Don’t make it appear cheap

Many interested travelers may avoid your airline considering your service, ambience, and appearance, crowd as cheap and uncomfortable. Your first job is to make sure the word ‘cheap’ is not attached to your brand. An airline being affordable for its customers does not necessarily mean to be cheap and uncomfortable. Make sure it is just affordable, but not cheap. Make sure people feel at ease, feel special and well served like any good airline. Keep appearance and ambience of the airlines great, pleasing, posh, and nice. Keep pleasant looking air hosts and hostesses who are courteous, helpful. No one wants to travel in a cheap manner.

Serve more than they expect

Definitely, being a low cost airline you cannot afford to offer all frills and fancies of a full cost airline. But at the same time, serve more than the customers expect from you. This will keep your customers excited about your service, spreading good words about you everywhere. Surprise them with little more than others. Take an extra leap, go an extra mile to get more customers, keep customers happy and loyal to your brand. Being low cost, you may not provide food, but you may offer some water and fruit juices, coffee, chocolates and French fries unlike other airlines. It may cost you little more than others, but will give you an edge too. You may keep some wonderful travel magazines of the concerned destination. You may highlight some shopping tips.

Attractive offers

Since there are many low cost airlines these days, you should be different and remembered for some good reason. Offer some lucrative deals like heavy discount on early booking reserved for first 20 customers or lucky draw coupon for a free trip or gifts for a couple travelling together, free holiday guidebooks for a family of 4 members travelling together to a holiday destination.

Get set go. Fly with pride.

Age should not matter

Neither yours nor your interview’s age should matter to you when you are on the interview table. The chances are quite realistic that your interviewer will be much younger than you. Do not get unnerved by that. Be calm and give him the respect you gave to your older interviewer when you were young. Treat anyone on the interviewer’s chair with respect.

Convey your desire to work with younger crowd

One of the main concerns of an employer hiring an older person is the new employee’s ability to mix with the young crowd. Make it clear to the interviewer that you do not have any problem in working with young people. Working with young people, particularly getting managed by them doesn’t go well with everyone. Many do not like to get managed by someone who is less experienced then him. You should make this clear to your employer that you do not belong from that group.

During your interview, you need to convey to your employer that you have the desire to keep up with younger crowd, and you are willing to learn new technologies and new way of doing things so that you could succeed. Do not forget to ask about the prospect of success in the organization you are being interviewed for.

Keep it short and simple

I will not add stupid to above because I know you are not that. You are quite smart, and in your 45 years you have also understood the power of simplicity. And believe me when I say that simplicity works in résumé as well. No one likes to read a CV-epic, so keep it short and simple. Mention only those things that really, really matters for the job you are applying for. Keeping it short will help you keep it focused. Focus is another important thing.

Use chronological not function résumé

A new trend of using functional résumé —the type in which skills are mentioned in a cluster— has caught the fancy of young job seekers. Yes with young job seekers, particularly those who are looking for a career change, so let it remain confined to young people only. You do not need to follow the trend because in mid-aged job seekers the use of functional in place of chronological résumé is seen as an attempt to hide age. Well, I understand you do not intend to do that, and I am equally certain that you will not get even a 10 seconds of personal time with employers to explain this to them, so why take chances? Go with a résumé that lists your experience in chronologically. If you are too much in love with functional résumé then use it in combination of chronological one.

Write emphatic cover letter

Although cover letter has come at the end of pour discussion on résumé, it does not take away the importance assigned to a cover letter by your employer. A cover letter is your elevator pitch, and the emphatic it is the greater is the chances of your being called for a personal interview. A great cover letter makes your résumé stand out from the crowd of hundreds of faceless curricula vitae.

With this our discussion on résumé comes to an end. I hope you will apply these principles in your own CV. From the next post in the series we shall discuss about interviews and about ways to handle tough questions. Till then keep applying the principles taught so far.

Avoid dead metaphors and done-to-death cliché

Think like this: In a hiring season, an employer or HR manager has to go through hundreds of CVs every day before he could call any one person for the Interview. And the worst part is almost all the résumés he reads are written using same set of dead metaphors and done-to-death phrases. It is boring. If you want to make your résumé stand out from the similar-looking crowd of résumés then avoid using any clichés. Use your own language and make it appealing.

Update your resume

Now is the time to answer the question posed in the opening sentence. Have you or haven’t you? If your answer is no then go ahead and start constructing your résumé yet again. Add freshness to your dust-biting résumé.

Do not give complete work details

If you are 45 then chances are you have been part of workforce for close to 25 years, and it is but natural to have done many jobs in all those years. But do not put all of them in your résumé. No one is interested in reading 1000-page epic résumé, and no one cares about where you provide janitorial services during tough times. Only mention things relevant to the current job, and things that increase your chance of employability.

Even if heaven falls on earth, your résumé should not be longer than 2 pages. Not even and half pages.

Enough of reading for today, now it is time to start working on your résumé. Get going!

Widen your net

You are finding it hard to get a job in your industry because you are facing competition from younger crowd who is just out of college. To counter this you need to expand your list of target companies to include companies that do not operate in your industry. There is quite a fair chance that you will find some companies in other industries that need your expertise and as core of their business lie somewhere else, they do not need young employees; they need people with experience to take over their marginalized process. For example: A young software engineer will like to work in a company specialized in IT products, not in a publishing company that needs IT guy to smoothen its operation. These types of companies are gold mine for you.

Be part of a professional organization

Becoming a member of a professional organization not only helps you befriend with like-minded people, but it also helps you in a job search. Many professional organizations assist their members with job-search. You will also get many leads here.

Rent a help

If you are finding it hard to get a job on your own then give up, and hire some career coach or a recruiter. They will help you get the job you want to have.

Don’t give up

There is no point in giving up the search, as you will gain nothing from giving up. Giving up is for faint of heart, not for a fighter like you who has defeated all odds to remain afloat till now. So, do not give up and keep finding. There is bright sunlight at the end of this dark tunnel.

Employ these strategies in your job-search and you will see a significant improvement in the result. Best of luck for your search!

Make sure your resume is properly up to date.  The last thing anybody wants to see is an old resume that you’ve been using for a few years.  That shows no initiative, a lack of effort, and will reflect poorly on your work ethic.  You definitely don’t want a potential boss counting strikes against you before you even have a chance to interview.

Keep your resume professional.  While I always stress making your resume unique and tailored to each job that you apply for, don’t step out of the professional mold.  Keep your font generic and readable, and stick to the standard resume format.  Just tailor the information to each job that you apply for.  That’s the best way to make a great impression.

Don’t send your resume without a cover letter.  The cover letter is the standard starting point of any application, and a resume sent without one is incomplete.  The resume only serves as a list of professional accomplishments and goals, the cover letter is where you put these into perspective with your personality.  The cover letter sells you, and shows that you are the best employee for the job.  Take advantage of the opportunity.

Finally, make your objective statement absolutely clear.  You have to have a clear cut idea of what you intend to give, and get from the job you are applying to get.  This is extremely important to a potential employer, so you want the statement to be as clear and understandable as possible.  You wouldn’t want someone tripping over the first, and most vital part of your resume.

Article writing

If you can write a well-researched article on the given topic then this is the job you have been waiting for. Many people needs 500+ words articles on various subjects, and if you think you can provide a well-crafted article then tell them about your desire to help. And also provide some samples of your previous work.

Blogging

Blogging is another thing that a freelance writer can do. You can either write your own blog or work as a staff blogger for big and established blogs. As a staff blogger, you are supposed to write a predetermined number of posts per day, and for that you may get paid on per blog post basis, or on per month basis. You can have more than one blogging job at one time.

Résumé writing

If you know how to create a well-crafted CV then the world of jobseekers is waiting for you. Seeing the competition for each vacant seat, everyone wants his CV to stand out from the crowd and for this one seeks professional help. You need to know what kind of CV works for what industry to succeed as a professional Résumé writer.

Press release writing

A press release is as important for a web-based company as it is for any brick and mortar company. Press release writing is a specialized task, and if you know how to write one then the world is waiting for you. Well, not exactly, but still there are plenty of press release works available both online and offline.

Web content writing

Whoever needs a website, needs content for the website. You can also choose this niche, if you know how to express everything a company needs to say using the given number of words than this is the right kind of writing job for you. You may also need to write about terms & conditions, FAQS, and help pages for the company along with home pages, services, and about us page.

Test your limit

The best way to train your mind to enter “the zone” is to force it to do what it never anticipated to do like asking your mind to concentrate on writing when crowd around you in the coffee house is having a gala. Make yourself write for 24 hours straight, or try writing in a toilet or while on a plane. The point is to test your limit.

Write and write more

This is the best advice anyone can give you to improve your writing. Write something, and then write something more about it, until you are exhausted, and then rewrite the whole stuff. If you want you can write it from different perspective altogether.

Have you taken a trip lately?

Take a road trip, or a train trip. If you want, you can even hitchhike on a truck to experience the world around you. The more experience you will have the better flow your writing will get. You cannot learn to write or be in “the zone” while sitting in the comfort of your air conditioned home.

Read, think and write

Do not be on the spree to complete yet another book. Go slow. Read the passage and meditate over it. Think why it has been written the way it has been written, and how you can make it better. Think over the story line, the development of characters, etc. Think and then read again.

Watch movies

A movie is nothing but a story told in a visual form. The more movies you watch, the better grasp you will have on the development of plots, characters, and story. Watch good quality films. Do not indulge in mediocre stuff.

That means using the right keywords.  If we’re talking about the videogame world, for example, you want to throw out the name of the platform you’re talking about immediately.  That means emphasizing “Xbox 360” or “Wii” as that’s where most of your searches are going to come from.  But after that, it’s how you use the keyword to your advantage.

You want a good short headline, that’s going to catch someone’s attention, while informing them of why they want to read your article.  For example, sticking to the videogame world, something like “How To Beat Your Friends On Xbox 360” isn’t really going to pull anybody in.  Sounds too generic, uninformed, and also doesn’t excite the audience for what your writing can do for them, not to mention it’s much too long.  “Dominate The Xbox 360” is a much more concise crowd grabber, more general, so as to lure in a broader interest.  Plus the shorter headline just makes you feel more pumped to read the article, and get what you can from the information.

Go for big keywords, short headlines, and use gripping vocabulary.  Words that really jump out and grab people, so that they have no choice but to read what you’ve written.  Remember, your headline is your first introduction to your piece, so try and make sure it’s something that people will want to read.

The army for freelance professionals or freelance entrepreneurs is growing, and with it is emerging the issues related to freelancing. One very important issue is of having a fixed time and place to work in. Most of the people started freelancing in order to use their talent or skills to get out of 9-5 rat race, and indeed they have succeeded in doing so. They have broken the time-shackle and with it they have broken the space-shackle as well. Now, they do not have a fix place to work in. Is it good? Not necessarily!

Not having a fix time and place to work means, you can work anywhere and anytime, but in reality it turns out to mean not working at anyplace and anytime. In the absence of one designated place to work in, we end up working nowhere. That is not our fault that is how we are wired to behave.

In order to be more efficient or to work properly, we need to have a proper place to sit and work. If you have a designated place and time to sit and work then long before you take your first step towards that designated place, your unconscious mind starts preparing your body for the task. This priming doesn’t happen in the absence of a designated place and time to work in.

As you have left your day job, you must not have any office to go to. In this situation, you need to make a small home office in any corner of your house where you can go to work. Your office is not supposed to host a big cabin like the one your boss had in your office, you just need a small space where you can put everything that you need to do your work.

What do you think, is a small home office is a must for every freelancer? Use the comment box to share your view on this.

Learn… in30 minutes

A headline like this will give the reader a definite time frame in which he or she can acquire the skill or knowledge talked about in the article in question.

Example:

1. Learn to Disinfect Your PC in 30 Minutes.
2. Learn Piano in 30-Minute a Day.
3. Learn HTML in 10 Days.
4. Learn Photoshop in 30 Days. (Photoshop in 30 Days).
5. CSS in 10 Easy Steps.

Tried and tested headlines

A “tried and tested” headline infuses credibility in the article. A headline like this suggests that the article following the headline will provide the solution which has been tried by many people and they got benefitted from it. This is a type of testimonial headlines. (Read more on Testimonial Headline)

Example:

1. Tried and Tested Formula for MLM Success.
2. Tried and Tested Method to Make Your Abs Flat.

50 best…tips

“50 best…tips, or 10…tips” or any similar headline gives a definitive idea about the length and nature of the article following such headlines. The article following this kind of headline should be written in a list-format. You can also use subheadings (Tip 1, or X tip 1) to write the article.

Example:

1. 50 Best SEO Tips.
2. 10 Media Marketing Tips for Success.
3. 10 CSS Tips.

Be descriptive, be personal

A descriptive headline builds interest in the article by giving some idea about what to expect. And making it personal helps visitors relate with the headline and the article following it.

Example:

1. Unemployed Mark Found Financial Security.
2. Coward John Defeated Bully Mark.

Learn to…

Learn to… headlines work the same way as do How to… headlines (read How to… headline guide). This type of headline suggests that the article following it will teach the visitors about the topic in question. You can either use a list-like structure for the article or blog post following learn to… headline or split the article or blog post in subsections by introducing appropriate headings.

Example:

1. Learn to Play Guitar.
2. Learn Driving Free.

Step-by-Step Guide to…

Like learn to… you can also use step-by-step guide to… headline to tell the visitors that the article following such headlines will teach certain skills one step at a time. The article following this type of headline should be written in the list format.

Example:

1. Step-by-Step Guide to SEO.
2. Step-by-Step Guide to Protecting Your PC from Virus.

…in Easy Steps

This is another way to write headlines. Unlike the headline writing strategies dealt above, where the signifiers were added at the beginning of the headline, you will need to add “in Easy Steps” at the end of the headline. This strategy is equally effective in pulling visitors to your website. Use list like structure for the article following this type of headlines.

Example:

1. Networking in Easy Steps
2. Learn to Play Piano in Easy Steps

How to guides

How many times have you searched the Internet to find information on tweaking or fixing errors your operating system or software, or fixing your broken car speaker, or to know about buying insurance, etc.? Each time you search for some information to help you do something or decide something; you are searching for How to Guides. Why not help your visitors by writing such helps in a proper “how to…” style?

Example:

1. How to Find a Right Cell Phone.
2. How to Clean your Carpet.
3. How to Fix your Drycleaner.

Best of/Top 10

Best of something or top ten something is a big attention drawer. Using this type of headlines will pull more visitors to your site then you ever expected. More often than not, the article or blogpost falling under such headlines are written in a list format.

Example:

1. Top Ten Benefits of Yoga.
2. Best Antivirus of 2009.
3. Top Ten Videos of 2009.

Tell the benefits through outright headlines

Sometimes, being direct helps a lot in retaining visitors’ attention. Tell the visitors directly about the benefits he you are going to talk about in the following article. Outright or direct headline can also be used to make a bold statement.

Example:

1. Piano lessons in 30 Days.
2. Make Free Calls Anywhere in the World.
3. Work from Home & Earn Six-Figure Income.

Testimonial Headlines

Testimonials are the best way to state the benefits and sell the product. Advertisers have known this, since always. No wonder there are so many testimonial advertisements in newspapers and television. By using a testimonial headline for your blogpost or article, you will reap the same rewards that advertisers have been reaping for ages.

Example:

1. I Lost 30 Pounds Using This Secret Formula, You can lose too.
2. At First I did not Trust Him, BUT He is the Best Insurance Advisor.

KISSS it!

Keep it short, simple and sweet. You do not need to be cryptic to sound profound or useful. Simplicity is brilliance. Remove ambiguous words from the headline, and try to limit the length of the headline to 5-6 words.

Which of the following headline makes the article look more useful?

1. X has slashed its shirt’s price by 30 percent.
2. 30 percent off on X shirt!

What in it for me?

This is the question every user asks when confronted with anything that asks for his or her attention. Your headline should provide a definite answer to this question. Talk about the big benefits you have to offer.

Example:

1. Learn to Enhance your Pictures in 3 Steps.
2. Get the Subscription FREE

Announcements

Announcements seed curiosity in the reader. Instead of some incremental advancement, people like to see some groundbreaking innovation, and announcements give them the feeling that something new has come along, which is radically different from what they already have. Announcements satiate the readers’ psychological need for newness.

Example:

1. Introducing All-New iPhone at Never-Before Price.
2. Finally, Life Has Been Found on Mars!

Ask Questions

Ask relevant questions, questions breed involvement. A question offers an entrée into the mind of the reader as it forces the reader to think, and the more your readers will think, the more involved they will become with the article.

Example:

1. Is Your Home Safe?
2. Are You Getting What You Deserve?

Share Secrets

The word “Secret” suggests the reader that some insider information is being shared, so they pay more attention to the article following the headline starting with “Secret”. Everyone wants to be in the inner circle and no one likes to be an outsider. Tap on it!

Example:

1. Secret of Monetizing Twitter
2. Insider’s Secret of Money Making