Friday, July 30, 2010

Welcome

Judi is a fantastic job search coach. She has clear and creative strategies for taking ownership of your career. Her guidelines are simple and she tailors her approach to match your personality-type motivators. The work she proposes may require some self-evaluation which can be intimidating but the results are concrete and phenomenal. Once you engage with Judi, you will find the perfect job and feel valuable in your career!

---Ellen W., New Jersey

 

I want a job......any job!!!

.....do you know that approach actually lengthens your search?

I've worked with hundreds of direct hiring authorities, many of whom were repeat clients - CEOs, VPs, COOs, Directors - and seen over 500,000 resumes (and climbing). 
You're getting 22 years of the hiring authority's viewpoint, not mine.

What else makes me different from other coaches?
Getting a job is a sales process.  I've been a top producer on straight commission for 22 years.  Not only do I know hiring authorities, but I know people:
the psychology of how they think, respond, and why they do what they do.

What you learn here: the “how to,” the strategies, psychology, and sales techniques- you won't find from motivation speakers (turned career coach), HR people (turned career coach), a business person who got laid off (and became a career coach), etc. 

I found your site through a web search and "Find the Perfect Job" was too intriguing to pass up. I was skeptical that the information would be of value, since there seem to be so many 'career coaches' and most don't have a clue!

I am no longer a skeptic. I have found the reports, the ebook, and the webinars to be worth their weight in gold. I am more confident and personable during interviews and actually feel in control when I do them. My cover letter addresses what is in the ad, and identifies what I am looking for and why.
-----------Michael L., Wyoming

 

Frustrated? Finding a job is not your skill!

 

 

In 22 years of consulting to hiring authorities who made the actual hiring decisions, I found that 99% off all candidates - from C-level executives to entry-level candidates - have no idea what they're doing when it comes to finding a new job.....and most don't even realize it.

But you know what?  That's okay!

Why should you know what you're doing?  Finding a job isn't your area of expertise!  If you've been employed with the same company for a long time, you're not very good at finding a new job.  And if you've had lots of jobs, you're still not very good at it, or you wouldn't have held so many. 

Finding a job is frightening and tough to do. If you’re employed, you find yourself paralyzed....growing
unhappier every day. If you’re unemployed, you know hundreds of people are after the same position you are.

So you post your resume on job boards and hear from a few recruiters. You put up your LinkedIn profile
and start networking. You submit your resume online (following all the directions)…… but time passes
and nothing.

No response to your resume submittals. Recruiters don’t call you back. Or they send your resume to the
client but don’t produce. Your networking contacts are unemployed or not much help. Or it’s the same
people in the same groups.

Eventually you get a few interviews, but no offers. Time drags on.

The longer you’re unemployed, the more money goes out of your bank account……with no money coming
in. If you’re employed, the longer you stay in current job, the more your attitude and performance
deteriorate, putting your stability in danger.

It can be paralyzing, especially with all the free advice out there, much of which seems to conflict. Many
experts tell you what to do, but not how to do it. Where is their expertise and knowledge coming from?
Maybe you even know someone who hired a career coach…..and is still unemployed.

Lots of coaches without much knowledge or experience

Some career coaches have successfully transformed their own career - that's not enough. Others were
in management and have hired people throughout their career (50 people maybe?), but that doesn't make
them an expert. Plus, you're getting only their opinion.

Other coaches have done speaking gigs and been quoted in print so they’re good at marketing, but are
they good at career coaching? Can they get you where you need to go? What’s their background?
What's their source of information? Experience.....or books?

I’ve seen over 500,000 resumes (and climbing), and worked with hundreds of hiring authorities (not HR)
over 22 years. That meant setting up 10 to 20 interviews per month, then discussing the candidates and
advising the client.

Many of my client companies used only my services – and for multiple positions. The placements
I made stayed. My interview to hire ratio was ¼ that of most recruiters.

Consequently, I discovered something very early on that very, very few recruiters know, and as far as I can
tell, no other career coach does either. And it’s the difference between you finding something that makes
you happy, and wandering around wondering why nothing’s happening.

What you'll learn with me you won't find anywhere else – it’s not in my blog and it’s not in my public
columns. For instance, here are just a few examples:

  • why most job seekers work their job search backwards, and why that contributes
    to your lack of success
  • the single most important piece of looking for a new job, that very few do at all,
    much less well, and no other coach knows how to help you with (if they even bring it
    into play in the first place)
  • learn why most advice - and your instincts - put you on the defensive. The company
    should not have 100% of the control - but they do. Know why? You give it to them!
  • will tell you what you should do and have to do. I'll show you what you don't need
    to bother with - and why
  • .many of the things you do to play by the rules aren't helping you at all

Which of these common job mistakes are you making?

Your cover letter is:

  • short, stark, and generic - including the salutation
  • medium generic with a few facts and the salutation customized
  • long, with some attempt at customization
  • resume regurgitation
  • long - really, really long
  • professionally done and misses the whole point of what a cover letter is for

99% of all cover letters are totally worthless. That’s because they’re all about you.

By the way, I have a friend who proofs my cover letters before I send them, so yesterday she reviewed the first ones she's seen since you taught me how to write them. She was absolutely blown away. "This puts every cover letter I've ever seen to shame. If I got this as a hiring manager, I'd show it to every manager in the office." To which I replied, "I don't care if you show it to people, as long as you'd hire me!" She loved how it was so specific to the ad, etc. - all the things you taught me how to do! Anyway, just thought you'd enjoy the feedback - she's a senior level marketing executive, so this was quite a compliment.
----Anne B., California


Your resume:

  • is difficult to read – tiny lettering, things crammed together
  • is an example of one-pagitis, because you were told it should never be longer
  • is overly long because it’s filled with unnecessary information, all of which is poorly
    formatted (though you probably don’t know that)

  • is filled with bland and boring information that reads like a job description, and says
    what you did, but not how well you did it

The point of your resume is to sell you as well as to tell the story of your career and who you are as a person.  Every single one of those factors listed above - and others - reduce your resume's effectiveness.  The result?  You're screened out of consideration for any number of reasons.

Finding a new job is a sales process.  You're the product, the hiring company is the buyer, and your cover letter and resume are your brochure. Your resume needs to satisfy multiple criteria all at once.  Your chance of getting past this point drops significantly with each component you miss.

Fixing one piece doesn’t fix your problem

 

It’s the process that contributes to the whole and determines the outcome. It’s like baking a cake. If
you want it to look like a cake at the end and be edible, you have to follow the directions. Leave out
an ingredient, take a shortcut, skip some steps, alter the baking time – you end up with a less than
satisfying cake.

In addition to a poor resume and cover letter, here are a few problems you might be causing yourself:

  • getting stumped by a question, losing your composure and then watching with dismay
    as the interview spirals downward from there
  • giving your power away to the hiring authority.....consistently
  • not knowing how to sell, present, package, or spinyourself, especially as the solution
    to a problem (the unfilled job)
  • not realizing you can tell the truth – about everything - but when and how make all the difference
  • failing to ask yourself the important questions, such as: What motivates me? Under what
    conditions do I work best? What needs to be present for me to be happy?
  • not knowing how to ask for the order and close the deal (it'sa sales process, remember?)
  • letting your head get in the way and not realizing what that causes, much less how to find it and fix it
  • completely forgetting an interview is a two-way street and you have a choice in each decision during
    the process - just as the company does
  • not realizing you can control the outcome - which is not the same thing as controlling the interview -
    and how to make that happen so that you stay in control of your search

If the same thing keeps happening, something needs to

change

If you've been looking and not finding anything, the problem is that you don’t know what to
do, when, or why one way is effective and another way isn’t. And the longer you look with
nothing happening, the more you add a head trip to the mix.

Interestingly enough, the more you feel like a failure and get depressed, anxious, and
fearful - the more you'll experience the same results. Whatever was initially wrong wasn't
about you specifically, but as soon as you start thinking it is, then it becomes so, and
nothing happening perpetuates nothing happening.

And mixed all up in there is whether or not you're being as pro-active as you could be. There
are usually many more avenues to discovery than most seekers realize - and most seekers are
waiting for the job to come to them instead of getting out there and making it happen.

This was a great kick in the butt. You hit the nail on the head when you said that I am defensive about sales. I couldn't really figure out what my problem was or how to fix it. Judi, thank you so much for your help. I don't really have anyone in life that understands this kind of stuff. You do, and I am so thankful!
-----------Patrick N., Sandy Hook, CT

Straight talk about how to get where you want to go --- no theoretical gobbledy gook

This is about you - and where you want to go. After 22 years as a very successful recruiter, I've now
been helping people on a 1:1 retained basis for three years, fine tuning the process and watching
the outcome of different behaviors. I have always, and continue to, intuitively dispense advice based
on my 25 years (total) experience.
 
If you choose to take it (my advice), you'll see a whole lot of things start to happen very quickly.
But ultimately the choice is yours. The best type of clients are ones that make a commitment to
themselves, and for that reason, I don't work personally with every person who comes to me for help.


You need to know who you are and what you want so that you know what your perfect job looks like and
can focus on finding it, pursuing it, and getting it. You can’t get what you want if you don’t know
what it looks like – and what it doesn’t. You can’t nail a second interview or an offer down if you
don’t know how to sell yourself as the solution to their problem.

.

It's a selling process. You'll learn how to:

  • understand what problems the hiring authority needs to solve
  • package and sell yourself as the solution to their problem
  • sell yourself by bridging you skills to their needs
  • ask for the sale so that your chances of closing increase significantly
  • pick up their unspoken questions and answer them
  • stop leaving objections on the table that only fester with time - which
    results in your hearing things like "We're still looking. We'll let you know."
    (Which equals "Not likely, buddy. Keep looking.")

Every weak area in your presentation - from cover letter and resume all the way to the end of the first
interview - reduces your chance of being hired by as much as 95%.

 

If you don't grab them at the beginning and impress them throughout the process, the hiring company

gets to make all your choices. Who has the power?

 

Finding your perfect job is the ability to understand – point by point - how companies choose new employees and why they make the choices and decisions that they do - and knowing who you are,
what you want, and how to sell yourself in relation to that.

 

It’s also about learning how to keep your power instead of giving it away to the hiring authority.

It’s about understanding how to bring what you want to you, and watching it appear, almost magically.
And the best news is….it’s not difficult!

 

Since I've been working exclusively with individuals like yourself, I've helped one person after
another see dramatic changes and results - pretty much they all go from nothing (however you want
to define that) to something - something more than whatever they thought was possible (lots of
interviews, several offers, a job offer from a company they really hoped to work for, a job offer
that's more money than they thought they could get)....but again, it's really about you. I just
pass you the wisdom.

 

There's no reason to be frustrated and stagnant. There's a problem, and it's fixable.

How to get started

The easiest way is to join the free newsletter because:

  • you receive a very comprehensive resume report in return,one that will help you fix yours or gauge the expertise of a professional writer
  • every issue gives you a huge, detailed education on whatever topic the article
    is about. Many readers have told me they print out the articles and save them in a notebook.
  • you also get some great quotes, a quick career tip, and career humor (which
    is occasionally a little out there).

SUBSCRIBE: There's a place to subscribe at the top right of every page, including
this one.

In addition, these suggestions will help:

I findJudi to beenergetic and enthusiastic. She really cares and she says it like it is. I have a lot of respect for Judi because of the above characteristics, as well as the experience she brings to her clients. I have been through the career coach mill for a number of years and I finally found one I can relate to and work with.

Judi has been around the block and will give you useful advice you can implement almost immediately. If you are having a problem shewill work one on one with you to get the problem fixed. If I was an investor I would look to invest in Judi's program. Once she gets her new things in place she will be even more of a super outstanding career coach/advisor and my investment will show as substantial gains as my career knowledge has.
----Michael W. New Jersey

 

 

 

Mark had been looking for six months, and beat out a huge contingent of people for a PM position six weeks into working with me.

The retainer program was excellent.  What I liked about it was your positive and uplifting attitude, the ebooks and the advice, especially since it was so difficult to stay motivated and not focus on my dire situation. Your program is structured well and moves at a rapid pace; it would be difficult to do while employed. The phone calls and homework/recaps are good and the weekly meetings were very helpful. Sometimes I overlooked things that I thought were trivial but you knew they were important. All of that helped tremendously, especially since my time frame was complicated by unemployment and massive, growing debt. Your advice & positive attitude, specifically keeping me focused on the positive instead of ’poor me,’ also made a big difference.
----Mark C., Dallas, GA

 

Judi Perkins has been fabulous to work with! She is very professional yet still personable. I have been very impressed with the manner in which Judi interacts with me, realizing that I am a person dealing with real life frustrations, commitments and challenges, in addition to seeking new employment opportunities.

Judi is an empathetic listener who provides real, timely and effective input to those working through the challenges of job loss, job dissatisfaction and their uncertainties. She is flexible and willing to work through any challenge that arises. She is very understanding of crises and other eventualities that may delay or derail a concentrated career search and is adept at working through these distractions and challenges. Judi is a “focus master.”

I highly recommend the Judi’s services. She is a real person who delivers on her promise to be your advocate, unlike the many other career coaches and resume/cover letter writing individuals and firms available today. Judi provides good service and an excellent value to clients through her all-encompassing retainer program!
---Chris H., Eagan, MN

   

Judi: Thank you so much.  You really helped me strategize job searches and how to interact with employers based on your experience.  Your experience, your availablity and the Win the View presentation were extremely valuable.  The resume writing experience and result were excellent. Working through the resume information with you helped me better understand my own strengths. I also learned to be a lot more aggressive with follow through and the weekly calls were very helpful.   Your response and attentiveness to your clients always impressed me and I still don’t see how you remember everybody’s job drama

Later, after one of the most arduous, ridiculous, and lengthy interview processes I’ve ever seen in my entire career......:

The recruiter just called and said “You got it.” Her comment was that I owned it and was clearly the right one for the job. She had been working behind the scenes to push it along. She asked what my salary was at [previous employer] and when I told her she said “You are going to be so surprised” when I see their offer.  It is just sinking in and I can’t thank you enough for all your help. I am pretty sure I would have stumbled on those “Why did you leave” and “what have you been doing” questions.  Thanks for all your help and do not hesitate to call on me for any references because your advice and the “Win the View” were the turning point.
---Ken Alexander, CA

   

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Testimonials

Hi Judy-
It was very nice speaking with you today and I did learn new information from your tele-seminar yesterday.  I thought you gave me valuable information that I can use right now.  I am looking forward to your resume critique!
---Jane T., Milford, CT 

I signed up for the cover letter program that teaches you how to read an ad and write a custom cover letter that sells.  It only takes me about 5-10 minutes now to write one and I feel very comfortable with the process.  Judi showed me how to read between the lines in the ad so that I can present a cover letter that gets results.  Even though I am a professional writer, I saw a significant difference in the quality of my cover letters before vs after taking this training.  I highly recommend that anyone looking to land a good job invest in this training.  Thank you for all of your help with this.   

---R. Cooper, Long Island, NY

This person had 5 days to put together their resume, cover letter, and answers to four tough supplementary questions. We made the deadline. This was their first email after they’d dropped off the application package.

Sheesh! I just dropped my envelope off yesterday and they called me today for an interview! Yahoo! That resume and those supplemental answers must have really impressed them! I interview next week! gosh. Thanks for everything Judi, you really helped me to have confidence as I applied for this job. I’ll keep you posted on any further developments!

and this was her second email

Judi,
I interviewed this morning, they called my references this afternoon, and she just called and offered me the job! I am so excited! I couldn’t be happier! Thanks for all your help.  I only hope I meet someone soon who will need your help so I can recommend you to them. It sounds hokey, but I really feel as though I may have found my perfect job.

Wow. I feel like the luckiest person on the earth.
---RB., Maine

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am overcome with happiness.  THANK YOU!!!!! for all of your guidance, you have truly been a huge part of me finding "The Perfect Job".  I have been working with numerous headhunters and such and no one has ever been more forthcoming with information and giving the straight truth.  Keep doing what you’re doing because I know you will help a lot of others   THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  again, because your newsletter and class gave me the knowledge I need to be successful   Thanks for being my guardian angel :)

---Kimberlyne B., Downington, PA

 

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