Chapter News

October Program Meeting

Get the Edge—Command How You Are Perceived In Your Market

Your personal brand represents 50% of your worth to your market and influences the value of your business. Joseph Heller will present ideas that you can use to build your personal brand and build your relationship with the market.

As founder and president of the Samurai Group, a coaching firm specializing in branding research and applying these methodologies, Heller has 15 years experience advising entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals.

Send your questions to Danell Landes at STC-Danell@charter.net.

Place:

Hilton Houston Westchase
9999 Westheimer Road

Date:

Tuesday, October 14

Time:

5:30 p.m. networking (hors d'oeuvres)
6:20 p.m. announcements
6:30 p.m. program

Cost:

$10 (members)
$15 (nonmembers)
$ 5 (student and unemployed members)
$ 10 (student nonmembers)

Drawing:

A drawing for various prizes is held at the end of each general meeting. Proceeds benefit the Marx Isaacs Student Scholarship Fund.

Employment Committee News

Job Hunting in the New World

by Steve Shriver, Contract Technical Writer, Baker Hughes

These are trying times, and that means we should be trying something new when we're looking for new employment. That which was tried-and-true is not working anymore.

As the new employment manager, I'll have to confess this is more work than I bargained for, but I've also learned more than I thought I ever would, and it's only August. Wow, what a market.

I've got some ideas about job hunting in this market, and they start with a sharpshooter's mentality—the shotgun approach is passé. A narrow focus will help protect a fragile attitude, too, knowing that you're approaching this market in the most efficient way possible. All you can do is to increase your percentages. Here's how, with some dos and don'ts.

Don't send out that same old tired and generic resume to one lead, let alone all of your leads. Quality is what counts, not quantity. This market requires a targeted resume, not a one-size-fits-all version.

Do custom-design every resume you send to the advertised requirements. Make it two pages or less. One page is great. Yes, this takes more time and lots of thought. It is hard work, but at least you're not wasting your time. It will be read.

Don't repeat the same information in your cover letter that you've included in the summary of your resume. The redundancy can irritate the recipient: who wants to read the same hype over again? These people are in a hurry and you need to hit them hard with your best stuff, short and sweet.

Do rewrite your resume frequently. Career maintenance used to be a once-a-year proposition. Now it should be several hours a month, every month, when you're employed or under contract, and it should be eight hours a day if you're not.

Don't ever send out the full version of your resume to anyone. It's fine for your scrapbook, your family history, or your mom. Maintain it well, because this is the source file for all your targeted resumes. Make it modular so you can easily create a new one every time you send it out.

Finally, wait 24 hours before you respond to anything. That is, write up your new targeted resume and your cover letter, then sleep on it. You'll be surprised how different it looks in the morning. Now you're ready to edit it again and click Send.