Blog | HELLMANN CAREER CONSULTING

Get better LinkedIn people-search results with “Boolean Logic”

by Robert Hellmann • Building a Business, Career Centers, Career Change, Getting Interviews, Social Media

LinkedIn’s “Advanced People Search” feature is a fantastic tool for finding people in your extended network or shared groups who can help you to reach your career goals. Including boolean logic in your search terms such as AND, OR, NOT, parenthesis and quotes around phrases can greatly expand its power. To demonstrate, here’s an example of a client who was interested in obtaining a VP of Marketing position at Pfizer.

Facing a Tough Career Decision? Here’s How to Make the Right Choice

by Robert Hellmann • Career Change, On-the-job Success

Businesswoman uncertain as to her next move — There’s an easier way to decide

If you’re struggling with a big career decision, your underlying challenge likely involves either: a) properly evaluating the risk associated with a specific action, b) identifying and narrowing down a long list of options, or c) choosing between two or three good options.

While each of these challenges requires a different approach to get to the best decision, they all share the same first step: offloading the decision-making criteria in your brain onto a spreadsheet or sheet of paper, to ensure you’ve captured and accurately weighed them all.

The following techniques will help you to choose the best option when facing any of the scenarios described above.

How to Turn a Job Interview “No” into a “Yes”

by Robert Hellmann • Interviewing, Negotiation

Interview candidate being offered the job — Get the offer by following up the “right” way

The email you send right after an interview can make all the difference between landing an offer and getting rejected. Think of your followup not as a thank-you note, but rather as an “Impact Email”; after reflecting on the interview, use the followup as an opportunity to really make your case. Ideally, send one email to each person you met with, tailoring the content to the specific conversation.

The content should influence the interviewer’s decision-making based on what you learned

How to Change Your Career in 7 Steps

by Robert Hellmann • Career Change

Fish making a career change — You can make change happen

Changing careers or industries can feel like a daunting prospect, yet clients accomplish successful career changes all the time. Knowing what you want to do next is half the journey. If you’re unsure of what path to take, reading this post could help. Once you’ve settled on a path, then you need to convince employers that they should hire you over more experienced candidates. To overcome this challenge, implement the following seven steps.

Get Interviews with 9 Rules for Powerful Emails and Cover Letters

by Robert Hellmann • Getting Interviews, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo

Perhaps you’ve experienced the disappointment of carefully crafting an email or cover letter asking for a meeting only to get no response or turned down. In fact, all too often these messages are not even read, because the email subject line or the content doesn’t resonate or the message is too densely worded. Clients who have applied the following nine rules, however, have seen big improvements in their email response rates.

Uncertain of Your Next Career Move? Create a ‘Life Vision’

by Robert Hellmann • Career Change, Job-Search Strategy, Life

A number of my clients are reassessing their careers in the wake of the pandemic and wondering if they should be doing something different (part of a wider phenomenon being called the Great Resignation) . One of the things I have them do to figure this out is to create a “Life Vision.”

This exercise can help you to make strategic, thoughtful decisions that are more likely to result in a meaningful, satisfying career. You compare the life you want for yourself down the road with your current situation, and then come up with the steps to close the gap. As you come up with these steps, you gain clarity on the things you need to do next in your career to achieve your life vision. In addition, developing a vision for your life can inspire you into action, just as Martin Luther King inspired millions with the vision he conveyed in his “I have a Dream” speech.

10 Ways to Ace Your First 100 Days on the Job

by Robert Hellmann • On-the-job Success

What you do during the first 100 days in a new job is crucial to your long-term success. You have only one chance to make a great first impression, and you want to lay the foundation for achievements down the road. Here are 10 steps you can take to make these early days a success. I also spoke with Paul Wolfe, SVP of Human Resources at Indeed, to gain his perspective.

Make these 3 Career Essentials your New Year’s Resolution

by Robert Hellmann • Career Change, Job-Search Strategy, Org. Effectiveness

Take a strategic, active approach to managing your career that will improve your odds of achieving success this year and beyond. In other words, don’t just float around in an ocean of opportunities hoping the currents will take you to an island of your dreams. Instead, actively search for that island and then start swimming! In this spirit, adopt these three career essentials and avoid the dangers (stagnation, layoffs, “settling”) that come with a more passive approach to your career.

How To Beat Age Bias In Your Job Search: 4 Techniques

by Robert Hellmann • Getting Interviews, Interviewing, Job-Search Strategy

For the first time in nearly 50 years in the U.S., the unemployment rate for 55-and-older workers exceeded the rate for mid-career workers during the pandemic. The relative jump in this rate underscores the age-related challenges that older workers face in getting hired. If you fall into this group, there’s good news: you can usually overcome age-related barriers to being hired relatively easily.

To do so, understand this key insight: you’re usually not facing age-bias per se. Rather, you’re facing underlying issues that employers think about when they compare you to the younger competition. These issues include:

A 7-Step Job Search Plan to Beat the Odds

by Robert Hellmann • Getting Interviews, Job-Search Strategy, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo

Job searches go faster when job-seekers first take a step back to plan strategically. And careful planning has become even more important during these challenging economic times. Think of it this way; your “job” in a job search is to be a world-class consultative salesperson, for yourself. So do what the best salespeople do: plan carefully first, to get the highest return on your time investment. Here’s a seven step job search plan that has gotten results for my clients, and that any great salesperson would appreciate.

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