JobTabs Job Search & Resume

September 1, 2012

JobTabs Job Search & Resume 2012 – Released!

Filed under: Job Searching,JobTabs,JobTabs Story — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:24 am

JobTabs Job Search & Resume 2012 has been released.  While there have been improvements across the board, we really wanted to focus on application speed and handling objects/graphics in the word processor.

 

Previewing Saved Jobs from the Internet is 10x faster

We reviewed the process and simply decided that we were saving too much.  We eliminated much of the superfluous elements of the web pages and focused on what mattered.  We also moved the process to a separate window so that it can be cancelled at will.  The update messages provided by the window are much more detailed to give you the assurance that things are happening.

 

 

 

 

 

The crux of the word processing upgrades were necessary in order for us to implement a new product designed to complement JobTabs.  More on that later.  Suffice it to say that the JobTabs word processor has always worked beautifully, however we added some more functionality that we are going to need as we make JobTabs even more powerful.

 

Transparent Text Frames

While you could always add text frames to a cover letter or a resume in JobTabs, they had to be inline with the text.  Now then can float above or behind and let the background image text show through entirely or partially.

 

Background Images

Watermark on resume.

 

New support for background images allows you to insert a watermark, a CONFIDENTIAL/DRAFT disclaimer or a picture.

 

 

 

 

Object/Image Support

The JobTabs word processor supports OLE handling, images and many other objects.  We made it easier to size and move them on the fly as well as maintain the aspect ratio as needed.  This was especially important for job seekers who would include a signature graphic with their cover letter.  The signature didn’t look like the real thing.

Prior to the upgrades, a signature couldn’t be placed directly above the typed text without covering it up. After the upgrades, a signature can be placed above the typed text as it would normally be if it has been actually signed by the person.

 

In closing, a word on updating JobTabs is in order. Before ‘online updates’ went mainstream, software companies would distribute software improvements in bulk via CD or disk.  One could expect lots of bells and whistles with the arrival of each annual upgrade.  That was then, this is now.   JobTabs is distributed over the internet and by CD upon request.  Every time we improve upon JobTabs, we roll it out to our user base immediately.  Why make earnest job seekers wait for a deluge of application upgrades all at once when those upgrades have already been developed?  It makes no sense to us so we roll out new bells and whistles as they are developed.  All registered users of JobTabs get free upgrades for an entire year after their purchase!  This includes all major and minor upgrades.  We look forward to serving you a steady stream of updates for as long as you will permit us to do so.    : -)

 

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers. JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

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June 17, 2011

Inventory Your Career With A Master Resume

Filed under: Resume Writing,Sell Yourself — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:22 am
Inventory your career when job searching.

Is this straight, baby?

When my wife and I got married, we moved out of our respective domiciles and into our new home.  It was a bear of a move.  I remember saying to myself, “I never knew I owned this much stuff!”

 

And so it is with your career.  It is absolutely amazing how much experience you can accumulate in a short amount of time.  If you were to look back on the last twelve months of your employment,

 

· How many different projects did you work on?
· How many audits/reviews did you prepare for?
· How many working relationships did you have to coddle?
· How many glitches did you have to delve into just to get things moving again?
· How many new people were you introduced to?
· What were your victories?  What were your defeats?

 

In the course of a year, it is amazing how much we have done.  Now do it for the last X years of your career.  You have done a lot more than you think you have.

 

All of this experience can be extremely valuable when you are job searching.  As I have told so many job seekers, the likelihood of any job seeker getting a job that exactly mirrors their experience to date is near zero.  It is highly likely that you will have to draw on the peripheral work you have done to get under the wire.  In this economy, this is doubly important yet, all too often, job seekers under sell themselves.  They have a few resumes and share the resume which most closely matches the position they are pursuing.  Here at JobTabs we call this, The Highway to Hell.

 

Taking a written inventory of your accomplishments is extremely important.  The best way to do this is to develop a master resume.  A master resume isn’t a resume that you would actually send to anybody.  It is used only to list everything you have ever done at any company.  It is your personal checklist to jog your memory to see what you can come up with to be as close of a fit as possible for any job listing in which you have an interest.  A master resume has no facilities you would use in a Functional Resume.  It is purely chronological and used purely for your reference.  There is no page limit; the longer the better.  Ultimately, you want to use your master resume to copy specific accomplishments for pasting into resumes you are tailoring for a specific job.  Remember, there is rarely – if ever – any job you are going to be applying to that mirrors exactly what you have been doing, so you have to be able to draw on all of your experience.

 

Describe each accomplishment in your master resume much as you would a regular resume.  You want to be able to copy and paste from your master resume into a resume that you would send to the employer.  If you do not put everything on your master resume, it is likely that you will forget what you accomplished and that hard earned work experience will be lost forever.

 

In addition to listing all all of your accomplishments, you may want to do the following.

 

Add tags.

If you have enough bullet points, it will be easier to add a tag to them to make them easier to find.  Consider adding tags for leadership skills, financial skills, team building skills, managerial, helping skills, technical skills, etc.  These could help you find specific experience more easily.

 

Add notes to yourself.

Add extra details about the specific accomplishment to include anything an interviewer might ask you.  If an interviewer asks you how you quantified a certain accomplishment you want to be confident as to how you came up with those figures.  Again, you are not going to include the calculations on the resume you send to the employer, but if asked in the interview you don’t want to appear unsure as to how you arrived at those figures.    Add notes about people involved in the project.  If there is someone who would be happy to attest to what you did, you could add their name and contact info if you need to use them as a reference.  Put these notes in a different font or color so that they stand out from the body of your resume.  You don’t want to risk pasting them into your real resume accidentally.

 

The experience that you have garnered over the course of your career is important.  To let your accomplishments slip into the ether because you didn’t remember doing it is foolhardy.  It can make the difference between getting the interview or getting passed over.  Take inventory of your career and you will be prepared for life.

 

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

 

 

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December 21, 2010

Age Discrimination is Over!

 

Age discrimination is over.

Who's the boss?

There is a steady undercurrent in the job search space about age discrimination.  I believe it.  However, what I don’t believe is that it cannot be overcome. People, it is all about packaging.

Think about it for a moment.  Let’s say someone is 50 years old and has been in the workforce in varying capacities for roughly 30 years.  This person has 30 years from which to draw accomplishments which are relevant to any job posting he applies to.  Take someone who has only been in the workforce for 5 years.  That person only has 5 years from which they can reference relevant accomplishments when applying for a job.  This gives experienced job seekers a huge advantage over less experienced hires.

The key word here is relevant.  What many job seekers fail to grasp is that the likelihood of their next job being an exact match of what they have been doing up to this point is nearly zero.  When applying to a new job, there is invariably going to be some nuance of the job posting that the applicant is going to have to correlate to his experience to date.  Examples could include,

  • Managing other people.
  • Setting goals and a course of action for projects.
  • Working within a budget of varying sizes.
  • Demonstrating some knowledge of government law such as safety, employment, environmental, etc.

Experienced job seekers, if they work hard to chronicle their career to date, would have a much easier time getting under the bar to fulfil what the employer is looking for.  Then there are a host of subjective considerations that the senior job candidate is far more likely qualified.

  • Conflict resolution among individuals, teams or departments.
  • Proactive problem solving.
  • Identifying the chain of command and working within it to get buy in.
  • Generally more likely to be looked to as a leader by subordinates than by someone closer to their own age.

A cornerstone of JobTabs Job Search & Resume success has been its ability to easily manage a large number of resumes for a wide number of job opportunities.   As the experienced job seeker applies to more and more positions, he gradually accumulates more and more supremely tailored resumes for different job descriptions.  Here is the lynch pin . . . . as the experienced job seeker creates more resumes in JobTabs, it becomes easier and easier to create even more refined dead-on resumes for each job they apply to.  The breadth and depth of their experience is pared down to only what is absolutely relevant to the immediate job posting – as it should be!  Creating a copy of a resume that meets 80%  of the requirements and bringing it over 95% becomes incredibly easy!

While the junior candiate has his own advantages, he does not have the experience pool that a 50 something job seeker has.  This is a very touchy subject among many.  If you have any enlightening comments to share with me I would readily welcome them.  Otherwise, age discrimination is over!


John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

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December 13, 2010

JobTabs Job Search & Resume 2011 is officially released.

JobTabs Job Search & Resume 2011 has been officially released.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume is blockbuster job search software that has done much to tip the scales to the job seekers advantage.  In 2005 job seekers had little in the way of computer software while recruiters and employers had a slew of powerful software applications to manage their applicants.  JobTabs changed all of that with the arrival of JobTabs 2005 and has been empowering job seekers ever since.  JobTabs enables job seekers to network better, qualify for a larger number of jobs, apply for a larger number of jobs and ultimately have an edge over other applicants.  JobTabs 2011 gives job seekers an even greater advantage than its predecessor with the following new features.

 

Resume Personal Information Removal

Unbeknown to many job seekers, MS Word can keep a record of all the editing changes of any resume.  This includes,

  • Comments.
  • Previous authors and editors.
  • User name.
  • Personal summary information.
  • Revision marks.
  • Versions.
  • VB Macros. Descriptions and comments are removed from the modules.
  • The ID number used to identify your resume/cover letter for the purpose of merging changes back into the original document.
  • Routing slips.
  • E-mail headers.
  • Scenario comments.

JobTabs removes all of this information from MS Word 2002 to MS Word 2010.  The built-in JobTabs word-processor does not store this personal information by design.

Powerful Calendaring

  • Easily identify priorities with color assigned events encompassing every facet of the job search process.
  • Minimize typing and scheduling by creating recurring events occurring over any number of time periods.
  • Never forget an interview/phone call/meeting by using built-in reminders.
  • Save time with one click access to a day view, 5 day view, 7 day view, Month view and a Timeline of all calendar events.
  • Multi-month calendar view for quick access to any day, week or month of your choosing.
  • Dual time zone facility to facilitate job searching in different countries, opposite coasts or across the globe.

Follow-up

  • Look like a real detail person by following up on job applications fastidiously.  Accessible from the apply wizard, calendar or the Job Applications grid.

Resumes

  • Submit resumes that are dated as if they haven’t been modified in weeks even though you just tailored it to the job requisition that morning!  JobTabs will automatically backdate the ‘Last Modified’ field for any resume emailed or uploaded from JobTabs.  This will allay any concerns by the hiring company that your resume – ideally suited to the needs of the firm – was modified to meet the job posting.
  • Added full resume preview of all pages for all resumes types.  Resumes in pdf format can now be previewed inside the JobTabs application.

Licensing

  • Updates were confined to the version you purchased.  Now all users get one year of free updates regardless of which version of JobTabs they purchased.
  • Customers are now licensed to install as many copies of JobTabs on as many machines as they want provided they use only the db they purchased.

General Enhancements

  • Rock solid stability is now even more solid.  JobTabs now runs virtually autonomously compared to its predecessor.  It has even weaned itself from many files supplied by the operating system.  Installs/uninstalls from other applications will have a near zero impact on its stability and performance.
  • Added user initiated real time, online support over the web!  If you invite us to your PC we can fix problems on the fly right there in front of you.  Best of all, we can only see your PC if you explicitly invite us to do so.
  • Enhanced the aesthetics of JobTabs across the board.  Color scheme is more consistent with Vista and Windows 7.
  • Added additional fields for grouping activities on the All Activities report.
  • Saved Jobs and Job Applications – One-click access to the original job posting!
  • Closer to multi-user!  Added an “Open Data File…” to the JobTabs menu so that more than one person can use their copy of JobTabs on the same machine.
  • Integrated a dedicated tab to common connections on LinkedIn for all employers.  Networking contacts are soon to follow.
  • Added a number of rulers with visible tab stops to improve layout across Resources, Activities and any number of editors.
  • Many, many other enhancements.

 

JobTabs Job Search & Resume is a free download and can be downloaded from the JobTabs, LLC  website at http://www.jobtabs.com.  It sells for $49.95.  While tax circumstances vary widely, if you can deduct the purchase of JobTabs, the real cost of purchasing JobTabs can be  as little as $20.

 

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

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March 5, 2009

The Job Search Game Plan

Filed under: Job Searching,Motivation,Networking — Tags: , , , — admin @ 12:36 am

Image of a football huddle.If your job search isn’t going anywhere, how can you change it if you never had a game plan in the first place?

Show me someone who advocates looking for a job by the seat of your pants and I will show you someone who is unemployed.  Gentle reader, a game plan doesn’t have to be a complicated flow chart or something constraining.  A simple agenda is all we are talking about.  The means which people use to find their next job will be as varied as the people themselves. What works for Bob may not work for Ann, however anything that helps both Bob and Ann keep their head on straight and objectively plan and implement their job search will work for both of them.

I work with a lot of job seekers and I often advise them to work with  job listings and recruiters first.  Most people are not used to writing or even looking for a job for that matter. This is the reason that I advise them to, initially, work the job boards. They have to get in the groove of selling themselves and that like many things this will take practice. While networking is touted as the best means of getting a job, it is better to make a mistake/faux pas on your job search in the anonymity of cyberspace than it is to make a mistake networking with your next door neighbor.

The recruiters will serve as pseudo-career coaches because when you meet with a recruiter, that recruiter can give you a lot of advice on honing your resume and helping you sell yourself. Granted, a cannot recruiter provide the comprehensive feedback that a career coach can provide. However, when you work with a recruiter you are, so to speak, their product, and they have a vested interest in helping you convince employers that you are the candidate of choice. Recruiters are battle hardened professionals and they have much to gain by helping you get a job offer.

After job seekers prep their skills with job boards and recruiters, I encourage them to start working their network. They will be much better at selling their qualifications after getting some exposure to recruiters and job boards. Planning/implementing your job search is important.  Write down, how many jobs you will apply to on the job boards.  Commit to sitting down face to face with recruiters in an effort to get their feedback on your marketability.  Beg them to shoot straight with you  if you have to – just get the facts. Come up with a plan that allows flexibility to create more resumes and tweak each one depending on the requirements solicited.  Schedule time to meet with your networking groups.  Finally – and this is so important – review the plan and change it.  You know, like wash, rinse, repeat.

Show me someone who advocates looking for a job by the seat of your pants and I will show you someone who is unemployed.

As job seekers work with different channels, their job search skills need to evolve and get stronger. They need to build upon a foundation and pay dividends. The job search for most job seekers is a crap shoot where you put your chips on the table and roll the dice. As the job search progresses they think they are becoming better job seekers, but in actuality they are just becoming better gamblers. It is still a losing game and is leading job seekers down a path of dejection and despondency. They can’t see that because they have no plan nor a record of a an implementation to give themselves or a mentor/career coach an objective view as to what they have been doing.   Write down your goals, write down your agenda, and stick to it until it is time to reevaluate it.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, as well as by phone at 404-255-0248.

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