Employer Archives - The Voice of Job Seekers

4 Ways to Market Yourself to Ensure Employability After a Career Break

Editor’s note: Today’s article is written by Jordan Perez. Her bio is below the article.

Leaving the workplace can be a hard thing, but sometimes it’s a part of life. Needs in your family arise, and you are no longer able to carry the workload you did before. Your health can deteriorate, and it becomes a full-time job to figure out what’s going on and how to heal. Other personal reasons can lead to a time of unemployment, and once those end, you find yourself starting all over again with employment.

When it’s time to enter back into the workplace, there’s a lot of insecurity and unsure about exactly how to go about that. We compiled the best four tips for marketing yourself after being out of the workplace–what to do, what not to do, and how to get back into that dream job–enjoying it more than ever before.

1. Begin to view your hours during the day as working hours, even before you’re officially employed.

Getting back into the workplace takes work. Following the next three tips will require devoted time and effort on your part. One of the best ways to get back into the workplace is to begin to treat your daytime hours as working hours.

Guard this time from family, friends, and social expectations to make sure you have the time needed to educate yourself, network, apply for jobs, and interview.

It can be hard to do this when your friends and family may still see you as available and “unemployed”, so it may require setting firm boundaries and communicating your new routine and schedule to your loved ones so that they can know what to expect and how to best support you as you enter back into the workforce.

Marketing-wise, this will get you and your schedule ready to be free and available to meet for interviews, which will communicate to your future employers that you have no time obstacles in returning right into the workforce, and that you are already disciplined with your private time, which will make you a great and productive addition to their staff.

2. Re-educate yourself and find ways to improve your skill set.

After being out of the workforce for a period, your peers and former co-workers have the advantage of measurable growth and improvement during the weeks, months, or years they have continued in their places of work while you had other obligations.

Many of them are educated and trained in the latest software, have the latest contacts, and know which conversations are the hot topics around clients and bosses.

It’s vital to refresh and sometimes re-educate yourself in what’s new and needed in your field of expertise. With the extra time you have during the day to pursue employment, you can take crash courses in all of the necessary subjects and trends to make sure you’re not only up-to-date with your peers, but maybe even a step ahead because of the extra time you have to study.

Many places offer free online courses and certifications that can be reflected on your resume. A business coach in your field is a great way to not only learn the latest trends and invest in some one-on-one advice and counsel, but it can also be a great way to network with others in your field and find out the current tips and tricks for your workplace.

3. Improve your online presence.

This age is all about technology, and whether you like that or not, your online presence could need some brushing up, updating, and improving.

First of all, take a look at your private social media accounts. If you search for your name on the web, what do you see? Chances are, depending on your privacy settings, your personal life could be accessible to future employers, and any heated opinions or discussion held could negatively affect your ability to be hired. Better to keep private life private, so take a look at your social media accounts and delete things or adjust your privacy settings.

Second, take a look at your networking sites, mainly LinkedIn, to make sure that they currently reflect who you are and your areas of expertise. List current classes or certifications completed, volunteer work done, and educational books read. Start boldly interacting with your peers, former co-workers, and even those who are friends-of-friends and people that you think you’d like to get to know.

The more interaction you give these social media sites, the more you will pop up in others’ news feeds and minds. This can have a positive impact when you next interview for a job and someone recognizes you from a social media site because of the positive contributions you’ve made to discussions and interactions. Click here for further assistance.

4. Don’t feel the need to excuse your absence, but highlight your personal development.

When interviewing or getting together with old colleagues, don’t feel a need to explain the personal reasons for your time off. In the end, you don’t owe an explanation to anyone. Instead, make sure to spend some personal time thinking through how this absence has made you into a better person and employee, and the positive impact that this time in your life has had.

Sometimes, the most valuable employee are those with the interpersonal skills and gifts that come simply through living life and making it through all the ups and downs that can come at you–including taking time off from employment. Acknowledge the good that these times have brought about in your life, and leverage them in your conversations to show that they have not only improved you but made you into an ideal employee with both work and life experience.

Entering the workplace again after time off can be unnerving and scary, but the only person is thinking negatively about all of it may just be you. Following these four steps can give you the mindset shift needed to market yourself as the experienced, helpful, and necessary employee that companies need, and land you the job of your dreams.

About Jordan Perez

Jordan Perez is a human resource expert with over 10 years’ experience helping HR managers and employees create better work relations. She’s also an avid freelance writer who has been published in online magazines and cooperate websites. When she is not engaged in HR developments, she loves hitting the road to see new places.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Cover Letter Strategies, and Don’t Trash Talk Your Employer

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Cover letters are an essential part of your job search arsenal. Without them, your story would be incomplete. Despite whether many recruiters and hiring managers don’t read them, if they are asked for or not, many expect cover letters to accompany the resume.

Debra Ann Matthews (@LetMeWriteIt4U), is the founder of Let Me Write it 4 U at jobwinningresumes.net. She is affliliated member of the National Resume Writers Association and Career Thought Leaders Consortium. Her features in CareerBuilder, Monster, and the Chicago Tribune, displays her depth of knowledge of the career space, resumes, and cover letters.

In portions of our conversation, I play devil’s advocate to help contrast what people normally think about cover letters and the way that Debra Ann offers as an effective document.Here some of the highlights that Debra and I covered:

Cover letters are a small part of our story to pique the interest of an employer to read the resume
She has clients write 3-5 things of the career to help springboard the cover letter process
Debra Ann also states that the cover letter must be focused and strategic, and help the hiring manager and the application tracking system to fill in the blanks that you understand the problems, and bring solutions to your industry
She explains using a cover letter writing strategy using the 3 C’s: The Carrot, The Corroboration, and The Close
Debra Ann emphasized that before writing the cover letter you must understand the needs of the workforce
She also that the cover letter speaks the language of the role, and demonstrate the evidence of practical success

In segment 2 of the show

I offer reasons why no job seeker should negatively and publicly talk about their boss. I provide two scenarios that the person or a close friend could be an influential factor if you should be the one venting. Here are the scenarios:

My theatre professor was quite eccentric. He was very much into taking risks, and liked students to call him “Marvin.” I liked him, and gave me opportunity to do my thing in class, although I was the least talented actor. His introduction to us was acting like us, while sitting among us while the rest of speculated.

“He’s fifteen minutes late!”

“Who is this guy?”

“What does he look like?”

One person was more concern about the waste of money he was paying for the class (after all, the semester was only 16 weeks long).

Fortunately, none of us slandered him or said anything inappropriate but to think that the opportunity was there. Marvin bearded, long thin build, and looked like Kenny Loggins (add round spectacles and 20 pounds less).

In the next scenario, this is an excerpt from a note that a friend/client sent about how my point rings true:

“…talking about your old boss especially with people you don’t know will kill your job chances. Went out with friends, woman joined us and talked trash about her current boss. That trash talker had filled out an application for an opening we currently have at our company. Her application was great. Had planned to meet with her to actually offer her the job today! Emailed her last night and canceled the interview. She still doesn’t know I was in that group of ladies at the lunch.”

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Meghan Ivarsson

13 Keys to Write a Carefully Crafted Cover Letter

When crafting a cover letter one has to be perfect and to the point as what is reflected in your cover letter should get you the job you are applying for. Ensure the cover letter is clear, grammatically correct, concise and error free. Here are cover letters writing tips that will make you stand out from the crowd.

1) Attach a cover letter with each resume sent out

It’s always good to send a cover letter even if not requested by the employer. Your cover letter may make the difference between obtaining a job interview and having your resume ignored.

2) Target your cover letter

Check out the job posting and list the criteria the employer is looking for and make a comparison with the skills and experience you have. From there you are able to address your skills and qualifications that match the job description.

3) Provide quality evidence of your qualities

Pick out the top most qualities the employer is seeking in their job specification that you most likely posses and include in the resume.

4) Write a custom cover letter

Writing a custom cover letter at times can be time-consuming but in the end, the cover letter will show the hiring manager at a glance why you are the best person for the job as skills and experiences are included.

5) Start from a cover template

Use a cover letter template s a starting point which will help you create your own personalized cover letter a cover templates helps you take little details and fix them in your own personal letter.

6) Don’t rehash your resume

The cover letter should go hand-in-hand with your resume, therefore expand your resume the highlights of your background in relation to the job you are applying for should match.

7) Write simple and clearly

Make the first paragraph clear enough to sell you to the job. Write short and targeted letters that the employer can read and get what type of personality you have. Each letter should be one page or less and short paragraphs maintained. Finish the last paragraph with a call to action, request the hirers to contact you for an interview.

8) Relevant and brief

Ensure your cover letter draws the recruiter’s eye to relevant experience on attached resume and give him or her a positive picture of you. A brief and a straight to the point cover letter is an advantage as it will not take the managers much time knowing the type of person you are in just few words.

9) Personalize your letter

Write your cover letter and address it to the individual in charge of hiring. The individual is able to go through your cover letter and by reading it he/she will know what you really are targeting.

10) Use email for cover letters

Include cover letters in the mail and keep the message short. Send as attachment when the employer has requested for one. As sometimes cover letters are the ones preferred by the hirer.

11) Spell check and proofread

Ask someone to read your correspondence before sending it out. The other person can take note of important mistakes and correct you. It’s not always easy to note our own mistakes.

12) Sign the letter

Provide a signature at the bottom of your cover letter. This shows a strong signal for authenticity. The cover letter is the only paper needed to be signed.

13) Review cover letter samples

Take time to review cover letter samples that will enable you get ideas for formatting and content. Check to ensure that your letter explains how your skills relate to the criteria listed in the job posting. Reviewing other peoples cover letters will give you a guide on how to better your cover letter.

What challenges you writing cover letters? Let us know in the comment section.

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About Meghan Ivarsson

Meghan is a recent graduate and a freelance writer for Scholar Advisor, an educational portal that contains useful tips on essay format and styles, essay samples and writing guides. She regularly contributes article on education and career advice. Meghan lives and studies in the USA.