Thomas Rauchenstein, Career Coach

If you're thinking of switching jobs or careers during this pandemic, make sure your resume doesn't contain these red flags... #resumetips #jobsearchtips #careerchange

These career changers are heroes in my book! Well worth the watch if you're looking for models of how to pivot: https://lnkd.in/dhDpuJm #careerpivot #careerchange #jobchangers #cbc

The sad reality is that pandemic job loss has disproportionately affected women more than men. According to Rosa Saba, Business Reporter at the Toronto Star, more women now fall under the category of long-term unemployed. This raises the question: is Canada at risk of losing decades of improvement in gender representation in its national workforce? Or is this just a temporary phenomenon? I’d be interested to hear your opinions in the comments below: #genderequality #jobsearch #COVID19

Let’s be honest. Many of us are feeling pretty irritable right now. COVID-19 has totally redefined what job stress looks like. We’re under immense pressure to pay bills, juggle childcare responsibilities, find new work, and keep our businesses afloat and this stress just leaves us feeling angry. And rightly so. Why do I say that? Because anger is a normal response to having our hopes frustrated and our power taken away. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way. It’s w...hat you do with it that matters most. So I’ve created a video for all of us, because WE ARE ALL HURTING right now. This video is just as much for me as it may be for you. It’s a video about how we can harness anger as a force for good in our relationships ultimately so that we can stay well-connected to our loved ones, our work colleagues, and (of course) ourselves. I hope you find this helpful, and if you do, feel free to comment or DM me. #CareerCoach #BeyondAnger #ResolvingAnger #COVID19 #CareerStress #JobSearch #RemoteWork

Career change is stressful. It's hard to navigate the ups and downs of landing new work and it takes courage to find the support you need. Sometimes this means reaching out to family, friends, or significant others for help. Other times it means finding support from a career professional. Either way, I want to assure you that you are not alone. You will get through this, even if you aren’t sure what the future will look like. ... As a Career Coach, I’ve helped hundreds of people find the courage, confidence and clarity they’ve needed to navigate their next steps. And I know from personal experience what it’s like to go through a major career crisis and come out stronger on the other side. So I believe the same for you. Wherever you happen to be on your career journey, please know that I am available to support you if you need it. You can reach me by email at [email protected] or on my office line at 519-224-1620 if you’d like to chat more about it. #JobSearch #CareerChange #CareerCoach

According to Moshe Lander, Professor of Economics at Concordia University, we are going to be seeing lots of job change in 2021, even as the unemployment rate remains relatively stable. That’s because many old jobs will be lost and new ones created at the same time. The bottom line is this. You can expect that lots of Canadians will be transitioning into new work this year. So, what does this mean if you are currently employed in an industry that is particularly susceptible t...o pandemic changes? It means you’ll need to be job search ready, so you can be a step ahead of any potential layoffs, reduced hours, or income changes. Among other things, being job search ready means getting clear about the work you would like to do next updating your resume and LinkedIn profile networking with professionals who work in your desired field memorizing impactful stories that highlight your top career skills, so you can market yourself to future employers Yes, I know. This is a lot of work in advance. But as I frequently say, job searching is one thing being ready to job search is quite another. #JobSearch #CareerChange #CareerCoach https://rb.gy/t9j8nz

It’s almost cliché to say that looking for work during a pandemic is difficult. We all know that’s true. Competition is fierce, so it’s all the more important to make sure your job applications stand out! But how exactly do you do that? One way (along with others) is to impress employers with a well-written cover letter. ... When cover letters are: customized to the job you are applying for seasoned with demonstrated knowledge of the company personalized with the name of your contact person, and crafted to include a compelling value proposition then you are well on your way to fastening their interest in you! Easier said than done, of course. Marketing yourself in written form is not easy, but if you’d like help in this area, I’d highly recommend you check out Alison Doyle's work. Alison is a seasoned career expert who’s written extensively on this topic and I continue to find her insights helpful as I support job seekers myself. So, if you have a moment, check out her post on 10 Cover Letter Writing Tips. It’s a quick read and full of useful information to help you get noticed and secure those call backs! https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-cover-letter-writing- #coverlettertips #jobsearchadvice #careercoach

Has your career gone the way you expected? Sometimes despite all the hard work, grit, and determination, our career plans still don't pan out. We hit a work plateau, we see no opportunities for advancement ahead of us, or it just doesn't work out with that employer you were trying so hard to make it work with. ... I get it. That's hard. And there is a process of letting go and even grieving for a time. That is a normal and natural response to the disappointment. The good news, however, is that your story is not over. When your confidence is shot, a great way to get back on your feet is to reflect on your transferable skills and past strengths, to bring positive thoughts and a sense of moving forward in your career and job search. Reflecting on yourself can be difficult to do alone without it tending toward the negative (especially when you feel stressed) but I truly believe that assets like balance and hope and strength are already inside of you. It just takes having another person draw them out of you, to show you that you DO have something new or valuable to offer to employers, and the world. If that's you, then don't give up hope. There are new possibilities ahead when you take time to focus on resilience and take stock of what you have to offer. https://www.thomasrauchenstein.com//focus-on-resilience-wh

Have you ever thought about how to excel at online job interviews or improve videoconferencing calls while working from home? If so, then look no further! I'm so proud to recommend a special training video on this topic, in which my lovely wife Elizabeth Rauchenstein is featured! In this training video, Elizabeth is interviewed by the one-and-only Madeline Mann (LinkedIn guru and founder of @SelfMadeMillennial) about best practices for nailing online interviews and making sure you are set up for success. You won't want to miss it! (and by the way, Elizabeth's part starts at 5:54)

Add these companies to your job search list if you want to work for some of Canada's top green employers! #jobsearch #careertips #GoGreen

Let’s be honest. Many of us are feeling pretty irritable right now. COVID-19 has totally redefined what job stress looks like. We’re under immense pressure to pay bills, juggle childcare responsibilities, find new work, and keep our businesses afloat and this stress just leaves us feeling angry. And rightly so. Why do I say that? Because anger is a normal response to having our hopes frustrated and our power taken away. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way. It’s w...hat you do with it that matters most. So I’ve created a video for all of us, because WE ARE ALL HURTING right now. This video is just as much for me as it may be for you. It’s a video about how we can harness anger as a force for good in our relationships ultimately so that we can stay well-connected to our loved ones, our work colleagues, and (of course) ourselves. I hope you find this helpful, and if you do, feel free to comment or DM me. #CareerCoach #BeyondAnger #ResolvingAnger #COVID19 #CareerStress #JobSearch #RemoteWork

In the age of #COVID19, it can be very challenging to look for new work while also being employed full-time in a job you dislike. How many non-paid hours should you dedicate to your job search? What should your focus be? How should you set up your schedule? If this scenario describes you, please don’t lose heart. These are difficult times, for sure, but there are strategies you can use to ease the burden and maintain a sustainable job search, when while working from home. ...In my view, the key to a sustainable job search is to set up a schedule and stick to it as much as possible. That means carving out blocks of time in your calendar so that other obligations don’t conflict. It also means dedicating each day to a different theme: e.g. Sunday night to applying online, Monday evening to job search training, Tuesday morning to a networking call, etc, etc. By sticking to one activity each day, you avoid the overwhelming feelings caused by juggling many kinds of tasks at once. My second piece of advice is to be consistent. If you can invest 7-10 hours of job searching per week then great. If 5 hours a week - that’s ok too. Just remain consistent week-to-week. That way, you can measure your progress instead of working in fits and starts beyond your non-paid hours. Finally, prioritize your very best job search techniques. Applying online is fine, but only 20% of job opportunities are actually advertised. The rest are found through networking, and related activities. So focus on learning how to use video-conferencing platforms like Skype, Zoom, and Google Hangouts to meet with people who can help you. Set up informational meetings with employees in the companies you want to work for, and then ask them for advice. Meet with people who have the power to refer you when internal opportunities open up. These are just some of the ways you can look for new work while being employed full-time. There are many other ways, for certain, but hopefully these tips will take the guess work out of your scheduling struggles and free up more energy for your job search! #JobSearch #CareerChange #JobChange #Networking

The #COVID19 pandemic has transformed the way we job search. With unemployment at an all time high, the margin for error between successful and unsuccessful applicants has become razor thin. This means, more than ever, that your #resume needs to be tailored to the companies you are applying to. And I don’t mean just tweaking a few words here or there. I mean going through the job post with a highlighter, underlining the key skills the employer is looking for, and then writin...g specific impact statements into your resume, to showcase how you’ve demonstrated those skills in the past. I sometimes hear the question Why isn’t my resume working? One reason (already mentioned) is it needs to be customized with impact statements that demonstrate how you can provide what the employer needs. Yes, this customization takes a lot of work. But it could mean the difference between getting called for an interview vs. not hearing back at all! For more help on how to draft great impact statements for your resume, check out my brief video (link below), in which I provide a real life example for you! Do you have any additional tips for how to make your resume shine? I'd be interested to hear in the comments below! #JobSearch #Resume #CareerChange

If you're looking for work or going through a career transition, the #COVID19 crisis has probably hit you hard. Perhaps you're working for home, looking for work, navigating #onlineinterviews, or wondering which industries are even hiring. Or perhaps you're re-evaluating whether you want to stay long-term in your job, given how things were handled by your currently employer. However you're feeling, please know that you're not alone! These times are challenging us to dig deep..., especially when change seems so scary. So I'd like to offer my help. As of today, I'm offering FREE 15-minute job support calls to anyone needing help during this time of crisis. Simply email me at [email protected] to set up a call and I'd be happy to chat with you at no charge! I’ve also decided to offer my services with reduced rates and deferred payments to make access to #employmentsupport more affordable. Finally, I’ve collected a list of #COVID19resources (link below) to help you navigate today's market. These resources will help you uncover hidden job leads and stand out to hiring managers in a memorable way. I hope you find these resources helpful and don't hesitate to reach out! I'm here for you!

If you are reading this now, I hope that you are doing ok and staying safe during this COVID-19 crisis. These are challenging days. You may be working from home, looking for work while in quarantine, wondering when everything will get back to normal, or what that even looks like. These times can draw out the best in us, as a society, but they can also challenge us to dig deep to face our own fears. Over the past couple of days, I’ve been doing the hard work of introspect...ion on a topic that is so relevant to today: conflict management. Perhaps you are facing new changes to relationships in your life whether rubbing shoulders with family or colleagues in new ways? In turn, these conflicts may be negatively impacting your sense of job satisfaction and career well-being. If that describes you, I’ve written an encouraging blog post just for you. It shares my personal journey through conflict and includes a video with suggestions on how you can navigate interpersonal conflicts in these difficult times. Please remember that you are NOT alone, that you don’t have to cope perfectly, and that you are more resilient than you think. #COVID19 #stayingsafe #CareerCoach #ConflictManagement

Allow me to get personal for a moment... If you didn't already know this about me, I’m a recovering perfectionist. This means that I can be hard on myself at times and struggle with self-criticism when I make mistakes....Continue reading

A disappointing and sobering statistic: "More than 7 in 10 Canadians who see a career counsellor or coach say they wish they had made different career decisions earlier in their lives." (Stat from national survey of 1,300+ career service professionals undertaken by CERIC.) Solutions? I think early, effective intervention here is key, especially in high school and university. Among other things, students need early access to quality career assessments and then learn how to ef...fectively investigate and "reality test" their career interests before committing to a path they might later regret. Much more could be said here, but what else would you recommend to curb future career regret? #careerchange #careercoach #careerregret

"Almost a third of respondents to a recent Indeed study said they plan to change jobs within the next one or two years. The number one reason workers are looking for a new job is because they want more or better benefits." Article via CareerWise #JobChange #CareerChange #CareerCoach