FEATURED - Debra A. Matthews (Premier Resume Writer / Coach)

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Debra Ann Matthews  Founder / Career Coach, Resume Writer Mock Interview and Development Coach at Let Me Write It For You: Job-Winning Resumes and Career Services

Stan: Debra please tell me about yourself and your services.

Debra: I work with motivated job seekers and career changers who may need a variety of services ranging from coaching, job interview assistance, career research, cover letters, statements of qualifications, resumes, 30/60/90 day plans, LinkedIn profiles and updates on all career communications.

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Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Debra: Set your professional goal for your practice; find 5 professionals to emulate and begin to shine in like manner.  Our senior colleagues don't mind helping you at all; once you can substantiate your professional raison d'etre (reason to be). Don't be shy about communicating the attributes that you bring to the profession and to your ideal clients.  Know how to verbalize your passion for your existence in this business.  


Debra can be reached at: 

www.letmewriteitforyou.org | www.facebook.com/letmewriteit4u | |www.linkedin.com/in/letmewriteit4u

931.269.WR1T(9718)

As seen in USAA Military, NBC Chicago, MSN Latino, Monster.com,

The Calgary Sun (Canada), Careerbuilder.co.uk

Career Affiliate, Career Thought Leaders, Nat'l Resume Writer's Assn, Career Director's Int'l

Great Topics to Grow Your Business

By: Stan Washington
Date: April 23, 2014

I recently attended the Career Thought Leaders Conference and met with a number of small business owners. They had great speakers and wonderful interaction.

Here is what some people asked:

Why do I need to be on social media?
Use Social media to be where you audience is.  If you want to find "mom's who wish to reenter the workforce then Facebook would be the place because of their high degree of mom's who leverage the tool. Join groups. Participate.  Blog.  People want to hear from you!


What is the future of technology?
Terms that were discussed made me put my nerd beanie on.  "Big Data" and "3 Dimensional Browsers"  sound cool but what does this mean to you.  My input to this is you should be setting your sites on the "cloud." One presenter showed kids looking at a "Walkman."  Yes I had one of these 1980's relics. The kids of today couldn't even fathom music coming out of it. They couldn't even turn it on.

Now look at your business.  Are you still using old processes that does not include an "online" audience? Are you closing yourself off to an online business because you are afraid of it?  Don;t be. Start out small then move a little at a time and before you know it you will be online.

When is it time to expand?
When your business model has maxed out and your revenue can no longer increase.  If there are just no more hours in the day when you finish work and you still have not met your goal, then maybe it's time to expand.  Think carefully how you will do this.  Will it be selling something?  Can you work smarter? Should you streamline your processes so that you work more efficient?

Overall it was a wonderful conference! Speakers were engaging and lots of information was disseminated between small businesses.

Please visit us at  http://www.honorservicesoccice.com

Starting a business can seem slow as molasses!

After three years of development our team finally got excited of the release of our new software, Career Coach Office.  The initial tests with experts in the field stated everything would go well. On launch day we had technical issues that were minor, but still issues nonetheless.

It seemed like it took forever to correct the tiny issue not displaying a client's  picture correctly and fixing the dreaded "un-styled" tax update form that was buried way in the invoicing tool.

Let me just say every business has it's obstacles that must be overcome.

1. Expect that there will be obstacles and deal with them as they come.
2. Don't freak out when something goes wrong. All the planning in the world won't eliminate issues.
3. Break your issues down to small components so they can be addressed in a timely fashion.
4. Don't give up! When the going get's tough, you know the rest!

What seems like an incredibly slow period to you is really a short period of time to your consumers. They have no idea how many sleepless nights you've had so relax and fix the issues in an expeditious orderly fashion.

visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com and tell us what you think.

5 Reasons to hire an IT Career Coach

Here is a great story I found that I believe applies to any career coach industry, not just IT.

http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/careers/5-reasons-to-hire-an-it-career-coach/232800033

by Cindy Waxer |March 30, 2012 12:34 PM

 

12 Enterprise IT Resolutions For 2012

(click image for larger view and for slideshow)

Silicon Valley might be known for its brilliant tech executives, but even they need a little career help every now and then. Enter the IT career coach.Although career coaches have long helped workers in a variety of industries set realistic goals and pave career paths, an increasing number of IT execs are recognizing the value of a career counselor.

 

"Within Silicon Valley, there's now a much greater awareness that just because you're smart about technology doesn't mean that you know all about human interaction, management development and leadership skills," said Michael Shur, an executive career coach and an assessment specialist at CareerPlanner.com, a career counseling firm in San Jose, Calif. "IT professionals, especially when they reach an executive level, require more career coaching."  A career coach can run as high as $250 an hour. What's more, because the majority of career coaching's benefits are 'soft,' calculating a return on investment can be difficult. Yet there are certain rewards IT professionals can expect to reap from hiring a career coach. Here are five critical areas a good career coach should be able to address:

1. Mentorships. A career coach doesn't need to know Java script to counsel an IT professional. But if technical skills are at issue, a career coach should take the necessary steps to help you find the mentorship you need. "Career coaches generally don't have IT specialization," said Shur. "However, a career professional can encourage and work within an organization to establish a mentorship program to assist IT professionals from a managerial and technical perspective."

2. The future. Many IT professionals have a tendency to live in the moment. A good career coach can help broaden that vision by working with clients to create a five-year career plan. With the proper guidance, an unwelcome administrative task today might start to look like a much-needed skill set down the line. "A career coach can help IT professionals see themselves as part of an ecology of growth so that they become less resistant to saying, 'Why should I help out with customer service? I'm an IT guy,'" said Shur. After all, he adds, customer service experience might come handy when that IT professional reaches a management level.

3. Dual career needs. No matter how technical the job, many techies split their time between monitoring networks and satisfying employees. "IT professionals often have dual career tracks," said Shur. "One for technical specialization and one for management." A career coach can help bridge this gap by encouraging both certification courses and networking opportunities such as conferences and seminars.

4. Conflict resolution. Today's IT shops often are rife with multi-generational strife stemming from millennials' and baby boomers' disparate approaches to work, life, and interpersonal relations. The good news is "a career counselor can help with personality conflicts," said Shur. "A lot of it centers around helping the IT professional understand how they process information and how their preferred way of working may be radically different from how other generations like to work." Understanding these differences "can help individuals realize that it's nothing personal," said Shur.

5. C-level prep. You'll need more than a new briefcase to prepare for executive office. "Certain competencies need to be developed for the CIO's office as C-level executives are expected to be more team-oriented with an increasingly global and strategic vision," said Shur. The trick is finding a coach that best meets your position. "There are some coaches who are better for more junior members and then there are the more experienced executive coaches who specialize in advanced skills and sensitive transitions." said Shur. Find one that's right for you.

Coaches, feel free to visit us at http://www.careercoachoffice.com .

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/CareerCoachOffice

Follow us on twitter:
https://twitter.com/CCoachOffice

Technology pushes jobseekers back to the pros

Jenny was sent an e-mail telling her that she did not have to come in next week since her position had been eliminated.  After searching online for a while she finally found some positions she was interested in. “What’s Taleo?” she thought to herself.  She applied for the position and moments later she received a rejection e-mail.

She then posted her resume on job websites and quickly got calls from salespeople.  Her search began to wear her down. It seemed like Jenny was on the wrong side of technology. Jenny needed a pro.

We wanted to get to the bottom of her issue. Since we are a technology company we did an unscientific study of jobseekers who used technology to search for a job and found some interesting results.  

·         A whopping 91% of job applicants despise the applicant tracking process (Amplicate).   

·         653 Applicants sent their resume to a fake job posting within 24 hours (Wallstreet).

·         3000 people stood in line for 6 hours and were told to submit their resume online (Chicago).

·         93% of jobseekers we asked remain disorganized using only e-mail to compile their information.

You would think the search process would be easier but it seems to be becoming more complicated.

Take it from a technologist, use a pro and stop wasting time!

Use a Certified Career Coach to unclog your search

Coaches clarify your job/career situation, determine your needs, and you will discover new things about yourself.  You will learn new skills and techniques, develop new perspectives and conquer fear and uncertainty.

Use Certified Professional Resume Writers to “present” not “parrot”

Certified writers probe beyond what you tell them.  They don’t simply list the “stuff you did” but assist you in listing skills, abilities and accomplishments in an organized compelling fashion.

Ask your pro what tools they use to help you get organized

Organization is key to a successful search. Coaches and resume writers who use Career Coach Office tend to be successful at keeping their clients organized. Job seekers can track leads and document important research they find and place it in easy to find records.

Career Coach Office has:

·         Job Lead Management

·         “About the Company” Research Tracking

·         Resume and Cover letter Management

·         Customized Interview Tips and Reminders from the coach

Tell your Career Coach, Life Coach or Professional Resume Writer to use Career Coach Office or have them try it out for free and to put your search put on turbo! They can go to www.careercoachoffice.com today.