The Only Stats That Matter

Are you getting interviews?

Are you getting job offers?

Nothing else counts. OK, you can tell yourself that it's a number's game (and it really is) and that if you just send out enough resumes you'll eventualy get an interview. But is it THE INTERVIEW that you want, and is "eventually" soon enough for you? Would you like to reduce those numbers and increase your chances of getting the interview, sooner rather than later?

If you do get an interview, but you don't get a job offer, that opportunity is gone. Do you ever leave an interview thinking to yourself, "I wish I'd said...."?

In this economy, you can't afford to send out less than the best representation of who you are and what you have to offer, and you can't afford to blow an interview opportunity because you were not prepared for the experience.

If you're fortunate enough to get the job offer, have you experienced the "winner's curse"? That's the feeling you get when you're dealing with someone and they immediately accept your terms, which makes you think, "I was too low...I could have done better."

All of these experiences are common, mainly because most people so rarely have to go through them. These are people who are very good at what they do but who haven't had to market themselves in a very long time and don't really know how to do it, especially in this buyer's market where the rules are totally different than they were during the booming economic times of a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately, we don't get "do-overs" in the job and career search process. Each opportunity is too valuable to waste. Knowledge of a few "do's and don'ts" in resumes and interviews can make an amazing difference in your effectiveness in the job and career search. Take the time to get it right.

If you were going to take some kind of important exam or engage in some demanding physical activity in the near future, would you study and prepare your mind and body for what you knew was coming? Of course you would! Don't let something as important as your job and career opportunities go to waste because you were not ready. It's not that hard to do, and it can make all the difference between failure and success.