Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Episode 42: Cover Letters that Work! So you're looking to change your career. Whenever you make an application, more often than not you will also be asked to provide a cover letter. But does it really make a difference in the application process?To be honest, from talking to many human resources professionals and recruiters, the response is about 50/50 as to whether or not a cover letter is important.Many have told me that they go straight to the resume, as they don’t want to read ‘fluff.’ Fluff is what many people put in their cover letters.  You must make the letter relevant and interesting to the reader so you stand out. Many screeners have told me that they always read a cover letter as the letter will highlight the reason WHY someone is applying for the role and also will demonstrate the level of their written communication. A cover letter gives your personality a chance to shine through. Correct grammar, spelling and layout are important.Let there be enough white space so it’s easy to read. Make it easy for the reader to see that you are the ideal candidate for the role and that you have what it takes to be successful. Even if only 50% of recruiters and hiring managers read the cover letter, for those 50 it is essential to get it right.If you want a sample template that you can follow if you are stuck when writing your cover letters, email jane@janejacksoncoach.com and I’ll send you one.Remember that a cover letter should be no longer than one page and what you include must be relevant to the reader. Research the company first, and use what is most interesting to you as a ‘hook’ in the letter to show that you would be a good fit for the role. Don’t over sell, state facts and then let your tangible achievements in your resumé do the rest!Email jane@janejacksoncoach.com for a free cover letter template.Welcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Jessica Steuart is living her career dream in the fashion industry in London. She is the Fashion Merchandising Editor for the magazines of the world's largest luxury fashion e-commerce company. Jess was born in London, spent her early childhood in Singapore, completed her education and launched her career in Sydney before returning to London to pursue her career in the fashion industry. Listen to Jess’ story from her early days and how she would immerse herself in fashion magazines as a young girl, reading Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines before progressing to Harpers Bazaar, Vogue and Russh magazines and then satisfied her passion for shoes by working part time during her high school days at Evelyn Miles and Midas in Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. She then interned at Madison and Russh magazines and assisted fashion stylists while she was at university (she graduated with a Bachelor of Communication in Information Management from the University of Technology Sydney) before landing a great job with local Australian designer, Natasha, starting at the bottom of the ladder. She worked her way up and was promoted to PR Manager, which involved travelling around Australia meeting fashion buyers and promoting the label before making a move and going agency side in fashion PR as Showroom Manager for The ARC Factory in Sydney. She thrived in this role where she led a small showroom team, worked with fashion editors, promoting next season’s products for The ARC Factory’s clients. Looking for a new challenge and wanting to pursue her career in London Jess took the plunge and moved across the world with just a dream. She found that she had to start from the bottom again and started assisting fashion editors at Harpers Bazaar in the UK. She also gained experience in online retail with a small luxury e-commerce company. She was very fortunate to hear of an opening at her dream company, a global high fashion online retailer, and she was fortunate enough to progress through a number of interviews and finally secured the role. Jess started as a junior online stylist and worked her way up to deputy online styling editor where further developed her leadership skills and most recently has moved into the editorial side as Acting Fashion Merchandising Editor for their magazines. Jess’ advice for those looking to get into the fashion industry is to take every opportunity that presents itself. Interning is the most valuable experience as it gives you a good understanding as to which aspect of the business is most suited to your skills and personality. To be successful you must network as much as possible within the industry and ‘be a sponge’, keep up to date with the trends and, if this is truly your passion, be sure to know what’s happening in the world of fashion. In such a creative industry you need to live and breathe it to be a success. Jess says her international background has helped her very much to understand global trends.Jess writes for her blog, This is Collective. She is fascinated about how others build their own businesses and inspired by them, Welcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Ruben Lawrence, international leader, strategic brand, mobile and digital VOD.Welcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Linda Hill brings a winning combination of attributes to the competitive field of recruitment: comprehensive academic training, practical business experience, people skills and accountability. Linda was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She graduated from Stellenbosch University with a four-year degree in education, majoring in art, and then spent some time in the United States on an exchange programme. On her return to South Africa she added a Public Relations diploma to her credentials.In 1996 she moved to London, where she decided to expand her interest in health and beauty. After obtaining the industry's respected CIBTAC and CIDESCO diplomas she worked at salons and spas, lectured beauty therapy at a college in London, and then took up the position of Health and Beauty Manager at a chain of health clubs in London. She honed her recruitment and business skills as Acting General Manager for the chain, and set up her own recruitment agency in 2004.Linda discusses her career history, her stint in the army and what motivated her to move to London and make a huge career change.Find Linda at www.lindahillrecruitment.co.ukGet your FREE Audible.com ebook at www.audibletrial.com/janejacksoncareersWelcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Dallas McMillan is a brand strategist at Influential – the digital agency for professionals. He helps successful professionals to get found online, build their expert brand and communicate their unique value.Dallas has been building websites and marketing professional firms for more than 10 years, starting with his own successful veterinary practice group. He spent 14 years ask a vet and enjoyed working with animals and everything involved with running a successful practice while always maintaining a strong interest in IT. (He loved building computer games when he was at school).After years of trying to find the right website design and marketing services for his veterinary practice, he ended up founding Influential, a full service digital agency offering website design, branding and marketing with an emphasis on lead generation and strategic differentiation.For the last 5 years he’s been helping other professionals and business owners to stand out as online leaders in their industry.Dallas also hosts Digital Influence – a free live online training event where he teaches people to develop their digital influence. Each Thursday night at 7pm AEST Dallas shares strategies and tactics to help you use the web to create the change you want to see in the world.Join the free online training at www.digitalinfluence.com.au or visit Dallas at www.influentialdigital.com.au. Twitter: @dallasmcmillan_Welcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Episode 37: You love your job, you work long hours, you deliver without fail and you like your boss. However, you have a sneaky feeling that you are not getting paid what you are worth. Before you march into your manager’s office and insist on a pay rise, prepare well for your negotiation to give yourself the best possible chance for success.Approach the negotiation with an open and positive mindset. The conversation should be a request for a salary review based on your performance in the role, not a demand for a salary increase. The salary discussion is not a battle, it is a conversation and should end up being a 'win-win' situation for both you and your manager. 1. Conduct Your ResearchBefore you approach your manager, ensure that you conduct research to find out the current market value of your role in your industry. You can do this by gathering information from your network of contacts that work in a similar industry and by comparing the information provided in various online salary surveys through major recruitment agencies such as www.robertwalters.com. These salary surveys provide the current market rate for different roles in different industries and I have found the Robert Walters survey to be an excellent indication in the commercial environment.Ensure that the job size, company size and extent of responsibility are on par with your job when making a comparison. Contact recruitment consultants who are specialists in your field and talk with them about your role. Indicate your key responsibilities (including revenue and number of staff you are responsible for) to get a feel for the market value of similar sized positions. An Operations Manager in one company can mean and hold differing responsibilities and salary to the same title in another company. Recognise the difference between the value of the role that you perform from your manager's perspective and your value as an individual from your perspective. When approaching a salary review, think of it from your manager's perspective.2. Find out internal budget constraints Many companies plan for salary increases months in advance and managers are given a % increase figure that they need to spread across their staff when considering salary increases. Conduct research to gain an understanding of what the average % salary increases are in your industry. If you approach your manager with this knowledge it may be possible to negotiate an ‘out of cycle’ pay increase if you are willing to wait a few months.3. Justify your request with evidenceHIghlight how well you get along with your team members, how you contribute to the positive, pro-active atmosphere.Your accomplishments in the role will be the main selling point when it comes to a positive result in a salary review. Make sure you prepare yourself well before approaching your manager by documenting your achievements in your role to date. You may have increased profits, saved money, saved time, improved relationships with customers or clients, streamlined processes, improved morale, generated positive feedback and appreciation, demonsWelcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Valerie Khoo is the founder and national director of the Australian Writers’ Centre, Australia’s leading centre for writing courses, a journalist, small business commentator and author of the best selling book “Power Stories: The 8 Stories You MUST Tell to Build an Epic Business”.Over 25,000 students have learnt at the Australian Writers’ Centre and the centre has campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth - as well as a huge online learning community enrolling from all over the world. The centre helps students get published, score book deals, change careers and improve their job prospects. It was a previous winner in the Telstra Business Awards and was named by Dell as one of the 10 most innovative small businesses in Australia. Follow Valerie’s fascinating career path from gaining an economics and accounting degree, becoming a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers before transitioning into communications and focusing on corporate Public Relations and then following her true passion – journalism and writing. Valerie has been a successful women’s magazine editor and business owner. She also started her own fashion and homewares label, which is a social enterprise to benefit Cambodian orphanages. This talented and community minded businesswoman shares her stories and tells us how the Australian Writers’ Centre now benefits all those who dream of becoming a journalist, a writer and author. Follow Valerie on Twitter @valeriekhoo Valerie blogs at www.ValerieKhoo.comFind out more about the Australian Writers’ Centre at www.WritersCentre.com.auWelcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Geoff Anderson is a video producer, best selling author, keynote presenter, video specialist and occasional stand-up comic.Welcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Episode 34: Forget the sweaty palms and anxiety over meeting people you don’t know. If you’re going to attend a conference, it's the perfect opportunity to Network so consider all the benefits! Networking at a conference is, believe it or not, easier than you think - even if you are a shy person or you think that networking is only for those who like ‘schmoozing.’ Follow the tips below and you may find that you actually have a good time!The benefits from networking at a conference include meeting new people who can give you new information or leads that could generate new ideas or open up new possibilities for you. Think about staying focused on the positive outcomes and enjoying yourself rather than worrying about putting your foot in your mouth. At conferences you will be in close proximity to some big names, leaders in your field, and what a great opportunity to learn from them and give them the opportunity to get to know you too.Now, you can disregard these suggestions and simply do what makes you feel most comfortable, or you can take a deep breath, challenge yourself and give these suggestions a go. Remember that networking is simply about creating an opportunity to develop positive working relationships. It's not about trying to sell something to someone.•Start networking before you even arrive at the conference. Find out who will be presenting and when, who will be attending, who would be in your area of interest and who might be interested in what you have to offer. Have a look at presenters’ websites, find out items of interest and check out their background on LinkedIn.•Find out key presenters emails and drop them a short note to introduce yourself and let them know you look forward to listening to their talk. This may provide a surprisingly easy opening for you at the conference to make contact.•Most likely you will be provided with a nametag at the conference. Wear it as it makes it easier for all those you meet to remember your name.•Arrive early, sit up front, and be attentive so you can raise relevant points after the presentation. Make sure you have your business cards with you and perhaps even a personalised note on the back. (Make sure your business card clearly states what you do and represent – the presenter will receive many cards during the conference so you need to stand out.) After the presentation, if there is the opportunity to speak with the presenter, tell the presenter how much you enjoyed the talk and why. Ask relevant open-ended questions. Ask if you can follow up with an email to them or even a phone call. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know how accommodating the presenter might be.•When talking, get to the point quickly. Have questions prepared so you won't be tongue tied if feeling a little nervous. You may wish to preface your conversation with something like, “I have two quick questions if there's time …” It might be possible to arrange to see the presenter again at another similar event during the conference if they are not free to talk right away. If appropriate have your promotional material (preferably brief and comWelcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/   

Love Your Career Podcast? Let us know!Brian Quirke’s business career spans 45 years much of it spent in banking & finance where he held a number of leadership positions in both support (Head of Human Resources) and in the line (Head of Retail Branch Banking). Since departing the banking industry he has moved through a number of senior roles in professional services including Outplacement, Recruitment and into entrepreneurship for the last 10 years as an owner of PHR Consulting where he is a leadership and career coach.He is far from convinced that leadership had improved much, if at all, during his time in the commercial world and believes that this is having a detrimental impact of the quality of the lives many people live. He believes that through improving the skills of leaders you create a trickle down effect that not only engages employees but also ultimately creates better lives.Brian discusses how careers were viewed in the 1960’s for a young person entering the workforce and how things have changed for the baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. Brian talks about his passion for coaching and how his career transitions have prepared him well for the role he now plays in the lives of his clients who are experiencing change in their careers too.Find Brian at www.phrconsulting.com.auWelcome to Your Career Podcast with Jane Jackson where I help mid career professionals overcome self doubt and gain career clarity and the confidence to create the life and career they desire. Book a Zoom chat with me at janejacksoncoach.com - I’d love to meet you and discover what’s happening in your career! Support the show- - - - - -Find out what you MUST DO to make a successful career change and land the job you'll LOVE.  Take the CAREER SUCCESS QUIZ (it only takes 2 minutes) https://careersuccess.scoreapp.com/