Pretend You're Fired Today

In the previous episode we started talking about passive recruiting. And why you should start putting it into motion. Let’s continue the conversation and move on to the second aspect of passive recruiting: Keeping your network robust and always talking about you. The benefit? When recruiters ask around who is good at X, your network will point at YOU. Which means, recruiters (and hiring managers) will come to you first! What you’ll hear today is one of the best ways to keep your network primed and active so you stay on top of their minds and create demand for you consistently. Specifically, you will learn four simple ways to grow and unlock the power of your network using nothing but LinkedIn. Show highlights: One quick thing you can do starting today to prevent feeling awkward when calling people and asking for help. (3:24) How to use LinkedIn Groups to grow your network and appear in searches more often… without spamming anyone. (4:26) How to take advantage of your Status Update field so people start seein

Welcome back to yet another action packed episode of Pretend You’re Fired Today! It is time to think about PASSIVE RECRUITING. Meaning, getting found by recruiters and hiring managers when you are not actively looking for a job. Once in motion, passive recruiting works like a well oiled machine, creating demand consistently… but you have to put all the elements in place, first. And here’s the thing. When you have demand and recruiters call you regularly, you never have to worry if your company changes gears on you. Because you will always be current. Listen to today’s episode and make sure you have the first aspect of passive recruiting in place: Your optimized LinkedIn profile! Show highlights: One place you can always find trending keywords for your profile. (3:28) How to use website traffic generation tactics to get more eyeballs on your profile page. (3:45) An easy way to “reverse engineer” how recruiters and employers search for candidates like you. (4:07) Why keywords such as “marketing” or “finance” a

Here’s the truth: Ageism in job search is real.But!This doesn’t mean you should drop your towel and give up.On the contrary… You should deal with this as you do with any other challenges you face in business.Assume ageism happens and address it as best as you can, head on.The best place to start? Your LinkedIn profile!In this episode you’ll discover how to fix your LinkedIn profile so you always come across as current, avoid having discussions about your age... and make sure you’re only ever evaluated on your achievements alone.In short: This episode will teach you how to make your profile ageless.Show highlights: What to do when you think you’re experiencing age bias. (5:04)   Two common statements you must avoid if you don’t want to come across as “old” or “dated”. (5:49)   When bragging about your past achievements can backfire on you and make you look old. (6:53)   One word that can make hiring managers think "French fries" instead of “I want to hire this person!” (Warning: This word is so comm

Did you know: One of the most common places recruiters go to find new candidates online is LinkedIn. And if you’re wondering what’s more important, your resume or your LinkedIn profile… the answer is BOTH! That’s why in today’s episode we are shifting our focus to LinkedIn. Getting your profile up to speed before you need it is crucial to create demand and have recruiters find you! Also, most companies today have applications that parse LinkedIn profiles into their recruiting systems. And one thing you DON’T want to happen is to allow your dated info to appear in one of these tracking systems. In this episode you’ll discover seven things you need to tweak on your LinkedIn profile to boost your discoverability and have recruiters and hiring managers contact you more often! Show highlights: The best way to use your LinkedIn tagline to immediately convey your personality and who you are. (4:35)   One small change that makes your LinkedIn profile instantly more memorable. (6:33)   How to make it easy for

Welcome back to another action packed Pretend You’re Fired episode!Today you’re going to discover five ways to effectively and strategically incorporate your soft skills into your resume so you’re always marketable to your network.Writing about your soft skills can be challenging because they are part of your personality. But after you go through these five steps you’ll know how to do it most effectively and you’ll notice you can really set yourself apart from the rest of your competition.Show highlights: List of soft skills most companies are looking for. (3:02) How to use Linkedin to help you create a better targeted resume. (3:30) Do this to prove you actually have the skills you claim having. (4:31) How to make the reader “see” you helped companies save costs, increase revenue and gain profits. (5:07) One soft skill all great leaders have in common that you must list in your resume. (6:45) How to avoid cliches and overused phrases when describing your soft skills. (7:48) Here’s what to do next:Go to re

If you’re a high achieving CFO, CMO, or a healthcare execute then today’s episode is for you! You’ll discover six steps to create a powerful leadership resume for marketing, healthcare and finance executives. This will help you stay ahead of the competition and pique the interest of any hiring manager looking for top talent.Show highlights: How successful CFOs and CMOs use their resume to position themselves as leaders. (2:45) The one thing companies don’t want to see in a leadership resume. (4:05) How to make the best first impression on everyone. (4:46) When leading with your biggest achievement is a mistake. (8:04) Leave this small fix out and it can cost you interview calls... even if you have the best credentials! (8:43) How to show you can help the company grow. (9:23) Get more interviews by deleting these words from your resume. (9:40) Ready to get more interview calls?Go to http://resumecheatsheet.com, download your free copy of Resume Cheat Sheet and follow along as we go through each step right

The only way you can truly protect yourself from job loss is if you pretend you’re fired today! It is the best path for you to always be working, have career continuity and avoiding gaps between employment.Today’s episode will reveal to you five resume writing mistakes that even the most experienced professionals get confused about. This way you are always ahead of the game, ahead of your competition… Plus, you’ll always be the candidate that gets the interview calls!Show highlights: Why you should never use photos in your resume. (2:32) How adding a simple short sentence at the top of your summary helps you land a better job. (3:37) Four ways to include numbers and measurements in your bullets to show your achievements. (5:50) A sure-fire way to get your resume trashed. (8:00) Why having “Objectives” section is hurting you. (8:14) How to turn vague and confusing sentences into clear achievement based bullets. (9:05) These three verbs in your resume immediately convey action, content, and results. (10:07) N

If you’re a high achieving CIO or an IT leader, today’s episode is the one for you. You’ll discover six ways to write an achievement based resume so you can outshine your competition and always be the candidate that gets the interviews.Not an IT person? You can still benefit by listening. Every resume today needs to be based on achievements and you’ll notice that every point made in today’s show can easily be applied to non-IT resumes almost without change.Show highlights: How to demonstrate you’re the best candidate for the leadership role you’re after. (3:03) Find out the key attributes that separate leadership resumes from staff resumes. (3:32) How to write your technical resume so you don’t lose (and bore!) non-technical stakeholders. (5:17) The most important reason why companies hire leaders. (5:57) Do this and your resume will show you can negotiate deals, attract talent and influence decision makers. (6:18) The one time when leading with your biggest achievements is a mistake. (6:49) What the world’s

Title: How to write an achievement based resume recruiters will love Notes:Here’s a fact.The only way for you to always be the candidate that gets interview calls is this: Stop writing boring resumes!The way to do that?Simple. Use achievement based bullets!It’s a skill that hardly anyone possesses but it’s simple to master. You’ll hear exactly how in today’s episode. No fluff, just actionable advice you can use right away.Show highlights:- The biggest mistake almost everyone makes when writing their resumes. (2:25)- How to write about your results without bragging. (5:08)- Hear the one thing every recruiter secretly wants to read in a resume. (5:15)- This little tweak in the way you write your achievements will make you instantly unforgettable. (3:01)- How to show you’re a self-starter and "leadership material" in your bullets. (8:27)- What words stand out in a resume. (4:01)- A psychological reason to use numbers when describing your results. (7:32)Here’s what to do next:Go to resumecheatsheet.com and downl

Title: Finding keywords to optimize your resumeNotes: Welcome back!In the previous episode you discovered how to format your resume using the latest trends. You found out ways to grab recruiters’ and hiring managers’ attention and how to keep their interest so they read it until the end.But here’s the thing.If your resume doesn’t appear in that search the hiring manager does to find people like you, all of your hard work is lost. It’s like it never happened.And this is where keywords come in.Today, you’ll hear about 3 ways to come up with keywords to put in your resume so recruiters and hiring managers will always find you.What’s more, the keywords you’re going to use will demonstrate you are qualified for the positions you’re applying for and this alone can get you calls for interviews regularly. Show notes:- How to find the best keywords without even looking for them. (2:33)- The “Jerry Maguire Tactic” to make any company feel like you “get them” so they see you as a cultural fit. (7:05)- Avoid this or you

Can you believe it?Most people are using the same old resume every time they’re looking for a job. The one you got down at the college career center many years ago.And what's worse… They’re trying to score executive level positions with something that looks like it came from the 70s. No wonder they’re struggling to get calls. It doesn’t make sense!But hey. If you’re one of them? Don’t panic. You are in the right place. We’re going to fix your resume for you starting right now.In this second episode of the Pretend You’re Fired podcast you’re going to find out 6 key things you need to change in your resume to make it irresistible for any hiring manager Show notes: The one word you should never use in your resume. (2:58) How to “make” your resume motivate any recruiter so they can’t wait to pass it on to their clients. (3:20) Something specific you must put at the very beginning to grab the hiring manager’s attention immediately. (4:19) How to make your resume stand out with whitespace. (5:23) The exact number

Welcome to the new podcast series Pretend You’re Fired! “Hey, what’s up with the negative title?” I hear you ask. Well, here’s the thing: Don’t think people are fired based on poor performance alone. Companies downsize and restructure all the time, economy changes, jobs get outsourced and automated. You could be the best employee on the planet and you could still lose your job. Let me ask you this: If you were unexpectedly let go today, would you be okay? What if you were ok? Wouldn’t that feel great? There are things you can do starting today to make sure you always have your bases covered no matter what happens. And that’s the purpose of this podcast: To help you build the foundations of your job security so you know you’ll be fine even if you get fired when you least expect it! Show notes: How this successful senior manager got fired unexpectedly and why everyone is at risk. (1:30) The single best advice Lisa got from a friend built the foundation for her job security. (2:32) "The List” that creates the f