Job Journey

Resumes and Cover Letters The Job Search

Should You Lie on Your Resume?

By Job Journey on Friday, January 1, 2021

Is it worth your pants catching fire?

Applying to job after job and getting rejected over and over is awful. It stinks to go through all the trouble of submitting countless applications and then not even getting a single interview. And if you aren’t getting interviews, it’s easy to blame your resume. There must be something wrong with your experience or your educational background. Otherwise, they’d at least let you come in for an interview. It would be so easy to just change a few numbers around or add a position that didn’t exactly exist. They’d never know, right?

Wrong. As noted by Dave Davis, CEO and hiring manager at digital analytics agency Redfly in an article put out by Monster.com, “Hiring managers were not born yesterday. A single question is enough to catch you out on a lie. It causes an embarrassment and an awkward situation for everyone in the room.” Interviewing is all about making a good impression, and getting an interview isn’t worth it if a lie ends up ruining your reputation. Here are a few other reasons lying isn’t worth it. (more…)

Career Options The Job Search

Hindsight is 2020: What We Learned This Past Year

By Job Journey on Thursday, December 31, 2020

2020 was a weird year. Remote work started across the country, the job search went through a major change, and many of us came out of it more than a little bit stressed.

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t things to learn! We covered a ton of job search ground here on Job Journey, from interview tips to resume guides. Here’s a summary of our top read blogs this year. (more…)

Career Options The Job Search

Setting Goals in the Wake of a Tumultuous Year

By Job Journey on Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Saying this year didn’t go exactly as planned may be the understatement of 2020. Businesses that made bull-market goals and optimistic development plans had to reevaluate their vision for the year, even to the point of having a plan just to maintain some sense of normalcy within their organization.

So, as the year comes to a close, normal folks are faced with a similar choice to make when creating goals for next year: should our goals be lofty and aggressive or stay on the safe side in case 2021 is similar to 2020. And if a we fell short of our goals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, should the same goals stay intact or be revised under more realistic conditions?

The best way to answer these questions is to change the way you make goals altogether by evaluating past achievements and building on that foundation. (more…)

Resumes and Cover Letters

Deck the Halls with a Resume Revamp

By Job Journey on Thursday, December 24, 2020

‘Tis the season, after all!

Boughs of holly are great, but a stellar resume makes for the ultimate holiday decoration. What better way to celebrate the season than with a shiny resume revamp? If you find yourself with a bit of downtime as this month draws to a close, take a look at your resume and see if there’s anything you might want to change. 2021 is fast approaching, and you want to be prepared! Here are a few yuletide-inspired tips for wrapping your resume just right.

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Job Interviews The Job Search

Asking the Right Questions in an Interview

By Job Journey on Thursday, December 17, 2020

Fear not with these top tips.

Interviews are awkward. You’re trying to prove you’re both a fun person to work with and that you have the best skills for the job. You’ve finished explaining your resume and answering their questions, and then they ask if you have any questions in return. They want to know you’re interested in the job and did your research, so saying you don’t have anything further to ask isn’t a great idea.

We previously detailed five of the top questions to ask, and now we’re back with four more! (more…)

At Work Career Advancement

Negotiating Pay for a New Job

By Job Journey on Monday, December 14, 2020

You don’t hate your job. You like the company, your co-workers are great, and you’ve learned a ton. But one day you realize there are few opportunities for advancement. Something inside of you is restless, which might mean it’s time to explore other opportunities with a new company or job.

You hit the online job search and end up interviewing. Eventually, you get a job offer and the question of salary comes up: given that you have a good deal of experience, you want to make sure you get the salary you’re worth. But how exactly do you figure out that number? Here’s our advice. (more…)

The Job Search

Accept Job Search Rejection by Retooling Your Job Search

By Job Journey on Thursday, December 10, 2020

With the way 2020 has gone, it’s easy to get discouraged with your job search. If you graduated in May, you’ve likely found it difficult to find anyone who is hiring. And if you found yourself unemployed soon after the pandemic began, it was similarly tough to find positions to apply for.

As time has gone on, companies have started to hire again. However, the opportunities available might not match what you previously saw yourself doing. In-person networking events are also out, and it can feel like you’re sending resumes out into the void. You never hear back, you never talk to anyone, you can’t get feedback, and you start to feel defeated.

The first thing to realize is this isn’t your fault; there’s most likely nothing wrong with you as a job applicant. The market is just different now, and there could be plenty of reasons you aren’t hearing back or getting interviews. Know that, especially now, the job search is partly a numbers game: you need to accept rejection is part of the game and send out as many applications as you can. Since the job market looks different, your job search should too. Here’s how to make that happen. (more…)