Spotlight: Karen Shane

1. Why GO TO a Certified Professional Resume Writer?

A CPRW – Certified Professional Resume Writer is recognized by the PARW/CC – Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches: www.parw.com . CPRW’s meet standards as set forth by the Executive Directors and the industry certifying board. Karen Shane passed this examination year ago and keeps up to date with current trends in the employment marketplace.

You go to a qualified dentist when you have work done. You should seek the help of a certified resume writer who has passed exams and who writes professional resumes daily from start to finish.  Karen Shane also received the Certified Resume Strategist certificate from Career Professionals of Canada www.careerprocanada.ca (CRS)

5 Reasons why you should choose a CPRW or CRS:

1. You will reduce your time looking for work.
2. Each week you try to use your self-written resume, you can lose an average of $600+ weekly because you chose not to invest in yourself.
3. Compared with a typed up resume, the professional resume (rich with key words and phrases) will get noticed.
4. Headings in a resume change every few years and resume writing changes approximately every two years, so someone who creates their resume as they did in the 1990s won’t stand a good chance of landing an interview now.
5. You are competing against others who choose a CPRW or CRS.

Start your future today by getting your resume and cover letter re-written professionally. The resume will have all the necessary keywords and buzz phrases that will get your resume screened and selected in database searches.

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3 Ways new immigrants will benefit after ordering from a CPRW or CRS:

1. Gain the advantage to blend into the Canadian local, national or international marketplace faster with a resume that demonstrates your skill set the North American way.
2. Earn a decent salary faster instead of submitting a basic general resume that says I did this, I did that, hoping to cover about 10 industries in case an employer notices you. It won’t give you more chances to land a job
3. Canadian immigrants are well educated and will reap the rewards with a resume that is focused and well presented.  Many countries have different expectations. I know what employers need to see in a resume and in a cover letter.

Contact me and discover how you also can become successful and land a great employment opportunity really soon!

Karen Shane’s Bio:

Karen has customized resumes and cover letters since 1994. She holds a dual certification in professional resume writing: the CPRW from the Professional Association of Resume Writers and the CRS from the Career Professionals of Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts degree and Medical Office Administration diploma. Karen is at the helm of a group of certified expert resume writers in Canada. She is published in several resume and cover textbooks. Karen writes for local employment newspapers as an occasional writer. The majority of her work is spent on writing professional resumes and cover letters for many job seekers. To date, she has written 1000s of resume projects.

For more information please email or call the office at 416-226-0460 or: 855-226-0460. Check out the following websites to read testimonials: www.linkedin.com, www.goldbook.ca under Business Writing and Resumes and Award Winning Resumes: www.awardwinningresumes.ca and www.awardwinningresumes.us .

Nominee’s being accepted for to Host Metro Active event on April 18th

Classroom and Seminar Space available in Richmond Hill

Brian Tracy speaking on April 24th with Jim Pagiamtzis

Brian Tracy coming April 24th sharing the stage with Jim Pagiamtzis

“Learn and Be Inspired By the Best”

BRIAN TRACY

on human potential and personal effectiveness. A Best–
Selling Author 42 times over, Brian coaches 450,000
people each year on leadership, management, sales,
personal development, strategic planning, goal-setting,
time management and many other topics to help people
become more successful

CANADA

Each participant receives a complete workbook
with every key point and idea, checklists, and resources
for increasing sales and improving business results

Limited Seating!

GET YOUR TICKET TODAY!

Brian Tracy Single Ticket $398.00 + HST Includes Full Day Pass (Morning & Afternoon Sessions, Plus Evening Networking Event)

Call me  information  about group/team rates
416.894.7859
jim@pagiamtzis.com
* Special price because I am speaking for aftternoon and evening session. Call for details!

Business cards project your personality

Your card is one tool of many you can use to make connections

Business cards project your personality. Leo Grosso of Swift Technology still uses business cards. Staff photo/IAN KELSO

In the business world, a good business card is akin to a first impression.

That’s why, despite the digital age when everyone stores info on their computers or smartphones, the business card is still an important little piece of business real estate.

“If you’re at a networking event or you are meeting prospects for the first time and you might be having an initial consult, often that first exchange is your business card so it can set the tone for that first impression,” said Amanda Steeves, vice-president of marketing at the Mezzanine Group, a marketing company in Toronto

And despite social media and other sites that are designed to promote and advertise your business, Steeves said the card is still crucial to directing people to you.

“It’s the most frequently used material by someone in business because you’re going to be giving that card to anyone, prospects, suppliers, so it’s that most-used touch point,” she said.

So if the business card is so important, and everyone has one, what is it that makes yours both memorable and an effective tool?

Alastair Taylor, professor of graphic design at Seneca College, School of Creative Arts and Animation, said your business card “is the least expensive piece of self-promotion you can do compared to a cost of a website or brochure,” so make it count.

He said there are different types of finishing and design techniques that can be used to make it visually appealing, such as blind embossing, raised print, different colours and fonts. However, before you decide these details, you have to consider your target audience or potential clients because your card should speak to your brand and reflect who you want to attract.

“You don’t want someone to look at it at think you’re too expensive, but that all depends on the image you either do or do not want to make,” Taylor said.

Once you’ve established what your brand and messaging are, you can begin to design your card. Taylor said you want to make sure there is key information such as your company name, logo and colours, your name and title, address, direct line, mobile, email address and website.

“Your card needs to be consistent with the entire look and feel of your company’s image,” Taylor said.

Leo Grosso, who owns and operates Swift Technology, an IT business in Etobicoke, he said his card was carefully designed to reflect his brand and includes his logo: a white bird in a red circle, with his information and core services on the back of the card in black font.

“We wanted to help people understand a little bit about who we are and what we do on the business card,” he said.

Wanting his logo to both stand out and to establish his brand, Grosso said he chose the colour and imagery with a certain message in mind.

“The bird itself, the swift, represents everything you want in an IT service provider,” he said. “You want them to respond quickly, you want them to be efficient and agile in their recommendations and solutions.”

Grosso said all the communication platforms on which his company presents itself have the same look and feel.

“Having a card only doesn’t satisfy the 21st century, you have to expand it to the digital mediums from the search engines, marketing to social media to the website, email and digital signatures,” Grosso said.

Steeves said your email signature is the electronic version of a business card and is also important because people are primarily looking for information online.

“Before you’ve even met them to give your business card, they’re receiving an email so you can either sign it, ‘Thanks, Amanda,’ or you can make a clear company name, direct contact information as well as a closing line where it might direct people to your website,” she said.

With all the different opportunities out there to sell, brand and market your business, at the end of the day, Steeves said it’s important to remember that your business card, while important, is just one aspect.

“A business card is a tool, so that’s going to be coupled with the impression you’ve made, the discussion you’ve had, maybe the renewed impression the receiver has of you now, so it’s really just one input into your entire interaction with somebody,” she said.

Article appeared in the Toronto Business Times

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/business/article/1284439–business-cards-project-your-personality