I know that I don’t wield ultimate power in getting clients jobs; I write résumés and help to position them on paper. Even though, I’m surprised when a client comes to my office dressed in cut-offs and a rock band T-shirt and tells me all the horrors of her last boss and how she just phoned it in (okay, this doesn’t happen often, but it’s still shocking). Then, when I refer some of my clients to my executive recruiter partners, I hear back about some of the inappropriate stories they’ve shared.

For some reason, job seekers don’t see recruiters as having power in their job searches. I think that’s funny, not to mention a self-defeating stance to take. One of my recruiter colleagues told me that his candidates will often be completely unprofessional with him, telling him things one would never disclose during an interview. When I was surprised at this, he said most of the folks with whom he interacts don’t understand how influential he is in their search. The power of his recommendation can land someone a job. Just as easily, he can close doors.

When you’re looking for a job, every interaction is an interview. You have no idea who someone knows and how much that knowledge can hurt or help your career search. I have an acquaintance I won’t recommend for a position because I would never want to work with him. I wrote his résumé, and I know enough people to get him in somewhere, but that would reflect poorly back on me – and I’m not willing to take that chance. Selfish? Perhaps, but it’s the way the world works, especially when it comes to business.

Complain to your partner or friends about your boss and the job search, but keep that information out of your conversations with recruiters, career consultants, and others who may be able to help you get a job. Remain professional and you’ll see opportunities start to surface because people will want to help you.

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Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m on the dating scene – online. I’ve never had much luck with the venue, but I figure it’s just one more way to meet people, so no harm, no foul. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a wannabe suitor who asked if I found him attractive. “You can be honest,” he said.

So I was.

I told him I am looking for someone fit since I’m at the gym pretty regularly and want someone who enjoys similar things (and can keep up). His knee-jerk reaction was to ask why women always judge on looks first. “Whatever happened to starting as friends?” Aha – but that wasn’t his question, was it? He wanted to know if I found him attractive, not if I thought we could be friends.

In your business, are you asking the right questions? Are you ready to accept the answers? Too many business owners are living in a bubble, assuming that the way in which they perceive things to be is the way they are – without asking for feedback.

When I met with a new strategic partner recently, he said he’d heard a lot about me in town. This person owns the #1 executive placement firm according to Ranking Arizona, and he’d heard of me. (Phoenix is a very small big city.) I was, of course, impressed, but the next thing I asked was, “Was it good?” If he’s heard bad things, I need to know because that feedback will help me to improve and take action. Thankfully, he’d heard great things about me (which is why he was sitting in my office), so my reputation is strong – for now.

I encourage you to start asking people in your circle – clients, prospects, and colleagues – what their perception is of your business. You may be surprised at the answers, and they can give you an opportunity to grow.

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Content. Of all the SEO buzz words, few are as important as good content. Obviously, it’s not a one-shot, simple fix to get your site on the first page of Google, and you need links, the right keywords, etc. But content is king in the online world. Google LOVES fresh content. That’s why WordPress is so popular as a Web site content management system (CMS). Within just a few minutes of posting a new blog on my (WordPress) site, Google has picked it up. Every blog on your site acts as another page, and the more pages your site has, the more dynamic Google recognizes it to be.

Aside from just the SEO components – which are all important – fresh and engaging content draws and keeps potential customers on your site. That doesn’t mean you need to drone on and on to get readers; in fact, in our “Twitter” society, most Web surfers are looking to find the information they want FAST. They also want to feel as if they know the person behind the brand and have a commonality. Humor can be a great way to do that.

Combine content and links by guest blogging on someone else’s site or writing articles hosted elsewhere. Then you’ll gain exposure across a wider audience while directing those readers back to your site through links. You can also post your press releases on various Internet sites to drive the same kind of traffic.

Make it a practice to write something at least once a week, whether on your site or elsewhere. You’ll find that not only does it create a better online presence, but it also positions you as an expert in your field, which typically translates to more clients.

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Lately I’ve been attending a bunch of social media training events, and time and again the topic of Google Alerts has surfaced. Of course, I’ve been running alerts on myself for a while now, mostly because I’m a little narcissistic and like to know what people are saying about me. As usual when I go to those kinds of things, I’m amazed at the “Huh?” looks I see around the room. Really? People aren’t running Google Alerts on themselves? If you’re one of those folks, here are just a few reasons you should be doing this.

Whether you’re a business owner, job seeker, or just average Joe Citizen, you want to manage your brand and your reputation. You can run an alert on just about anything: your name, your company name, your competitors’ names, a keyword for your industry; the sky’s the limit. You can have the alerts come “as they happen” or digested, depending on your need to know. Since WordPress and Google have a symbiotic relationship, when I post a blog, I receive a notification within 10 minutes, so it can happen pretty quickly.

If you know what people are saying about you, you can comment back and, if it’s negative, you can do immediate crisis management. I’m always amazed where I come up in searches. Sometimes people quote my blog and never ask, so I didn’t realize. Of course, I’m not the only Amanda Collins in the world, so I see what my namesakes are doing as well.

It’s pretty simple to set up, really. Go to Google Alerts and put in your parameters. Remember that if you want to track an exact phrase, you have to put it in quotation marks (“”). If you want to track a keyword, you can use the results as fodder in your social media communications or cut parts into your blog.

Keep in mind that the name of the game is communications and relationships, so while you’re definitely out there managing your brand, share some of the information you find with your network and you’ll win in two ways.

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It seems a common theme in my résumé practice that my clients have been laid off and are looking for their next opportunities. Often, these folks have so intermingled their identities with what they’ve done that they don’t know who they are without their jobs. They come to my office and have little self-worth, feeling as if they have nothing to offer another employer.

Much like a codependent relationship, when the relationship (with a person or firm) ends, there is a serious sense of loss. Of course, that is to be expected. You feel surprised, sad, angry, depressed – pretty much all of the feelings described so vividly in Kübler-Ross’ grief cycle, which Kerry Scott sums up as it relates to the topic at hand in “Five Stages of Grieving over a Job Loss.” This is all very normal and to be expected. However, just because you’ve lost your job doesn’t mean you’ve lost YOU. That talented, knowledgeable professional is still there under everything – and you need to muster up the confidence to present that person to your future employers.

Tap into what makes you able to do the job you’re seeking. How are you unique? What value can you provide? Present yourself not as “I’m unemployed,” but as “I’m your next [insert your targeted job title here].” At a networking event I attended regularly, a woman would say week after week, “I’m unemployable.” I’m not quite sure if she didn’t realize she’d chosen the wrong word or really felt that way, but no matter what she meant, I sure didn’t want to talk to her about a job potential. Imagine the difference if she had said, “I’m ready to become your next Sales Associate, bringing with me a depth of experience securing and managing million-dollar accounts and increasing revenue 25% year to year.” I want to talk to that person!

Give yourself time to grieve; you definitely deserve it. But remember that you continue to be you – valuable, employable, worthy – regardless of economic conditions. Surround yourself with positive people and keep plugging away. You’ll turn it around!

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Whether you call it a commercial, elevator speech, or presentation, if you’re a business owner, you know how important this little nugget of information is in creating excitement about your company, product, or service. Many folks stumble over what to say and how best to gain listeners’ rapt attention.

Here, a few simple pointers:

Remember the WIIFM Factor. What’s in it for me? is what listeners want to know. If you can’t catch their attention in a hurry, they’ll tune out. How many of us have heard someone say, “Hi, I’m Todd and I am a plumber. I fix stopped drains. I can help anyone with indoor plumbing. Call me if you have questions.” ZZZZZ! There are plenty of plumbers (bankers, Realtors, etc.); why should I give you a second glance?

You only have 30 seconds (or 60, 15, or whatever). Practice a few speeches to be sure you can include your key selling points – quickly. Sometimes you’re told to only say your name, company name, and tagline. If you don’t have a captivating tagline, you’ve just sold yourself short.

Remember your audience. I have two distinct business channels: entrepreneurs and job seekers. If I go to a networking event with fellow business owners, it would be foolhardy to just talk about résumés. Sure, people in the room may know someone who’s looking for a job, but my better approach is to lead with strategic communications and then drop the résumé thing at the end. Be sure that your presentation is targeted to the people who are listening.

Stay focused. Too many people hear that they’re given two minutes and start telling stories and things that are completely irrelevant. If you have something of value to contribute, go for it! However, in my experience, most people “um” and “ah” their way through 30 seconds talking about nothing, so hone that first before moving on to a bigger sharing time.

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This morning, on a 45-mile-per-hour stretch of road, a group of about 10 cars was joined by a police officer. As you might expect, everyone was hovering around the 40- to 45-MPH mark, hesitant to go too much faster for fear of the wrath of the law. I, however, continued along at my 48 MPH pace, unencumbered by Mr. Police Officer’s presence. A short while later, when the cop turned off the road, a couple of people’s speedometers crept up and they whizzed right by me, while some of us continued at our reasonable clip.

“Okay,” you’re probably thinking. “That’s human nature. Why is that the subject of a blog post?”

Well, it got me thinking about rules and how people try to get away with things. There are many drivers who will go as fast as they can – until they see a cop car (or, in Arizona, traffic cameras), at which point, they will slow down to below the posted speed limit. What does this say about how these people live their lives? Are they constantly thumbing their noses at authority and trying to get away with whatever they can when no one is looking? Shouldn’t they be self-policing and following good guidelines all the time – whether or not they’re being monitored?

I wonder, if this kind of behavior does follow in to other aspects of their lives, are these the people with whom I want to do business, date, or have around my son? No, not really. I want to be around people who follow rules of order because they make sense. What would the world be like if murder wasn’t illegal, then? Would these sometimes-rule-followers pull out guns and shoot people dead for no reason? Laws, rules, commandments … all were created with the greater good of humanity in mind, and we should be conducting our lives in a way that makes sense for all, not just for ourselves.

I’m thinking I might need to go for a drive with any potential business or life partners down the camera-riddled stretch of State Route 51 before signing any contracts. It might just offer a glimpse into how they conduct other aspects of their lives.

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Even though you have your phone with you at all times, do you use it to talk? It seems that most people are using those little gadgets as mini-computers – searching the Web, answering e-mail, or, if it’s the phone aspect, texting. How many of us really use the phone to talk? It seems there’s some kind of negative connotation with calling. Even I am often arrested with the thought that I’ll be disturbing someone if I call, whereas a text or e-mail can be retrieved when the receiver is available.

I was at a presentation recently where the value of a phone call was discussed. SendOutCards folks will suggest sending a card a day or a week to your best clients, but this presenter suggested picking up the phone. “How would it make you feel if someone called you just to check in and see how you’re doing,” asked Sandy Rogers of Face-Time Fridays, LLC. The general consensus was that a phone call makes you feel special; an e-mail has become status quo. Even when Constant Contact offers personalized e-mail newsletters, there’s just something about a phone call.

I suggest you consider how you’re reaching out to your clients. Schedule in time to call past clients or check in with people in your database. Let’s turn around the misconception that phone calls are a hassle and actually start talking again. Most of us grew up in a time before computers were everywhere, so I know we all know how to dial.

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At an HR forum I attended this weekend, three of the four HR panelists confirmed what I have known for a long while – most hiring managers don’t read cover letters. I remember when I was in that position I didn’t read the letters either. In fact, very few people even bothered to submit cover letters, as these panelists also confirmed. So what’s the point? Why do professionals still suggest job seekers include cover letters?

A cover letter is your handshake, a warm introduction instead of just jumping in with, “Can I have a job?” It’s a way to pull out the most important parts in your résumé, be more conversational, and possibly cover things you can’t in your résumé, which is a more formal document. In your letter, pronouns can sneak in, and with them, personality! You can also tell the reader how you heard about the position, especially if you were referred by a friend or colleague.

If you choose to use a cover letter (and I’m going to be a proponent until I die), make sure it’s personalized. You shouldn’t have it addressed to “To Whom It May Concern” or – worse yet – “Dear Sirs.” Look up the hiring manager’s name on LinkedIn. If you don’t know, at least address the letter to “Hiring Manager” or some appropriate title. Mention the name of the company, position, and how you heard of them. Do a little homework online to see why you’re a fit with the culture or will be able to solve a specific problem confronting the firm. Pull in a few of your major selling points from the résumé as well (aka accomplishments) to really draw attention to your value.

Even though three of the four recruiters didn’t read the cover letter, one did – and one other said he will if he finds something of interest in the résumé. So I’ll continue to advocate for cover letters because you never know who might be reading it.

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There is a lot of power in a résumé – well, at least there is potential. So many times, I review résumés that lack a focus and strategy. Essentially, they are a brain dump of everything the person has done across his or her career. Typically, there are many areas for potential improvement, but it all starts with the top. Whether you call it an objective, title, or headline, how you present yourself starts with your first words.

When I first started writing résumés (in 1996), an objective was something like:
To obtain a position in which I can apply my experiences in child development and education.

Now, however, titles / headlines have replaced that long, not very to-the-point statement:
Preschool Teacher

Just like a newspaper headline draws readers to learn more, a résumé headline should do the same. To expand on the newspaper similarities, in journalism “above the fold” is where all writers want to be – because it’s the first part readers see when the paper is delivered. On your résumé, your “above the fold” section is the first third of your document, where you will have your contact information, headline, summary, and keywords. Employers have a lot of choices in résumés these days, so attract their attention immediately!

Even if you include a headline, it can be poorly written. At an event I attended yesterday, a hiring manager said he’d received a résumé that said “Banking Executive.” His first response? “Huh?” That basically meant nothing to him, so he didn’t bother to read further. His suggestion? Your headline should match the position for which you’re applying.

So be specific, succinct, and definitely include a headline on your résumé so employers are sure who you are for them. Questions on a résumé are never good.

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