Tips on writing your Skills and Achievement Based CV (ABCV) by Mike Kelley at First Impressions

Conducting a job search is like marketing and selling a product — with YOU as the product. The best way to market yourself is to go through this sales sequence. In sales you have the “Features and Benefits” of the service or product provided. When selling yourself these can be communicated as your “Skills and Achievements”. Continue reading →

(Percussion sounds emanating from who knows where while you listen to the cadence of the words below.)

It’s time to sell yourself.

May the words light up the way.

It’s now your chance to shine,

And it’s soon gonna be your day.

So make sure you show them

All the many things you can do.

It’s now your chance to shine.

With a resume just for you. Continue reading →

How long has it been since you last had to search for a new job? These days it’s not at all unusual to change careers or jobs several times in a lifetime. The idea of retiring from the same company after a lifetime of service is much less a reality in today’s world than it was a couple of decades ago. The likelihood of unexpectedly losing your job is greatly increased today due to a number of different factors such as corporate downsizing, technological evolution, and globalization just to name a few.
Continue reading →

As a job search tool your Resume is your main calling card. It explains who you are and what you have to offer. Your Resume is your best chance to make a first impression. An exceptional Resume will help you Stand Out from the crowd. A solid, well-crafted Resume will get you interviews. That’s the Resume’s job – to get you the interview! The professional Resume Writer’s task, in creating that Resume, is to present and sell your skills, abilities and experience in the most professional and appealing way! Continue reading →

Anyone who is a jobseeker knows that looking for a new job or career is a job in itself. Once you have completed the laborious task of writing your resume and submitting it to various companies, you now have to pass the screen test to get the job. Interviews are the gateway to landing your ideal job. These five tips will help you get own your way to making that job yours. Continue reading →

There’s a certain courage required to hear your gut. To really be true to how you are feeling. And that is never more important than in your career. Sometimes people feel that they are not completely happy. At other times they might have a sense of distance from the business or organisation they are in. Continue reading →

More and more people are calling it quits to successful careers to create some personal leisure time or to pursue another career. This trend is becoming more popular and common. Years ago few people voluntarily quit a job midway through their careers, no matter how unhappy they were. It was not acceptable to leave one job without having another job to go to. There was a stigma present that you were damaged goods if you did so. Continue reading →

Hunting for a position in a new career field? Trying to take your new education or skills and transform them into a job with a future?

I’ve spent the last few weeks working in a placement service trying to help people find that first “career” job; trying to help them make the transition from student to employee. I see the same mistakes over and over again. Here are a couple of things to be aware of as you search for that fresh start. Continue reading →

There are several ways to work from home. Some of the more popular ways are affiliate programs, direct marketing and starting your own business. However it is also possible to find employers who hire people to work at home in various postions such as telemarketing, sales, teaching, freelance writing, etc. I have spent countless hours online searching for work at home jobs and even started a community to list the job leads I have found. (http://www.real-home-employment.com) Continue reading →

We often use the phrase, “Get Your Feet Wet” when we are just beginning to learn how to do something or are about to pioneer a new initiative. When we participate in a project for the first time, there is usually a hesitancy to step out into the unknown.

There’s no better way to learn than by doing. This requires that we move away from our comfort zones and step out into the unknown, which usually exceeds our reach and makes us stretch to get it. Continue reading →