The media is hungry for careers industry information their readers and viewers want to consume. Feed them with this Pass-Along Materials content package featuring five news releases. The packages includes templates for the following news releases: 

• International Update Your Résumé Month 
  
• Back to School/Back to Work 
  
• Included in a Career Book 
  
• Announcing the Launch of a New Podcast 
  
• Announcing Planned Attendances at a Career Industry Conference 
  

Offering support to job seeking clients can increase your revenues AND your client’s satisfaction with your services. 

This 20-page planner walks you through the five steps in the process of developing and executing packages: 

• Defining Your Perfect Client for a Package 
  
• Get Crystal Clear on the Outcomes You Provide 
  
• Flesh Out the Must-Have Features and Logistics 
  
• Create Packages with Crazy-Attractive Names 
  
• Price Your Packages for Prime Buying 
  

Looking for social media content, short email newsletter items, or blog post or article content? 

The tenth installment in the Career Checklists series covers these topics: 

• Jobseeker’s Guide to Customizing Your Résumé 
• How to Say It: Job Search Scripts #2 (Requesting a Raise, Asking for FMLA leave, and requesting to work remotely) 
  
• The Great Resignation: Career Crisis or Something Else? 
  
• Formula for a Quick Introduction 
  
• Restart or Start Fresh 
  
• STAR Worksheet: How to Create Compelling Career Stories 
  

If you haven't already made the transition to a full-time career services business, this 30-page guide is for you. Being an entrepreneur provides you the ability to control your own life and do what you are passionate about. While transitioning from employee to entrepreneur may seem like an overwhelming task, you will learn throughout this special report that it is not. It is something you are fully capable of doing. It includes the 8 steps to take you from employee to entrepreneur. 

Check out the From Employee to Entrepreneur Special Report in our online store. 

Helping your jobseeking clients express their accomplishments is important! The STAR formula has long been used to help articulate accomplishments in a resume or LinkedIn profile or answer the question, “Tell me about a time when you...” in an interview. This 6-page worksheet is designed as a homework exercise for a client as part of the job search process. It includes an overview of the STAR formula, examples of when a STAR story can be used, 18 prompts to create STAR stories, and a fill-in-the-blanks exercise to capture the information in the STAR formula to create STAR stories. 

Check out the STAR Worksheet: How to Create Compelling Career Stories Pass-Along Materials Content in our online store. 

Low-content products are a great way to generate an additional revenue stream AND serve jobseekers better. They can also be a lead-generator to your one-to-one services. 

What are some examples of low-content products? Checklists, workbooks, toolkits, planners, questionnaires, journals, and trackers are tools that provide high value to the buyer. They can be printable (downloads) or physical products. 

In this 39-page special report, you’ll learn the advantages of low-content products, you’ll develop a plan for creating your first high-value, low-content product, you’ll learn how to execute that plan, and you’ll learn ideas to market your low-content products for quick sales. 

Check out the Fast Cash From Low-Content Products Special Report in our online store. 

YouTube influencer Jacklyn Dallas recently interviewed Google CEO Sundar Pichai (see video below) in conjunction with the search giant’s Google I/O 2022 event. 

The two discussed a variety of tech-related announcements, but they also talked about where the company is as it relates to remote vs. in-person work — and what the future of work will look like. 

“I got an email from someone yesterday saying they went for a run around the same loop they always run, and it felt so good to be back,” said Pichai. “I think people do need those connections, but what we are embracing is flexibility. I think people have gotten used to a more flexible life.” 

Pichai said that the company is having employees come into the office three days a week. 

“We’ve trusted our employees,” he said. “We’ve given them a lot of agency and so we want to give them the flexibility so that you’re not too stressed if you have a doctor’s appointment or you have to show up at your kid’s parent [teacher] conference... or whatever it is.” 

Pichai pointed out that serendipitous meetings and interactions are hard to facilitate via online interactions. 

In the 26 years that Jon and I have been in business, we have had both experiences. We had an office location the first eight years we were in business, but have worked from home the last 18 years. Each structure offers advantages and disadvantages (saving on office rent and avoiding a commute each day are big pluses). But we met several of our previous clients because they were in the same office building as us. 

Obviously, tech giants like Google have invested a considerable amount of money in their workspaces. So that likely factors into the equation. The company recently profiled its unique new Bay View campus — definitely an inspiring-looking space. 

In the coming years, it will be interesting to see how work evolves. In the meantime, it is informative to watch how companies are handling remote work as things start to return to normal. It’s certainly something that jobseekers are going to be asking us about as we work with them, so it’s worth keeping an eye on. 

A few months ago, BeAResumeWriter.com held a free subscriber-only course to help career service professionals craft their own online course using the Teachable platform. 

As I was reading the seventh chapter in Marie Forleo’s addictive entrepreneurial tome “Everything is Figureoutable” (titled “Start Before You’re Ready”), I was reminded of that course and our loyal group of participants. 

“You never feel ready to do the important things you’re meant to do,” writes Forleo. 

One of the hardest things to do as a self-employed individual is dive into projects that might not yield immediate returns. Putting together an online course for jobseekers might not seem like an immediate concern — and you might not feel ready for such an undertaking — but moving forward can yield positive results. 

Forleo talks about her nascent days as a dance instructor in New York City, where she worked a variety of odd jobs. A chance suggestion that she try out for a job at MTV (before she was ready) led to life-changing opportunities (with companies like Nike) that impacted the course of her life and business. 

What makes “Everything is Figureoutable” an inspiring read is Forleo’s unpredictable professional journey — as we follow her on the winding road from her start as a trading assistant at the NYSE to the high-profile coaching business she enjoys today. 

The “Everything is Figureoutable” philosophy in and of itself is a framework to structure your mindset and take on new challenges (a mindset inspired by lessons learned from her mother). 

Oftentimes, the mind works out of a place of fear. 

“Fear is not the enemy,” writes Forleo. “Waiting to stop feeling afraid is.” It is a mistake to wait until you are feeling fully confident to pursue your goals, because that might not ever happen. 

As we’ve worked with aspiring entrepreneurs the past 26 years, we’ve found that budding business owners often fall into the trap of thinking things in their lives have to be “perfect” before they can fully commit to building a business. 

Progress is more important than perfection. Comparison is “creative kryptonite” (she refers to this as drinking shots of a dangerous drink she calls “Comparschläger”). 

“You must disobey the voice in your head that says, ‘I’m not ready yet,’” writes Forleo. 

When you chase your dreams you’ll likely face setbacks along the way. Forleo encourages readers to ask themselves this question: “What’s the next right move?” 

A couple of years ago, I was presenting a webinar to aspiring entrepreneurs and was trying to remember that quote. I almost got it right. I told the participants, “Marie Forleo says you should ‘do the next right thing’... or maybe that’s ‘Frozen II.’” 

(That quote indeed came from the character Anna in 2019’s “Frozen II,” but the sentiment is the same!) 

Forleo’s book is packed with anecdotes, quotes, and exercises to put readers in the right mindset. Her irreverent prose (at times she swears like a sailor) gives an approachable vibe to each chapter. 

“Everything is Figureoutable” serves as an “I’ve been where you are before” pep talk to help you get going and build momentum in your personal and professional goals. 

If you’re having trouble getting started building your résumé writing business — or having difficulties figuring out what services and products to add to an already established business — jumping into “Everything is Figureoutable” might help you get unstuck. 

Order your copy of “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo here. 

This guide can be used as content for your website, blog, or social media. It can also be used in an email to spur previous clients to come back for a résumé update or complete overhaul. It also includes a section on “How often should you update your résumé?” that can be used by itself. 

Check out the Refresh or Start Fresh Pass-Along Materials Content in our online store. 

It seems like the “topic of the moment” among workers, jobseekers, and career services professionals is the future of work — is the pandemic-induced shift to remote and hybrid work the direction things are going, or is it a temporary blip brought on by unusual circumstances? 

In our article titled “Remote Work Has Led to ‘Overemployment’ — Will it Impact the Job Search Process?”, we mentioned some of the professions that are more easily able to adapt to this sort of work structure. Knowledge workers in the tech sector and those in finance are examples of professionals who seem to thrive. 

A recent episode of the “This Week in Tech” podcast (see video below) discussed hybrid work (prompted by a recent announcement by Microsoft about new hybrid work features being introduced in Windows 11). 

In a lively discussion, the participants talked about the meaning of hybrid work and whether or not employers will be as flexible in the future. 

YouTube creator Shawn “Doc Rock” Boyd mentioned the “results-only work environment” (ROWE) — a work philosophy that holds workers responsible for defined outcomes, not hours in the office or on the job.  

A 2014 article in The Atlantic describes the concept as “essentially a salary-for-service model of employment. There are no vacation days. There are no ‘off’ hours or ‘on’ hours. There is only a defined task and a person or team who completes that task. It is up to the employees to determine how that happens, whether it’s from a coffee shop in mid-afternoon or in a closet-sized home office at 3 a.m. If the work gets done, they get paid. If it doesn’t, they get fired.” 

On April 28, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced a flexible work policy for the company, allowing most employees to work from home on a permanent basis. Chesky also wrote that employees can work and live in various geographic locales around the globe (170 countries — for up to 90 days — have been approved due to certain restrictions with issues such as payroll and taxes). 

Airbnb’s new policy is “highly coordinated” and will prioritize “meaningful in-person gatherings” periodically so that employees will still have the opportunity to create the sorts of serendipitous connections that can be so important. 

While such setups are intriguing and might become the norm in the future, there are certain companies that might be reluctant to embrace such novel structures in the near term. 

Furthermore, if more workers have the flexibility of independent contractors, some employers might see “hybrid and remote models” as a way to reduce expenses in the long term — and we’re not just talking about the ability to save on things like office rent, equipment, supplies, and utilities. 

It could also mean that employees are compensated as independent contractors in the future, meaning benefits like health insurance could become the responsibility of each individual employee (something that those of us who are self-employed navigate on our own each year). 

A fairly new college grad in his twenties (who I am friends with) recently posted on Facebook that he was looking for a job. When I asked what type of employment he was looking for, he replied, “Something in marketing, where I can work from home Monday thru Friday... 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.” 

While hybrid and remote work has increased in the Omaha market the past 24 months, for many businesses it was a temporary situation and many of those employees have been brought back to the office. 

You have to be careful about navigating these waters with clients. Depending on the profession and geographic location, such demands by a jobseeker could limit the potential pool of jobs (something that could prove problematic if your client doesn’t have the necessary skills and experience to be an appealing candidate). 

It is all part of the evolving environment career services professionals find themselves in as they craft résumés and LinkedIn profiles, prepare clients for interviews, and coach clients on the job search process. 

It will be fascinating to see what trends develop in hybrid work over the course of the next decade.