How to Get Started on Your Strategic Career Plan for the New Year - Hallie Crawford

How to Get Started on Your Strategic Career Plan for the New Year At HallieCrawford.com, we understand the importance of having a clear career path. I’m clear on my path now, but it wasn’t always that way. 16 years ago when I founded my business, I was clueless about what I was going to do long-term. I had jumped around from job to job- I had 5 different jobs before age 28- and I knew I wanted to coach but I had no idea how to run a business, much less create a strategic career and business plan. I learned by trying and failing often, which put me behind schedule in reaching my goals. A recent study showed that the average professional will change jobs 10 to 15 times in their career. I want to help you understand what I have learned in order to determine and define your strategic career plan. There are three main keys to a strategic career plan: Define your career aspirations. Build your personal brand. Develop your plan. For more information about creating your strategic career plan, download our free presentation, 3 Keys to Unlock YOUR Strategic Career Plan. To define your career aspirations, you need to determine who you are, where you are going, and how you will get there. This will allow you to create a better vision for your career future. For example, think about your interests, your values, and your strengths. Next, ask yourself about your career goals. This can include the lifestyle, work environment, and position that you want. Then, think about what you may need to do to reach those goals, perhaps additional schooling, training, or sharpening a skill set. (Not sure if your career is the right fit for you long-term? Take our free Ideal Career quiz!) Having a personal brand is important, but underutilized. In fact, less than 15% of professionals have a defined brand. Your personal brand is related to your career aspirations in the sense that it involves knowing your values, your strengths, and your soft skills. However, a personal brand goes a little further. It includes the results you achieve because of those three things. Your branding statement should include the following elements: who you serve, what unique value you provide, and how you deliver (your results). With these elements, you are in a better place to create your strategic career plan. To do this, think about where you want to be in one, three, and five years from now. However, start about thinking about five years from now first, because this allows you to create more of a long-term vision for yourself. Then determine where you need to be in three years and in one year to make that happen. This is something that you should write down and check quarterly. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season! We wish you and your family the best for the holidays, and a peaceful, prosperous, happy new year. Certified Career Coach and Founder of HallieCrawford.com

A Guide to Writing Resume and Cover Letter

A Guide to Writing Resume and Cover LetterThe purpose of this article is to provide a guide to writing resume and cover letter correctly. You have to be prepared if you are interested in landing a job. You do not have to read this article to realize that having an impressive resume is important. This is a vital first step in being considered for any position.The reason why a strong applicant needs a good cover letter, resume, and interview is because it makes the difference between whether or not the employer will hire you. The interviewer may assume that a weak resume means that the job seeker does not want to work for the company. The employer's evaluation takes into account the skills, experience, and background of the applicant.It is vital that the employer's mind is on the job, and not his or her thoughts of what a good description of the job requires. A few mistakes in the resume and cover letter can make a huge difference in how much the hiring manager looks at the details of the job. The employer may want to move on from the candidate with poor information, and will be less likely to select another candidate.The company and the individual to request that the resume and cover letter to be completed and sent out to the appropriate people before the actual interview. The hiring manager has the advantage of doing extensive research and examination before making a decision. An applicant may not be as prepared as a hiring manager is, and may lose the job if the hiring manager makes a negative evaluation of the resume.Many prospective employers will not ask for the details of the resume unless the person provides them. The hiring manager's first responsibility is to ensure that the applicant has all of the relevant skills needed for the job. Otherwise, the hiring manager is much more likely to say no to an applicant who is unprepared.Sometimes an applicant may not submit all of the information requested by the interviewer. This is the time when the interviewer makes a judgment call as to whether or not the applicant is worth the effort. If the applicant is qualified, the interviewer is just as likely to accept the candidate as the candidate who submitted the necessary information. This often happens to people who had their resumes finished in a hurry and did not write it in the manner the interviewer expected.Before going to a job interview, have a few extra copies of your resume and cover letter ready. Give the interviewer your resume and cover letter before the interview. This will give you a chance to explain your points in detail and convince the hiring manager to hire you. Then, leave your resume, cover letter, and resume folder with the interviewing manager.

Donald Lau, Americas Top Fortune Cookie Writer, Is Quitting

Donald Lau, America's Top Fortune Cookie Writer, Is Quitting The man who’s been delivering us inspiring fortunes for 30 years is nearly out of ideas. For 30 years, Donald Lau has served as “Chief Fortune Writer” at Wonton Foods, which bills itself as the largest manufacturer of fortune cookies, noodles, and other Chinese staples. Now, he’s stepping down. Why? He’s got writer’s block. “I used to write 100 a year, but I’ve only written two or three a month over the past year,” Lau recently told Time. In the ’80s, when Lau first landed the role at the Queens and Brooklyn-based company, cookie fortunes were, well, fortuitous (think: “A dream you have will come true”). But today, he says, the premium is on new, inspirational sayings that promote Yogi tea bag-style well-being. The pressure has led Lau to hand his soothsaying responsibilities to another employee: James Wong, a nephew of the company’s founder. Lau will continue to serve as Wonton Food’s Chief Financial Officer. Time writes: The company has explored fortune-writing contests and soliciting fortunes online, and they also keep track of diner reactions. A run of brutally honest fortunes about a decade ago didn’t go over well, and authorities briefly investigated the company in 2005, after 110 Powerball lottery players won about $19 million after using the “lucky numbers” on the back of fortunes. Once a jilted wife wrote in to complain that her husband had gotten a fortune promising him romance on his next business trip, and a satisfied customer wrote to say he got a new job after reading a fortune about a new opportunity coming his way. “When they eat their fortune cookie, I want the customers to open the fortune, read it, maybe laugh, and leave the restaurant happy,” [Lau] says, “so that they come back again next week.”