I’ll explain how in just a second.

But first, let’s talk about why so many people think this is impossible.

The truth is that you’ve been told it’s tough to find a job if you’re over the age of 50, heck we’ll even go over the age of 40.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say what you’ve been told is a lie. Doesn’t matter who told you – peers, experts or even yourself (that’s the worst when you tell yourself that).

Now before you say, “Michelle, you don’t understand, I’ve been told…

• I’m overqualified…
• I don’t have the right experience…
• The company decided to move in another direction…”

Look, I get it. Ageism in job search exists, I won’t tell you it doesn’t. However, you can conquer it, regardless of your age. Yes, ageism is not just for the older crowd. Millennials suffer too.

Overcome Ageism on Paper

Whether it’s your LinkedIn profile, cover letter or resume, chances are hiring managers or recruiters will first meet you on paper (or online). A Millennial, GenXer or Baby Boomer “star” will either sizzle or fizzle with how they present themselves in writing.

Star Millennials will pounce on the opportunity to showcase their writing ability in their cover letter. It makes an impact because, unfortunately, most people don’t even bother writing one. It’s also a good way to debunk the myth that Millennials are only able to text and cannot write in complete sentences.

A star Millennial’s resume WILL NOT include the following:

• Lists of tasks: Just because you’re a doer by the nature of a lower-level role, doesn’t mean you didn’t make an impact on your employer. What results did you help achieve?
• Smugness: No jokes, irony, Millennial buzzwords or exaggerations. Just professional in tone and presentation.
• Language errors and typos: “Your” and “you’re,” “there” and “their.” You get the point. No mistakes!
• GPAs: Anyone that’s been out of school more than three years needs to scrap it from their resume.
• Self-centered summaries: You need to focus on what you can do for the company, not what the company can do for you.

Gen Xers are in the middle of their careers — and in the middle of the workforce, so one strategy to take in your cover letter is to indicate how you serve as a bridge between Millennials and Baby Boomers. It can appeal to a hiring manager who may be older or younger than you.

When it comes to your resume, Gen Xers should quantify achievements with numbers and results. Many members of this generation have had managerial experience, so it’s great to highlight any organizational results here as well. A star Gen Xer’s resume WILL NOT include:

• Overdone, meaningless cliché’s: “Results-oriented,” “passionate” and “guru” should be deleted.
• Basic technical skills: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are assumed skills and should be left off the resume.
• References: “References Available Upon Request” should be left off because it’s assumed and having it there, just dates you.

When it comes to a star Baby Boomer’s cover letter, clearly illustrate how you’re willing to embrace new things and how you can help mentor younger employees. Highlight your unique qualifications and recent accomplishments (not from 10+ years ago). You might even tackle difficult issues here — things like resume gaps or why you’re coming back to a corporate environment after running your own business.

A star Baby Boomer’s resume WILL NOT include:

• Volumes of your life story: Keep it under two pages at the most, focusing on your most recent 10 to 15 years. Anything prior to this can be included in a summary paragraph with dates left out.
• TMI: Every single job you’ve had does not need to be clearly described and listed. Only relevant ones to the position you’re offering.
• Descriptions of outdated skills: Outdated technology and skills should be simply documented as part of a job.

Avoid Appearing Your Age in Person

Now that we’ve got you looking good on paper, the next step is to look good in person – the interview. According to a survey of 2000 bosses, 33 percent claimed that they know within the first 90 seconds of an interview whether they will hire someone. That means first impressions really count.
For Millennials, you don’t want to appear young and inexperienced. A star Millennial WILL:

• Dress to impress: According to a survey by recruiting firm Adecco, 75 percent of hiring managers believe the top interview mistake Millennials make is wearing inappropriate attire.
• Bring hard copies of their resume: If you show up for an interview with your resume on your tablet, it’s not easy to show multiple people.
• Ask the right questions: If you don’t ask smart questions, you’ll come off as uninterested or unprepared. Questions like “Why did you choose to work here?” or “How would I exceed your expectations in my first few months on the job?” show interest and drive.
• Sell yourself, but don’t brag: Accomplishments are important to highlight, but be careful of sounding overconfident.

Sandwiched in the middle, Generation X can take advantage of all these tips. In addition, star Gen Xers WILL:

• Let their personality shine: Smile and lean slightly forward to demonstrate you’re truly interested in the job.
• Go above and beyond typical research: Arm yourself with the latest press releases about the company so you can ask intelligent questions.
• Show passion: Don’t just go through the motions of talking about your achievements. Talk about how what you did made an even larger impact to customers and people’s lives.
• Not assume everyone knows what they did: Prepare stories around your accomplishments so the interviewer can understand exactly how you got from point A to point B.

Just the opposite of Millennials, Boomers don’t want to appear old and stodgy. Star Baby Boomers WILL:

• Be willing to learn: Show how you’ve recently picked up new skills by taking a class.
• Show how this role will challenge you: Put your interviewer at ease by ensuring them you are not overqualified. Demonstrate how you can advance the team or company by sharing your knowledge.
• Know the current trends: Be comfortable with social media. Make sure you’re knowledgeable about terms such as cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things.
• Demonstrate your energy: Did you just complete a marathon? Enjoy Zumba? Slide in a mention of your interests outside of work that can show you are not slowing down.
• Update their wardrobe: Is your last interview suit 10 years old? Clothing can make you look hip instead of dowdy. Make sure you have a few updated pieces to modernize your look.

Stress Your Strengths and Keep a Positive Attitude

Every generation has its negative stereotypes but there are plenty of positives about each generation, too. Millennials can also be viewed as innovative, technologically savvy and self-expressive! Gen Xers are self-reliant and practical! And, how about those Baby Boomers that are invaluable to their employers because of their experience, skills and loyalty.

When you concentrate on your positive attributes and view ageism as just one of the obstacles you can overcome, you’re going to land the job you want.

The post How To Beat Ageism In Your Job Search appeared first on Brand Your Career.

I’ll explain how in just a second.

But first, let’s talk about why so many people think this is impossible.

The truth is that you’ve been LET DOWN.

Let down by so many resume writing experts who want you to believe that tweaking your resume to align with every keyword in the job description is the key to landing an interview.

And on the surface, I get it. It sounds logical. Recruiters enter keywords into their applicant tracking systems to look for ideal candidates. If you have the right keywords your resume gets selected from hundreds of others.

But let me just come right out and say it: that’s not how recruiters work. Here’s why:

• Recruiters use applicant tracking systems (ATS) primarily for TRACKING candidates. That means they are not doing keyword searches for the words you took so much time to craft.
• They likely already have both internal and external candidates lined up for the role. So if you’re tweaking your resume to apply for a posted position you’re too late to the party.
• Smaller corporations which many senior-level marketing executives are attracted to, don’t use ATS which means you wasted more time incorporating keywords.

But the biggest reason of all is recruiters bring in candidates they know, like and trust. And spending time trying to get just the right keywords is an absolute tragedy because no amount of keywords are going to make you get noticed more than someone they actually know or was referred in.

So if that’s the old and DUMB way…what’s the new and SMART way?

Simple: Develop an ATTRACTIVE HIRING PROPOSITION

Here’s why this is BRILLANT:

• When you hone in on what you UNIQUELY do best and align it with your target company’s business issues, YOU immediately demonstrate how you’re the solution. Interview requests will be coming to you.
• When your network has a clear understanding of the value you bring to an organization they will become your advocate.
• You won’t feel desperate when you reach out for help because you’ll have confidence in the value you provide.

And the best part is once you create your attractive hiring proposition it serves as the framework for all your career marketing materials AND the root of the stories you’ll share on interviews. Tweaking your resume, spending countless hours searching for the right keywords and prepping for every interview from scratch will be a thing of the past.

Do you see how powerful that is?

Here’s the thing, though: no one else is teaching this. And the ones that are, don’t really understand it.

You can learn more about this and the four other shifts my clients make to land 6-figure jobs in this free training.

When you stop being a slave to applicant tracking systems and keywords you’ll gain a ton of time back to start doing more productive job search strategies like reaching out to your network. Get a head start on your competition today!

The post Keywords Are Not That Key appeared first on Brand Your Career.

It’s advice we’ve all heard before, and it’s wrong. Here’s why.

What comes to mind when I say the word sales?

Pushy, sleazy, fake, manipulative, used car salesman, The Wolf on Wall Street?

Unfortunately, due to the poor selling habits we’ve been subject to over the years, this is the image that comes to most people’s minds. I’ll admit that was one reason I got into marketing – because I hated sales.

What if you thought of selling differently though? What if it could look like a conversation where two people shared stories? Wouldn’t seem like a sales conversation, right?

It’s not nice to brag

One reason why people don’t like to talk about themselves in an interview is that we’re told it’s not nice to brag. Yet in an interview, it’s expected to talk about your achievements. This is not the same as bragging although it may feel like it to most of you.

The definition of bragging is overexpressing your value. And it’s not what you should be doing in an interview. You’re not going to say “I’m the best thing that your company has ever seen,” as that will get you shown to the door pretty fast.

This is precisely why selling yourself doesn’t work in interviews. People don’t like to be sold, but they like to buy. The same is true in recruitment. Hiring managers don’t want to hire someone who is like “look at me, aren’t I great?”

However, hiring managers will get excited about someone who can share a good story about what they did and why it’s important to them (or their company).

Think about how you tell someone about a great day you had at work. It’s usually with genuine enthusiasm and passion, right? That is the same attitude you need to approach in your interview.

So you don’t need to “sell yourself” in interviews. You simply need to share stories and show how they are important to the interviewer.

You’re irrelevant

Whether you’re going for a job or a promotion, when you concentrate on selling yourself you could likely be setting yourself up for failure. This is because you’re not taking into account how your skills and experience fit into that next opportunity.

Too often we rehearse what we want to make sure the hiring manager wants to hear and forget about how that relates to the job.

Your hard work may not be recognized but your potential will

On the internal side, people often have the misconception that their hard work will simply be recognized and they will get a promotion. In reality, it’s far from the truth.

When you’re too busy getting stuff done, it often barely gets noticed. This is because you’re too busy doing and not doing enough communicating. And this is when we’re often told you need to always be “selling yourself.” Selling yourself, in this case, is not going to help either.

A set of studies conducted by Stanford’s Zakary Tormala and Jayson Jia and Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton showed an unconscious preference for potential over documented success.

I know it seems counter-intuitive since believing in potential over proven success is quite risky. There are no guarantees, right? However according to these findings, the potential for success, as opposed to actual success, is more interesting because it is less certain.

So instead of keeping your nose to the grindstone, look up and volunteer for projects that get you visibility and challenge your skill set at the same time. There is a reason companies tend to invest in programs for emerging leaders. The more people see your potential the more likely you’ll be considered for a promotion.

In the end authenticity wins

Although the phrase “sell yourself” is popular when it comes to furthering your career, most people try too hard and fail in the execution. “Selling yourself” in interviewing, internally or externally, comes down to showing the real you and how you’re relevant to the future of the organization. That’s when you’ll win the role!

The post Why Selling Yourself Doesn’t Get You the Job appeared first on Brand Your Career.

“It’s my resume because I know if I could just get my foot in the door I could nail the interview.”

“I’ve applied for lower level jobs and can’t get interviews for those either.”

“It’s my mindset that is keeping me stuck. I know what I need to do, but it’s too much work.”

I am not saying job search is easy. I know it’s hard. It’s frustrating, lonely and often full of rejection.

I am saying that it’s easy to play the victim. People will be sympathetic to your situation. You’ll start allowing yourself to not reach out to that contact because “they aren’t going to help me.” You won’t apply for a job because “they will think I am overqualified.”

In reality, you’re lying to yourself. And until you see the truth you won’t be able to change it, upgrade it or become better from it.

In order to land your ideal job you need to have these 3 traits:

1. Be absolutely decisive and committed – This means knowing you can’t get the maximum result with only the minimum work. You also have to be ready to take action.
2. Be resourceful – This means if something doesn’t work, you’re not going to give up. You will find another way.
3. Be coachable – This means giving up your victim status. Stop letting your fear run the show, and let your faith take center stage.

If are ready to commit, be resourceful and willing to think different schedule a complimentary Brand to Land Breakthrough Call with me, now! I’ll help you uncover your specific roadblocks and get on the right path to landing your next 6-figure marketing role.

The post The 3 Traits You Need To Land Your Dream Job appeared first on Brand Your Career.

And it’s not like that is all you’re doing. That’s not the way you work – sit and wait.

In fact, you haven’t stopped applying for jobs and networking for weeks (maybe even months) straight. Writing cover letters, meeting for coffee, updating your LinkedIn profile…

You’ve been reaching out to your network and for all the promises made, the actual face-to-face interviews for opportunities that excite you has been less than stellar – in fact, it pains you to see your ROI is barely .1% (yes, that is point one percent).

You’re a positive person, so you’re okay.

I mean, thank goodness for that right? Because if you weren’t such a go-getter, you’d be curled up in bed surrounded by candy wrappers with your phone set to airplane mode.

Because for all your energy and hard work the thing that you DON’T have – the ONLY thing that would actually shift your reality – is CLARITY around what to do next that would ACTUALLY WORK.

You know you’re a valuable employee.

You know you can change the trajectory of an organization’s revenue if only you could get in front of the right hiring manager.

But you’re spending an AWFUL amount of effort ignoring that voice in your head that’s been screaming at you saying you’re out time and energy, and you still rarely get past a phone screen.

That next 6-figure role is just a pipedream.

I get it and IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT.

I’ve seen so many marketing executives exactly where you are.

They’re smart, driven and 100% committed. They KNOW they have awesome skills and ideas but have been frustratingly unable to get noticed by their target companies.

They’re making it harder than it has to be because they don’t know any better.

My clients have been there. What if I told you that with a few simple shifts they started to get 10X the number of calls for interviews than they did before.

What if I told you that it was possible to be more in CONTROL of your job search?

What if you could pare down your activities and focus JUST on the ones that actually matter?

The ones that attract your ideal employers.

Employers that need someone with your skills and are willing to pay you the salary you deserve.

And what if you could figure out how to get from where you’re stuck right now to where you feel rejuvenated about your search in a matter of one conversation?

I’m not kidding.

We call it a Brand to Land Breakthrough Session for a reason.

Talk to me and you’ll never look at your job search the same way again.

Of course, you have to be a marketing executive who is AWESOME at what you do.

And you have to be committed to embracing what makes you different when it comes to marketing your value. Which will require you to shift your mindset about what’s actually possible for you.

A targeted search is DEFINITELY more effective. But it’s not necessarily easy (people tend to get very attached to ALL their abilities).

But if you’re DONE struggling and are ready to take charge of your career, it’s time.

Here’s that link to book a call, www.brandyourcareer.com/apply.

Spots fill fast and it’s first come, first served. Please make sure you fill the brief questionnaire so we can prep properly for you. If you don’t, we will cancel your call and give your slot to someone else.

Talk soon!

The post It’s Not Your Fault appeared first on Brand Your Career.

Unfortunately, ageism is alive and well in the job market, but if you don’t let it be an obstacle and make sure you’re putting your best foot forward, you will no doubt land quicker.

For the 40+ crowd, you don’t want to rely on the resume you created 25 years ago and have just been tweaking ever since. To get into modern times you should make sure you avoid the following on your documents:

• Overdone, meaningless cliché’s: “Results-oriented,” “passionate” and “guru” should be deleted.
• Basic technical skills: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are assumed skills and should be left off the resume.
• References: “References Available Upon Request” should be left off because it’s assumed and having it there, just dates you.
• Volumes of your life story: Keep it under two pages at the most, focusing on your most recent 10 to 15 years. Anything prior to this can be included in a summary paragraph with dates left out. If you’re going to three pages, ask me for permission first. You need a good reason!
• TMI: Every single job you’ve had does not need to be clearly described and listed. Only relevant ones to the position you’re offering.
• Descriptions of outdated skills: Outdated technology and skills should be simply documented as part of a job.

When you concentrate on your positive attributes and view ageism as just one of the obstacles you can overcome, you’re going to land the job you want.

The post Avoid Looking Your Age On Paper appeared first on Brand Your Career.

Summer is the best time to strengthen your network, update your career marketing materials and explore new opportunities. And, if you don’t land something by the end of August, you’ll be ready to rock and roll when hiring really picks up after Labor Day.

To help prepare you for that promotion or new job here are my top 5 summer reading suggestions:

Friend of a Friend by David Burkus – This is the only book I have not already read, YET. I ordered it the other day and can’t wait to dive in when it arrives. This book talks about why the best way to network isn’t by introducing yourself to strangers at cocktail parties, but by developing a better understanding of the network already around you. Did you know that distant or “weak” connections can actually be the most valuable to you?

If you are on the fence about this book, let me provide some incentives to read it.

1. Listen to David on these two podcasts where he shares insights and advice: Copeland Coaching and The Perfection Detox. These two podcasts are what made me go out and buy the book.
2. I would encourage you to also listen to David’s Ted Talk about why you should know how much your co-workers get paid.

Workplace Poker by Dan Rust – I send this book to my clients after they land because it provides awesome insights on how to notice what is happening under the surface at work and prepare for what changes may lie ahead. It’s a fun read with many examples that will likely have you recognizing yourself and others in your own workplace.

Work It by Carrie Kerpen – I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down. It’s chalk-full of advice you can apply to your career and curates insights from all sorts of women leaders from Sheryl Sandberg and Meredith Vieira to less well-known, but very successful women like Julia Pimsleur and Carmen Collins. Women will walk away from this book feeling empowered to do something with their careers. I’m sure men could learn something here as well, but the advice does skew towards women.

The Peak Interview by Bill Burnett – This is a long-standing book on my must-read list for job seekers. Bill offers advice like no other interview book on the market and my clients have applied this advice with great success.

Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute by Jack Chapman – My copy of this book has tons of flagged pages for finding just the right things to say when the topic of salary comes up in job search. It will help put you more at ease when recruiters and hiring managers ask you too early in the process for your salary history and provide practical ways to negotiate your job offer.

So enjoy any summer vacation plans you have and conquer some professional development with these books. They are all pretty quick reads with tons of advice to move your career ahead in a positive manner.

The post Top 5 Summer Reads To Advance Your Career appeared first on Brand Your Career.

Here are three effective ways to boost your confidence:

1. Do a Power Pose

A while back I wrote about social psychologist Amy Cuddy and the research she did on body language. Her research showed that certain “power poses” like standing with your hands on your hips raise testorterone levels and lower cortisol levels, making you feel more confident. If you want to see more, check out her Ted Talk.

Besides a power pose, just putting on a smile and taking care to dress nicely can help boost your confidence, too. When you look good and act happy you feel better.

2. Destroy Negative Thoughts

We all suffer from negative self-talk or self-limiting beliefs. The important thing to know is to recognize when it’s happening so you can turn around those negative thoughts. Ask yourself if these thoughts are really true. Then picture what you could be without these thoughts. When you start imagining the possibilities it turns into positive energy and that leads to positive action.

3. List What You’re Most Proud of Accomplishing

I like this one especially after you’ve just gotten a rejection. Make a list of all the things you’re proud that you accomplished in the last week. Even if it’s just something minor like you got to sleep on time for 3 nights in a row. When you write down these things it’s like reliving the accomplishment and it triggers your brain to experience the satisfaction of completing that task again. You can also make a list of the top 3-5 things you are most proud of in your career, and keep that to re-read when you’re feeling like you need a confidence boost.

Would you like to boost your confidence? We should talk.

Book a call with me. We will find out exactly what’s working and what’s not in your job search, get clear on where you want to go next and if I can help, I’ll let you know.

I promise you this will be the best hour you spend on your career this year.

The post How To Boost Your Confidence appeared first on Brand Your Career.

Okay, now that you read it I want to point out what frustrated me about it. They did not interview any hiring managers to get their perspective. Recruiters, job seekers, economists, and workforce development professionals yes, but not anyone from a corporation where one of the two job seekers featured in the article might want to work.

Since the article didn’t account for it, I’ll tell you who companies will hire. Regardless of the role, they will hire people that can help them grow revenue, save money, save time, enhance key relationships and they feel they are a good fit with the organization.

There are two real reasons you get stuck in a long-term unemployment situation:

1. You position yourself like everyone else in your field, making you a commodity.
2. You blame the system so then you get in your own way with self-limiting beliefs.

The most truthful thing (besides the statistics, I’m not disagreeing that they do tell part of the story) was Daniel Brown’s quote, “The world has definitely changed.” If that is the case, why are job seekers like Brown, still creating their resume and LinkedIn profiles the way they always have?

This is the trap most people fall into. They do it because they don’t know any other way, and in doing that they look and sound like 85-90% of their competition. It turns them into a commodity.

My colleague Deb Dib has an expression, “So what? Make me care. Tell me fast.” This is what all your career marketing materials should do.

Let’s address the second reason you’re not getting hired – self-limiting beliefs. They were all over this article.

• My diverse work history is viewed as a negative.
• They always think there is a better candidate out there.
• It’s tough to stay positive all the time.

I hear things like this all the time from job seekers who have been in transition for a while. In reality, these are challenges, but none of which can not be overcome.

I recently had a client in his late 50s, who had several job changes in the past 7 years and had no college degree land a multiple six-figure job in just under 4 months.

He understood the value he brought to an organization and was able to communicate that clearly, both verbally and on paper.
I know there are people on my list that have been unemployed six months or even longer. I don’t want you to be the subject of another article like this one, so here are three things you can do today to move forward in the right direction with your search:

1. Find the common thread that keeps appearing in every role you’ve had during your career and highlight that in your documents.
2. Turn your self-limiting beliefs on their head.
3. Ask for help – it could be me or another career expert. It definitely helps to get a neutral perspective on what is working and not working with your search.

And some final words of encouragement. Yes, there will be challenges in the job market like ageism and employers being picky. However, there are ways to overcome these challenges. Be confident and clear in the value you bring an organization and you will get hired, fast!

The post The Real Reasons You Are Not Getting Hired appeared first on Brand Your Career.

Here is how to know if you are commoditizing your career:

• Your summary on your resume begins like “Results-oriented executive with 20+ years experience in driving revenue, lead generation, brand building…” – Other than the 20+ years experience, there is nothing that differentiates you, and that is not something you want to call out.
• You reference your “broad experience” – No one cares that you have broad experience and it is no longer perceived as valuable.
• Your LinkedIn experience section describes your company instead of what you do there – This muddies your personal brand as it’s not clear the benefit you bring to the employer.

If you are doing any of the above, you’re not showing what is unique about you and how you can solve your target company’s specific problems. Job seekers often fall into the trap of thinking if they cast a broad net, they will have more opportunities. In reality, the exact opposite is true.

You need to zero in on what makes you unique and different from everyone else that has a similar skillset. One way to do this is to write out SMART stories. These are similar to CAR (challenge – action – results) or SSAR (situation – strength – action – result) stories, but you’re also looking for themes. Here is what a SMART story consists of:
S = Situation
M = Mess or eMotion
A = Action
R = ROI
T = Theme or Tie-in

The key to these stories is to look at the situation and see what is consistent about your actions or results. The more stories you write, the more themes will really start to pop out at you. Then you can take these themes and highlight them in the summary of your resume and/or LinkedIn profile.

This is how you can begin to differentiate yourself and focus on the types of problems you solve and enjoy solving. Then find companies that likely have these problems. They are going to jump at the chance to bring you in for an interview.

If you want help to stand out in your career and not be a commodity, then I encourage you to book a call with me.

On this call, we will find out exactly what’s working and what’s not in your job search, get clear on where you want to go next and if I can help, I’ll let you know.

I promise you this will be the best hour you spend on your career this year.

The post Are You A Commodity? appeared first on Brand Your Career.