To each of you
Who said, “you can’t”
To each who said, “you won’t”
To the one who said, “It cannot be done”
To all who said, “there’s no way”
I thank you
For
I can
I have
And I WILL
There is not much greater than a sincere challenge for one who has a will and finds a way to use it; with extreme determination.
RRR
8/24/91
Inspiring & Empowering YOU to live YOUR BEST LIFE!
I spent the majority of my day teaching my seventeen year old son about Job Hunting, Resume Writing, Interviewing, & Salary Negotiations. He has been dreading the day he will graduate (this June) as he knows that he will be required to start work soon thereafter.
As we went through the various salaries and options, I could see the ‘lights’ go on in his head. We ran through the numbers of minimum wage, then $10 per hour & $15 per hour. As we calculated weekly and monthly salaries – he was clearly getting excited at how much money he could be making in a short period of time.
We also covered over-time and how it is paid at time+1/2, benefits (who pays what percentage), comp time, and employer paid schooling.
Then it was “how do we get there”. I explained that employers pay more for skills and likeability in today’s job market and are more willing to train (to a point) in regards to the actual position. I also explained how to detail skills on his resume.
We started by making a detailed list of all tools he has worked with, all machines (including those used in his household chores over the past 5 years), all computer skills and computer programs he has had experience with. WOW – he had no idea he had so many important skills! He has been fortunate enough to have worked for a couple of employers part-time, so we began his resume by listing those positions and then expanding on the skills area to include the many skills he has that most employers would find useful to their organizations.
Next we covered the cost of living expenses 1) If he were to move out and live on his own, and 2) If he were to stay here at home and pay rent etc. We covered things like: Rent (if alone and/or with roommate), Heat, Cell Phone, Car, Insurance, Food, Gas, Auto Maintenance, Entertainment etc. We detailed the approximate cost of each in both scenarios so that he could quickly see where his hard-earned dollars would be going and how quickly.
When we were finished he was excited to move forward to building his future. We also discussed College & whether or not to attend now, or after working for a few years first (which I highly advise) in order to ‘get his feet wet’ prior to deciding where he might like to further his education and work experience.
After wrapping up our discussion (I had one excited Son!), I was reflecting upon all that we had discussed and thought — I sure wish I’d have had someone explain all of this to me when I was his age…
I encourage you to spend time with your teenager(s) and ‘show them the numbers’. Here is a quick simple calculation you can use to get a general idea of Salaries for them.
Hourly wage X Hours (40 Hours per week) = Weekly Gross Salary
Weekly wage X 4.2 (average number of weeks in a month) = Monthly Gross Salary
Simple Budget: Add up Average MONTHLY Rent Cost (we figured for a studio apartment – currently about $750 per month in our area, and for a two-bedroom apartment/shared with roommate) vs $ Rent to Stay At Home + Heat + Car Payment or Maintenance + Auto Insurance + Gas + Groc/Food + Cell Phone + Entertainment.
I believe that in showing your teen the actual numbers in these calculations, it is much easier for them to form a good ‘picture’ and plan for their future.
Many Blessings,
RRR
Social Media is truly all about Relationships. One of the biggest mistakes I see continually on many Pages/Platforms is too much ‘self-promotion’ and not enough relationship building.
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn etc. are fantastic ways to get your Business ‘out there’ and let people know what you are all about. However, if you are not genuinely engaging with your clients/customers on a daily basis, and showing your ‘social media audience’ that you truly care about THEIR wants/needs – you are quickly going to get ‘lost in the shuffle’.
We are all daily bombarded with advertising – just about everywhere we go, somebody is trying to sell us something. So if you are treating your Social Media Pages strictly like an advertising platform – you are going to be hidden in the news feeds rather quickly and/or ‘dis-connected’ from your potential customers/clients. This results in ‘shooting yourself in the foot’ so to speak as your efforts can end up being a waste of your valuable time.
The main key to remember when using all Social Media is that it is not about YOU nearly as much as it is about THEM. If you keep in mind that Social Media is about Building Relationships (not selling) and you strive to post content that is of value to your ‘audience’ – you will fare much better in promoting your Business.
It has been proven that the best ‘rule of thumb’ for posting on Social Media is to go by the 80/20 rule (80% of your results will come from 20% of your actions). Strive to post content of value to your ‘audience’ (aka potential clients/customers) at least 80% of the time. Answer their comments and questions on your posts within 24-48 hours and engage with them regularly. Actual promotion of your Business should be kept at a 20% minimum – and again, all comments/questions from your audience should be responded to within a 24-48 hour time frame. This will keep your audience engaged, (relationship building) and establish a trust between you and them. As you continue to build the relationships and gain the trust of your audience – they will share your content and posts willingly, which in turn helps in building and ‘advertising’ your Business for you.
Examples: If you are running a Construction/Renovation company, then 80% of your posts on Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) should be tips/tricks in Home/Office Renovations. If your company provides Office Support Services – 80% of your posts should be Tips/Ideas to help out those seeking your services.
Since RRR Consulting & Publishing is about motivating others and helping them succeed at all levels you will see us post many different types of tips/tricks/success tips/motivational quotes & videos about 90% of the time. You can ‘follow our lead’ at: https://www.facebook.com/rrrconsultingnpublishing.
Having worked with many of the Top Companies in the Seattle area, off and on for approximately 25 years now. I can tell you what it takes to get you in the door, and what the Employers are looking for, as many of them have hired me to do their internal recruiting. I have also written literally thousands of Job Descriptions and researched hundreds of position Salaries.
Some things that many Hiring Professionals may not tell you are:
We get 150 – 300 resumes per position advertised with up to 600 applicants at times. When hiring – many Hiring Professionals will take a 5 second (YES –that is 5 SECONDS) scan of your resume. If we do not see within that first scan the skills that show us “can you do the job I am hiring for” – your resume is thrown into the ‘no’ pile and generally not looked at again. Once we see if you can do the job the second glance is to “stability” – how long on any given job – are you stable or do you move around a lot from job to job. After reviewing those two things, if we are satisfied with what we see we will ‘dig’ further into necessary qualifications such as Schooling and/or Certifications.
Without a quality resume that shows an Employer right up front – that you can do the job you are applying for – you will not be called in for an interview. Hiring is very time consuming, and the more of a Hiring Professional’s time it takes in having to ask questions, or dig (aka; read all day) to find the necessary information – the less likely we are to do it. We will simply move on to the next candidate.
Another big mistake I see on many resumes is that many people ASSUME that you know what they did because of their Job Title. Unless you are being reviewed by a 10+ year hiring professional and they have dealt with thousands of Job Descriptions, most of those checking your resume have no clue what you did based on your Job Title alone. It is imperative in this highly competitive job market that you detail your skills and leave nothing to question on your resume and cover letter. Some companies are still using strict ‘old-school’ or OCR databases to do all the screening for them, so if you do not have your skills spelled out in detail – you more than likely will not be picked for an actual person to review your resume.
Forget the ‘fluff n stuff’… a large majority of individuals lean heavily on the fact that they have many accomplishments, and or hold several Degrees. Oftentimes Hiring Professionals are leery of such information as it appears that individuals may be trying to “dazzle them with BS” so to speak. Therefore, things such as; Volunteer activities, Hobbies, Major Accomplishments, etc. should not be on a resume. Any information of this nature pertinent to the job you are applying for (such as being stated in the job qualifications in the job add or job description) should be stated in the Cover Letter, otherwise it is irrelevant, may hinder you more than help you, and should be left out completely.
A mistake I see quite a bit in Job Hunting is that many are using sites like www.monster.com and www.careerbuilder.com as their sole sources of job hunting. Not good. Here is why: It can cost an Employer between $300 – $700 PER ADD (30 days), PER POSITION to advertise their positions. On sites such as www.worksource.com and www.craigslist.org it is MUCH CHEAPER to advertise for open positions – especially if you have several to fill.
Also, many individuals think that by simply putting their resume online – the jobs will come to them. Not true. All employers EXPECT you to come to them for any valid position online. Therefore, they post the jobs and wait for the resumes to come to them. The great thing about monster and careerbuilder is that you can create job searches specific to your skill set – those work quite well as long as you create SEVERAL of them and not just one specific to any ONE Job Title. You are also able to apply directly for positions listed on those sites once you have uploaded your resume, that too is a good thing. I suggest that you use all avenues/websites available and apply frequently for the positions that fit your skill set. However do not think that by posting your resume (which I recommend you post it as ‘private’ and not ‘public’) that the employers are going to come to you.
Another aspect is that often times many positions are miss-posted on ALL the job sites. It is difficult sometimes for an employer to find a good match in a job category in order to post an advertised position, and therefore you might find a mechanic job under non-profit because it is being posted by a Non-Profit Company. You must look in several different categories and/or create various searches in order to find a valid position – not simply the one specific to your desired Job Title.
The bigger mistake overall however, one that I see on a daily basis, is generally in how the resume and cover letter are set up. Many years ago I created two resume formats that have worked for every individual who ever used them. Both are easy to read and the information necessary in finding a given job is presented properly.
Today, there are so many resume programs out there and faulty formats that leave so many people wondering what it is they are doing wrong in finding a job. I know, because every time I hire for someone I see literally thousands of poorly written resumes that do not describe even a portion of what a person is qualified to do. Not to mention some of the firms out there charging people for those same faulty resumes. I am hoping that by sharing this information I can help empower people and direct them to the job they are looking for.
Some general Resume rules to follow:
1. Detail your skills
2. Put Education at the bottom of the resume – not at the top
3. An objective is not necessary and seldom read on a resume – instead incorporate
your summary or objective in your Cover Letter – don’t put it on your resume
4. Go back no more than 10 years (usually 6 years is plenty)
5. Keep Resume to 1 page for General Labor, General Office etc. Two to three pages for Professional/Executive Positions
6. Do not put references on your resume – have them prepared on a separate page and ready to present only when asked for them
If you would like more information, or need help in creating a quality resume and cover letter, do not hesitate to contact us at rrrconsulting@q.com.
Many Blessings,
Robin R. Robbins
President/CEO/Executive Business Management Consultant & Business Coach
Mentor/Personal Development Coach, Social Media Mgr
RRR Consulting & Publishing
PH: 206-778-5509
Email: rrrconsulting@q.com
WebSite: http://www.rrrconsulting-publishing.com
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robinrrobbins
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