Hope you're enjoying the summer and that it hasn't been too hot in your part of the world. My husband and I are preparing for our annual summer vacation: a week-long trip to Chicago, starting next Tuesday, which includes a birthday party for our granddaughter Rylee, who will be two years old. We're really looking forward to this event and spending quality time with our children, extended family, and our grandsons Maverick and Lucas. 

This month, I've seen some positive news about the U.S. Labor Market: A Bloomberg News article reported that "Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 26,000 in the week ended July 7 to 350,000, the fewest since March 2008..." An Associated Press article stated that "Job openings [in May] rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.6 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That's up from 3.4 million in April. It's also the second-highest level in nearly four years, just behind March's 3.7 million." Hopefully, this means that a hiring surge will be on the horizon very soon!
  

If you're stumped about the multitude of resume "do's" and "don'ts," you can relax! Career Directors International (CDI), an association I'm proud to be a member of, conducted a 2012 Global Hiring Trends Survey which reveals what hiring authorities want most from the resumes they receive. Scroll down for more information and to get a copy of the full report.

My core article for this month is: "Know Your Top Transferable Skill Sets, Then Plan Your Career Transition." This is the first in a series of articles, which sets the tone for the upcoming beta launch of my online coaching program: "Wake Up to a Job You Love ©."The essence of this program is also about waking up to yourself...who you are, professionally, what your strengths and talents are, and how your top transferable skill sets form a solid foundation for a successful career transition campaign.

When beginning a career transition, many people work     backwards. They rush to have a resume written as a first step; then, they jump into a job search, without really knowing what their most saleable skill sets are and how to position them for their career direction. This strategy is like putting the proverbial "cart before the horse."

In my coaching practice, I've come across countless people using this backwards approach, who become quickly discouraged when they don't get enough interviews in proportion to the resumes they send out. But I've also observed that people who get the most interviews and right-fit job offers took a step back to first uncover their top transferable skill sets to gain clarity about their career direction; then planned their career transition accordingly.

"I worked with Joellyn and went through her Career Action Planning session after months and months spinning my wheels trying to land a position. Her session and follow ups were a great jump start for me in redesigning my resume. She helped me focus on what my strengths were and was encouraging and genuine. She's extremely personable and is a great listener. I'd recommend her to anyone who is struggling finding their next steps in their career path."  -- Louis Miano, Sr. Software Developer 

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