Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Career Development

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative, be it a new job, career change, or personal development outside of work. Read this category specifically for Career Development.

  • 3 Tips for Your Job Search During a Pandemic

    3 Tips for Your Job Search During a Pandemic

    Almost every event I’ve attended lately, I’ve had conversations with individuals or overheard discussions about furloughs, downsizing and layoffs. The job market is volatile, and more and more people are searching for new opportunities, and many of those people haven’t had to search for a job in a long time.

    My husband and I have had conversations about what we would do if one of us lost our job. It’s scary to think about. We agree that we would do whatever we needed to do to continue to support our family. Which leads me to my first tip:

    1. While searching for the next best opportunity, find a side hustle that will allow you to pay your bills during your search. Instacart shoppers make way more than you would think! Also, during your downtime, check out The Next Right Thing, a book about making life decisions.
    2. Network like it’s your job. Networking is something we do on a daily basis without even realizing it. During my career, the majority of my positions have been obtained through networking. Not sure how to get started? Check out this article from Balance Careers: How to Use Networking to Find a Job.
    3. Stay busy. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, I often help clients with gaps in their resume. The best way to avoid gaps in your resume (& questions about them in an interview) is to keep yourself busy while you are searching for your next job. Volunteering or continuing your education area great ways to avoid resume gaps. The Muse shared 5 Better Ways to Talk About the 5 Most Common Resume Gaps.

     

    Check out The Point Blog for more resources to help with your job search.

  • Turn Your Passion into Your Career

    Turn Your Passion into Your Career

    Forgive me if I get teary-eyed, but my oldest just started his junior year of high school. And while he still has two years left, the serious conversations have begun- careers, colleges, and scholarships, oh my!

    Since he was little, he’s always known that his biggest passion is music. And I’ve encouraged him to explore that over the years, he’s got such a knack for it. He’s self-taught on drums, guitar, bass guitar, and he has an amazing voice (my house is rarely quiet!). Last year his high school partnered with a local music conservatory to start a music production club and he was hooked. He would spend weekends at the conservatory learning how to use music production equipment and playing around with creating his own music. A year later he’s still hooked. After saving up his own money he bought a (ridiculously expensive) music production software program and spends hours creating music, learning how to use the software, and taking online courses to learn from the professionals. He’s also starting to slowly collect his own production equipment.

    I’ve always encouraged my children to find their passion and then figure out how to make it a career. I often get asked why I chose consulting instead of working as an HR Manager or Director for a company and my response is simple and honest- I tried it briefly and I just wasn’t happy. My passion is helping companies. I love to go into an organization and help them build up an HR function where there wasn’t one or help them fix an HR function that’s broken, then I want and need to get out and move on to the next. I thrive on that challenge, but once the challenge is completed, if I don’t move on I stop thriving.

    I want that for my children, I want them to find a career that they are passionate about, that they thrive in, that makes them want to get up every day and go to work. Not one that makes them dread the next day. And I want them to understand that money doesn’t equal happiness. I’d much rather my children have a career that they love that pays just enough to get by than to choose a career they hate just because it pays well. I want them to find a career that doesn’t feel like work. And I think my oldest is well on his way to doing just that.

    Is your career your passion or your prison?

  • Career Change – Is it for you?

    Career Change – Is it for you?

    Have you been declared “non-essential” during the pandemic? Maybe you’re in a role that is or has been eliminated or just ready to try something new? Where do you begin?

    First, a career assessment is a great place to start. My Next Move is a free one that can be completed online or we can help you with an in-depth assessment that examines your personality and desired skills and abilities.

    Another great resource for making a career change is the internet. You can search for “in-demand” careers online. ONET is another great tool for researching careers along with salaries and provides career exploration tools.

    Regardless of what career you currently have, if you are itching to make a change, examine the following as you begin:

    What is missing from what I do now that I want to be able to do on a regular basis? What skills do I need to use on a regular basis to bring satisfaction?

    What is it that I do now that I want to continue to be able to do? What skills that I want to continue to use are transferrable to other careers?

    What type of environment do I enjoy working in?

    What careers match the skills and abilities I want to use and are also in line with my work values? MatchFIT provides a framework for you to learn and understand what your workplace cultural preferences are, how to interpret and apply these preferences to your job search, and how to highlight and build on them for your own personal and professional development.

    Research shows that better person-organization fit leads to employees who are more satisfied, engaged, successful, and achieve greater results for their organizations.

    Finally, why not do a trial run before jumping into a new career? Job shadowing is a great way to try out a new career (or two) before you make a change. Read 4 Tips for an Awesome Job Shadow or Informational Interview before your first one. 4 Great Benefits of Job Shadowing for Grown-Ups offers more benefits of job shadowing for career changers.

     

  • What Does Your Resume Say About You?

    What Does Your Resume Say About You?

    As I was proofreading my son’s book report last night, I thought about how written communication is a window into our personality. My son had a few misspelled words and a word or two that was missing a letter altogether. It wasn’t the neatest either. He’s 13 and always does things in a hurry, just like his dad. This is evident in his book report and most areas of his life, including his messy room.

    On that note, I thought about resumes and how they also provide a glimpse into who we are. I facilitate an online career development class and review resume assignments on a weekly basis. I also do some contract career coaching and resume writing on the side. Often, I also receive resumes from colleagues asking me to pass them along. It amazes me the difference from one resume to the next and not just the content. Some resumes are flashy (too much) and others need a little extra formatting to stand out. 

    Stellar written communication can have an impact on your career opportunities. Here are a few musts when it comes to doing just that when preparing your resume:

    • Avoid misspelled words! Utilize spell check and have at least one person proofread before you send or upload your resume.
    • Use the correct verb tense. Current job responsibilities should be represented in the present tense. All previous job responsibilities should be in the past tense.
    • Make sure formatting is neat and allow for plenty of white space to make your resume more aesthetically pleasing.
    • Only include the most relevant information. Resumes should be no more than one page if you have less than five years of experience, and they should be no more than two pages if you have more than five years of experience. There are some exceptions to this rule depending on your career field.

    Check out The Point Blog for more insight into effective communication.

  • Secrets of the Job Search for Recent Graduates

    Secrets of the Job Search for Recent Graduates

    This time of year is always crazy busy with upcoming graduation and new beginnings for recent grads. Job search is on the top of their lists. I often get inquiries about resumes, cover letters & job search strategies in the spring. So, I thought a blog post addressing secrets for the job search would be timely.

    But first, I want to share a quick story. A couple of months ago, I worked with a client who was approaching college graduation. She was a treat to work with; she had a wonderful attitude, great education background as well as impressive internship and work experience, which made my job super easy. We focused on 3 things: resume, LinkedIn and catering both to the specific job she was interested in. Within a week of focusing on these 3 things, she had a job interview with her employer of choice, and within 2 weeks, she received a job offer.

    Obviously, it doesn’t always work that way. I’ve worked with several others who weren’t fortunate enough to quickly obtain their top job choice. If you are in that boat, here are 3 secrets for the job search:

    1. Networking. Network like it’s your job! Essentially, networking should be your job until you have one. College career centers are a great starting point and have a plethora of knowledge and tips. You should also focus on networking online – especially via LinkedIn. With the tight job market, employers are always searching for candidates (including passive ones) on LinkedIn. Check out: How to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile as a Recent College Grad to help you get started.

    2. Develop a master resume. You should always have a good master resume and work to cater your resume for each job you are applying for. Jobscan.co is a great tool for determining how close of a match you are to a job opening. Check out Can you really triple your interviews with Jobscan?  to find out more about Jobscan.

    3. Research your target companies. This is important in all stages of the job search including determining your ideal employer(s), preparing for an interview and preparing for your first day after landing the job. Glassdoor.com is a great tool to do this. You can even see an interview question from previous candidates.

    Are you ready for your job search? Read more job search articles from The Point Blog.