Branding, Career Development, Job Search
Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill
4 Ways Helping Others Can Define Your Brand

“You are only as good as the good you do for others.” ~Unknown

The above quote has been part of my email signature since 2011 and has come to represent both the philosophy by which I try to live my life and the mantra upon which I base my career & business. As I have worked with various clients on defining their professional brand, I have realized that more than anything -- a brand is our offer of value to others. The beauty in this perspective is that we all have something of value to offer and contribute to the world. The challenge is how difficult it can be to identify and articulate this value in a way that resonates with others and inspires them to engage with you.

If you think about it, a job posting is just the far wordier equivalent of the classic, “Help Wanted” sign, hung in a retail store window. Employers are seeking the best person they can find to help them deal with a specific set of pain points that are currently hurting their business. Your job as a candidate is to develop a brand and career platform that demonstrates your experience in resolving this or a similar enough set of pain points to be compelling.

4 Ways Helping Others Can Define Your Brand
Job Search, Culture, Career Development, Career Advancement, Networking, Resumes
Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill
How Culture Impacts Talking About Your ...

“Don’t boast, it’s not the right thing to do.”

These are the words I often heard from my late mother during my childhood whenever she thought I was feeling myself just a little too much. The irony of her instruction was the fact that she, objectively, had a lot that she could boast about without anyone giving her the side-eye. My mother was the first woman to serve as the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. She was also the first woman chosen to run as a Vice Presidential candidate in Ghana’s political history.

Despite being a woman of many firsts, she was incredibly humble both by nature and by nurture of the collectivist and humility-led Ghanaian cultural context she grew up in. You would never catch her bragging and she taught me accordingly. To this day I feel awkward in the face of praise and uncomfortable when discussing my own achievements.

Does this feel/sound familiar to you?

How Culture Impacts Talking About Your Achievements
Career Development, Career Advancement, Job Search, Motivation
Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill
Speak Up, You Never Know Who is Listening

It’s been an interesting journey so far in my 18+ months of adventures and lessons as a new solopreneur. I am still yet to “arrive,” but looking back, I’ve made significant progress thanks to the community I’ve found and built on LinkedIn. One of the scariest things about joining, and more specifically, contributing to a digital, public conversation, is a fear of the unknown. This “unknown” relates both to peoples’ receptivity and response to what you or I share. This is a valid fear/anxiety that we can all trace back to the butterflies in our collective stomach when we raised our hands to participate in the classroom. On LinkedIn, similar to the classroom setting, everyone is listening, our participation matters, and also counts toward our grade.

Let me ask you a question... why did you join LinkedIn?

Was your goal simply to create a profile just to say that you have one, or were there some higher aspirational purposes for the time and effort you expended? I’ll bet that you had goals of (re)connecting with friends/professionals you already knew, meeting new people to expand your network, and furthering your professional development, including finding new jobs. The challenge is, it’s very hard to achieve any of these goals if you remain a silent observer or passive member in this digital, public, professional square.

Speak Up, You Never Know Who is Listening
Job Search, Job Search Wellness, Mental Health
Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill
5 Ways Therapy Can Benefit Your Job Search

I’m no actor, but conducting a job search can certainly feel like an endless cycle of auditions. You do research, memorize lines, & deliver several tailored monologues to countless people in hopes of landing your coveted role. Through all of this, you are doing your best to be your best authentic self when you show up to each interaction. Doing this consistently is hard, but it can be even harder if you are also feeling depressed, anxious, or managing challenging life circumstances, nevermind a global pandemic.

Let’s not forget that while you are job searching, there is no pause button for the other roles you play in your life. You don’t get to temporarily stop being a spouse/partner, parent, caretaker, or friend, just so you can focus on your job search. The regular demands of your time and energy in these roles coupled with the added stress of conducting a job search can be a lot for anyone to handle. Let’s collectively acknowledge that this isn’t easy, and that’s ok. The question is, how can you manage these various roles/responsibilities, demands of your time, energy, & emotions in a way that works best?

For some, the answer might be... therapy.

5 Ways Therapy Can Benefit Your Job Search
Resumes, Job Search
Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill
What Kids' Show & Tell Can Teach About ...

My 8yo daughter just started 3rd grade and even in virtual scooling, “show & tell” (S&T) is still a thing. It struck me that S&T is the first practice any of us ever get in delivering a presentation to an audience. While there’s no pressure to convince anyone of anything, and there is little at stake except for potential “cool points” based on your item, one thing is universally true -- kids must have a physical item to show or the whole exercise is pointless. Kids must show evidence of the thing they tell their classmates about or they won’t be believed. If we learn this lesson so early on about the need for evidence to back up stories, why as adults do we forget about it when it comes to writing our resumes?

Stop me if you’ve seen any of the language below in a resume -- no judgments if it’s in your own ;-)

  • “Proven track record of increasing sales.”

  • “Extensive experience delivering projects on time and under budget.”

  • “Demonstrated success in program development.”

While these statements don’t sound so bad at first, upon further review, they offer nothing of substance. Though meant to sound impressive and allude to success/accomplishments, in their current form, they are nothing more than claims. Further, since there is no evidence that substantiates them, they’re essentially baseless claims → until proven otherwise.

What Kids' Show & Tell Can Teach About Resume Writing
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3 Ways to Empower Your Network to Help You Land a Job

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3 Ways to Empower Your Network to Help You Land a Job

They say that “knowledge is power,” yet far too often, job seekers don’t provide their network with enough knowledge to enable their contacts to help them more effectively in their job search. At the most basic level, the more information we have as humans, the more we are empowered to act in an appropriate and timely manner. This rule applies to both our personal and professional lives. Six of the worst words you can hear either at home or at work are, “I wish you had told me...” -- add to that “sooner” or “more specifically.” Whenever those words have been spoken to me, I immediately felt a sense of regret around what could have been had I shared, more, specifically, or sooner. I don’t want you to feel that sense of regret when it comes to your job search, which is why I’m such a strong proponent of empowering your network → through detailed and timely information sharing.

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Why It's Ok to Ask for Help in Your Job Search

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Why It's Ok to Ask for Help in Your Job Search

Let’s begin by recognizing and validating that we all have differing relationships with the notion of asking for help. Depending on our personalities, gendered upbringings, family dynamics, and cultural context, we all develop varying levels of affinity toward seeking help when we need it. Some of us don’t hesitate for an instant to reach out when we encounter a challenge, while others only see it as a last resort. No matter where you fall on this continuum, for many, the idea of asking for help during a job search can be a matter fraught with tension and anxiety -- but it doesn’t have to be this way! Job searching is hard no matter who you are simply because so many factors are beyond our control. If you agree with this statement, then I would strongly encourage you to give yourself permission to ask for help during your job search when you need it.

During a recent discussion about networking strategy, my client had several questions about how to approach her contacts. She also expressed concerns about them being either unwilling or unable to help her. After a few instances of her sharing her hesitations about asking people for introductions or to pass her resume along, it became clear that the issue was less about their response and more about her internal apprehension about asking for help in the first place.

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New Year. New Job. Here's How.

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New Year. New Job. Here's How.

2020 feels big and it hasn’t even started yet. For many, the new year is often an inflection point at which they look for opportunities to advance their careers by landing a new job. The good news is that January and February are considered by experts to be the top months for hiring. A CNBC report shows up to a 30% increase in hiring in January. The bad news is that you are not the only person making the “new job in the new year” resolution, which means increased competition. So, how do you stand out in a crowded field? Start by laying your groundwork now while other job seekers are easing their foot off the gas for the holidays.

How to Land a New Job in the New Year

Identify Your Target Companies

When goal-setting, it’s often beneficial to start with the end in mind. In this case, having clearly identified your target companies can set the tone for your entire job search.

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When It Comes to Networking, "Just Be a Person"

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When It Comes to Networking, "Just Be a Person"

Depending on who you are, you will approach the concept of “networking” with various feelings and preconceived notions based in part on your personal experiences and your overall affinity (or lack thereof) for this critical professional advancement activity. A fundamental question that many job seekers are asking when it comes to networking is, “who/how should I be when I’m out in the world trying to network [to land a job]?” This question isn’t usually voiced overtly, but it underlies the many questions around how they should approach, frame, respond, react, and what they should say, do, expect, etc.,in various scenarios. You know how people occasionally ask you, “what is the best advice you have ever received on ___?” Well, if the fill-in-the-blank was networking, my answer would be:

“Just be a person.”

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Networking Isn't Instant, But It's Worth It

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Networking Isn't Instant, But It's Worth It

“Network,” they say...“expand it,” “tap into it,” “leverage it,” blah, blah, blah. You’ve repeatedly heard about the necessity of networking, but what often gets glossed over is the difficulty of the process and the medium to long-term nature of the results. Unfortunately, the way that networking is often discussed makes it seem as though it’s a simple, 1-2-3 process and then boom, someone puts you into an interview process and/or offers you a job. The problem with this framing is that it’s misleading and it leaves job seekers feeling frustrated, confused or even inadequate because their networking efforts are seemingly leading nowhere. This upsets me because I don’t want my clients or anyone taking on any more emotional stress than they need to in the already difficult job search process. So, let me correct the record… networking isn’t instant, but it’s worth it.

Relevancy + Recency + Tenure: 3 Guidelines to Structure Your Resume Content

Relevancy + Recency + Tenure: 3 Guidelines to Structure Your Resume Content

“How many years of experience should I include on my resume?”
“How long should my resume be?
“How much space should I allocate for each role?”

These are just a few of the many questions clients have about the mechanics of crafting their resumes. Writing or updating a resume can be a challenging exercise when looking back across your career and trying to select the best highlights to fit into a limited amount of space. It’s not an easy process both from a storytelling and structural standpoint. I fielded all the questions above and many more as a Career Advisor at a company supporting mid to senior-level executives with their job search and career development. Over 5 years and 6,000+ calls spent critiquing resumes in that role, I realized that all these questions surrounding how to structure your resume content were best summarized by the same three guidelines, in this specific order:

  1. Relevancy

  2. Recency

  3. Tenure

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How to Take the Pain Out of Tailoring Your Resume

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How to Take the Pain Out of Tailoring Your Resume

Product marketers invest a lot of time and effort in researching the needs and desires of their target audience. Their goal being to learn the most effective ways to make their product appealing to said audience and convert them into buyers. They also segment their audience into groups and create targeted/customized advertisements that will better connect to their specific needs and sensibilities. In the case of the job hunt, you as the job seeker pull double duty playing the role of both the product and marketer. In an ideal job search, you have done the work to identify your target audience (companies), conducted thorough research (online + informational interviews), and you are now ready to create tailored ads (your resume) to get them to buy what you’re selling -- right? The challenge with this last step is the tedium that comes with customizing your resume for every application. Too many job seekers skip this step or do it minimally -- to their own detriment. So...how can it be done, and done less painfully?

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3 Steps to Get the Best ROI from Your Professional Resume Rewrite

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3 Steps to Get the Best ROI from Your Professional Resume Rewrite

I am not clairvoyant. Perhaps this is an obvious, rhetorical statement, but as a career coach/resume writer, I sometimes wish I was since this gifting is projected upon me often enough by some prospects and clients. In today’s ‘Amazon Prime Now’ world, we have all become accustomed to, and even somewhat expectant of near-instant service delivery. Advancements in technology and logistics now allow us to push a digital button and anything from our most basic needs (groceries) to our most frivolous wants (fancy gadget/clothing item X) are delivered to our doorstep (within hours) -- all by lifting one finger -- literally. Though resumes are now almost exclusively a digital product (LinkedIn profiles included), the process to generate one is still rather analog and it’s important to make this connection. 

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Be Kind to Yourself During Your Job Search

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Be Kind to Yourself During Your Job Search

Job searching is hard. Let’s just collectively acknowledge this as fact. While the degree of difficulty varies by person, local job market, experience level, and more, we all have the innate ability to make it feel worse based on the pressure we place on ourselves. One’s emotional and psychological fortitude are certainly tested during the search process by myriad external factors. It’s important to note, however, that our inner world plays a major role in how we respond to these external factors. Our responses can either attenuate or exacerbate our experience, which can have an impact on the success of our search. What’s the solution to handling the inevitable ups and downs of a job search you ask…? BE KIND TO YOURSELF.

We are all taught from a young age to be kind to others throughout all our interactions in life. As the father of a 7yo girl who I’ve seen cry after receiving a 23/25 on a first-grade math test and is for some reason (don’t ask me why) already worrying about getting good grades in college, I’m seeing the critical importance of teaching her to be kind to herself. As a society, I’m not sure we are taught well or enough about being kind to ourselves because of the modern, performance-driven culture we live in -- especially in the United States. 

Many of you reading this are successful because you were raised with high expectations and/or you place them on yourselves to this day. Logically following, the job search would be no exception. You are a great candidate, so finding a job shouldn’t be too hard, right?

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There's No Reading Between the Lines on Your Resume - Here's Why

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There's No Reading Between the Lines on Your Resume - Here's Why

I recently watched a great job search webinar delivered by my fellow coach and friend, Anish Majumdar. While he was sharing tips about crafting an effective resume, he said a few lines that I just couldn’t shake:

“Don’t expect any employer to read between the lines on your resume…”

“They don’t know you!”

“You have to tell them!”

I’m paraphrasing slightly, but the essence and power of these three statements is clear. One of the mistakes I have seen clients repeatedly make when discussing their resumes is assuming knowledge on the part of their audience. As they distill their stories into concise bullet points (no easy feat), the complete, first-hand narrative they have in their head is somehow assumed to be accessible to their readers who, “should just understand what I mean.” The simple question I respond with is, “how?”

Unless you possess powers of telepathy and/or your target audience has ESP, there is no transmission network yet in existence to share your thoughts/memories/knowledge with another human that ultimately doesn’t rely on speech or the written word. Until we develop the ability to directly beam our thoughts via WiFi or Bluetooth, we have to make the implicit, explicit -- and tell our audience exactly what we mean.