Blog - Carolyn Smith

Is your resume littered with meaningless clichés?

February 29, 2016 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

Over 13 or more years, I’ve reviewed thousands of resumes. Most average, many tragic and one or two that stand out and really sell a client. questions_to_ask_potential_employees

One thing the majority of resumes contain however is cliché’s. Some wording is so prevalent and over used that they have become trite, irritating and meaningless to readers (HR and Recruiters). Take these few examples:

Excellent written and oral communication skills
Punctual & Reliable
Results-oriented

Now there is nothing wrong with this list, they are all excellent qualities, but they are used to such an extent across the majority of resumes, they have lost any significance and meaning. [Read more…]

How your name on your resume can impact on your interview success rate

February 22, 2016 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

resume

Is it racism? Is it insecurity over not being able to pronounce a name, or is it employer’s aversion to risk and cultural diversity? Whatever the reason, like the United States and Canada, job applicants in Australia, find it easier to get an interview if they have an Anglo-Saxon name, according to research from The Australian National University.

A study, conducted by Professor Alison Booth and Professor Andrew Leigh from the Research School of Social Sciences, in conjunction with researcher Elena Varganova, sent out over 4000 fake CVs to employers in response to job advertisements in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. [Read more…]

Are you a wiz at job interviews?

January 19, 2016 by Carolyn Smith 2 Comments

Most of my clients are not in the least bit concerned about job interviews. While a few clients are nervous or apprehensive, or do understand that they are weak at job interviews; most clients don’t feel like they need to invest in job interview coaching.

Yet, if you talk to recruiters, or those within human resources, most people don’t present that well in interview (including executives). The reality is most candidates don’t specifically focus on the exact needs of the employer, fail to adequately research and prepare (and no, scanning the website of a company is not research), and don’t adequately sell what they offer.

From my perspective, I think the primary reason why most job candidates don’t perform as well as they could, is because they misunderstand the true purpose of a job interview. While there is a mutual understanding that a job interview is about finding the right skills match, most candidates fail to understand that the other primary purpose of the interview is about making the right connection, whether entry level or executive.

[Read more…]

How to write an effective job description for your resume

November 17, 2015 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

Most people write lousy resumes. Even if you think your resume is just fine, trust me, you are leaving a lot on the table in terms of how you can effectively present yourself.

Apart from the top 4 resume mistakes, I see in my inbox everyday, (poor formatting and presentation, lack of targeting, not a sufficient focus on achievements and less than stellar content), what is also striking for me, is that most people misunderstand the role of the job description within a resume. So in this week’s article, I’m going to list some common mistakes and show you how to fix these in your own resume.

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Why the easy convenience of job boards, can result in the hardest job search journey

November 2, 2015 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

Australian’s have an addiction to job boards.

If you talk to the bulk of job hunters, the only vision, or method they use when finding a new job, is to go straight to a job board, quickly search online for jobs that look like a ‘possible fit’ and then start submitting their resume and cover letter. Then they wait…. don’t hear anything, or get rejection letters, so submit some more applications via the job boards and then wait…

I think our addiction to job boards is that they are ‘so easy to use’ and the promise of the perfect and highly lucrative job beckons us.

In the meantime, in the land of ‘job search coaches’, we try to drown out the message emanating from job boards and their effective and easy sell about securing your dream job at the press of a button. We spend a good portion of our time advocating alternative strategies, such as direct job search campaigns, networking, researching opportunities, optimising, LinkedIn (to name a few methods).

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Building resilience during the job search

October 6, 2015 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

I often receive emails from very distressed job seekers that are at their ‘wits end’, because they are not making progress with their job search.

Now if you are a regular reader, I’ve never hidden the fact that job hunting can ‘suck like a vacuum cleaner’. Rejection is usually a fact of life and while a professional resume can significantly improve the odds of success, you can still potentially face rejection.

Now, how you cope with this rejection will depend on how you ‘frame the rejection’. Over the years I’ve come to realise that some people are more resilient than others and in today’s article, I’m sharing some of those characteristics that those with greater resilience possess.

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Why having an online presence is becoming increasingly important as a job hunter.

September 21, 2015 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

The bulk of my clients fall into 2 categories – those that have embraced social media, including LinkedIn and those that have deemed social media as irrelevant and a ‘waste of time’.

Now if you fall into the latter category and you don’t have an online presence and you are a professional, manager or executive, this could increasingly become a liability to progressing your career. Let me explain.

Being online matters for the following reasons:

[Read more…]

Is your resume littered with meaningless clichés?

How your name on your resume can impact on your interview success rate

Are you a wiz at job interviews?

How to write an effective job description for your resume

Why the easy convenience of job boards, can result in the hardest job search journey

Building resilience during the job search

Why having an online presence is becoming increasingly important as a job hunter.

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