Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tune in for My Career Q&A on CNN Today, 5-6pm Eastern

Tune in to CNN today, Sunday Dec 14th from 5-6pm eastern for my career Q & A with Alina Cho. Here are some of the important career topics we'll be discussing:

Q: What key steps does it take to rebrand yourself?
A:
Soul Search - focus not only on a paycheck but also on the career opportunities that fit your passions, talents and interests
Research - test out your new career by talking to others already in the job (informational interview) and act "as if" by volunteering or job shadowing in the new role
Job Search - once you've validated your choice with some real experience, update your resume and highlight the skills you have that transfer to your new brand.

Q: What are the do's and don'ts to crafting a great resume?
A:
Don't think it only has to be one page - if you have 10+ years of experience, it's natural that your resume will be longer. But make sure the most important information is on the first page where hiring managers tend to focus.
Do keep your resume in chronological order - Hiring managers and recruiters like to see how your career has progressed and if there are any gaps that need to be understood. Don't hide your career path rather keep to the right timeline and just be prepared to explain why you may have taken time off along the way.
Don't let your resume speak for itself - use your network to get your resume into the right hands. Contact friends, family, past colleagues and your alumni network to get an internal referral of your resume to the HR department. This way your resume is the back up to all the great things a real person is saying about you.

Q: Are there ways to protect your current job if you're not ready to make the leap to a new career just yet?
A:
Yes, I often recommend keeping a job while creating a new path. I kept a full-time job while I was building my coaching practice and rebranding myself as a coach.
To keep your current job secure:
--never talk badly of others to protect yourself
--highlight what you've accomplished and document it
--regardless of what you do, be a top performer by always giving your best effort.

Tune in to CNN this afternoon for my live interview from 5 to 6pm eastern on important and relevant career advice to support you in rebranding yourself and your resume while also keeping your current job secure in the transition!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great information.

Anonymous said...

Maggie,
Found your site by "Destiny", I am supposing, but I have a challenge for you. Can you and your firm move focus to include an "older" segment? At 64 (me) a lot of us did not heed the gurus and are not ready financially to retire, other than the contribution we get from the Social Security Administration, which won't do it. But the options open to us are Walmart Greeters, Fast Food Clerks, or Delivering newspapers at 4 am! This is not appealing, despite the fact that we got ourselves into this position all by our selves. Sixty may be the "new 40", but we aren't ready to die, just make meaningful career changes and continue to earn a paycheck and not "stress" ourselves to death.
I think this is an idea whose time has come,...BIGTIME!
Tom Corcoran

craig said...

Maggie, great to listen to your positive message on CNN; hey, you even turned CNN news anchors positive - not an easy task. Please, keep being that positive, uplifting voice the world nears to hear when it comes to creating your career....

Anonymous said...

If this is a prelude, I am sure tha actual thing is going to be very informative and useful... We need more of these things where experts can connect with people who need guidance..

Maggie Mistal said...

Thanks for the comment Tom - actually I do work with people of all ages and backgrounds. In fact, I have a blog entry I think you'll appreciate: http://maggiemistal.blogspot.com/2008/10/surviving-layoff-as-older-worker.html.

I also do segments for older workers on my SIRIUS/XM radio show every Wed at 4pm eastern on SIRIUS 112 and XM 157. You can get a free trial on my website at www.MaggieMistal.com.

Maggie Mistal said...

Thank you also Craig and Rita for the comments! Glad I could be of service.

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