Map Out Your Future with a Career Plan
May 8, 2012
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Just as you might drive aimlessly around an unfamiliar area if you don’t have a map, you run the risk of drifting aimlessly throughout your working life if you don’t have a career plan. But the stakes are much higher in that case.
A career plan is basically a strategic plan for your career. And they’re as important for business owners as they are for employees. Your career plan can be as simple or as complex as you like, but if you’ve never written one before, you might find it useful to start in the simplest way – with a “Career Plan on a Page” that you can write in an afternoon. To help you stay on track, at the end of this post I’ve included a one page career plan template, for you to download and complete to keep you motivated and focused.
Like most plans, career plans are formulated from the three basic strategic planning questions:
- Where am I now?
- Where do I want to be in the future?
- How am I going to get there?
So the first thing you need to do to write your Career Plan is to answer those questions.
Where am I now?
To answer this question, think about:
- The stage you’re currently at in your career
- Your life stage, and future life plans – planning to start a family in the near future is likely to have a major impact on your short-term career plans
- The things you do well – the talents you have that come naturally to you – if you’re not sure, ask your family, friends and work colleagues
- Your values
- Your transferable skills – good communication skills are an example – you can take them with you from job to job. Also think about your industry-specific transferable skills, or skills that can take you from one industry to another. For example, media management skills can be used to open doors across almost any industry, as well as across media agencies; and as the basis of a freelance business.
- The things you enjoy doing, outside work as well as those related to your job
- Your dislikes
- Your work experience and qualifications
Where do I want to be in the future?
Think about:
- Your personality in terms of job fit – if you’re a free spirit, a job that requires you to clock on and off or be micro-managed would not be a good fit. If you like a 9-5 job with a regular pay packet, it’s probably not the best idea to pursue a telemarketing career.
- Your long term lifestyle preferences, and the type of salary you need to fund them
- The industries or professions you’re interested in
- The jobs you’d like to have in the future – even if they seem a long way from where you are now
How am I going to get there?
- Think about the match between your current skills and experience and those that you’ll need for your goal job.
- Then think about the gaps in skills and experience you’ll need to fill.
- And the best part of the process (it sounds like a lot of work, but will really get you motivated) – think about how you can get the skills, experience and qualifications you need for your chosen job, then fill in the action plan on the template with goals, actions required to achieve your goals, the resources you’ll need and the milestones along the way to success!
Before you start work on your career plan, there are two important things you need to know – one is that just like strategic plans and business plans, career plans are meant to be “living documents”, and need to be updated as your circumstances and ideas change.
The other is that there’s a whole profession built around career planning. My “Career Plan on a Page” is a basic plan that works well for most people, but if you feel you’d benefit from a more detailed plan, or from professional career planning support; for example if you know what you’d like to do but don’t know how to get there, it’s well worth investing in a consultation with a professional career planner.
Download your “Career Plan on a Page” template here . If you would prefer a Word version of the template, which can be saved electronically, please email me and I’ll send you one by return.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN WAREHAM MCGRATH:
- Your 7 Step Blueprint for Interview Success
- 5 Career Resolutions to Banish Your Workplace Woes in 2012
- Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is an experienced Australian jobsearch strategist, career management consultant and registered migration agent. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women and has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007.
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Your 7 Step Blueprint for Interview Success
February 14, 2012
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Taking part in a job interview is an exciting, but daunting, thought for most job applicants, even seasoned professionals.
Attending an interview can be even more stressful for job candidates who are changing career paths, returning to the workforce after a break, or those newly arrived in Australia.
Although Australia is famous for its relaxed, laid back culture, Australian employers and recruiters take interviews very seriously. So below is my personal blueprint of interview tips to give you the best chance of impressing your interviewer or interview panel.
1. Be prepared
- Arrive at least ten minutes early.
- Check the location of the interview in advance – if you don’t know the area, be sure to make a trial run beforehand to ensure you arrive on time, especially if you need to use public transport to get there.
2. Research the organisation and its industry
- As a well-briefed applicant, you will show the panel that you are taking the job seriously and are keen to be part of the organisation.
- There’s no use researching unless the interviewer knows you’ve made the effort to do so, so introduce points from your research into your answers to the interview questions wherever possible.
3. Address the panel members by name
- Take a notepad and write down the name of each interviewer after the introductions.
- Refer to your notes and use their names throughout the interview.
- If an interviewer introduces themselves with their first and last name, for example “Hi, I’m John Smith”, it is courteous to call them “Mr Smith” during the interview. If they would like you to call them “John”, they will invite you to do so.
4. Ensure you dress in a manner that reflects the occupation
- If you are being interviewed for a corporate role, or in a conservative business environment, it is advisable to wear a suit to the interview, even if you won’t be required to wear one on a daily basis.
- For other roles, a smart business look is generally acceptable; tailored if possible to reflect the culture of the employing organisation.
- If you are not sure what to wear to your interview, it is better to dress too formally than too casually.
- Make sure that your grooming is immaculate, even if you are applying for a role that doesn’t require customer or client contact. Grooming includes all of: hair, face, teeth, nails, perfume/aftershave, clothing, bags, shoes and accessories!
- If you are a smoker, do not smoke within an hour before the interview. If you walk into an interview with the smell of cigarettes on your breath and clinging to your clothing, it could leave a negative impression on a non-smoking interviewer or panel member.
- Wear an outfit that you are comfortable in, so you do not distract your interviewer by constantly fiddling with it, straightening it, tucking it in or adjusting it during the interview.
5. Answer questions comprehensively
- Take a copy of the job description, your CV, application letter and responses to selection criteria or claims against competencies along with you to the interview.
- Take a moment to consider each question that is put to you. Stay calm, organise your thoughts and give a focused answer, using the material above to help frame your responses if you need to.
- Wherever possible in your responses, relate your experience to the duties of the role you’re applying for.
- Answer questions comprehensively, but resist the impulse to keep talking after you have addressed each part of the question.
- Prepare at least one question to ask the interviewer when you are invited to do so towards the conclusion of the interview; it will be taken as a sign of interest in the position.
6. Watch your body language
- When you are introduced to the interviewer or panel, make sure your handshake is firm and confident. A weak handshake is as bad as one that it so strong it crushes the recipient’s hand. Neither will impress your interviewer.
- Make eye contact with the interviewer throughout the interview.
- If you are participating in a panel interview, each interviewer will ask you one or more questions in turn. Respond primarily to the interviewer who asked the question, but include the others in your response, by making eye contact with each of them as you respond.
7. Thank the interviewers
- At the conclusion of the interview, thank the interviewers and follow up by sending a brief thank you note within three working days of the interview.
An important thing to remember when attending an interview is that your CV and covering letter have already done much of the hard work for you – if you hadn’t already showcased yourself as a leading candidate, you wouldn’t be there.
So at your next interview, take a deep breath, smile and follow the blueprint above to stay calm, cool and collected - with your interview nerves under control, you might even find yourself enjoying the experience!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN WAREHAM MCGRATH:
- 5 Career Resolutions to Banish Your Workplace Woes in 2012
- Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.
- Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is an experienced Australian immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 and leads the ABN’s herCareer initiative.
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5 Career Resolutions to Banish Your Workplace Woes in 2012
January 17, 2012
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Along with your personal New Year’s resolutions, did you make any career resolutions for 2012? If you’re suffering from workplace woes, here are five resolutions to help you make your career work for you this year!
1. Give your Career a Health Check
Just as you need to look after your own health, you need to look after your career’s health to make it work for you. The start of the year is a great time to review your progress towards your career goals and make plans for the rest of the year.
Consider setting aside some time to think about:
- where you are now
- where you would like to be
- what you need to do to get there
and write a simple career management plan to help you keep on track over the next twelve months.
Remember to include SMART goals and milestones; and don’t be afraid to change the plan as your circumstances change – just like strategic plans, career management plans should be living documents with built-in flexibility to be adaptable to changing circumstances.
2. Update your Résumé
Have you ever missed out on a job opportunity because you didn’t have a current résumé at the ready? Don’t let that happen again – spend some time this weekend getting your résumé up to date!
Some tips for a competitive résumé:
- Make it achievement focused, rather than a list of duties taken directly from your job description
- Consider carefully whether including a career objective is adding value – even résumé writing professionals disagree on this issue
- Try and keep it to 3 or 4 pages
- Use keywords liberally throughout your résumé
- Keep the format clean, simple and professional (no funny or suggestive email addresses please!) and
- Proofread and check it carefully
Also, remember that résumés need to be targeted to specific jobs, so always review your résumé from the employer’s perspective before submitting it, to ensure its content is specific to the job in question – recent research has found that employers take less than 20 seconds to decide whether a résumé is worth consideration, so it’s important that you showcase your suitability for the role from the start.
3. Review your Social Media Profiles
Be very careful how you present yourself on social media. It can be your best friend or your worst foe in terms of career branding, as increasing numbers of employers check candidates’ social media profiles when considering their employment application.
How would your social media profiles shape up against employer scrutiny?
When you’re engaged in a job search, it’s well worth looking through the eyes of a prospective employer at the image you present to the online world. Does your Facebook page contain content that might work against you in a job search? If so, you could consider making it private (at least temporarily).
Is your LinkedIn profile up to date and keyword rich so it comes up in searches for people in your industry? Have you used LinkedIn to connect strategically, join groups and build up your profile as an expert in your field?
Do you have an online CV?
If not, it’s never too late to start – even spending a little time on developing a professional social media profile will provide you with a very positive return.
4. Access the Hidden Job Market
It’s been estimated that up to 85% of Australian jobs are not advertised publicly; constituting Australia’s “hidden job market”. And these jobs come with an added bonus. Industry estimates indicate that only 5% – 10% of candidates know of them, so there is much less competition for them – a real bonus for savvy jobseekers!
So how do you break into the hidden job market?
There are a number of strategies you can use.
One of the most effective strategies is networking – making connections with people who can advise you of potential or current job opportunities, or who can introduce you to people who are aware of those opportunities. Personal and online networking are both very effective ways of gaining leads and introductions. In the online space, LinkedIn in particular is a great networking resource for people who are looking for a new job, especially when you approach your LinkedIn job search campaign in a focused and strategic way.
A second strategy to break into the hidden job market is to undertake industry research to identify organisations you would like to work for; then either cold call the HR department, or if you find cold calling daunting, introduce yourself in writing, advising you’ll follow up with a phone call. Prepare what you’re going to say in advance, ensuring you highlight the ways in which you can add value to the organisation. Follow up by sending a short letter or email to the person you spoke to, thanking them for their time and reiterating your interest in working for the organisation – a small gesture that has a lot of impact!
Registering with recruitment agencies is another effective strategy to access the hidden job market. Not only do professional recruitment consultants often know of jobs that aren’t advertised elsewhere, but they are skilled at promoting their candidates and can give you invaluable advice about presentation, branding and interview skills to assist you through the job application process.
5. Define and Promote your Personal Brand
In career terms, your personal brand is the way you present yourself and your unique value proposition to everyone you come into contact with who has the potential to impact on your career. This includes work colleagues, your employer, clients, recruiters, professional networks, friends and people you meet through your professional social media networks.
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression
… so it’s important that you promote your personal brand professionally from the start. When you’re applying for a job, you start building your brand with your résumé and application letter and your performance at interview is also part of your branding – whether you dress appropriately, your body language, your confidence and mannerisms.
As an employee, having a good, strong brand that clearly and consistently indicates your value to an employer in the ways they need the most will ensure you stand out from the crowd and have a head start in the competition to move up the career ladder.
A final note – value congruence is an important part of branding, so don’t force yourself to apply for a position that offends your values, or in an organisation that clashes with your ethics – it won’t work – you’ll feel fake, make yourself unhappy and your brand will eventually fall apart.
So there you have them – your career management plan, a targeted, updated résumé , a great social media presence, the hidden job market and personal branding – five career tools you can use this year to banish your workplace woes for good!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN WAREHAM MCGRATH:
- Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.
- Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
- How to write a winning application letter
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is an experienced Australian immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 and leads the ABN’s herCareer initiative.
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Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.
October 13, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
The dreaded ‘elevator pitch’.
A concept that involves explaining your job, or business, in the 30 second or so time span of an elevator ride.
Although I’m told I do them well, I find elevator speeches to be a form of corporate torture, high on the list of workplace tasks guaranteed to induce cringing, irritation and long-lasting embarrassment. Why? They’re impossible to get right and I can’t fit everything I do in 30 seconds. Plus, I hate talking about myself. And whenever I recite an elevator pitch, I feel as if I’m reading from a script. Very artificial and spin doctored.
So when I first came across the Chicago Tribune’s story about elevator pitches, I had a moment of hope that the awful things had been ousted and buried for ever in the brave new corporate world of social media. It contained promising nuggets like:
- “When I’ve referenced the elevator pitch in passing, most people made derisive comments about the whole concept”.
- “ Many had learned about it in business school, but few took it seriously”
- “For those of us behind the scenes in communications, HR and finance, the whole experience felt awkward, and our terrible pitches proved that”.
Sadly, I was wrong.
Of the 13 experts surveyed by the Tribune, four were in favour of elevator speeches, five against and four inconclusive.
Overall, the trend seems to be toward improving elevator speeches following general social media principles, rather than binning them.
Here are some tips from the experts interviewed by the Tribune:
- Keep them short and sharp
- Focus on how you make a difference
- Adapt one speech to various situations
- Present with increased efficiency and clarity, and
- Use your elevator speech to “pack a punch”.
So it’s back to the drawing board for me!
I do feel a little better though after reading the comment attributed to Alan Weiss, organisation development consultant and executive coach – “These have always been silly. Would you listen to one? I’d stop the elevator and throw the person off”.
It’s good to know I’m not entirely alone!
Read the full story here: ‘Improve your ‘elevator pitch’.
What’s your attitude toward elevator speeches? Are they still relevant? Do you find them an artificial means of presenting yourself?
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN MCGRATH:
- Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
- How to write a winning application letter
- Kate Ellis’s commitment to EOWA. Why the $11.2 million investment is not enough.
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
September 30, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Today, I’m writing about a career development strategy, which comes with an altruistic bonus - serving on a third sector (non-profit, charity or community) board or management committee.
While these positions are generally unpaid, they are an excellent way to build professional reputations, develop a high profile, obtain leadership experience and take the first step towards gaining experience that could lead to a paid position on a corporate or government board in the future.
Taking on a board or management committee role is a significant commitment, both personally and professionally, so there are a number of things to consider before deciding to apply.
Mission and Values
Firstly, you need to ensure that your personal ethics and drive are congruent with the mission, vision and day to day work of the board you are considering – there is no point, for example, in an animal liberationist seeking a position on the management committee of a fishing club, or someone with no interest in business joining the board of the local Chamber of Commerce – in both cases, it will only be a matter of time before you lose interest and leave.
Time Considerations
You also need to ensure that you have sufficient time and motivation to carry out the requirements of the role. While meetings themselves might only be scheduled for a few hours each month, there is generally a lot of outside hours work required of board members, for example reading and considering agenda items, perusing financials, preparing reports, sometimes representing the board or committee at forums and other public events, taking part in fundraising activities and often participating in discussions with your board colleagues outside scheduled meetings.
Reputation
The reputation of the board and the organisation, their legal history and financial viability are also important considerations, as board and management committee members have legal, financial and governance responsibilities that must be addressed.
Before Committing…
Before committing to join a board, you should also think about issues such as your fit with existing board members, the board’s governance framework and policies, its training for new board members and whether the role on offer is a good match with your own background, skills and experience.
There is a lot to consider in deciding whether to make the commitment to join a third sector board, just as there is in deciding to take on any leadership role. But finding the right board is well worth the effort, not only from the career perspective, but also from the perspective of having the opportunity to bring your expertise to the table, to support a cause you care about.
This is the last post in the 30 Days to a Great Career series!
We hope you’ve enjoyed the great career tips and inspiration to help advance your career this month. Read all herCareer posts here.
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Forget work/life balance; work/life fit is better for you
- Approaching Your Boss – a Mentoring Perspective
- Grammatical glitches that spell “disaster” for job applicants
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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Forget work/life balance; work/life fit is better for you
September 29, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
The Huffington Post, recently published, “Supermoms At Higher Risk For Depression: Study” – a pragmatic, powerful and practical piece about avoiding the almost universal guilt and frequent depression felt by working mothers.
Key points include:
- Mothers are better off at home if that’s really where they want to be and they’re better off working if that’s where they really want to be. Such a simple – and powerful – statement!
- Own your choices – this is a particularly good point for mothers who would prefer to be at home, but have to work. You don’t have to love your job, but if you know in some fundamental way that you made the right decision about working, you’ll be more comfortable going forward than if you’re always questioning yourself.
- Find your work-life “fit” – not balance. Why? Because “balance” is a guilt word; it implies you have to have everything on an even keel and that if you give to one side, you take from the other. “Fit”, on the other hand, is about doing whatever works for you. When balance is out of the equation, so is the guilt that comes with trying to achieve it.
- Align your expectations with reality. Staying stuck with expectations that aren’t coming true leads to depression and guilt.
Click here to read the full article, which includes a list of six practical tips to banish working mothers’ guilt for good!
My response:
Over the past forty years, the feminist mantra that “women can have it all” has subtly turned to show its dark side, that in order to have it all, “women must do it all”.
Current research shows that despite the advert of modern feminism, working mothers – even those engaged in full-time work – still do most of their family’s housework, cooking, shopping and childcare and hands-on caring responsibilities for other family members, such as aged relatives. Easily a 70-80 hour working week, when travelling, working and domestic work is taken into account.
Against that backdrop, the expectation that so many women put upon themselves, to manage the perfect home, be the perfect mother and have the perfect career, or run the perfect business, is a recipe for emotional and psychological disaster.
The work/life balance myth has added to this pressure, causing women to question why they can’t find that elusive balance that would enable them to hold all the parts of their life together.
Unfortunately, the only structural and long term solution to the woes of Australia’s working mothers that I can see lies in the hands of government. Not an ideal situation, but all we have to work with.
The government is already recognising the importance of quality child care, by planning to staff early years child care centres with qualified teachers – a step in the right direction. But that is of little use to mothers whose children are currently on a two to three year waiting list to access their centre of choice, or who aren’t able to use child care centres because they close too early.
Like it or not, it’s a fact of life that many mothers are not in the privileged position of being able to collect their children by 6 pm. Child care centre operators should be encouraged to recognise this and extend their hours to a more realistic timeframe, with the government subsidising their additional operating costs, to avoid the ridiculous situation of centres charging $1+ for every minute a parent is late collecting their child. Outside school hours care should also be subsidised in the same way.
Family day care is not everyone’s choice and parents should not be forced to put their child into that model of care because nothing else is available.
I would also like to see the use of accredited domestic support services made tax deductible, to increase their affordability to all working Australians (I say “working Australians” because some groups of non-working Australians already receive subsided or free domestic services) and open up employment options in the home services field, thereby reducing the ongoing drain on government funds caused by able-bodied people accepting unemployment benefits.
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Approaching Your Boss – a Mentoring Perspective
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- Making A Good Impression: 7 Keys To A More Professional Image
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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How to write a winning application letter
September 27, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
In today’s competitive job market, you might have an outstanding résumé, but unless it catches the employer’s attention, it is unlikely that you will obtain an interview. That’s where a well written application letter can make all the difference.
To develop a strong application letter, you must always remember that the sole purpose of your application is to market yourself as the best candidate for the position.
Put yourself in the employer’s shoes
Think about what they are looking for in a candidate; and draft your letter accordingly. The best way to do that is to use your application letter to draw a clear connection between your skills, experience and knowledge and the employer’s requirements.
A professional application letter consists of three sections: an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
Introduction
Use the introduction to state your interest in the job and explain how you heard about it – from an advertisement, personal recommendation or other means.
Body
The body is the longest part of the letter and should state your enthusiasm for the position, as well as briefly explain why the employer should read your résumé. This is the section where you draw the connection between your expertise and the employer’s requirements and explain your points of difference from other applicants, promoting yourself as an excellent candidate and potential interviewee.
Conclusion
The concluding paragraph should request an interview and invite the employer to contact you if they would like any further information.
Application letters should have three, or at the most four paragraphs and generally be no longer than one page in length. An effective application letter should, above all, be professional. It should be typewritten, free of spelling and grammatical errors and have a positive, courteous tone.
With a well-written application letter and a professional résumé, applicants can be confident that when they attend their long-awaited interview, they will already have impressed their potential employer, significantly improving their chances of long-term career success.
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Grammatical glitches that spell “disaster” for job applicants
- Making A Good Impression: 7 Keys To A More Professional Image
- Board quotas – are they the answer?
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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Grammatical glitches that spell “disaster” for job applicants
September 26, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
I was driven to write today’s post by the number of grammatical errors and misspellings I come across regularly, on resumes, application letters, websites, jobseekers’ blogs and their professional social media profiles.
It’s a fact that grammatical glitches, clunky copy and sloppy spelling do not impress employers. And the bad news for job applicants is that such semantic saboteurs can impact negatively on their prospective employer’s opinion of their application.
So here’s my personal hit list of errors that dumb down personal brands – and turn off prospective employers.
The Wandering Apostrophe
In my eyes, the worst offender of all is the wandering apostrophe. As a punctuation symbol, it looks innocent enough, but can grate on an employer’s nerves when it’s used incorrectly, particularly when it’s used to denote a plural.
Apostrophes are generally happiest when used to indicate the omission of one or more letters (for example, the contraction of “it is” to “it’s”); and to indicate the possessive case (for example, “the cat’s fur”).
The use of apostrophes to denote plurals (for example, “the sentence contained two comma’s”) is wrong, as is a significant exception to the possessive case rule above – the use of “it’s” to denote ownership.
Whenever I see “it’s” used to indicate possession, I can’t help but expand the contraction – to me “the cat licked it’s fur” reads “the cat licked it is fur”. Such errors are not only grammatically wrong, but can smack of unprofessionalism to prospective employers who care about such things.
Heterographs
Almost as bad as the uncorralled apostrophe is the incorrect use of “your” versus “you’re”, “too” versus “to” and “their” versus “there”. It’s really not that hard to take a few seconds to think about what you’re trying to say and check that your words reflect your intent. In fact, it’s so easy, why would you not do so, when initial impressions of your ability to value add as an employee are at stake?
Weasel Words
Weasel words are words that are deliberately used to gloss over bad news, or to make a statement misleading; for example, “Send in your details and be in the draw to win a car every day for a month.”
The reality is, of course, that a draw will be held each day of the month in question, with a car allocated as the prize of each individual draw. But the sentence above was written in such a way that it implies the winner of the draw would win between 28 and 31 cars, delivered in daily increments over the period of one month.
Weasel words fool very few employers and can lead to a perception that the applicant using them is at best spindoctoring, or at worst being evasive about their employment history – not a favourable impression to leave with a prospective employer.
Comma casualties
Reading text that places commas incorrectly, or fails to use them at all, puts me into a state of punctuation paranoia – for example, the difference in meaning between “Let’s cook, James” and “Let’s cook James” is quite significant – and all due to the strategic use of a comma.
Dangling participles
“Eating my lunch, the sun shone brightly.” Really? The sun was eating the writer’s lunch while shining brightly? Of course not. What the writer meant to say was “As I was eating my lunch, the sun shone brightly”.
If the meaning of a sentence is anything less than crystal clear, it’s time for a redraft!
In Australia’s highly competitive job market, it’s essential to use every tool at your disposal to excel throughout the application process. Proofread, double check, and preferably have someone else review your professional website, LinkedIn profile, blog, CV and cover letter before you submit your application.
Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression!
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
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- Making A Good Impression: 7 Keys To A More Professional Image
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- The Power of a Handshake
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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Board quotas – are they the answer?
September 24, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Australia’s peak shareholders’ body recently said women should be appointed to company boards according to their abilities, not arbitrary quotas, according to The Australian newspaper. And Federal Opposition Women’s Affairs spokesperson Michaelia Cash restated the Coalition’s opposition to gender quotas, in response to Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey’s call for women to occupy a mandated 30 per cent of boardroom positions.
Meanwhile, Governor-General Quentin Bryce used International Women’s Day to call for board quotas, saying they are needed to break the “old boys” stranglehold over Australian business, and Australian Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis has stated that quotas were a last resort but that the government was leaving this option on the table.
But are we targeting the real problem in our discussions about quotas and getting more women onto Australian boards? I don’t think so.
I see the lack of women on boards as just a symptom of a much deeper problem that seems to have had disappointingly little media attention paid to it.
The real issue – the problem that must be addressed before any sustainable progress can be made toward gender equity in corporate Australia - is Australia’s prevailing organisational culture that keeps women off boards, by restricting their access to the C-suite executive roles that are feeder positions to corporate directorships.
I recently undertook a piece of research relating to factors that affect women’s representation on boards in Australia. I only used significant Australian and international studies that were up to two years old, so my sources were somewhat limited, but even so, they identified no less than sixteen separate and evidence-based factors that currently block women’s ascendency to the board table.
Just a few of these factors were:
- the culture of mateship that continues to pervade Australian boards
- a lack of transparency in board appointment processes, and a failure to articulate and assess applicants against clear selection criteria
- the fact that boards usually recruit from restricted pools of applicants that are already known to, or referred by, their members
- board members’ tendency to “appoint in their own image”
- the fact that significantly fewer males than females see gender diversity on boards as a strategic corporate priority
- organisational expectations of a straight-line, always-available, geographically mobile career model
- the fact that board feeder positions – senior corporate C-suite roles with line management responsibilities – are predominantly filled by men
- the lack of support for women who wish to continue to build their careers after having a child, or taking on caring responsibilities; for example, personally tailored return to work programs, telecommuting and the provision of quality, flexible child care
- the lack of high level female mentors to assist other women get onto boards and into board feeder roles within an organisation
And this is despite the fact that evidence has proven over and over again that having women in leadership positions and on boards is good for business, not only by leading to improved financial and corporate results, but because it leads to improved governance, enhanced public perception of the organisation and better employee attraction and retention.
The introduction of quotas would certainly improve the gender balance on Australian boards, and would do so over a very short period of time.
But the introduction of quotas would also have the potential to encourage lip-service, forced compliance, a public questioning of the worthiness of the incumbents who were appointed under the quota requirement and a nagging worry in the minds of the incumbents themselves, about whether their appointment stemmed from merit or tokenism.
So regardless of whether Australia eventually does nothing, goes down the forced quota pathway or takes the voluntary target option, one thing is obvious.
To address the organisational culture that is the fundamental cause of the lack of gender balance on Australian boards, we need strong corporate leadership that champions gender equity for all employees, from the new recruit to the executive team and the board.
Until corporate Australia has the strategic foresight and pragmatic business sense to use such leadership to implement change across Australia’s business sector, the best that will be achieved is the continued implementation of spin-doctored, band-aid solutions which, to the detriment of the Australia’s business sector, will temporarily mask the obvious symptoms, but do little to stem the growth of the real problem.
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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Interview thank you letters – a simple branding strategy for jobseekers
September 20, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
It’s a fact that the process of job-hunting is essentially a marketing exercise, where, with all other things being equal, the most strategic marketer will win the job.
The competition for good jobs across all levels of Australia’s job market is tough; and with many excellent applicants competing for a limited number of good jobs, it’s crucial to the success of your jobsearch marketing plan that you make the most of every opportunity to stand out from the competition.
An easy way to build your brand in the eyes of your interviewer or interview panel, but surprisingly, one that is followed by very few job applicants, is to follow up each interview you attend with a simple thank-you letter.
Apart from demonstrating your knowledge of workplace etiquette, following up an interview with a thank you letter can be used to reinforce your position as the outstanding candidate in a number of other, less obvious ways. You can use a thank-you letter to:
- Focus the thoughts of the interviewer or panel on you, while they’re deciding on the successful applicant
- Highlight the areas in which you can value add to the job and
- Mention anything you forgot to tell the panel at interview
Thank you letters should be succinct and strategically written; three paragraphs are adequate. Your focus in drafting the letter should be on reinforcing your message about why you are the best applicant and what you can bring to the organisation.
The first paragraph should be used to thank the interviewer or the panel for the opportunity to attend the interview. In the next paragraph, you should reiterate the areas in which you could value add to the position, and you could also include any relevant information you forgot to mention at interview. The last paragraph should thank the interviewer or panel once again and indicate that you are looking forward to hearing from them in due course.
While some consultants suggest that you should send a thank you letter to each member of an interview panel, I disagree. I believe it is more professional to write directly to the Chair, because that demonstrates a stronger understanding of Australian corporate protocols than writing directly to panel members. Also, the impact of a thank you letter is somewhat lessened if everyone on the panel receives an identikit copy.
Should you send a thank you letter after second and subsequent interviews? Yes – the content of your first thank you letter could have been one of the elements that helped to swing opinion in your favour. Subsequent thank you letters should be tailored to the interviews to which they relate, because each preceding letter is likely to be included in your interview file and will be read by future interviewers and panellists.
It is best to send a thank-you letter as soon as you are able after an interview, so that it is received preferably within 24 hours and definitely within three days of the interview, as the decision making process could be well underway by then.
As a job seeker in Australia’s tight employment market, can you afford not to use every means at your disposal to differentiate yourself from your competition? Try sending a thank you letter after your next interview – it could make all the difference!
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Signals it’s time to move on
- How to write a winning board CV
- Make Telephone Interviews Work: Tips for Preparing and Conducting Virtual Interviews
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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