Tag Archives: thanksgiving

Giving Thanks to Your Resume

It’s that time of year again. A time to eat turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and give thanks. It’s Thanksgiving Thursday! And what better way to celebrate the holiday than giving thanks to our favorite job search tool, the resume.

We thank our resumes for always being with us, and for traveling the unknown of the world wide web to meet with interviewers. But more than saying our thanks, we should show it with some resume updates, too! Here are a few ways to ensure your resume sparkles this holiday season. (more…)

Why the Job Search is Like a Turkey

Yup, you read that right.

Today is Thanksgiving. A day to eat, spend time with friends, eat more, be thankful for life’s blessings, and, finally, eat again.

In summary, there’s a lot of food. And the main course on practically everyone’s table? Turkey.

But what is a turkey? As defined by Merriam-Webster, the top three turkey definitions are:

  1. “A large North American gallinaceous bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that is domesticated in most parts of the world.
  2. Failure, flop, especially: a theatrical production that has failed.
  3. Three successive strikes in bowling.”

Interestingly, each one of these definitions applies to the job search. Don’t believe us? Stop packing on the pounds with pumpkin pie and read on.

You’re One Turkey Among Many

Turkey: A large North American gallinaceous bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that is domesticated in most parts of the world.

Courtesy of Merriam-Webster, “gallinaceous” means: “Of or relating to an order (Galliformes) of heavy-bodied largely terrestrial birds including the pheasants, turkeys, grouse, and the common domestic chicken.”

So basically, gangly birds that travel in packs.

When you’re a job seeker, you’re just one applicant among many. One turkey among hundreds. You keep hoping to find something great, but it can seem like you’re just wasting your time.

Don’t lose faith! While it’s true that most chickens and turkeys end up on a dinner plate, your career doesn’t have to. Drumstick with it, do your research, prepare, and you’ll be soaring high (like an eagle, not a turkey) in no time.

You Gotta Break a Few (Turkey) Eggs to Make an Omelet

Turkey: Failure, flop, especially: a theatrical production that has failed.

The job search doesn’t always go well. Some searches result in filling out applications for jobs you don’t even like. Other times you just don’t make it to the interview stage. In other words, they turn out to be turkeys: complete failures.

And that’s okay. You’re not right for every job. You’re allowed to fail. That’s how we all improve and get better. The important thing is to not get discouraged. There’s a perfect job for you out there. You just have to find it.

3 Strikes Makes a Turkey!

Turkey: Three successive strikes in bowling.

The goal of a job search? To line up all those turkey failures and use them to set things up for a series of awesome interviews and job offers; three success job search strikes. A bowling turkey!

All of that time and effort spent researching online, applying, and interviewing is worth it when you get an awesome job offer. And you’ll often find that success begets success. You’ll get a few job offers at once, or within close proximity to each other. It’s all worth it in the end!

Don’t Be a Turkey (Or Do, Depending on the Definition); Call Express Employment Professionals!

The job search is hard, just like Aunt Emma’s fruitcake. You can spend hours doing all the right things, and still not land an interview. Want to boost your job search game? After you’re done stuffing yourself and celebrating all things Thanksgiving, give your nearest Express office a call, or apply online. You can also download the ExpressJobs app via the App Store or Google Play.

We never charge a fee, and won’t eat the last slice of pecan pie.

How is your job search like a turkey? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

Thanksgiving Lessons for Your Job Search

Stuff your job search turkey with holiday cheer.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to get together and celebrate with friends and family. Juicy turkeys, delicious stuffing, piping hot pies, and wonderful conversation make the holiday memorable. There’s just something about thankfulness (and eating) that brings us all together.

After Thanksgiving is over, you’ll be refreshed and ready to hit the job search again. But before you do, think back on the holiday and apply what made it so wonderful to your search.

Get the Party Started

Thanksgiving involves plenty of planning. You need to call Aunt Susie to make sure she’s bringing the mashed potatoes, email Uncle Fred about the discount turkey, and text your siblings to make sure nobody bakes the same pie. It’s a struggle, but at the end of the day all of that scuttling around results in a holiday everyone can be proud of.

You can apply the same hustle to your job search. Cultivate relationships with friends and colleagues, and then leverage those relationships to hear about new job opportunities. Just make sure to keep in touch, and avoid asking someone for a job connection out of the blue. After all, you wouldn’t randomly ask weird cousin Harold (who you haven’t spoken to in the 10 years since he stole the turkey) to bring the cranberry jam, would you?

Give Thanks

That’s the whole point of Thanksgiving, after all. Being grateful for what we have, and for all of the incredible people who have helped us get to where we are today. You need to be thankful in your job search as well. After an interview, always send a handwritten note (or at least an email) to your interviewer thanking them for their consideration. If any of your contacts help you attain an interview, thank them for their time, either via LinkedIn.com, email, or by phone. The more personal you can make the connection (a handwritten note, a kind phone call, an in-person meeting) the better off you’ll be.

Don’t Be a Turkey

Thanksgiving is a bad time to be a turkey. Whether your turkey is stuffed or topped with cranberry jam, you probably wouldn’t want to swap places with him. A turkey can also be defined as, according to Merriam-Webster, a “stupid, foolish, or inept person.” So it goes without saying that you don’t want to be a turkey in your job search either.

To avoid looking like a turkey, make sure to prepare. Join professional or trade groups to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Research a company online before you step foot into an interview, and have some idea of what the company culture and dress code are. You don’t want to stand out as a gobbling, semi-flightless bird. Try to soar like an eagle instead.

Have any other ideas about how Thanksgiving can apply to your job search? Let us know in the comments below!

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving, Thank You Express Associates

COM15_Thanksgiving_SM_1200X900At Express Employment Professionals, we are in the business of putting people to work and providing hope that comes with a job well done. As we enter the holiday season, we have so many things to be thankful for. Here are some specific things that you, our associates, inspire our gratitude:

  • We are thankful for the half million Express associates who work for us and help our client companies fulfill their production and staffing needs.
  • We are thankful for our associates who are committed to enhancing the communities where they work and live. Through you, Express is making a real difference locally, and will continue to do so in the future.
  • We are thankful you chose Express as your staffing company. We are so proud as a company to have such dedicated people representing Express across North America.

Take time this Thanksgiving to make memories that last a lifetime. We hope you enjoy the holiday, knowing that we are thankful for you every day.

Thank you, for being a valued Express associate.

CEO and Chairman of the Board Bob Funk
President and Vice Chairman Bill Stoller