Articles - The Voice of Job Seekers

How to Identify and Create Your Career Voice

Many job seekers lack a voice in his or her job search for many reasons. Whether he or she lacks confidence, or afraid of rejection, employers will not hire a person who lacks an identity. This is not your voice box or your vocal chord. This is your identity.

Your resume will lack a target, results, and accomplishments without it. Your interviews will not unveil any true depth of knowledge or competency. Your network will not know the opportunities you want.

Most people write their resumes, or respond to interview questions without their own voice. Yes, you can read many articles, and listen to a lot of advice, but without your unique voice, it’s hard to get hired.

That is why you must create your voice. The one in the making for many years.

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There are several things needed for this creation, and keep in mind, we are not talking about a physical voice…yet:

1) Patience

It takes time to create a voice for your job search and your career journey. Whatever that distinct message that comes from you will have a pattern that evolves from experiences molded from your victories, trials, and travels to and from the unknown.

2) Knowing your range

We don’t know our limits, but we understand our skill set limitations. Just think of singing voices and each person has a different range. Mick Jagger didn’t have to have Jackie Wilson’s voice to be successful, but he had to be the best Mick Jagger possible.

Your voice must be distinct in order to accomplish your career goals.

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3) Your voice is in everything you do

I read and re-write resumes that have no voice. The person has obviously either 1) have regulated him or herself to the job descriptions given to them over the years or 2) he or she wrote whatever another person dictated. That’s why you may be the one whose resume sounds like small booklet of clichés:

” A dynamic and enthusiastic engineer with a proven track record…”

“An excellent and proactive change agent…”

“A proven leader who is an authority…”

If you want to be remembered, you must be identifiable and stand out:

“Thrived as a roll-up-my-sleeves, hands muddied, but conscientious floor supervisor who would rather show than tell.”

Do you think this guy stood out from the crowd? You bet he did.

4) What you don’t say

Your actions say so much more than what your physical voice does. Your online reputation is a great example of how your voice is everything you do. You don’t have to remind people of who you are and what you represent. It is reflected in the search results.

5) Choice of words

Using words and phrases that use profane or caustic language tell a lot about people. If you constantly offend or alienate others by your words, then that is whom you are. The proverb, “What a man thinketh, so is he” comes from the same moral and philosophical place our choices originate. If you want to change the results and the repercussions of your words, you have to change your thinking.

If you fail to create a voice for your job search and your life, it will be difficult to enhance the quality of your career journey. Do you have a career voice? What do you want it sound like? If you need help, let me know.

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by Mark Anthony Dyson

All of the Web Is Your Resume

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have
their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts…

William Shakespeare

Adapted from, “As You Like It”

The voice for your career should be reflected on the web as much as it does on paper albeit your resume or job application. Employers want to know who are they hiring, and less is more is a broader stroke than we all think. Understanding and applying this only boosts your chances and projects your professional image positively. It may enlarge your presence in real life. Who wouldn’t want to benefit?

There are many ways to think about your web presence along with analogies to uphold the thinking that all of your profiles need cohesive:

The voice for your career should be reflected on the web as much as it does on paper albeit your resume or job application. Understanding and applying this only boosts your chances and projects your professional image positively. It may enlarge your presence in real life. Who wouldn’t want to benefit?

There are many ways to think about your web presence along with analogies to uphold the thinking that all of your profiles need cohesive:

It should be one book with several chapters

Many professionals don’t know whom they are and unsure of what they deliver. I could say a confused brand, but I want to be plain.

You know when a songwriter is in trouble is when they put a whole song together that sounds like a previous record by another artist, especially a well-known hit. George Harrison wrote “My Sweet Lord,” but ultimately the court ordered Harrison to pay royalties for his plagiarized use of copying the melody to “He’s So Fine” by the Chiffons. That’s what happens to professionals who wrestle with “how” and “who” they portray in writing his or her social profile. It’s not entirely your song when half belongs to someone.

An artist considered a one-hit wonder releases follow-up songs and remixed songs of their one-hit. No one is interested anymore in the follow-up song, you know, the one that is more of the same. Don’t you do this with your web resume as it inspires disinterest?

By the way, everyone has a right to make money any way he or she can, right?

Each online profile is a chapter with different points that point to the same person.

Online profiles are one story as each has a chapter of different lengths

It shows in their branding statements, elevator pitches, and anything else that requires more than a sentence or shorter than 140 characters.

Let’s not be lazy–here some questions you should ask yourself:

1) What will you deliver day one, before orientation and training

There are many ways to ask that question, but this way puts your experience in perspective. It is a separate question than, “What will you bring after training?”

2) What should we expect from you?

Give people an opportunity to decide if they like your message. Like-minded users will follow if it’s clear what you will offer. I hope you offer value.

3) How specific is your advice?

Why not answer each person with detail? Are you hiding something? Are you selling something? No one embraces shallow, one-trick pony answers.

It’s like the bible. That’s 66 people telling about one person, but from different perspectives (we can argue later about the who and what)

If you listened to the podcast a couple of weeks ago, Hannah Morgan stated as I agreed personal and business lines merged. Your web resume should have a little personality with a lot of substance. You choose how you want to display it and layer it.

What are you like in person? Do we have to do this darkened distant dance where I keep wondering who and what you are?

All of the web is your resume, and employers are just players. At least until they are looking to fill the next position.

It should be one book with several chapters

What I see are torn professionals who don’t know who they are and unsure of what they deliver. I could say a confused brand but I want to be plain.

You know when a songwriter is in trouble is when they put together a whole song that sounds like a previous record by another artist, especially a well-known hit. George Harrison wrote a lyrically beautiful “My Sweet Lord,” but was sued and ordered to pay royalties for “He’s So Fine” by the Chiffons. That’s what happens to professionals who wrestle with “how” and “who” they portray in writing his or her social profile. It’s not entirely your song when half belongs to someone.

A small tangent, one-hit wonders release follow-up songs and remixed songs of their one-hit. No one is interested anymore in the follow-up song, you know, the one that is more of the same. Don’t you do this with your web resume as it inspires disinterest.

Each online profile is a chapter with different points that points to the same person.

Online profiles are one story as each has a chapter of different lengths

It shows in their branding statements, elevator pitches, and anything else that requires more than a sentence or shorter than 140 characters.

Let’s not be lazy–here some questions you should ask yourself, and please be as specific as possible

1) What will you deliver day one, before being orientated and trained

There are many ways to ask that question, but this way puts your experience in perspective. It is a separate question than, “What will you do once you are trained?”

2) What should we expect in following you?

Give people an opportunity to decide if they are interested in your message. Like-minded users will follow if it’s clear what you will offer. I hope you offer value.

3) How specific is your advice?

Why not answer each person with detail? Are you hiding something? Are you selling something? No one is impressed with shallow, one-trick pony answers.

It’s like the bible. That’s 66 people telling about one person but from different perspectives (we can argue later about the who and what)

If you listened to the show a couple of weeks ago, Hannah Morgan stated as I agreed that personal and business lines are blurred and have merged. Your web resume should have a little personality with a lot of substance. You choose how you want to display it and layer it. As long as you are not egregiously overwhelming the web with agenda or personal TMI (too much info).

What are you like in person? Do we have to do this darkened distant dance where I keep wondering who and what you are?

All of the web is your resume, and employers are just players.

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by Mark Anthony Dyson

4 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Make Good Hires for Employers

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Sandra Tedford (@wetalktoday) and I talk about why large companies should use entrepreneurs in their hiring. Many large companies shun entrepreneurs for many reasons but in cases where a small business provides opportunities to use a range of skills sets, it would be practical to hire he or she to work with the larger company.

In this conversation, Sandra and I discuss how she has been used to help companies set up their digital marketing plans and more. Her clients have used her in other ways such as, to consult in hiring personnel, pitching ideas and landing contracts with Fortune 500 companies, and roles directly affecting the direction of her client’s companies. Sandra offered five reasons that entrepreneurs are good hires:

1) Understand the big picture. Entrepreneurs on a smaller scale developed vision for their companies and understand how difficult it is to reach a goal. We talk about how the entrepreneur will need to earn trust and concentrate on delivering value.

2) Victories are short lived. You are as good as your last success and that you can never become comfortable. Learning and mentoring should be a large part of the experience, and his or her career planning be more strategic.

3) Passionate about the business. Although passion is essential, nor the only attribute, but it does attract the employer. Employers can sense if the entrepreneur is excited about sustaining an interest for the duration of the job.

4) Understand the Value of Relationships. This is a very useful and valued asset especially if that is not the strength of the employer or manager.