I worked so hard to raise my GPA, but it's still low! by Abigail Soley

"I worked so hard to raise my GPA, but it's still low! I can't put this number on my resume!"

WRONG! One of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaving your GPA off of your resume. If your Cumulative GPA is below a 3.0, there are some tricks to getting you a higher number. For instance, if you happen to do better in your major classes than you do in your core classes, calculate you Major GPA and if it’s higher than your CGPA USE IT! If it’s still not high enough, calculate you GPA for the past year you were in school. If that’s above a 3.0, include it on your resume and call it something like Junior Year GPA. If that’s still not good enough try calculating your Last Semester GPA.

If all of those numbers still don’t come out to be above a 3.0, you should still include the highest one on your resume and have a compelling story about why it is low. If you immediately, right off the bat, tell your story to the recruiter. You will be surprised at how well the recruiter will take the information. Above that, you will be AMAZED at how good it makes you feel about yourself, and in turn that will raise your self confidence for the rest of the conversation!

Do This! Get Hired: Resume Tip #1

Do This! Get Hired: Resume Tip #1
By: Greg Hill

   For some, getting a job is easier than others. Some students have several dozen activities that they have done throughout their college career. Some have excellent GPA’s that they, and recruiters, can be proud of. But what if you don’t have the best CGPA? What if during your time at college those pesky “gen ed” courses, such as math and English, brought your excellent GPA down so far you don’t think you will ever get a dream job? Have no fear because Mark is here! In his book, “College Students, Do This: Get Hired! Mark Lyden describes the many tricks you can do to ACTUALLY put a GPA on your resume. Putting a GPA on your resume actually allows recruiters to distinguish your resume from the other 300 they get on a weekly basis for one job. Now if you are like me and the general education courses have been a burden to your CGPA, you can always calculate you MAJOR GPA and put that instead. Not only will you have a way of distinguishing your resume, but you have a greater chance of getting a call back from an employer about a job/internship. 

Do This! Get Hired! by Greg Hill

Getting a real life job could possibly be the scariest, and hardest, thing in the world to do. But do not fear there is help out there! Do not try to go down that dark path of employment alone! Many students have recently become plugged into a book called, “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” by Mark Lyden and it is your look into a new way of going about getting that job, it’s called: The Right Way. So you think you got the interview thing down pat? Do you think your resume is flawless? Believe it or not, there are techniques so simple to getting that job/internship that you may not even think of doing them! Mark Lyden’s book, “Do This! Get Hired!” will expose those techniques to you and change your outlook on interviews, resume writing, and many other techniques to get you on your feet and making THAT salary you always dreamed of.       
            These are just a few examples of how “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” by Mark Lyden has helped students here on campus and it can help you to! So get connected with your copy of “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” at  DoThisGetHired.com or by visiting Amazon.com. Check it out and get a jump start on your dream job today! 

Recent Graduates Face an Unemployment Rate of 8.9%, and the Highest Debt-burden on Record

[January 2012] –The Unemployment for new graduates is about 8.9% (TheDailyTarheel.com, 2012). “The search for potential job opportunities has become frustrating,” according to Ms. Caison who writes for The Daily Tarheel. Add to this the fact that the class of 2010’s debt burden grew -- the highest debt on record. (NYTimes, 2011)

How are today’s universities ensuring their students get hired? By arming their students with the skills and knowledge to GET HIRED in today’s market. The Lally School of Technology and Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  has made “College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” required reading material for its MBA students.  According to Thomas Whalen, Director of Career Services, “[College Students: Do This! Get Hired!] ….gives  (an) 'insider's' perspective on the hiring process. [Mark’s] His work ethic gives him the energy and appetite to remain at the front of his field. His message is what gives everyone hope and confidence that the hiring process is not a fixed game. His message is fundamental, it is human, it is real and it is a message that is transformative when heard by an audience with open ears. I recommend Mark's books to any serious student of the hiring process. Mark really is his message and, at his core, he is utterly authentic and hopeful.” 

“College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” Mr. Lyden’s first top selling book caught the eye of Senator John McCain’s son, Jim McCain and his fellow Marine Jesse Canella, both co-founders of HonorVet.org.  With their full endorsement and with the help from veterans from all four major branches of the military Mr. Lyden’s second book “Veterans: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” is hailed as the, “Best advice for getting hired that we have ever read." (Jesse Canella, CEO of HonorVet); and is helping reduce the high unemployment for our veterans and soldiers getting out of the military. Mark has now turned his success, attention, and expertise to helping today’s unemployed professionals with his book, “Professionals: DO THIS! GET HIRED!”

About the Author

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs.  He has already helped thousands get hired even in this difficult job market.  For over 15-years, he has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company.  His approach is fresh, practical, easy to follow, and extremely effective. In his recruiting career he has recruited for small, medium, and large companies and organizations. Mark has screened, taught, mentored and interviewed thousands of candidates and has presented job search seminars across the country.  His extensive experience plus the fact that he recruits each day in this difficult job market, gives him the unique insight on the best ways--the proven ways to approach every major step of the job search process so candidates have the best chance at getting hired.

A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales Mr. Lyden and his wife donate back to charity to help our military veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.  

Mark has been interviewed by or featured in The Washington Post, CNN MONEY, The Huffington Post, The Herald Tribune and many others. He has been a frequent guest on national and local talk radio shows including Ken Gaines (WKZK-103.7FM), Marc Bernier (WNDB-1150) The Marc Bernier Show  and with Howard Keating and Gail Kubiak, www.TheKeatingNetwork.com.

College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!

·         CreateSpace	·         ISBN: 978-1439229132
·         Price: $19.99	·         Pages: 94 pages, Paperback, 6 x 9
·         Pub Date: April 2009
www.DoThisGetHired.com

REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE

###

HUGE TIPS FOR THE JOB / CAREER FAIR

After 20 minutes of standing in line you finally get to talk to the recruiter at the career fair. Now what?!  Okay you gave him your resume. Now you are talking. Good progress. But wait… the conversation is ending. No offer for an interview yet? Then it happens. The recruiter that you stood in line for, printed this crisp resume for, and woke up early to talk to, now suggests you should apply online and someone will get back to you.  What did you do wrong?  After stressing out all day about trying to get that one interview with that one company you have blown it. Have no fear career fair go-ers here is your chance to figure out what exactly went 

In my book, “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” there are not 30 things you need to do, but rather let’s stick with those that work! So let’s start with HUGE TIP #1: Ask yourself this question: “How can I show this recruiter that I am serious without ever having met them before?” Your resume is a huge part of it. This shows major accomplishments, but what about showing that company and their representatives exactly how you act in a working environment? (Remember your whole goal when it comes to recruiters is to impresses them!) So having available for them a performance evaluation from a previous internship is a great way to get recognized. There is nothing more powerful than basically handing that recruiter an outline of your skills and a real life example of how excellent you preformed them. It is one thing to say you were in a professional working group that did testing for a major airline than to have a breakdown of how well you worked in that group and the actual accomplishments you made all the while cohesively attaining the company’s objectives written by your previous employer. This will really raise your likelihood of getting that interview.

HUGE TIP #2 Listen for the questions! While in line, listen to the questions that is asked of the person in front of you. Do you really think recruiters are creative? They have a set of basic questions they ask at these events. Or simple walk up close –pretend you are looking for something….step to the side and LISTEN. Then get in back of the line and PRACTICE your answer to the questions! That wasn’t rocket science, right

HUGET TIP #3 Ask for the interview! Recruiters cannot resist if you make it personal. Simply ask for the interview this way, “I really would appreciate and interview with you ….I promise if you grant me the interview, I WON’T LET YOU DOWN.” Who in their right mind would not give you an interview? You’ve just made it personal. This will work! Try it.

So you’ve got the INTERVIEW…now practice your interview answers. This is all up to you now.

MARK LYDEN’S BIO

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs…in THIS difficult job market. He has already helped thousands with his advice because it is different and it is PROVEN to work! The advice he gives is not the traditional advice that can be found on the Internet or being given by most career professionals. Now and for the last 15-years, Mr. Lyden has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company. Mark is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and, Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! Visit DoThisGetHired.com for additional information. A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.

DoThisGetHired.com

Infantry Company Commander conducts his own study on the effectiveness of author’s advice on how to get a job

5.0 out of 5 stars Expert Advice for Transitioning Soldiers and Veterans

Infantry Company Commander by trade, Captain Brett D. Kelley decides to test the advice given in Mark Lyden’s book, “VETERANS: Do This! Get Hired!”  The result?  Captain Kelley, “Recommends and personally endorses, VETERANS: DO THIS! GET HIRED! as an exceptional resource without hesitation.”

In his test, Captain Kelley lent it to fellow officers; Senior Non-Commissioned Officers with 12-20 years of service; and junior enlisted Soldiers with GEDs for tweaking resumes, polishing interview skills, and salary negotiation.  Although there was definitely a gap in the level of understanding between the officers and young, junior enlisted Soldiers, all gained greater insight into the hiring process and reduced their overall anxiety with the process.  Captain Kelley, who calls himself and his fellow soldiers "green suiters," found that the wounded, injured, and ill Soldiers he is currently helping transition from active duty military to the civilian world have a tough time translating their experience and marketing their skills in the civilian job market. He comments that in the book, “Mr. Lyden is able to succinctly bridge this gap without exceeding the attention span of a grunt like me.”

According to Kelley, “While the military offers and often mandates civilian employment preparation classes and workshops (e.g. resume writing and interview technique classes), they are rudimentary at best. Soldiers are still leaving the military without the skills they need to get hired and the last thing anyone wants to see is another Veteran in fatigues panhandling under a bridge. Civilian corporations and firms want to hire Veterans, but we [soldiers] do a terrible job marketing ourselves. Many young Veterans believe that the world will be handed to them on a silver platter, which couldn't be farther from the truth in a fiercely competitive and tenuous job market.”

Captain Kelley states that, “[the book] is a short read and functions more as a handbook than a self-help guide… Don't let your next interview turn into an ambush by walking into it unprepared. Take the time to read this one.”

The real unemployment rate? 16.6%. Author’s latest book is PROVEN to help today’s job seekers get hired.

The real unemployment rate? 16.6%.  Author’s latest book is PROVEN to help today’s job seekers get hired.

[August 1, 2011] – Mark Lyden has done it again! Aimed to help the millions of unemployed, his latest book, “Professionals: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” is geared to help today’s job seeker increase their chances of getting hired.  The Labor Department's statistics don't include the underemployed and those who have stopped looking for work. (MSN Money 6/2011).  When the underemployed and the discouraged are added to the numbers, the unemployment rate almost doubles making it 16.6%.  But there is a solution.

“Professionals: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” Gives those that are unemployed advice to get hired in today’s job market. Mr. Lyden emphasizes the: 7 Critical Steps to Applying Online; How to stand out at Job Fairs; Acing the Interview; and How to Negotiate Salary. Also included is a special chapter addressing the issues and concerns of those who are 50+ and older who may be looking for work…after being employed for 20+ years. The mature unemployed have a ton of experience yet they are overlooked because they are consistently told they are “overqualified.” A good rule of thumb according to Mr. Lyden is, “If you are in your fifties, sixties, or even higher…you can include your experience, but you don’t have to include it all or just don’t include the dates of when you worked there.  This helps prevent the “age issue” from ever coming up.” 

Mark Lyden’s first top selling book “College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” caught the eye of Senator John McCain’s son, Jim McCain and his fellow Marine Jesse Canella, both co-founders of HonorVet.org.  This year, with their full endorsement and with the help from veterans from all four major branches of the military Mr. Lyden’s second book “Veterans: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” is hailed as the, “Best advice for getting hired that we have ever read." (Jesse Canella, CEO of HonorVet); and is helping reduce the high unemployment for our veterans and soldiers getting out of the military. Now Mark has turned his success, attention, and expertise to helping professionals with his new book “Professionals: DO THIS! GET HIRED!”

About the Author

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs.  He has already helped thousands get hired even in this difficult job market.  For over 15-years, he has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company.  His approach is fresh, practical, easy to follow, and extremely effective. In his recruiting career he has recruited for small, medium, and large companies and organizations. Mark has screened, taught, mentored and interviewed thousands of candidates and has presented job search seminars across the country.  His extensive experience plus the fact that he recruits each day in this difficult job market, gives him the unique insight on the best ways--the proven ways to approach every major step of the job search process so candidates have the best chance at getting hired.

A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales Mr. Lyden and his wife donate back to charity to help our military veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.  

Mark has been interviewed by or featured in The Washington Post, CNN MONEY, The Huffington Post, The Herald Tribune and many others. He has been a frequent guest on national and local talk radio shows including Ken Gaines (WKZK-103.7FM), Marc Bernier (WNDB-1150) The Marc Bernier Show  and with Howard Keating and Gail Kubiak, www.TheKeatingNetwork.com.

Professionals: DO THIS! GET HIRED!

·         CreateSpace	·         ISBN: 978-1463561598
·         Price: $24.99	·         Pages: 92 pages, Paperback, 6 x 9
·         Pub Date: July 2011
www.DoThisGetHired.com

REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE

##

Veteran 24-hour Web-A-Thon

The Howard Keating Show is hosting a 24-Hour Veteran Web-A-Thon on April 6 – 7th, 2011.  The program is anticipating over 1MM viewers during the 24-hour period. 

According to Susan Wellman, Executive Vice President, “The web-a-thon is designed to help our veterans get jobs, start businesses or expand their existing businesses through opportunities and resources offered on the program….the purpose is to increase awareness throughout the media community of the significant needs and challenges our veterans face (90 percent divorce rate, 107,000 living on our streets, loss of homes and jobs, etc.).  These heroes are so completely demoralized upon their return from service, and we need them to know that the corporations of the U.S. are behind them.”       

The show’s goal is to honor our veterans by helping at least 2,000 get jobs, contracts, start a business, or create joint ventures. 

When:  April 6^th, 5:00 PM ET – April 7^th at 5:00 PM ET

Offering:

®     Businesses looking to partner with businesses

®     franchises at a discounted price

®     Jobs from major businesses

®     Loans to either start a business or to help increase sales of an existing business

®     Distributorship opportunities

®     Product and service companies that want to go global.

Media platform

®     The Howard Keating Show (keatingnetwork.com) 

Veterans

®     5.5 million veterans with disabilities

®     92 percent have high school diplomas or higher compared to 85 percent of the nation as a whole

®     90 percent of today’s returning veterans get divorced within 2 years.

®     For every military personnel that that die in war, a veteran commits suicide

®     7.6 million Vietnam era veterans are living

®     9 million veterans are 65 and older

®     1.5 million veterans are  female

®     20,000 veterans lost their homes in 2010

®     1.5 million veterans are in poverty or homeless

®   107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night

Two-thirds of Veterans Applying for Jobs are Counted Out

An alarming quote by a company representative needing to hire hundreds per month, “We love veterans.  We want to hire as many as we can.  But two-thirds of veterans applying online are counted out because they do not know the process.”

Before you apply to any job opening, before you set up any account or profile on any website, before you do anything, wouldn’t it be nice to have the inside story on what the manager is looking for in a candidate—the required skills or knowledge they want you to have—so that you can highlight them on your resume?   Well, you already have that information in the job description, and here is how you use it and the best way to apply online.  Here are the 7 Critical Steps:

1. Before doing anything else, go to the company website and print out all the jobs that interest you.
2. Take a highlighter and highlight the key words and phrases the manager uses to describe what skills and knowledge he is looking for right from the job description.
3. Take the key words and phrases you highlighted and incorporate them throughout your resume.
4. At the bottom of your resume, create a heading on your resume called "INTEREST AREAS," and take all the key words and phrases you highlighted and list them under this heading.  
5. Then, set up an account online, taking those same key words and phrases and incorporating them into your profile or the “interest areas” section they ask for. 
6. Then apply for the jobs.
7. As you apply to more openings, continually update the key words and phrases in your resume, in your profile or interest area section. 

This is known as Reverse Engineering your resume.  From the job description, see what the employer wants first.  See what are key words and phrases are that they want to see.  Then adjust your resume and apply.  Just remember, to do it right, it will take you about 40-45 minutes to take your “base resume" and transform it into a resume specifically for each job. 

Remember to approach it this way, as if each job that you apply to is the only job your resume is geared to.  It may sound like a lot of time and effort, but for you to stand out and get contacted, your resume can’t just be a good match, but must be a great match.  Reverse engineering is the way to ensure that that this is the case for every job you apply to.

Please keep in mind, your resume will get noticed, but this is only the first step. There are many more tips and tricks on the road to landing a job; but if you start with this, you are already ahead of the game.

Mark Lyden

DoThisGetHired.com

Mark Lyden is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! (Coming Summer 2011).  A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.   

The Truth about Company Reps behind the booths at Career and Job Fairs

In my experience, the smaller the company usually means the more experienced the reps are at recruiting; but not always.  That is logical if you think about it because they usually have a smaller budget, go to fewer events, and, therefore have one or two of the same people doing all their events.  That means they get a lot of experience and practice.  However, with larger companies? It’s a totally different story.  They usually go to a lot more events and need a lot more people to help at those events; often, many of those people lack the experience. 

This is why I am very comfortable with saying there are as many poor recruiters out there as there are good ones, simply for the fact that many don’t do it enough to have the experience and practice needed to develop into good or great recruiters.  This is reality.  And the reality is that recruiting is a talent and a skill that needs to be practiced often to get better.  It is the experience and repetition that is critical for recruiters to develop the skills and techniques that enable them to wade through a sea of candidates to find the very best ones, consistently.  It takes a substantial and continuous amount of practice and learning to grow and get better.  How can you get better if you only do it once a year?  Even a better question: How can you call someone a recruiter that only does it once a year?

Now you might be asking, “Why is this important to me?”  It is important because it helps you understand the importance of preparing for poor or inexperience people that are functioning in some capacity as a recruiter.  If you get one of them, which again I figure is about a fifty-fifty chance, you need to ensure you do everything you can to prevent them from making a mistake. 

This is exactly why I teach candidates and give seminars across the country.  Job seekers need to format their answers in a way so no matter what the experience level or training of the recruiter or interviewer, the candidates gives a complete answer that needs no probing or follow up questions.  This is also why I train recruiters.  They need to know that most, year in and year out, will not give them enough detail in their answers.  The recruiter needs to know how to ask probing, follow-up questions to get the detail they need to fairly assess a candidate’s answer.  However, I can train all I want, but I can’t be in the room or at the booth to hear what everyone says.  That is why the candidate needs to take the responsibility of preparing. 

Mark Lyden

DoThisGetHired.com

Mark Lyden is the author of a number of books: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! (Coming Summer 2011).  A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.