As a job seeker it is important to keep a proper image of yourself as employers will not only research you on social sites but may also refer you to another employer or keep you in mind when they can use you for their company.

If you think about how many resumes and candidates employers see when they are hiring, it is hard to stay fresh employers. So the best way to stay fresh but also expose yourself to other employers is to network yourself online aside from offline. Here are some ways you can do that:

1. Utilize your CompleteMarkets profile
2. Follow our weekly blogs
3. Upload a profile picture on your profile
4. Follow our companies social websites
5. Post what you are looking for on your profile in your summary as well as our discussion forum:

Click here to post your discusison

All of these tips are going to help you network yourself and get you noticed by employers. When employers are looking for you they will want to review your career history and see the experience you have. On CompleteMarkets you have the ability to link in your professional profiles as well, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

You can make your professional profile on CompleteMarkets and interact with employers and insurance professionals and have the ability to talk about what you want in a career all for FREE.

Maximize our resources and use them to your advantage, give yourself a professional name with other professionals!

Please reach out to me with any questions you have

In a previous blog I talked about how important it is to have a summary/objective and how that is a great opportunity to talk about what you are looking for in your career.

I want to talk about this again.

Over the last couple weeks I have been speaking with candidates and finding out what type of job satisfaction they are looking for.

Surprisingly, I haven’t spoken to one candidate that has what they want listed on their resume.

My job is to help employers find candidates to work for them while at the same time; I match candidates with the right employer.

I use candidates past job experiences when I match them with employers, once I have found a match I reach out to the candidate only to find out they have no interest. This is why your summary/objective is so important.

Candidates are looking for something new! For example many candidates who have great insurance sales experience are looking for some type of management position, because this is not listed on their summary, they are contacted for more insurance sales positions.

If you were to write in your summary what type of position you are looking for, this gives myself as well as employers the direction we need when reaching out to candidates for a job opportunity. I highly encourage candidates to include this on their summary or reach out to me and let me know what you are looking for so I can match you with the right employer.

You can email me at [email protected]

So I ask again, what are you looking for?

If you are currently employed it is perfectly natural to have resistance to look for other work and to put your resume out there, main reason being that you are worried your current employer might see it and fire you.

This is a common concern that I hear from candidates!

Here’s the thing, I recently read an article from Forbes and Jacquelyn Smith says, “Most potential employers prefer candidates who currently have a job because it gives them more confidence that you’ll be a good hire.”

So that means even if you are employed I still encourage you to look at other great opportunities around you and apply to them. Why not go after the career you have always wanted?

It can’t hurt. Think about it, if you are already employed and you interview for another job and do not get hired for that position, you still have your current job to go back to, so what’s there to lose?

I am here to tell you that at CompleteMarkets we not only give you the ability to keep your resume confidential but we also lock your resumes as well. Employers are able to see your full career history but will not know who you are until they purchase your resume.

Come look at our jobs page!

Insurance and Financial Services is a constant growing industry and employers are always looking to add new employees to their agency. We are adding new jobs every week; these independent agencies are expanding and have great career opportunities available now!

Take a look at the top five featured jobs for this week:

1. Agent Aspirant – Team Member
2. Customer Service Representative
3. Licensed Sales Producer
4. Sales Associate
5. Personal Insurance Account Manager

All of the positions listed have room for growth!

As the insurance and Financial Services industry grows the need for quality candidates are increasing. I encourage you to check out these jobs as well as the other jobs we have from employers nationwide and see if we have jobs for you.

If you do not see anything you are interested in then you can click on the link below and post what jobs you are looking for and we will match you with the right employer!

Click here to post the job you want

Or you can reach out to me directly and let me know what you have interest in!

In previous blogs I discussed how this is a candidate’s market.

This week I am going back to that and asking candidates what types of jobs are you interested in?

When asked this question it is common as a candidate to describe the qualifications listed in a job and explain how your skills connect. This is not the answer we are looking for. We are asking candidates to please tell us the types of jobs or job categories that you would apply to.

It is not a question of how many jobs are available, we generate new jobs weekly. The question is; are candidates interested in the jobs that are available?

Please take a look at our jobs page and browse through the job categories. I’m asking candidates to either call me or email me and send me the top three job categories you have interest in.

Our CompleteMarkets Jobs Board is designed to match candidates with the job that is right for them. The only way to do that is to hear from candidates directly so we know what jobs to focus on from employers.

It is YOUR time to choose your career path!

Over the last month I have really focused on matching candidates with jobs and reaching out to them with a great job opportunity.

I understand that everyone is busy especially if you are the job seeker it might be difficult to keep track of everything you are doing. If you are like most job seekers then you are putting your resumes on different jobs boards, searching through websites, newspapers and advertisements. With this much going on, it would be a full time job just to keep track of where you have applied to, what job sites you signed up for and what employers you sent your resume to.

This is where I come in! I have been searching through resumes and matching them with jobs I think they are a good fit for. I will send emails with a link to the job I am trying to fill and follow up with a phone call. I have noticed lately that many candidates are looking for something entirely different then what is listed on their resume.

Here is my advice, if you are a candidate looking to switch positions or even change to a different category in the Insurance or Financial Services industry, then please list that on your resume. This would be perfect in your summary/objective section on your resume because right away it will show what it is you are looking for.

When I match candidates for jobs I go by the experience listed on your resume but if you have it listed what positions you have interest in then I know what I’m looking for. Even if I have sent you an email with an open position that you are not interested in, then please email me back and let me know what you are looking for.

I am here to help candidates find the career that is right for them. If you would like to get a head start on the process then click on our jobs page and apply to the jobs you have interest in.

Please reach out to me with any questions you have!

In previous blogs I have talked about the interview process and given tips on how to make it through the interview, what employers look for and what you should and shouldn’t say.

One thing I haven’t talked about is common nonverbal mistakes that are made, things that have the most impact on your first impression and how employers determine your first impression.

I found an interesting page providing 34 Crucial Tips for Your Next Job Interview:

 67% fail to make eye contact
 47% have little knowledge of the company
 38% do not smile
 33% have bad posture
 33% fidget too much
 26% have a weak handshake
 21% play with their hair or touch their face
 21% cross their arms over their chest
 9% use too many hand gestures

After reading this I interviewed my boss Erin Carlson and asked her what the negatives are that she sees when she interviews candidates. Erin explained that the most important first impression factor is the handshake. A handshake represents a candidate’s confidence in themselves and strength, not physical strength but strength for the job.

Eye contact is another nonverbal mistake commonly made. It is important to keep eye contact with one another especially if you are trying to sell yourself for the job. You need to show confidence in yourself, your selling your strengths, abilities and why that company needs to hire you. It is hard for an employer to see your confidence if you don’t make eye contact.

Erin also explained that it is completely normal for a candidate to be nervous and pick up a few nervous ticks, like playing with your face or hair or fidgeting too much. It is a way for candidates to self sooth and if it is what they need to do to comfortable talk about themselves then it isn’t going to determine if you get the job or not. What she looks for is how a candidate talks about themselves and their length of employment at a job. It doesn’t matter what job they worked but it matters how long they were there. If she sees a candidate has a bunch of three month jobs then she knows that candidate is not going to be a long term employee.

The point is, it is understandable to be nervous in an interview and while candidates make common nonverbal mistakes, not all employers go by this percentage chart, every employer is different.

Employers we work with understand this nervous tick candidates have and are willing to work with it. So why don’t you come see the available jobs they have, apply and interview. This will give you the ability to show off your confidence and practice some of these tips.

Back in July I did a blog post featuring our top five jobs.

This is week I am featuring the newest top five jobs. The employers are looking to set up interviews and hire immediately. All you have to do is apply!

To view what the job requirements are and who the company is just click on the job title and then click apply if you have interest:

1. Insurance Producer/Agent
2. Customer Service Representative
3. Licensed Sales Insurance Producer
4. Commercial Lines Underwriting Assistant
5. New Business Support Person

Please take a look at what these employers have available and if you are not interested or don’t think you would be qualified then you can click on our jobs page and view the other employers we work with.

We are constantly growing and adding new jobs on a weekly basis so the jobs you see this week, might not be the same jobs you see next week.

Here at CompleteMarkets we help match candidates to the right job and employer for them but we also bring our employers to candidates. We help our employers search for qualified candidates and reach out to them.

We encourage our candidates to be proactive and reach out to us with any questions.

Isn’t it time you have the job that’s right for you?

As a candidate looking for a job what is the most commonly thing you do? You prepare!

You might practice with a friend, yourself or even watch a video on YouTube on how you should interview. In doing this you have confidence, you’re ready and you feel like you are going to nail your interview.

What you don’t know is that employers have enough experience, they know how to spot a prepared answer and that is not what they want.

It is good to be prepared but at the same time you need to be able to speak about yourself, work history or answer questions they ask without having to think of the answer you think they want to hear. I came across an article by Arnie Fertig and he talks about the four things that employers want from the candidate:

1. Specifics
2. Team Acknowledgement
3. Demonstrated Value
4. Unique Contributions

Arnie also points out, “When you describe your value, interviewers are listening for specific examples from your work history.”

When an employer asks you, “what makes you qualified for this position?” It is a natural response to start listing off your skills which might be:

 Good work ethic
 Attention to detail
 Relationship building
 Agency Management
 Administration
 Analytical

The list can go on and on, but where did you provide an example of any of the skills listed? This is what employers want, they want an example because they want to know that you are giving them the real you, not just a prepared answer.

We work with employers who want candidates that are going to be honest and not just tell them what they want to hear. Countless of the employers are willing to hire someone who might not have the required experience because they are willing to train them, if the candidate is genuinely passionate and is not a robot in the interview.

You can see the employers we work with by clicking on our jobs page!

As a job seeker, what is it that drives you? Do you have passion? Do you get hyped up looking for a job?

If you answered no or are unsure it might be because you don’t know what you want to do. If you don’t know what you want to have a career in then how could you get excited to put your resume in? Being unsure about the career you want can be very discouraging because without a sense of direction you might be applying for jobs that you are over/under qualified for it is disappointing when you are turned down.

To avoid the negative feelings during your job search, it helps if you know what you want to do. I found an article by Lynn Dixon with some helpful tips to help you get an idea of where you need to begin:

 Evaluate What Drives You
 Connect These strengths To A Career
 Ask Yourself If It’s Realistic
 Network And gain Connections
 Be Bold

Once you get an idea of where you want to start, then it’s time to view the companies we work with at CompleteMarkets and see if they have the career you are looking for.

If you see a position that really drives you then apply for it so the next step can be taken to get your career started!