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I am often asked this question in any professional and social interactions when I introduce myself as a Trained Life Coach. For me, being a passionate recruiter for more than 25 years now – I thought this was a natural extension for me to become a Career Coach and so did all my mentors and they have been advising me for sometime now to become a Coach and to take up Coach training. But it was only this incidence that prompted me to take immediate action – “I am worried – I don’t know what to do” – these were the words in one of the messages from a job seeker which I received early 2020 when pandemic has brought about panic and uncertainty in the industry – this was all very sudden. There was fear, panic and sense of desperation in the tone. I was taken aback, not sure how to help! As an Executive Search firm, we search suitable candidates for our clients’ requirement. We may not have a suitable role within our clientele for all the jobseekers approaching us. In this particular case also, we were not having an immediate suitable role for the person. How can I support the jobseekers in such challenging situation? – was the question and I thought the next best thing I may do is to enable them in their job search and career quest in an effective way. This is where I explored Coaching as a subject very seriously for the first time and understood that it is a most suitable way to enable a professional to deal with job loss and other career challenges. Coaching is transformative, non-directive, facilitated self-inquiry. Coaching conversations have a proven structure/framework which brings about self-awareness with reference to your goals, bottlenecks, values etc. The outcome of Coaching helps individuals find their unique solutions and move forward with greater clarity and confidence in both their career and overall life.  To set up an exploratory conversation about your career situation and how Career Coaching can help, please write to me at metobecoaching@gmail.com

Afew lines to rekindle the spirit of revival within all of us during this challenging time of COVID 19 pandemic. It goes like this… The times are tough, the mind full of fear;No hope at sight, is all that we hear!Choice is for us to make – give up! or go for the kill!Together we can and together we will! No challenge is big, for all of us to solve;The bigger it gets, the better we evolve;Outgrow the challenge, make it belittle;Together we can and together we will! Flapping the wings, harder than the rest;Like those doves, who flew away with the net;No time to rest, stay quiet and chill!Together we can and together we will! Hidden lessons for all of us to learn;Egos are crushed, now we know we all are one!Equality is god, Inequality an evil;Together we can and together we will! Back to the life, that we all so crave;Make it even better, if we all are brave;An inspired living with fun, frolic and thrill!Together we can and together we will! We all have one purpose, the purpose to serve!Manifest the life, that we all deserveDoing our best being here, now and still!Together we can and together we will!

Putting the content together while writing your resume is an overwhelming task for many and I have noticed the anxiety is even more about how to start writing. One of my friends dealing with a similar situation met me a few years ago and said that it is very important for him get his resume done and that he has been procrastinating on this one for some time now – he had no clue on how to get started! A brief conversation followed and then I pulled a few tissue-papers out and made a few quick mind maps to illustrate to him on how to get started. What came up was a simple and step by step method to overcome the inertia of getting started with writing your resume! So, this one is for all the professionals who may be in a similar situation. I have reproduced those mind maps here for your reference with a few additional tips – here we go… A Tissue-Paper Plan for Getting Started with Resume Writing The headings and sub-headings from the mind map were listed down in a desired sequence as follows – 1] Resume Title – Full Name, Contact Details, Location 2] Objective – The statement giving the What (the targeted role/management level), Where (type of Company/Industry/Function), Why (couple of your key skills/competencies) Example – Seeking a Mid Management role in a Delivery Function of Mid to Large size company in IT sector where extensive client handling and managing large team across technologies will be useful. 3] Summary – Brief of your Experience and Achievements This space should be used to highlight the achievements and your experience that will be valuable for your targeted role. For IT professionals – Technical Summary should be presented 4] Professional Experience – Name/s of Companies, Duration, Designation/s, Roles and Responsibilities in each role that you may have played in one organisation by virtue of promotions or job rotations. For IT professionals or where ever work is executed in Project form – the Project Details are a must, which Includes – Project Description, Project Durations, Team Size, Roles and Responsibilities in each project, Technologies used in each project. 5] Educational/Academic Details – Level (10th, 12th, Diploma. Graduation, Post-Graduation, PhD), Years of Passing of each level, Details of School, Board, College, University, Grades/Percentages/Ranks/Marks, listing any Significant Training & Certifications (provide specific details) 6] Personal Details – Date of Birth/Age, Full Address, Nationality, Gender, Languages known etc. The personal details should be given as per the norms of given geographies and requirement of the job. The following are some bonus tips to consider while you make your resume – 1] The resume should look consistent – Consistent in terms of Font Type, Font Size, Choice of Bold, Italics, Underline, Spacing between lines/paragraph, graphics etc. 2] Mind the spelling mistakes and grammar.

Acovering letter is an introductory note that one may write while applying for a job along with their resume. Resume is the most important document and a covering letter is treated as an optional note – however, I recently realized the importance of an effective covering letter while working on a hiring assignment – here’s the story…. I recently posted the following requirement on my LinkedIn profile – “Requirement for a Senior Executive HR for a leading Ship Management Company in Pune. The requirement is for a qualified HR professional with 3 to 8 years of experience in recruitment, selection, induction, performance management, employee engagement, training and development, managing exits & basic compliance’s“. Salary budget – 5 to 6 LPA Work Hours – 10.00 AM to 6.00 PM (Saturday, Sunday – OFF) Job Location – Kalyani Nagar, Pune. Candidates from near-by locations preferred. Should be able to join immediately. If interested please write to me with your resume on rajiv@seventh-contact.com” To this post I received quite a few applications. The following are the select covering letters that I received along with their resumes. (The names and other specific information are edited to keep the confidentiality of the applicants) – One of them will be selected for the role – you may take a guess! Applicant 1 – “Hi Rajiv, I got your reference from your LinkedIn post for the HR position, Pune location. Please find attached my updated resume for your further reference. Do let me know incase of any more details required. Thank you and have a good day ahead. Regards” Applicant 2 – “Hi Rajiv, With reference to your posting, I would like to apply for HR opening at Kalyani Nagar. I have total 5 years’ experience into a generalist role. Below are my basic details Total Exp: – 5 yrs Current CTC: – 4.10 LPA Expected CTC: – 5 LPA Notice Period: – 15 Days Enclosed my profile for your reference. Do revert in case of my profile suits as per your requirement Thanks” Applicant 3 – “Dear Rajiv, Greetings!! This is with reference to the job that is posted on LinkedIn for a Senior Executive HR for a leading Ship Management Company in Pune. I wish to offer my candidature for the same. I have completed Master of business administration, specialized in (HR) with 5+ years of total experience. In my last 5 years of experience I have had a good experience in all the mentioned functions of HR. The role also seems to be suitable in terms of budget as well as job location. My prime motivation is to put forward conscious efforts in implementing best HR practices in building great team and positively impact the growth of the organization. Given an opportunity I would consider it to be a privilege to contribute my enthusiasm, trustworthiness, integrity and perseverance to fulfill the job requirements. I have attached my resume for your kind perusal & hope to receive a positive response. Note: Can Join Immediately Thanks” We were able to shortlist a few applicants based on the desired academics and experience required for the job based on their resumes. All the resumes that we shortlisted were a very strong match for the job. However, one of the application was standing out because of the “Covering Letter”. We were already visualizing this applicant to be the best choice among all the potential applicants. The covering letter of this applicant had the following distinctions – 1] Correct – Use of simple and correct language. 2] Crisp – Short and specific. 3] Customized – Conveying the understanding of the requirement, expressing interest and suitability. This distinction represented few qualities of the applicant, which is – understanding of the role, communication skills, interest and suitability for the role and it also gave us an idea of the applicant’s overall personality. I was prompted to write on this topic when finally this person was the one who got selected after a rigorous four rounds of interview and was offered a role. The covering letter made the first right impression and then this applicant got all the special attention throughout the selection process. I am sure you must have guessed by now that the covering letter I am referring to is that of “Applicant No 3”. A good resume is important, but when presented with a Correct, Crisp and Customized covering letter has its own merit. Good Luck with your job searchRajiv Padmanabhan The End.