Category: Charting Your Career for Success

Working through stacks of resumes, hiring managers and recruiters spend just seconds on deciding whether to save you resume or delete it. Job seekers must know how to write resumes employers will want to read. ~ Jay Wren List things you have accomplished. Do not waste space on your just giving a job description. List…… Continue reading Resumes Employers Will Want to Read

How to Start a Personal Services Company: A Guide for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Starting your own personal services company can be a rewarding experience, offering flexibility, autonomy, and the chance to build a business that aligns with your passions. However, it also comes with unique challenges and considerations. Here’s a breakdown to help you navigate the…… Continue reading How to Start a Personal Services Company: A Guide for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Working through stacks of resumes, hiring managers and recruiters only spend seconds deciding whether to save you resume or delete it.  You need to know how to write resumes employers will want to read. The best resumes show why you are the most qualified candidate for the job. ~ www.jaywren.com Thirty Years of Reading Resumes I…… Continue reading Complete Guide for Writing the Perfect Resume

Hiring in 2025 is being shaped by several key trends, reflecting rapid technological advancements and evolving workplace priorities. Here’s a breakdown of what’s trending: Focus on Vocational Skills: The emphasis is shifting from traditional qualifications like degrees to what candidates can actually do. Skill-based hiring is becoming a primary focus. Companies are developing competency frameworks…… Continue reading Dramatic Hiring Trends that You Must Know About

Job offers: There are many things that you need to know to get a job offer. For some people, turning down a job offer is unpleasant. Handling the situation with confidence is often difficult. Learning to say no to other people is critical to creating healthy relationships. www.jaywren.com How you turn down a job offer is important…… Continue reading How to Turn Down A Job Offer

Build a Powerhouse Reference List as Part of Building Your Professional Network. It seems that most people think of creating a reference list when a hiring manager requests to see one. Another approach is to mention to people with whom you seem to bond that at some point you, should you need a reference, you…… Continue reading Building a Powerhouse Reference List

Identify your career options. Develop a refined list of options by examining your interests, skills, and values through self-assessment, researching companies, and talking to experienced professionals. You can further narrow your list when you take part in experiences such as shadowing or working alongside a company employee, volunteering, or internships. Next, list all the things…… Continue reading Identify Your Career Options

Offer Questions: Mutual understanding starts with great questions. Here are questions you should ask before accepting a job offer. When a company makes offers you a job, you have done a lot of work. Writing your resume, scheduling interviews, company research, job interviews, follow up, and other steps along the way. Now you are in…… Continue reading Job Offer Questions: 6 Questions to Ask before Accepting a Job Offer

Education requirements vary. The requirements vary by the job type. Additionally, education requirements vary from job sector and from one employer to the next. This article shows you how to prepare for presenting your education to get the maximum interviews. Understanding Education Requirements Knowing the education requirements of any job is important. Before going to…… Continue reading Education and Your Job Search

Career Strategy: Where do you start in creating a strategic plan that is tailored for you? What do you need to know about adjusting your plan to an ever-changing job market? Check-off List A career plan creates a check-off list. Through this check-off list, you will create focus and direction. Your intuition can emerge to…… Continue reading Career Strategy: Creating a Powerful Plan for Your Success

Career Plan Benefits: a great career plan is an opportunity map. As your career advances, industry will change. Your career plan must be flexible to adjust to changes in industry. With an updated plan, you will discover new roads for opportunities to success. Great career plans not only define where you want to go. The…… Continue reading Career Plan Benefits: Understanding the Process

Unemployed Job Seekers: How unemployed job seekers become more competitive against the employed job seekers. Unemployed Job Seekers People without a job face additional pressure. Loss of income during unemployment can create anxiety.  To an employer, a person being unemployed creates the perception of instability. This perception can weaken an applicant’s ability to get interviews.…… Continue reading Unemployed Job Seekers: How to be Competitive

Interview Pitfalls: If you are unemployed, the reason you left your last job may be important to the hiring company. The interview pitfalls are creating impressions that you have done something wrong. Your answers can help the interviewer learn several important things about you. Therefore, create your answers based on what you believe the interviewer…… Continue reading Interview Pitfalls: Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

Job interview agenda: a list of topics to be introduced during an interview. Bringing an agenda to an interview gives you several advantages. First, the agenda provides you with a reference sheet. With your resume and your agenda, you will have the facts in front of you. Furthermore, having an agenda will help you stand…… Continue reading Job Interview Agenda: A Powerful Tool for Job Seekers

Warning signs: What should you look for when you are interviewing for a job? Should you be interviewing with a better company? As the owner of a recruiting firm, I worked with applicants who dealt with troubling issues during the interview process.  Here are some of the things I learned from my experience in helping…… Continue reading Warning Signs: Are You Interviewing with the Wrong Company?

Winning Performance is not only about how hard you work or how many skills you have. It’s, also, about having the soft skills for working effectively. Day in, day out, equally talented people give different levels of winning performance. Likewise, equally talented people can have widely different career success. Here are seven steps that will…… Continue reading Winning Performance: How to Build on Your Skills for Success

Job Change Success:  In this article you will find powerful tools that others have found helpful in making an effective career move. Career Change Success: 5 Essential Elements Resume Resume Cover Letter Interview and Interview Preparation Thank You Letter Extra Tools and Tips You don’t have to do everything for success. But you do have…… Continue reading Job Change Success: The Elements and Actions of Making a Job Change

Overqualified: Are you frustrated, because hiring companies will not see you for jobs you can do easily?  You are not alone.  Here are the reasons why you are not getting interviews and what you can do about it. The Risks to Employers of Hiring Overqualified People Speaking as a recruiter, I can tell you that…… Continue reading Overqualified: How to Get Interviews that Match Your Skills

Career Planning:  Just because you are unhappy with your current job does not mean that you should get a new one.  There are reasons to stay where you are even though you believe you might be happier somewhere else. Are You in the Wrong Job? If you feel unappreciated, are you in the wrong job? …… Continue reading Career Planning: Weighing the Decision to Change Jobs

Job Search Tools: Are stuck in your job search?  Perhaps the list of tools in the article will help you land the job you deserve. Powerful Resume Powerful Resumes: Are you sending out dozens of resumes and not getting job interviews. You might find the suggestions in my article “Powerful Resumes: The Critical Details for…… Continue reading Job Search Tools that Can Land the Job You Deserve

Interview killers:  How well you interview will decide whether you get the job. Here are thirteen things that can undermine your interview. Avoiding Interview Killers An interview is a critical step to getting a job.  Preparing for your interview and making good choices in handling your interview can turn your interview into a job offer.…… Continue reading Interview Killers: 13 Things That Will Undermine Your Success

The best job applicants do things that land them job offers. Furthermore, they set themselves apart from other job applicants to be the person companies want to hire. “In a job interview, it is far better to get a job offer than to have to learn from your mistakes.” ~ www.JayWren.com The Best Job Applicants…… Continue reading The Best Job Applicants Do These Seven Things.

Jay Wren Client List: For me, building a successful business never ended. It was a continual process of expanding my skills and expanding my network, of adapting and innovating to win business. Jay Wren Partial Client List of Companies I Have Served Building a business or a career is a continual process of expanding your…… Continue reading Jay Wren Consumer Packaged Goods Client List – Building a Business Never Ends

Resume Cover Letters: How important is your resume cover letter?  It is as important as your resume for getting an interview. Resume Cover Letters: Do You Have the Perfect Resume and No Job Interviews? Do you have the perfect resume and not getting interviews?  The reason could be your cover letter. If your cover letter does…… Continue reading Resume Cover Letters: Do You Have the Perfect Resume and No Job Interviews?

Wrong company: What should you look for when you are interviewing for a job? Are you wasting your time when you could be making better progress in your job search? As the owner of a recruiting firm, I coached applicants who dealt with troubling issues during the interview process. Here are things I learned from…… Continue reading 4 Warning Signs You are Interviewing with the Wrong Company

Some cities and states offer more than a place to work.  They offer high job growth rate and long-term career security. What are the top states and cities? Studies from the Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business give interesting information that helps us find answers to those questions. ASU’s Top 10 Cities for Job…… Continue reading Top 10 Cities & States for Job Growth Rate

The Consumer-Packaged Goods Industry: Is It for You? Are you just beginning your career?  Or perhaps, are you considering switching industries?   The Consumer-Packaged goods industry might offer the career you are seeking. The Consumer-Packaged Goods Industry Defined: What is the Consumer-Packaged goods industry? Consumer-Packaged goods companies sell products essential consumers.  These products they make are ones…… Continue reading The Consumer-Packaged Goods Industry: Is It for You?

Job References:  Can You Trust Them? “Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” ― Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson Most hiring companies do reference checks on potential employees.  How reliable are these references?  How risky are they to the job seeker and to the people who…… Continue reading Job References: Can You Trust Them?

How you negotiate salary depends on many things. Here are three of the things that affect how you negotiate salary. The size of the company:  Larger companies have structured compensation plans.  The plans have pay grades.  The pay grades have three levels: entry range, mid-range, upper range.  Smart hiring managers don’t hire people into the…… Continue reading How to Negotiate Salary

Business Meeting:  Meeting preparation is important.  Equally important is having the right tools.  What should you bring to a meeting? No One is Competitive Without the Right Equipment. www.jaywren.com Business Meeting What you bring to a business meeting is as important as the things you say or do in a business meeting.  Getting to a business…… Continue reading 8 Things Successful People Bring to a Business Meeting

There are 4 job search myths that can prevent you from finding the perfect job. Myth #1 Interview Skills Let’s debunk the myth that interview skills are not important.  If you believe that you only need to show that you are qualified to get a job offer, you are going to lose job offers to the…… Continue reading 4 Job Search Myths

Employment references are an important part of the job-seeking process. Generally, companies will ask for professional references.  These are people with whom and for whom you have worked.  They often include former employers, co-workers, vendors, buyers, and people you know through business associations.  In addition, companies may ask for personal references.  These people are your neighbors,…… Continue reading Employment References

Why Do You Want to Work for Our Company?  This question is helpful for you to know before you go to the interview. Preparing to answer this question will help you prepare to discuss the opportunity with the company.  If you know enough about a company to explain why you want to work for the…… Continue reading Why Do You Want to Work for Our Company?

“Why were you fired?” is one of the most difficult questions in interviewing.  How do you prepare your answer?  How do you deliver it? Write down and rehearse your answer. Do not let a bad case of the nerves and poor interview preparation allow you to trip over your words.  Rehearse your answer so that…… Continue reading ‘Why Were You Fired?’

How to write a resume: having a resume is an essential part of getting a job for most people.  I based the information in this article on two sources.  The first source is the hundreds of resumes I have read as a corporate recruiter.  The second source is the feedback I have received from hiring…… Continue reading How to Write a Resume

Why Did You Quit Your Last Job? If you are unemployed, a common job interview question is why did you quit your last job.  The answer has value to the interviewer for several reasons. Your answer can help the interviewer know whether the type of job you are seeking is available at the interviewer’s company. …… Continue reading Why Did You Quit Your Last Job?

How to Cancel and Reschedule a Job Interview Knowing how to cancel and reschedule a job interview is an important part of the job interview process. Having to cancel a job interview can cost you the opportunity itself.  Before you can return for a rescheduled interview, another applicant might fill the job.  Additionally, frustrated hiring…… Continue reading How to Cancel and Reschedule a Job Interview

Landing a job with your elevator pitch takes preparation.  Before you go to an interview, you should script and practice a brief presentation to discuss why the company should hire you. Your elevator pitch should cover three points. State the objective of the job. Before you go to an interview, study the job description.  Learn…… Continue reading Landing a Job with Your Elevator Pitch

Why should we hire you and not one of the other candidates? This interview question is one of the many scripted interview questions that challenge your ability to think on the spot. You do not know anything about the other candidates.  Therefore, you need to focus the answer on yourself.  Some people focus on the…… Continue reading Why Should I Hire You?