Heather Hernandez

inspiring women to be entrepreneurs

helping women network, find jobs, and be entrepreneurs

How I Handle Rejection in my Job Search (and why I feel like a Unicorn)

October 19, 2018 By Heather Hernandez 1 Comment

Lately, during my job search, I’ve been experiencing the harshness of feeling rejected. Now it’s not because I’m actually being rejected by people, systems or companies but that to me their responses (or lack thereof) feels like rejection to me.  Here are some examples of recent events that have made me feel rejected:
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I meet someone in-person who works for a company I’d love to work for so I send a connection request on LinkedIn . . . and they never accept my connection request
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I interview with my former employer because they know me & love me (I think) . . . but they can’t create a position for me
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I call a staffing agency to request a resume critique because they are known for being extra helpful . . . and they never return my call
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I speak to someone who works for a company on my target list and they tell me they don’t have any marketing positions . . . one day later I see their company advertising a marketing position that I want to apply for and I notice it was posted five days ago?!?!
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I apply for the perfect job for me based on my experience and skill set . . . and I hear nothing but I can’t follow-up with the hiring manager because my LinkedIn connection request to them is still  “pending”
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Are these things only happening to me or are they happening during your job search too?
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So you can see why I’ve been feeling rejected lately. But how do I overcome this feeling and move forward with my job search with a smile on my face and a positive attitude in my mind?
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I remind myself that I’m the unicorn that everyone wants to hire but nobody knows exists. Clearly, even some of the people I’ve met in-person still don’t know I’m the unicorn!
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Why do I feel like a unicorn in a field of horses? I started my career as a civil engineer and practiced for seven years, obtaining the coveted Professional Engineer’s license before taking a break to have two children. When my youngest was one-year-old I accidentally became an entrepreneur by starting my own frugal lifestyle blog (Freebies 4 Mom). I fell in love with marketing and was able to support my family even while my husband was unemployed for two years.
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But the small business owner role was not a long-term career solution for me. I could make money, but I could not obtain good health insurance for my family. And mentally I found that blogging wasn’t challenging enough for me. I wanted to blog as a hobby or side hustle while I had a real job outside of the home. So I got a marketing job managing influencer marketing campaigns. I loved the work, loved the benefits and loved the challenge. In fact, I loved my new job so much that I decided I needed to formalize my career change from civil engineering to marketing by getting a Master’s degree in Marketing.
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I found a university in Texas that was featured as the most affordable Master’s in Science Marketing degree in the United States. I discovered that it was easier to apply and get accepted than I thought it would be and started my first class in June of 2018. At the end of June, my dream job came to an abrupt end when the parent company decided to close our division and I was laid off. Now I was unemployed and would be looking for a job while attending graduate school part-time.
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Quickly I discovered that this would be the most challenging job search of my entire life. Gone were the days where I could apply for a job advertised in the newspaper located across the country and land the job without knowing anyone who worked there. I was learning that job hunting had turned into a numbers game. You are one of hundreds or thousands of people applying for one open position. You must network to try to find a job through someone you know, and even then the job hunting process is brutal.
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So I just have to remind myself that I’m a unicorn and that eventually I will be discovered for all of my magnificence and land the perfect job.
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Time to spill your guts – how do you deal with the feeling of rejection in your job search?

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Why You Shouldn’t Apply for Jobs through Linkedin

September 11, 2018 By Heather Hernandez 1 Comment

I attended a Resume Building workshop at my local library, and I was shocked when they told me “Do not apply for jobs through Linkedin”. I mean, isn’t the point of technology to do things smarter and faster? Well here’s why they gave that recommendation and why I’m following it!

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Here’s the reasoning behind NOT applying for jobs through LinkedIn and instead using it as a tool to find job openings, and then visiting the company’s website to apply there:
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* When you apply for a job through LinkedIn there’s a limited amount of information you’re able to submit ~ that’s because they want to make it super easy for you to apply!
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* If you visit the company’s website and are able to apply for the job opening, this is always the better course of action to take. The reason is that you’re able to supply a lot more information including a Cover Letter.
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* Sometimes your able to subscribe to Job Alerts on the company website too in order to have new job openings that meet your search criteria to be emailed to you!
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* Of course not every company website is set-up to accept job applications, so in that case, you should apply through LinkedIn. But you’re almost always going to be better off applying directly through the company website so you can supply all of the information they request. Every company is different and they don’t all ask you for the exact same information!
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* Also you may not want LinkedIn to know which jobs you’re applying for if you have privacy concerns. Also the jobs you apply for effects the types of jobs that LinkedIn recommends to you.
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* Same applies for other job boards like Indeed, you should try to find where to apply for the job on the company’s website.
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Do you apply for jobs through LinkedIn or do you visit the company’s website to apply?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How I Apply Continuous Improvement to my Resume

August 31, 2018 By Heather Hernandez Leave a Comment

When I was in college for engineering, we learned how to apply continuous improvement to solve technical problems. I love the concept of continuous improvement so I try to apply it to all aspects of my life, including my resume! Here’s how I approach updating my resume to achieve continuous improvement:

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* When I go to any type of job search workshop, I bring my resume. That’s because while we’re talking about job searching, sometimes I think of some way I’d like to update my resume. If I have my resume with me, I can mark it up right then before I forget what I wanted to change.
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* Instead of making several versions of my resume, I treat each job I apply for as an opportunity to improve my resume.
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* My resume started as one page, but now it’s two pages. As I learn more about keywords for job descriptions and think about how best to describe my job experience, I’m adding to my resume. When I was in college it was drilled into my head that my resume had to be one page. But now it’s ok for your resume to be one or two pages.
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* I’m challenging myself to go into further detail on my resume each time I updated it. One example is my skills section, which used to be one section and now is three sections:  Marketing Skills, Professional Skills and Computer Skills.
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* Saving old versions of my resume in an “Old Resumes” folder is how I’m able to go back to look at previous versions. Sometimes I remove things from my resume and then change my mind and want to add them back. This way I don’t have to remember exactly what I removed, I can just go back and look!
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What do you apply continous improvement to?

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Best College Student Discounts

August 30, 2018 By Heather Hernandez Leave a Comment

Now that I’m a college student, I’m happy that I’m eligible for student discounts! There don’t seem to be many out there, but these two discounts saved me a bunch of money. Instead of paying about $100 per month for cable TV I now pay $11.48 per month to stream Amazon Prime and Hulu (including Showtime) content on my smart TV.

If you’ve got a .edu email address, enjoy my favorite discounts for college students:

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Amazon Prime Student

I already had an Amazon Prime account by I was paying $12.99 per month for it. I was able to convert it to an Amazon Prime Student account to get it for FREE the first 6 months and then for only $6.49 a month after that. What a great deal!
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Spotify Premium for Students (includes Hulu with Showtime)

Ok, I wasn’t interested in getting Spotify BUT it includes Hulu along with Showtime so it was worth getting for $0.99 a month (for first 3 months) then $4.99 a month after that. After 12 months the price goes up to $9.99 a month.
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Any other college student discounts that you’re loving?

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10 Tips to Update Your Resume Right Now

August 27, 2018 By Heather Hernandez Leave a Comment

I’m learning a lot about how to update my resume to make it the best it can be for my job search in 2018. I will admit it’s been awhile since I’ve been job searching, so I’m finding that things have changed and I have a lot to learn about how to update my resume. So as I learn I want to share these resume tips with you, because you should always be updating your resume because you never know when you’ll need it next!

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Tip #1 – Remove your address

It’s unnecessary and you don’t want potential employers to use it to weed you out (i.e. “she lives too far away to work here”). It has also become a potential privacy issue since you may be handing your resume out at career fairs and at other events where you’re not completing a formal job application. You don’t want to share your address unless you’re required to on a job application form.

Tip #2 – Take out “I” and “me” everywhere

It’s already known you’re talking about yourself, so take out “I” and “me”. Most of my resume is bulleted lists, but my introduction is a paragraph so here’s how I removed “I” from my sentences:  “I am a part-time student…” becomes “Part-time student…”

Tip #3 – Use past tense

When describing your work experience, use past tense (i.e. managed, produced, wrote, hosted, etc.).

Tip #4 – Divide your skills

Your list of skills can become long, so think about dividing it into different categories. I divided my skills into two categories:  1) Professional Skills and 2) Computer Skills.

Tip #5 – Two Pages is OK

I had it drilled in my head when I was in college that a resume had to be ONE PAGE with no exceptions! Today it is ok if your resume is one or two pages long. Because my resume starts with a Professional Profile paragraph, I need that second page to list my Professional Skills and Computer Skills.

Tip #6 – Start with a Summary

Consider starting your resume with a summary or introduction of who you are, what your job experience is and what skills you can bring to a company. I call this section “Professional Profile” and it’s the best way for me to explain how I transitioned from civil engineering to marketing and that I’m currently attending graduate school part-time.

Tip #7 – Consider removing dates

If you’re concerned with age discrimination then consider removing the dates of your degrees and dates of your work experience. Yes, most job applications will require these dates ~ but that doesn’t mean they have to be on your resume!

Tip #8 – Add your LinkedIn Profile URL

Add your LinkedIn Profile URL to the top of your resume (in your Contact section) so it’s easy for anyone to find you on LinkedIn and connect with you there.

Tip #9 – Add locations for your job experience

This was something I somehow left off my resume – the cities where my most recent jobs were in. This was an important detail to add because my last full-time position was a remote position and there are companies that are seeking marketing professionals with experience working remotely (yes, you need to have special skills to work remotely like self-motivated and self-discipline).

Tip #10 – Remove horizontal lines

I learned that horizontal lines can interfere with the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) that many companies employ to scan resumes into their system. When you use horizontal lines to breakup sections, it can cause ATS to skip text in your resume. Use headers and icons to indicate different sections of your resume instead.
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What are your tips for updating your resume for today’s challengine job market? Please share with us!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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