Career Confidence E-Book

Robynn Storey

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 292

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Learn how to bet on yourself and build the professional life you want as you grow in your career path

In Career Confidence: No-BS Stories and Strategies for Finding Your Power, recruitment, hiring, and job search industry veteran Robynn Storey delivers a detailed roadmap you can use to navigate the increasingly complicated and fast-moving world of work. You’ll learn how to find a job that fulfills and sustains you while also helping you flourish in your chosen career path.

Through relatable client stories, the author burns down commonly held hiring myths and explains how to define and demonstrate your value to employers, showing them what you’re really worth. She draws on her extensive, two-decade career in which she’s helped over 300,000 clients find their dream jobs to give you the info you really need to get the job you really want.

You’ll also find:

• Dozens of real-life stories and anecdotes of professional interactions and experiences that are at once humorous, inspiring, and sometimes shocking
• Strategies for combining the personal moxie that makes you truly unique with your professional work experience to create an irresistible package for employers
• Techniques for defining your value in both your professional and personal life

A must-read guide to a complex employment arena, Career Confidence will earn a place on the bookshelves of job seekers, interviewers, career changers, and professionals everywhere.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Life's a Gamble

2 What's in a Name?

3 How Did We Get Here?

4 A Guy Walks into a Bar

5 There Is Nothing Wrong with You

6 Fake It ’Til You Make It

7 Want Loyalty? Get a Dog.

8 Learned Behavior

9 I Cannot Control the Weather

10 I'm a Fraud; You're a Fraud

11 The Power of a Really, Really, Really Great Resume

12 Famous Clients and Other People I Cannot Name

13 There Are All Kinds of Jobs

14 New Grad? So Rad!

15 Criminally Insane

16 Looking for a Job Is Like Having a Job

17 Confidence Is a Negotiation Skill

18 It's Hard to Be a Woman, So Start a Business

19 Recruiters Hate Me; I Am Okay with That

20 Casper the Unfriendly Ghost

21 To Cover Letter or Not to Cover Letter, That Is the Question

22 Tell Me about Yourself

23 Be a STAR

24 Job Hunting in a Terrible Job Market

25 My Dad Never Made More Than $30,000 a Year

26 From Cop to Millionaire

27 Is That Actually a Job?

28 Are You Underpaid?

29 Fired? Welcome to the Club.

30 Hiring Is a Hot Mess

31 Toxic Bosses

32 Are You HOT?

33 Mister Rogers

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

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ROBYNN STOREY

CEO of Storeyline Resumes

Career Confidence

No-BS Stories & Strategies for Finding Your Power

Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781394219988 (Cloth)ISBN 9781394220922 (ePub)ISBN 9781394220915 (ePDF)

Cover Art and Design: Paul Mccarthy

For Alexa and Jack. You are the loves of my life, my laughter, my joy, my pride, and my heart.

For my beloved husband, Chris, the most steadfast anchor in my life, the solid rock upon which our family has been built, and undeniably, the funniest guy I have ever known.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my children, Alexa and Jack. You are the loves of my life, my laughter, my joy, my pride and my heart. Each day as your mother has been a blessing and an honor. Watching you grow and thrive has been an honor beyond words, a privilege I cherish with all of my being. You both continually astound me with your kindness, your intelligence, and your remarkable ability to find beauty and goodness in the world around you. I love you both with a love that knows no bounds, a love that will forever flow, unending. You are my greatest blessings, my most cherished gifts, and the source of the purest joy in my life.

Thank you to my husband, Chris, for being the unwavering force that has steadied my ship through life's unpredictable waters. Your infectious sense of humor has filled our days with laughter and warmth, making every moment we share a treasure. I am eternally grateful for your spirit, always ready to embrace new adventures and seize every opportunity that comes our way. Here's to a future filled with more laughter, love, and shared adventures.

My parents, Bob and Sandy Sofranko, provided the basis of my happiest childhood memories, and who live the Mr. Rogers's way of life, every single day. You have always been and will always be the most kind, loving, supportive and wonderful people I've ever known.

My grandparents, Sam and Fran Vecchio, set the bar high for love, laughter, and happiness.

My beautiful, artistic, brilliant, and wonderful big sister, Louisa Wotus, who talks the talk and walks the walk. Your belief in faith, family, and community is an inspiration to everyone around you, especially me.

To my best friends, Janet and Anita, we shared a whole lifetime of raising kids, feeding the neighborhood, and justifying our excessive purchases of clothes, shoes, and candles. Thank you for always being there for me.

To my fun squad, Grace Otto DiScienzo and Peter DiScienzo. Though you may not officially be “my children,” in my heart, you hold a cherished place as my own. Your presence in my life has brought an abundance of joy, laughter, fun, and car-ride sing-alongs that shall continue to go unrecorded.

To my team at Storeyline Resumes, all the wonderfully talented professionals who make up our business. Thank you for your talent, dedication, and passion for helping our clients tell their best professional stories.

I would like to thank all the people at Wiley who have helped me along this journey, specifically my editor, Julie Kerr, and Leah Zarra, my acquisitions editor. Thank you for believing that I had something to say. I could never have done this without your incredible knowledge and support.

And, to all the hundreds of thousands of customers who trusted us to help them pave their professional path, for sharing their inspirational journeys and keeping me armed with a zillion stories of perseverance, success, and self-worth.

Introduction

Hi! I am Robynn Storey. The author of this book.

This book is about resumes. Yep, another book about resumes.

This book is also NOT about resumes. It is about a resume business. And the extraordinary people I've met along the way.

Didn’t know a resume business was a thing? It is.

A pretty big one.

A little about me. I grew up as a poor kid in a rural small town in Pennsylvania. My biggest ambition in life was to get OUT of said small town, but with no money, no resources, and parents who wanted me to go to college, get married, and make babies, my dreams of heading to New York City or Los Angeles were stalled before they started.

So, I did all the things I was supposed to do. I became a good student, a good person, a wife and a mother at a very young age. With two, count 'em, two marriages under my belt by the age of 24, I longed for adventure, a different kind of life, excitement, and something more than just enough money to pay the rent.

By the time I turned 30, I'd done pretty well for myself. A few corporate roles, a few big titles, and a six-figure paycheck. You'd think I'd be happy. I wasn't. I threw it all away after a crazy day of mommy guilt when I, yet again, had to pack up two kids before dawn so I could attend another meaningless morning meeting.

So, what does a responsible wife and mother do? She tosses it all in the trash, burns it down, and gives up a semi-comfortable life to become a waitress. And resume writer.

In the 23 years since I founded Storeyline Resumes, we have worked with hundreds of thousands of customers to develop their resume packages, tell their stories, and help THEM achieve their goals.

I've seen incredible success, inspirational evolutions, heartbreak, sadness, and victory … all through the eyes and stories of the clients we've met along the way.

This book is about them, their stories, and their lives. And it's also about how I started off making nothing and grew this business to $10 million annually by caring about other people and encouraging them to beat down every door, take every opportunity, and push themselves beyond their capabilities to get paid what they are worth.

I am so glad you are joining me on this journey; hope you have a few laughs, learn something new, and adapt your own career path as you read about things like resumes, finding your way, when you should take chances, how to deal with bad jobs, how to find a good one, and most importantly, how something you are going through or have gone through in your career is reflected in these stories I'll be telling. I hope you find solutions, inspiration, or ideas to carve out your career path. It's a fun ride, so read on!

1Life's a Gamble

My grandfather was a bookie.

For anyone who doesn't know what that is, he took bets on numbers, sports, and a variety of other chance games.

He was not big time. Most bets were done in the form of nickels and dimes.

His customers were mostly poor people who were throwing their coins into the proverbial fountain, hoping to come out with a few extra dollars.

Which is funny because he was poor too.

His day job was working in a factory where they made tennis balls. And on nights and weekends, he bartended and waited tables at our hometown Italian restaurant.

On Saturday mornings we would go around and pick up money. Then he would go to the bank, deposit the loot into a safety deposit box, and then he'd take me and my sister for ice cream.

At the time, I had no idea what was going on, but I knew that Saturday mornings were fun, and the people we visited often had treats for us.

Do you remember the line from Goodfellas where Karen says something to the effect of: “Other men were sitting around every day waiting for handouts from their bosses at the end of the month. Mobsters were different. They went out every day and came back with money.”

It was like that, but without the violence and the huge stacks of cash.

All I know is that my grandfather was a hustler. Any job, any opportunity to make money, any work hours, requests, side gigs were always met with a resounding “yes.”

My earliest memories from childhood include picking up cash and playing cards for money. We played scat for nickels, which graduated to blackjack and poker. Some days I would leave the games with bags full of nickels and dimes; other days, I'd leave with empty pockets.

Either way, the excitement of the game held my attention, and as I got older, I craved higher and higher stakes.

I am a gambler to this day. Love the action of the casino, love the win, don't mind the loss.

I am also a gambler in life. Willing to take a chance, throw caution to the wind, bet on myself and others.

Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose.

I find that the most successful people do not focus on money. Sure, that's ultimately the end goal for many people, but for most entrepreneurs, me included, it is the thrill of the game.

The people willing to gamble, quit their jobs to do something new, take a job that is beyond their current capabilities, or start a business with no idea of how they will pay the mortgage, often become the most successful people.

They are the hustlers.

They trade in passion.

And sometimes they beat the house.

For my grandfather, all I know is that his efforts allowed them to pay for cars in cash.

Once he bought my grandma a fur coat. No one we knew had a fur coat.

We had the extras that most people in our neighborhood did not, and that, come Christmas time, presents for me and my sister were stacked up to the ceiling when most of our friends got an apple in their stockings and maybe a bike or baseball bat.

By no means am I suggesting you take your life savings and put it all on red.

I am suggesting that taking a chance, in life, in work, in relationships often leads to the greatest wins of all.

Don't be afraid to bet on yourself.

2What's in a Name?

My last name is Storey. The name of my business is Storeyline Resumes. It was like the stars, moon, and sun aligned when I married my husband and took his name.

What's the likelihood that my actual last name would reflect what I turned out to do for a living?

I tell people we came up with the name of my business over a cigarette (me) and a beer (my husband). After the kiddos were put to bed, we'd venture out onto the tiny front porch of our first house and hang out, chat, smoke, drink, and dream.

I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I was not interested in writing books (ironic, I know), couldn't make money writing business papers, and while I love all kinds of literature, I am no poet.

Since I had a background in human resources, I knew what hiring managers were looking for, and resumes seemed to be a thing. Everyone needs a resume, right?

So, I started off writing for family and friends. Then they would send THEIR friends to me and on and on and on, until one day, I said, “Hey, I think I can make this a full-time business.”

Talking about it now, it seems like it was simple. I can assure you that it was not. We were not in a place financially for me to start a business. I still had to have a job, bring home the bacon, pay the mortgage, the groceries, the bills. Just like everyone else, we couldn't live on love or ramen noodles. Not with four mouths to feed.

So, I continued working my day job, and would write resumes at night. And on the weekends. And in the morning before work. It was a rat race.

I remember once being in an operations meeting at my “real job” and my cell phone rang. It was a resume client. I excused myself from the meeting, walked outside, and took the call.

It was right then and there that I knew I was WAAAAY more excited to be doing resumes than being a HR manager. So, I talked to my husband, and we brainstormed to find a way for me to jump in. Both feet. He said, “If you can do something to cover the groceries, I can float us for a bit on the rest of the bills.”

Done. I agreed. I gave up my job and started waiting tables. I worked during the day to build my business, take care of the kids, cook, clean, grocery shop, and all the things you have to do, and at night, I waitressed.

I was a terrible waitress.

I cannot walk 10 feet without tripping over lint, so carrying heavy trays was quite the challenge. My first week, I dropped an entire tray of glasses. I also spilled a full glass of red wine on a businessman in a white shirt and blue suit. He was not amused, nor did he care that I was a fledgling entrepreneur.

Thank goodness the owner of the restaurant was a friend of a friend, and they gave me another chance. I learned how to carry the trays. Sometimes I just brought out meals by the plate. I was always willing to work the banquet, work the wedding, work the weekends, work the parties, graduations, anniversaries, and any other event they had.

I stashed one-dollar bills into a shoe box like a stripper stashes them in her G-string. Little by little, I made enough money to pay what needed to be paid, and within a year, I gave up being a terrible waitress and became a full-time writer.

The first year of full-time resume writing I made $30,000.

In 2022, my business made nearly $10 million dollars in revenue.

So, see? It's super easy to be an entrepreneur. You just have to dedicate all of your waking hours to your business and spend 20+ years crafting your trade. And skip vacations, days off, sleep, sanity, and meals.

The first major breakthrough in the business happened when the housing bubble burst of 2008. I was approached by a mortgage company to write nearly 90 resume packages for their key management team that were going to lose their jobs. After weeks and weeks of working around the clock to interview each client, create resumes, and cover letters, I realized I could no longer go it alone, and finally hired my first writer to join my team. He was a comedy writer named Will. He had never written resumes; he wrote scripts for sitcom television. But I needed a writer, and he needed a job. Turns out, he was an amazing writer, and since he specialized in comedy, he kept me laughing the entire time he was with me.

Since then, we've added 60+ people to our team. Some have been here 10 or 15 years, some 5 or 8, and some are new. But when you care about people, pay them fairly, treat them with dignity, respect, and care, they stay.

They are happy. Happy to be part of something fun, fulfilling, and lucrative. Plus, since Will, we only hire people with a sense of humor. In a high-stress job like ours, you have to be able to give a laugh and have a laugh.

And that's my Storey.

But it wasn't always. My maiden name is Sofranko and my family name is Vecchio. I've always been so proud of my Italian and European heritage, and obviously marrying someone with a cool last name has been a bonus for me. But what if your name is hard to pronounce? Or you are a foreigner in a strange land?

I once worked with a client by the name of Michael. He was an information technology executive for a huge Fortune 500 company. When I got on the phone to interview him, he had a very strong Indian accent. An incredibly friendly and knowledgeable guy, I asked him how he got the name “Michael.”

“My name is Mohammed,” he told me, but when he came to work in America, his boss suggested that he simplify his name to “Michael.”

I was appalled and did not hold back. He laughed and said it was no big deal. His arrival in the United States was shortly after 9/11 and being named Mohammed, he said, was not something he wanted to deal with. He was already struggling to keep up with his fast-talking American peers, and desperately wanted to “fit in.”

After I did a bit of research, I found it was fairly common practice in the 1990s and 2000s to “Americanize” the names of new immigrants or VISA employees so that it was easier for them to engage, and easier for their counterparts to pronounce their names.

For the record, this is not a practice I agree with. How hard is it to learn to pronounce someone's name? Are we that arrogant to suggest your name makes our life difficult?

Your name is an integral part of your identity. It carries your heritage, culture, and family history. Changing it to fit into a new environment can lead to a sense of inauthenticity. Instead, embrace your cultural background and educate your peers on how to pronounce it. Your distinct experiences and perspectives are valuable assets.

By adopting an American-sounding name, you inadvertently discourage your colleagues from learning about and appreciating your culture. Diversity in the workplace is not just about physical appearances. It's about the rich tapestry of traditions, languages, and perspectives that different cultures bring. In today's world, asking African American women to not wear their natural hair, or discouraging our Islamic friends from wearing their head coverings would be—should be—met with outrage. It just shouldn't be done. Plus, who doesn't love learning about different cultures and traditions?

If you change your name, it can lead to confusion because your official employment records and documents do not match your workplace persona, leading to misunderstandings and complications. So, it's my advice that instead of changing your name, take pride in your cultural heritage. Educate your colleagues about your background, traditions, and language. Be an advocate for diversity and inclusion, and you might inspire others to do the same.

Embrace the power of your name, for it carries the essence of your unique journey and the potential to shape your destiny.

3How Did We Get Here?

If you were born in the 1970s, 1980s, or even the early part of the 1990s, looking for a job was like a little exercise in nepotism, dumb luck, and the right place, right time.

Everyone who wanted a job, for the most part, had a job.

Most of us got jobs because we knew someone who worked at a company we were interested in, or we met someone in college whose parents worked for a company. We sent out some resumes, LinkedIn didn't exist, and job boards were not a thing.

We typed, printed, and mailed our resumes to job opportunities we saw in the newspaper, or later, online.

Unemployment ranged from 5% to 7%, give or take a few tenths of a percentage, and finding a job was, well, pretty easy. It may not have been the exact job you wanted, but if you needed one, you filled out an application, a nice HR lady gave you a call, and boom, you went to the interview.

If you did not get a job offer, they sent you a postcard in the mail, or called you on the phone and let you know you were not selected. It was all very civilized. It was extremely rare to be ignored, and sometimes, they even kept your resume around, so if another job came up, they called you.

My first grown-up job, a marketing representative for a large local grocery store chain, came about because the father of my best friend was an executive there.

After graduating from college with a degree in communication and marketing, it was fair to say that I knew almost nothing about communications or marketing.

What I did have was a passion for learning, a passion for paying my rent, and a passion for shoes. These things cannot be had without a job. I did not know one single person who had parents who paid their rent or bought them food or supported them in any way. Once you graduated from high school or college, you were expected to be out of the house. That's just how things worked. And YOU wanted to be out of the house. There was nothing I wanted more than some privacy and independence. So, off we all went.

I did not make the first cut at the grocery store chain. The company hired someone else. Even though I was highly unqualified, had no real knowledge of the grocery business, and zero experience in doing anything other than making ice cream cones (which I acquired at my college job), I was super cute and bubbly and friendly. Alas, that was not enough for them … so, they passed. I went on to keep in touch with the hiring manager, took a job at a bank doing customer service and sales, and a year later, the store called me back and offered me the position. It paid $26,000 a year. I honestly did not know how I was going to spend all that money.

Hard work has never been and will never be a dirty term for me. The only way to get where you want to go is to work your ass off.

Don't let anyone tell you differently.

I had a friend who graduated with a degree in nuclear engineering from Penn State. He was having a tough time finding a job. It was the 1980s and the recession was in full swing. So, he got a job washing dishes at our hometown Italian restaurant. Every night, six days a week, this brilliant young engineer scrubbed pots and pans, dishes, and glasses over a sink steaming with hot water and soap, just to make minimum wage and a free plate of spaghetti at the end of his shift.

He did this for two years. No one said, “You are too good for that job.” No one said, “Here is some money to hold you over until you get a real job.” No one asked, “Is your mental health okay? Do you need a break?”

It just wasn't done. If you needed money, you worked. We had no handouts, no backup, no trust funds.

He eventually got a job at Westinghouse. He stayed there his entire career.

Not long ago, I dropped $1,000 into my son's checking account. He's 24. He is “finding himself” right now, waiting tables, going to the gym, hanging out with friends. If, at the age of 24, I told my dad I needed money to support me while “I found myself,” he'd still be laughing 30 years later.

Of course, I don't want my son to starve, but I don't want him to expect that life is like this either.

Are we doing our kids a disservice by trying to make everything easy?

My answer is 100% “yes.” I am guilty of it, and you probably are too.

Everyone is “triggered” or “offended” by everything these days. Backbone is not something you are born with; it is something you have to earn.

While our children aren't walking to school in the driving snow and blinding rain like our grandparents were, if they were lucky enough to get to school, there are different kinds of challenges.

Along with the prevalence of illegal drugs, partisan political agendas, social media's pressure on kids to be perfect, endless bullying, societal aggression, continuing gun violence, and academic struggles and debates, throw in a global pandemic for good measure, and see that kids today are struggling. Is that bad?

“Yes” and “no.”

Most of us have learned how to “adult” by learning how to struggle. Ramen noodles for dinner more nights than not. Staying in instead of going out. Buying a car you could afford instead of the one you really wanted. Going to the beach for a long weekend instead of going to Europe.

We need to not only recognize that our kids are faced with issues we never had to deal with; it is, in fact, their reality. So instead of sentimentalizing the way things “used to be,” we need to be figuring out a way to help our kids based on the “way things are.”

First, we need to be honest about happiness. What makes one person happy, doesn't necessarily make someone else happy. Some of the most miserable people in the world, who seemingly have it “all” are unhappy. Yet, others who don't measure up to our standards of perfection are content, love their life, and live a joyful existence.

So, where is the balance? First of all, we need to stop making everything look so “easy.” Most of the successful people I know have made crazy sacrifices to get to where they are. Me included. At one point, I did not take a full vacation for nine years. Yes, I took a day or two here and there, but it was rare. I worked during the day, worked at night, worked on the weekends. In college, I held three or four jobs at a time.

Don't be afraid to make your kids work, babysit, or cut grass for money when they are young. Earning your own money is a prideful thing. Every college student should have a part-time job or do internships while at school. This allows them to not rely solely on overextended parents for spending money, and it also lets them see what the “real world” is like outside the walls of their campus.

Both my kids worked from the time they were 15 or 16. Could I have paid for their clothes, gas, entertainment? Of course, but when you earn it, it is that much sweeter.

Be honest with your kids about struggle, achievement, performance, and rewards. We live in a “participation trophy” society. While I think it is great to acknowledge someone's hard work and effort, not everyone wins. Games have winners and losers. The best thing you can do for your kids is to let them lose from time to time. It makes it all the sweeter when they win. On their own.

Today, if you are on social media, everyone's life looks a hell of a lot more exciting than yours. It's all a lie. Don't buy it.

There is nothing wrong with work. THAT is what we need to be teaching our kids. Let them pick themselves up when they fall.

Kids are struggling with the balance between what they see online and the lives they are living, which are not always easy or glamorous. Young minds can have a difficult time differentiating between what is real and what is not. As a society, as parents, bosses, coaches, peers, and teachers, I believe the greatest thing we can do for kids today is to not coddle them, but let them win and lose based on their own merits. We are all responsible for shaping young minds, and teaching work ethic through our own actions can help them to understand how fulfilling life can be when you accomplish things on your own.

I've seen a major change in work ethic over my 23 years in this business. We've gone from a society of hustlers, movers, workers, and innovators to wanting four-day work weeks and for everything to be easy.

Life is not easy. Nothing worth having is.

Your life can be exactly what you want it to be.

4A Guy Walks into a Bar

A young man graduates from college with no idea of what he wants to do with his life. I will call him John.

John can't find a professional job. He leaves school without any real-life skills. Beer pong champion does not count. He has student loans, wants to move out of his parents' house and mostly wants to get laid, go to bars, and hang out with his friends.