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resume tips

Are You a Dissatisfied Employee? 10 Ways to Start Your Job Search Now

According to a 2018 survey, 49 percent of American workers are dissatisfied with their jobs; but another survey found that only 29 percent of employees plan to leave their jobs in the next 12 months. Are you one of the 49 percent of dissatisfied employees who has not yet started looking for a new job?

If you are a dissatisfied employee, here are 10 things you can do to start your job search now:

  1. Keep a brag book of your accomplishments—if you are proud of something you did at work, if someone compliments you, or if a team you worked on received kudos, you have an entry for your brag book.
  2. Track the numbers—how much time, money, or other resources did one of your actions save; how much has your company grown since you were hired; how many people do you supervise?
  3. Gather examples—depending on the job you are seeking, you may need case studies, examples of writing, examples of web designs, specific testimonials, or similar items.
  4. Re-examine your skills—your skills may fit you for positions you never considered before; start looking at job descriptions and advertisements to see where your skills (not only your job title) might lead you.
  5. Close up any skills gap—now is the time to take courses, whether in your company or outside, that would prepare you for being hired elsewhere.
  6. Reconnect with your network—you may want to renew your membership in professional or industry meetings or meet with former coworkers, both good sources for job leads.
  7. List what you like and what you dislike about your current job—you want your next job to be a better fit, but that can only happen if you honestly evaluate the job you have now.
  8. Rank what is important to you—are you more interested in more flexible work hours or higher pay or more opportunities for advancement?
  9. Update your resume—is your resume as current as it could be or have you let it lapse for years?
  10. Talk to a professional resume writer and career coach—make sure you and your resume are set up for 21st century job seeking.

Robin’s Resumes® has decades of experience helping dissatisfied employees take the first step toward a job that fulfills them. Contact us today.

Stand Out in a Good Way: 6 Resume Tips

You want your resume to stand out from the hundreds of others that a recruiter or hiring manager sees each day. Here are 6 resume tips to make yourself memorable—in a good way.

  1. Very clearly state upfront what type of position you are interested in and what you have achieved in the past that would be valuable for a new employer. That means your headline (for example, HR Consultant or Vice President of Sales) and your summary must be targeted for the positions and industries you are most interested in.
  2. If leadership roles aren’t available to you in your current position, take on leadership in a nonprofit or professional organization. Show that you have soft skills such as mentoring, communicating, developing strategy, and following through on a project that have value to any organization.
  3. Add to your professional credentials by taking a course, especially one that results in certification. In-house training definitely counts. Even better, give a course or fulfill a speaking engagement. If you aren’t sure of your speaking skills, join Toastmasters or a similar group.
  4. Develop relationships with individuals in other departments in your organization or with vendors and consultants. The ability to break down silos, share information across specialties, and participate in ad hoc teams is one that most organizations appreciate highly.
  5. Help a customer. You might help by re-writing instructions so they are more intelligible, by championing a customer’s issue, by finding a solution to problems customers present over and over to your current company—there are lots of ways to help customers that may not even involve direct customer contact.
  6. Think in terms of numbers. Sales people are used to presenting their achievements as units sold or dollar amounts received or ranking against other sales people. But numbers occur everywhere. Perhaps you completed a project on time (how fast?), under budget (by what amount?), with a team (how many people?), despite previous failures (how many others tried?), and benefited customers (how many?).

When your resume is focused and achievement oriented, shows off your soft skills, and provides detail, you become an individual rather than one of many job applicants. Are you having difficulty writing a resume that follows these 6 tips? Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.