it takes to select new employees. Hiring decision-makers are likely to be juggling this with their day-to-day work. It’s time-consuming for both candidates and for employers.

If you write a strong succinct letter or e-note, with strategically chosen content, you can make it easier for decision-makers to connect what you offer with what they are seeking.

Once you’ve take the time to write your first cover letter, subsequent letters can be quickly customized to target a specific position. The time  you spend preparing will also help you in later phases of the selection process, including interview.  

Unless the instructions specifically tell you not to include a cover letter, why not take the opportunity to potentially strengthen your application?

Better Cover Letters for Career Changers: Summary

It’s important to remember that your cover letter is but one element of your written career communication. But, it is an element that offers you more choice about the content.

As you consider what to write, ask yourself what to include that will add to your resume or CV. Avoid repeating the same information

Instead, make the most of this unique opportunity to communicate both who you are and how you can contribute. 

The post How to Write a Better Cover Letter appeared first on Positive Transition.

Presidents have biographies (bios). Famous people have bios.
So why might you as a career changer or job seeker spend time preparing your bio?
Read this post to learn how a professional bio can help you with your career goals. Create a bio that boosts your confidence and sharpens your career communication.

What is a Professional Bio? 

You may be wondering what a bio adds to your career communication. After all, you have a resume or CV. Isn’t that enough?
There are times when a bio is a better option.

For example, when you’re changing careers and seeking new opportunities, there are many situations when sending a resume is not timely or appropriate. Early on, when you are still in the research phase of your career change, it may be too soon to share a formal resume or CV. 

Your bio is less formal than your resume or CV. It’s about your work achievements. It’s also about you. It complements your resume or CV by providing a “bigger-picture” perspective of your work life.

Think of your bio as a sketch or a portrait. Many details are left out. Artists choose the details that support a particular message or experience that they want the viewer to have. Different viewers may have different experiences. That’s outside of the artist’s control. But what artist’s do influence is choosing what they want to communicate and how they execute that.

In the same way, your bio tells your story. You choose the details that best represent what you want to communicate. The challenge is to do it in a way that is brief, but feels complete. You can structure the content in different ways. Typically, it is a one-page summary document written in a narrative form that gives the reader an overview of your work and your life. 

An artist may work from a photograph of the person. The sketch or painting is derived from the “facts” of the photograph. Creating your bio is similar. It is derived from factual information about your work and life. If you’re writing your own bio, your goal is to select the “right” information.

How to Start Strong with Creating your Career Bio

Do you struggle with writing about yourself, even if you like to write? This is a common experience, and even more challenging during times of change.

There is no one way to create an effective bio. But that doesn’t mean that anything goes. Get off to a stronger start by answering the three questions below.  

1. Who is the Primary Audience for this Professional Bio?

In any communication, the secret is to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. This helps you clarify what is most likely to be of interest to your readers. It is easier said than done. But, identifying your most important reader or group of readers provides the foundation for a professional bio that is more focused and more effective. 

2. Which Elements are Most Important for My Readers?

One of the reasons that writing about ourselves is challenging that we try to generate ideas and evaluate them at the same time. One remedy is to try separating the different tasks of writing. Do you find yourself writing down your ideas and trying to edit your writing at the same time? This can slow you down and lead to frustration and feeling stuck.

Here is an approach to try. Separate writing down your ideas from editing your writing.

Begin with a list. Write down whatever highlights from your professional and personal life come to mind. Here are a few questions to jog your memory.

• What have you achieved?
• What is important to you about these accomplishments?
• What are your interests?
• What are you known for?

Make a list of your career accomplishments and personal experiences. Note down any “turning points” in your work and life.

Next, mark the information that you think is most relevant to your audience. You won’t use everything you have listed. But if you keep your audience in mind, you can feel more confident about your choices of what to include.  

3. How Can I Organize the Content to Make it Interesting and Appealing?

As mentioned above, there is no one way to present the information. Before you begin, spend 10 minutes reading some bios. Select a few that you like and ask yourself what it is that makes them work for you. Use this for inspiration. 

The structure of your bio should follow a logical order. Don’t make the reader work to figure out your message. Your goal is to make it easy for your readers to scan through and understand quickly. Like a story, it should be engaging and have a beginning, middle, and end. Your bio should help your readers feel as if they are  “getting to know you.”

The content is important. But so too is the presentation and visual appearance. Pay attention to features such as format and white space that have an impact on readers’ experience. 

Summary

You can use your professional bio to strengthen your communication. The content you include will be unique to you.

An effective bio tells readers about your professional achievements and who you are as a person. It takes time to prepare. But with this career communication tool, you can feel more confident and make better choices about what to communicate when. Once complete, you also now have content that you can readily adapt for your social media profiles.

The post How to Create a Professional Bio that Supports your Career Transition appeared first on Positive Transition.