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Postcards from the Road (a reminder)

Julie Walraven — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:42:07 +0000

Postcards on the road

Sometimes we are blessed to have someone come into our lives who changes it and then we can’t find enough ways to say thank you. Today I want to introduce you to one of those people in my life.

Note: This post was sent out last year about this time. The things I have learned about blogging and communication since then makes me want to let it go again. Enjoy! (Mike was also Wausau Whitewater’s President this year and he took most of the year off from his career to make things work and deal with the economic challenges of the year. If you like his instrumental music, you can buy from MySpace Postcards and all his Contemporary Christian music with vocals is at his regular MySpace page or direct from Michael.)

(Mike’s not on Facebook or Twitter so unless someone reading this tells him, this stays my secret, but you can let it go viral, order music if you like it, and help me pay him back for giving so much time to Wausau Whitewater and decreasing my load.)

The rerun part: Though I’m a professional resume writer with 25 years experience, 11 of those years have also been tied to Wausau Whitewater as the Operations Manager. It was through Wausau Whitewater that I met Michael Schroeder (Mike). He came first as a freestyle competitor in the days when Wausau’s freestyle events were mainly Pro Rodeo events around 1999 – 2001. Pros such as Eric Jackson, Jimmy Blakeney, Tanya Shuman, and Eric Southwick put on a really good show and I just figured that was the way freestyle events were meant to go. But Mike and other paddlers really wanted to have an event geared for citizen level freestyle paddlers. Mike lobbied me and the board of Wausau Whitewater and before I knew it, he was running the first ever freestyle citizen’s event in 2002. He followed that up with the freestyle side of Wausau Whitewater Weekend and then in 2004 founded the Midwest Freestyle Championships. Along the way, we grew to be good friends.

I was really fuzzy about what Mike did for a living for awhile. Normally, I’m pretty curious about occupations. It just never came up. At some point though, I learned that he was a professional musician. During our many conversations, I did find out that he was a Christian. In 2003, he recorded his first CD, A Witness. My life had more downs than ups back then and his music as well as his phone calls helped me turn the corner.

Mike continued to expand his contemporary Christian music with more projects (Fuel for the Soul, the Way, and the Christmas release, The Reason for the Season) as well as tours throughout the country, www.michaelschroeder.com

It has been fun being his friend through all of this, watching his career grow. In summer 2008, we were taking virtual walks together, he was in his city walking in the woods and I was in Wausau walking to the river, and we would meet on the phone to walk and talk about Wausau Whitewater projects and some of our own endeavors. It was during those walks that he told me about this new project, a total instrumental project inspired by a trip he took to Europe some years ago. He called it Postcards from the Road and promised I could have a demo of it when it was ready.

I’ve always loved the contemporary Christian music and didn’t know how I would feel about a project without any vocals. But I love this one as much as any of the others. My friend’s musical voice comes out just fine without any words. The jazzy selections like Amsterdam make me smile. Ones like Nadine made me relaxed and thoughtful. You can hear some of the selections from his MySpace page for the project, http://www.myspace.com/michaelschroeder2

Perhaps in another post I will share some of the lessons I learned from Mike. For now, it is enough to say that meeting him blessed my life.

You don’t want to hire a professional resume writer… but should you?

Julie Walraven — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:28:31 +0000

I know, you don’t want to hire a professional resume writer. You have a list of reasons.

You don’t think you can afford it OR…
Your friend said they can do it for you… OR
You think this is something you should do yourself OR….
You read something bad somewhere about professional resume writers and you don’t trust the profession OR…
You think your resume is just fine OR…
You don’t think you need one OR…
fill in the blank _______________________

We (the resume writing community) hear all of those reasons all the time. One by one:

You don’t think you need one — you need a resume for almost every position even if you are applying online. Without writing a resume prior to applying online, you are unlikely to isolate the keywords that make resume scanning software match you to the position. For in person applications, your chances of being hired grow significantly when you have a well-written resume.
You think your resume is just fine. Compare your resume to samples you find on reputable resume writers sites. Does your formatting have eye-appeal? Do you have Keywords throughout the resume but especially in the top half of the first page where it will get the first read. What does someone see first? Accomplishments or duties? If every accomplishment is buried in a maze of duties, no one will see them.
You read something bad somewhere about professional resume writers and you don’t trust the profession – you can read something bad somewhere about every profession these days. This is when you need to do your homework and check out credentials. I don’t do business with people I don’t trust either but there are so many ways to check out a professional resume writer.
- What should you look for? are they a member of a professional resume writing or career organization? I am a member of Career Directors International, Career Management Alliance, and Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches and there is also the National Association of Resume Writers as well as others.
- Is the writer credentialed? Resume writers could still be good without credentials, I didn’t become a Certified Professional Resume Writer until 2003, even though I was writing resumes since 1983. But being a CPRW or MRW or CARW or CERW or one of many other designations that are earned through completing examinations and submitting portfolios means a writer is serious about their profession and is trained in the best strategies to make you stand out.
- Did you review samples? Most writers have samples on their websites which may not match your career target but will give you an idea of style and professionalism.
You think this is something you should do yourself – I’m stubborn that way too, only about other things. I had abnormally high blood pressure and didn’t want to see a doctor. I let a few friends know and they urged me to make an appointment. You know what? I chose a professional here in Wausau, Wisconsin – a doctor – who knows more about how to handle high blood pressure than I do. He listened to me and let me choose the best solution. If I had just ignored the problem or tried to solve it myself, I might have ended up with a stroke. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Sometimes a professional is the best choice.
Your friend said they could do it for you. If your friend is a professional resume writer, that’s great! If not, you are better off with someone who can position you in the best light. Does your friend know that resumes need key words that are targeted to your profession? Can they write an accomplishment-based resume that showcases your best attributes and contributions?
You don’t think you can afford it. Try comparing the cost of a new resume with your salary. Many times you are looking at no more than 1-2 days of hourly pay to equal the cost of a professionally created resume. If you could shorten your job search by weeks or even months, isn’t worth the investment? Most resume writers have packages and you can select what fits you best.

In the end, you have to decide what works best for you but consider all of the above as you make your choice of hiring a professional or doing it yourself.

Postcards from the Road

Julie Walraven — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:34:49 +0000

Sometimes we are blessed to have someone come into our lives who changes it and then we can’t find enough ways to say thank you. Today I want to introduce you to one of those people in my life.

Though I’m a professional resume writer with 25 years experience, 11 of those years have also been tied to Wausau Whitewater as the Operations Coordinator. It was through Wausau Whitewater that I met Michael Schroeder (Mike). He came first as a freestyle competitor in the days when Wausau’s freestyle events were mainly Pro Rodeo events around 1999 – 2001. Pros such as Eric Jackson, Jimmy Blakeney, Tanya Shuman, and Eric Southwick put on a really good show and I just figured that was the way freestyle events were meant to go. But Mike and other paddlers really wanted to have an event geared for citizen level freestyle paddlers. Mike lobbied me and the board of Wausau Whitewater and before I knew it, he was running the first ever freestyle citizen’s event in 2002. He followed that up with the freestyle side of Wausau Whitewater Weekend and then in 2004 founded the Midwest Freestyle Championships. Along the way, we grew to be good friends.

It has been fun being his friend through all of this, watching his career grow. This summer we were taking virtual walks together, he was in his city walking in the woods and I was in Wausau walking to the river, and we would meet on the phone to walk and talk about Wausau Whitewater projects and some of our own endeavors. It was during those walks that he told me about this new project, a total instrumental project inspired by a trip he took to Europe some years ago. He called it Postcards from the road and promised I could have a demo of it when it was ready.

Perhaps in another post I will share some of the lessons I learned from Mike. For now, it is enough to say that meeting him blessed my life.

Are YOU Proactive or Reactive?

Julie Walraven — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:09:40 +0000

During the 2008 election, when a client called for an appointment, we talked about how the economy affects people’s choices. Investing, purchasing, or scheduling appointments, it seems like people are holding back. He said he believed things could change on the day after the election but he was going to be proactive. He wanted to get his résumé updated so that when the tide turns, he is ready for whatever opportunities materialize.

If you continuously update your résumé and career marketing materials with fresh content to reflect your newest and strongest accomplishments, you will be ready when the networking opportunity surfaces and you find a potential opportunity to match your talents.

Don’t wait for something Catastrophic

Many people wait until they are terminated from a position, permanently laid off, or the company goes out of business to update or create their resume. At that point, your emotions are running so high, a range of being angry, depressed, lost, or sad that you are not in the frame of mind to think of accomplishments. My client’s strategy of being proactive meant he could clearly assess what he wanted to highlight on his résumé and share with the potential employer.

Benefits of being Proactive in Career Management

Clients using proactive strategy can use tools such as selecting keywords to match skills and they can remember accomplishments to transform into “résumé speak.” They can retrieve testimonials or endorsements from their employee evaluations or client thank you letters to incorporate into the résumé.

Clients who are proactive are also generally better networkers. They maintain a presence on LinkedIn and are actively building their contacts and connections. They may use tools such as Jason Alba’s JibberJobber, www.jibberjobber.com to track network connections or build contacts in companies to approach for their next career move. Jason has labeled the difference career management versus job search.

Career management is critical in today’s world.

It is increasingly obvious that nothing is forever these days. You can’t expect to have a job for 20 or 30 years the way that prior generations did. You can expect that you will transition to new jobs and possibly new careers multiple times in your working lifetime.

A professional résumé writer can certainly work with clients who are pushed into action by sudden job loss. However, clients who are proactive in their career management will be able to feel more in control if they suddenly find themselves in the job search mode. Which would you prefer to be? Proactive or reactive?