NOTE: This article contains a testimonial for CAREEREALISM's sister site, CareerHMO.com. But, before you pass up reading it because it talks about a service, we encourage you to take a closer look. At the very least, you'll be validated in your own skills as a job seeker!
Meet Helen
She joined CareerHMO's JSAP program in a crisis of confidence. She felt defeated, upset, scared, and frankly, doubtful she could turn her career around. Here's what she wrote to us:I am currently unemployed and I desperately need help with my job hunting in particular with networking and how I can make myself stand out more with employers. Can your program help me? What do you recommend for someone who is horrible with networking? I believe I have a good enough resume, but I still feel like I need help with a cover letter. I also need to find a way to "sell myself to employers" since I know the economy favors employers and not employees. How do I show employers that I am the right person for the job? I don't believe in saying that I am the best person for the job because there will always be someone who is better. There will always be someone who has more experience, knowledge, and skills. How do I show employers that I have what it takes to do the job? I need to show employers that although I might not have the exact experience that they are seeking, that I am willing to learn anything and do anything that is necessary to get the job done right. How do I show employers that I am willing to go "above and beyond" in my job? And what does that really mean in today's economy for a job? Can you or your program help me put together a plan that will answer these questions and any others that I might have? I don't want to spend what little money I do have on something that will only help me with writing a resume because what I feel like I need is someone who can coach me on how to get ahead in today's world or how to prove myself to an employer. How do I answer a question on when someone looks at my resume and notices that I have never gotten a promotion? Can your program help answer these questions? Please help. I feel like college does not really teach someone how to make it in the working world. Can you help me?We did. We can help you too! What Helen didn't know is she possessed the three traits, the ABCs, needed to succeed today as a job seeker. When she decided to try JSAP, she was already poised for success. She began by using the first trait...
Action-Oriented
When Helen joined, she dove straight into our step-by-step program and committed herself to completing each module. In fact, to hold herself accountable, she started a blog to chart her progress. Here's what she wrote to me on that very first day:An idea just came to me and I wanted to get your opinion and possibly your permission on it. Since I just purchased your program, I thought of creating a blog about my experiences of going through your program. I don't know if it is legally OK for me to write a blog about going through a program like this, but that is why I wanted to ask.... I wanted some way to document my experiences while going through this program as I truly feel like this program will change my life and will make me a true professional job seeker and a true professional in general. Please let me know if I can create a blog about my experiences as I begin my journey with your program.Take Action Today Of course, we told her “yes" because we know processing what you learn (taking action!) is very helpful. Helen started blogging and that soon lead to her leveraging the second trait.
Brave-Hearted
Instead of hiding away and hoping the job search would get better, Helen faced her fear and even took it a step further by putting her progress out there for the world to see. She stopped worrying about her past and started focusing on her future. Here's how it changed her:I just went through the rest of the program, days sixteen through twenty, and I am just about to put the information on my blog. I think this program has taught me a lot about how I work best in terms of growth and progress. I have noticed that while going through this program that I tended to concentrate so much on one thing, and worry about that one thing so much that the answer wouldn't come to me. It's like looking for your car keys or your purse. As soon as you stop looking for that one item, you find it. I also have noticed that for me, the answer to something comes at the weirdest of times and comes when I am not even looking for an answer. Let me give you two examples. The first example is to the question of how can I stand out in a crowd of thousands of other job seekers when I don't have the experience level or when I haven't "climbed the corporate ladder" like others have. That answer came to me the night that I bought your program when I couldn't sleep because I was too excited about having bought the JSAP program and I wanted to get started on it. Then the idea of my creating a blog came into my mind. Well I answered the question of how can I stand out amongst a crowd of thousands by creating a blog. Second was the answer to the question about coming up with a title for myself concerning my LinkedIn profile. That answer came to me one day when I was checking e-mails on my phone. Also in my previous job, I am sure if I wanted to, I can go through and make a list of times that I wasn't growing personally or professionally and then all of a sudden something would happen at work and then I would "grow by leaps and bounds." Some good friends have told me over the past five years that they have seen me grow so much in the last few weeks. I am going to continue to focus on creating e-mails to send to those in my network since that is the hardest part that I struggle with the most. I will keep you posted on my progress.Helen gained so much momentum, it lead her to embracing the final trait to being a great job seeker..
Curious
Helen found the job search process interesting and really accelerated the studies. She got creative and tried all the techniques offered to her. She asked questions, lots of GOOD questions, that helped her remove personal and professional roadblocks. She stopped being afraid and started seeking answers that could give her what she wanted. Here's an example:Thanks again for all of this information and help as I have gone through this program. As I now can say that I have gone through the entire program, I can honestly say: 1. That I finally feel like I am at a new level in my job search. 2. I can honestly say that I finally feel like I have learned the "new skills" that are required for today's job hunting. 3. I can also say that I finally feel like I have gained the self confidence to network professionally. 4. I have gained something that has allowed me to stand out in a crowd of hundreds if not thousands. 5. I finally feel like I can "sell myself to an employer." 6. I finally feel like my social media skills are up-to-date. 7. I can honestly say that I feel like my networking skills are up-to-date. J.T., if that's not success, then I don't know what is.Does Helen have a job yet? No, but she will soon enough. How do I know? See for yourself, her blog is proof. Anyone who has come this far and has built their job search skills and knowledge up to the level she has will succeed. Plus, Helen learned how to build a blog in the process - a very valuable skill for someone in office administration like herself.
