The Avon Man

 What do resumes and "The Avon Man" have in common?  It's me, Howie Appel!!  Many, many have asked me, "what is a guy doing selling Avon?".  My late wife, Marla, and I signed up for Avon 18 years ago.  We worked as a husband and wife team from 2004 until her untimely death from cancer in July, 2016.

Marla loved the Avon business and I promised her that I'd build it with her....and then just prior to her passing, I promised her I'd keep up the business.

I work primarily in Lake Mary, Longwood, Sanford, Altamonte Springs, and Winter Springs.  I will, however, service anyone in Seminole County.  In fact, I belong to the Seminole Chamber of Commerce.

I also maintain an Avon presence on facebook:  www.facebook.com/groups/howiesabeautifulyouavoncustomers.  

Many tell me their moms and grandma's sold Avon.  Avon has been around for 135 years.  It has gone through many changes since those days.  It has expanded big time.  Yes, there have been glitches.  I have survived them all!  

I was lucky enough to meet Vicki, my partner in late 2016.  She has been my motivator.  I know Marla sent her to me to help me make it through life.  She is also my advisor!!

Have you seen my Avon web site?  It's www.youravon.com/mappel  If you know someone who's been searching for a devoted, full time Avon Representative, please send them my way.  Being "retired", I do this full time.  As an entrepreneur, I must build and market using as many techniques as I can find. 

So, if you are looking for a new resume, looking to enhance your LinkedIn Profile, or want to buy Avon products, look no further.  My email address is hra246@gmail.com.  My phone (for texting purposes) is 407-373-4293.  I will service anyone in the entire USA.

 

 

The Ultimate Resume

 What is the ultimate resume?  One that gets you the interview!!  Contrary to popular opinion, it is not a document that gets you the job!!

What do you need on the resume?  There are 4 distinct sections to a resume:  Contact information, Summary of your experience, Experience, and education.

Your contact information should include your legal name, your home address, your cell phone number, your email address, and your LinkedIn Profile address.

Your summary should include strong statements as to what you have for traits, accomplishments, and skills.  It should be bulleted.  It should have 12-15 bullets clearly indicating the above.

Your experience should reveal the dates, job titles, and employers.  It should go back 10-20 years, depending on your level of experience.

Finally, your education should include all schools attended (yes, degreed or not).  Even online schools should be in this section.

Need more detailed information?  Call or write Howie Appel, 407-373-4293 or hra246@gmail.com

Resume & LinkedIn

I am often asked if the person seeking employment should have both a resume AND a LinkedIn Profile.  In the true sense of networking....both are essentials.

Needless to say, the resume MUST be accomplished.  There are separate rules for the construction of a high quality resume.  The core of the presentation will be how you use your resume and LinkedIn together.

It is not the concept of including the MS Word document in the Profile.  It is, however, the concept of including the contents of the resume in your Profile.  It is essential that you put the Profile URL on the resume so that the reader can click on a link to find your Profile.  He/she then has the ability to learn more about you as a person.  The resume enables the recruiter to see your work history, contact information, summary, and education.  Do not short change yourself by completing the documents by yourself.

I am one of the best resume writers around.  Contact me at 407-373-4293 or email your resume draft to me at hra246@gmail.com 

Out to Pasture after 55…..not me!!!

By

Howie Appel

Appel Resume Writing and LinkedIn Expert

Some say that after 55 you are “set out to pasture” to graze for the rest of your life.  I take issue with that.  The question really is what’s in that pasture?

I see a pasture with 3 distinct sections.  Section one has an abundance of grass.  The “Senior Citizens” (SC) there are grazing to their hearts content, loving it.  They are making money, they are relaxing doing what they really want to do and don’t care what their age is.

The second section of the pasture is sparse.  There is some grass and the SC who have “settled” there are complaining that there is some grass there, but they want more.  They are working on a “Plan B” because during their prime (before they were set out to pasture) they were making a salary and loving it.  Now they have to work, and work harder so that they can eventually meander over to “Section one” where there’s an abundance of grass.

The third section is sandy.  It has no grass.  There are a few SC over there, but they are constantly complaining that there is absolutely nothing out there (do I hear apathy?).  They have worked hard and now they are standing there trying to find SOME grass to graze on, but they are just not finding it.  They are not prepared for this eventuality.  They have been given advice by dozens of people and have opted to take the wrong advice as those people didn’t have a clue as to what they were talking about but felt comfortable just  “giving advice”.  These are people who are “doubting Toms”.

Now, let’s revisit that second area.  What led them to the path where there is some grass?  Preparation?  Great advice from those “in the know”?  Networking with the right people?  A high quality resume and LinkedIn profile?  The answer of course is yes to all the above.  Will they (or can they) meander quickly to the dense grassy area and make something of their life?  The answer is a definite YES.

Preparation is the key word.  There is no genetic or DNA issue here.  There is no magic formula.  There is no large bank account.  There is no large “silver spoon”.  It takes hard work to get to that middle patch.  Yes, we all want to be in the far left grassy patch (Section one).  We can do it….won’t happen overnight….it may never happen, but we can’t say we didn’t try.  We all went to bed those nights saying, “we did the best we could all day and into the night.  We are being paid what we are worth. We are not being paid what others feel we are worth.    If we took a tablet and put two columns, we’d see something like the following:

  

Plan A (a paid position) 

or Plan B – Entrepreneurship

Plan A – The job we love to hate or hate to love

·       A paycheck each week 

·       A commission check saying this is what you accomplished

 ·      The boss tells me what hours I must work 

·       I work the hours I must work to make some money 

·       You are assigned to work on a team full of like skills 

        and you must work as a team or be told you are 

        changing teams 

·       You are working independently or your team mates 

        (aka downline) are doing their best under your guidance 

·       You must be available evenings or weekends when 

        assigned by your boss 

·       You work whatever hours it takes to get the job done

  

Plan B – I’ll do my own thing and make the best of it

• You create, test, follow through.
• You network with fellow entrepreneurs
• You put in whatever hours you want, realizing that if you put "0" hours in, your compensation is "0"
• You ARE what you are worth....and you prove it constantly

 The above depicts the difference between working for someone and working for yourself.  As the “new crop of senior citizens", we all want to have a weekly pay check.  We all want to have our bills paid on time.   We want all stores to have “senior discounts”.  This is a new age for us.  We are used to working in our comfort zones, that “box “ called 1980 when we saw life a lot easier.

Newsflash, this is the 21st century and we are (by our own admission) BabyBoomers or “Boomers” for short.  We were born post WWII.  We didn’t have a choice!!!  Now we have children and grandchildren.  We are in the same or similar boat that our grandparents and parents may have been  in during the 60’s and 70’s.  Only the economy IS NOT the same.  It is terribly different. 

Are your skills where they should be?  Should you go to school to update those skills?  There is a mountain of questions to be asked and, yes, answered.  Should you seek help?  A resounding YES is in order here.  What kind of help should you seek?  Help comes from those who either “have been there” or from those who ARE there and are struggling just like you.  The word NETWORKING comes to mind.  These could be your peers and (yes) even your competition.

The biggest selling point YOU have is YOU.  That’s right.  Walk up to someone and smile.  Stand on a street corner and look up.  How many will stop and look up right beside you?  Your “soft” skills are just as important as your “hard “skills.  Soft skills are that grin or smile you always display.  That sense of humor.  Having “people skills” is over used.

The next selling point is your resume.  Does it tell the whole story?  Although I am an expert resume writer, I will not sit here and tell you to meet with me.  This is not my time to self-promote.  I will say this though, and that is that your resume is not an android.  YOU are not an android!    There are rules and rules governing how a resume should be written.  I am not going to expound on ANY of them at this point.  I will say, however, that if you talk to 12 different people, you are going to get 12 DIFFERENT ANSWERS.  Some may be the same, some will be different.  Who makes the decision ultimately?  You do!!!

The last selling point is your LinkedIn Profile.  It MUST match your resume.  Again, I am not going to promote my seminars, aside to say that they deal with creating a polished LinkedIn Profile.  If you don’t promote yourself….no one else will.  Remember, if it is to be, it’s up to me.  If you don’t self-promote, someone else will and that person (could be a good friend in the same field) will get the position before you do!!  So you ask, “What’s in it for me”.  Plenty….a job or new position for starters.

Being “put out to pasture” is no fun.  No matter what section of the pasture you end up being in.  Growing up and getting gray, is (hopefully) a time that we are all looking forward to.  Better we are vertical than horizontal.  We read obituaries every day about those in their 60’s who opted to take their own life because they admitted to being (in their own view) losers.

I heard the statement, “God didn’t make junk”.  We need to regroup, realize that we have peers and we have support groups who exist simply to help.  Are you taking advantage of them?  Leaders of these groups can “lead you to the trough” but we can’t make you drink.

You have to do your part.  What is your part?  Simple, don’t stay in “Section three”.  Meander over to the sparse grass and get used to it for a while.  Build and keep building.  Then, after you’ve built, meander over to the dense grass and START EATING.  After all, we are “boomers” and we are what we make of ourselves.  Plan B DOES exist.  Will you use it?  Or will you simply stay by the fence and watch others go for success?

Howie Appel

Resume Builder 

LinkedIn Subject Matter Expert

407-373-4293

Hra246@gmail.com

www.linkedin.com/in/howieappel

Out to Pasture after 55…..not me!!!

By

Howie Appel

Appel Resume Writing & LinkedIn Expert

Some say that after 55 you are “set out to pasture” to graze for the rest of your life.  I take issue with that.  The question really is what’s in that pasture?

I see a pasture with 3 distinct sections.  Section one has an abundance of grass.  The “Senior Citizens” (SC) there are grazing to their hearts content, loving it.  They are making money, they are relaxing doing what they really want to do and don’t care what their age is.

The second section of the pasture is sparse.  There is some grass and the SC who have “settled” there are complaining that there is some grass there, but they want more.  They are working on a “Plan B” because during their prime (before they were set out to pasture) they were making a salary and loving it.  Now they have to work, and work harder so that they can eventually meander over to “Section one” where there’s an abundance of grass.

The third section is sandy.  It has no grass.  There are a few SC over there, but they are constantly complaining that there is absolutely nothing out there (do I hear apathy?).  They have worked hard and now they are standing there trying to find SOME grass to graze on, but they are just not finding it.  They are not prepared for this eventuality.  They have been given advice by dozens of people and have opted to take the wrong advice as those people didn’t have a clue as to what they were talking about but felt comfortable just  “giving advice”.  These are people who are “doubting Toms”.

Now, let’s revisit that second area.  What led them to the path where there is some grass?  Preparation?  Great advice from those “in the know”?  Networking with the right people?  A high quality resume and LinkedIn profile?  The answer of course is yes to all the above.  Will they (or can they) meander quickly to the dense grassy area and make something of their life?  The answer is a definite YES.

Preparation is the key word.  There is no genetic or DNA issue here.  There is no magic formula.  There is no large bank account.  There is no large “silver spoon”.  It takes hard work to get to that middle patch.  Yes, we all want to be in the far left grassy patch (Section one).  We can do it….won’t happen overnight….it may never happen, but we can’t say we didn’t try.  We all went to bed those nights saying, “we did the best we could all day and into the night.  We are being paid what we are worth. We are not being paid what others feel we are worth.    If we took a tablet and put two columns, we’d see something like the following:

  

Plan A (a paid position) 

or Plan B – Entrepreneurship

Plan A – The job we love to hate or hate to love

·       A paycheck each week 

·       A commission check saying this is what you accomplished

 ·      The boss tells me what hours I must work 

·       I work the hours I must work to make some money 

·       You are assigned to work on a team full of like skills 

        and you must work as a team or be told you are 

        changing teams 

·       You are working independently or your team mates 

        (aka downline) are doing their best under your guidance 

·       You must be available evenings or weekends when 

        assigned by your boss 

·       You work whatever hours it takes to get the job done

  

Plan B – I’ll do my own thing and make the best of it

• You create, test, follow through.
• You network with fellow entrepreneurs
• You put in whatever hours you want, realizing that if you put "0" hours in, your compensation is "0"
• You ARE what you are worth....and you prove it constantly

 The above depicts the difference between working for someone and working for yourself.  As the “new crop of senior citizens", we all want to have a weekly pay check.  We all want to have our bills paid on time.   We want all stores to have “senior discounts”.  This is a new age for us.  We are used to working in our comfort zones, that “box “ called 1980 when we saw life a lot easier.

Newsflash, this is the 21st century and we are (by our own admission) BabyBoomers or “Boomers” for short.  We were born post WWII.  We didn’t have a choice!!!  Now we have children and grandchildren.  We are in the same or similar boat that our grandparents and parents may have been  in during the 60’s and 70’s.  Only the economy IS NOT the same.  It is terribly different. 

Are your skills where they should be?  Should you go to school to update those skills?  There is a mountain of questions to be asked and, yes, answered.  Should you seek help?  A resounding YES is in order here.  What kind of help should you seek?  Help comes from those who either “have been there” or from those who ARE there and are struggling just like you.  The word NETWORKING comes to mind.  These could be your peers and (yes) even your competition.

The biggest selling point YOU have is YOU.  That’s right.  Walk up to someone and smile.  Stand on a street corner and look up.  How many will stop and look up right beside you?  Your “soft” skills are just as important as your “hard “skills.  Soft skills are that grin or smile you always display.  That sense of humor.  Having “people skills” is over used.

The next selling point is your resume.  Does it tell the whole story?  Although I am an expert resume writer, I will not sit here and tell you to meet with me.  This is not my time to self-promote.  I will say this though, and that is that your resume is not an android.  YOU are not an android!    There are rules and rules governing how a resume should be written.  I am not going to expound on ANY of them at this point.  I will say, however, that if you talk to 12 different people, you are going to get 12 DIFFERENT ANSWERS.  Some may be the same, some will be different.  Who makes the decision ultimately?  You do!!!

The last selling point is your LinkedIn Profile.  It MUST match your resume.  Again, I am not going to promote my seminars, aside to say that they deal with creating a polished LinkedIn Profile.  If you don’t promote yourself….no one else will.  Remember, if it is to be, it’s up to me.  If you don’t self-promote, someone else will and that person (could be a good friend in the same field) will get the position before you do!!  So you ask, “What’s in it for me”.  Plenty….a job or new position for starters.

Being “put out to pasture” is no fun.  No matter what section of the pasture you end up being in.  Growing up and getting gray, is (hopefully) a time that we are all looking forward to.  Better we are vertical than horizontal.  We read obituaries every day about those in their 60’s who opted to take their own life because they admitted to being (in their own view) losers.

I heard the statement, “God didn’t make junk”.  We need to regroup, realize that we have peers and we have support groups who exist simply to help.  Are you taking advantage of them?  Leaders of these groups can “lead you to the trough” but we can’t make you drink.

You have to do your part.  What is your part?  Simple, don’t stay in “Section three”.  Meander over to the sparse grass and get used to it for a while.  Build and keep building.  Then, after you’ve built, meander over to the dense grass and START EATING.  After all, we are “boomers” and we are what we make of ourselves.  Plan B DOES exist.  Will you use it?  Or will you simply stay by the fence and watch others go for success?

Howie Appel

Founder and CEO, B2B LinkedIn Seminars & Workshops

www.B2BLinkedinSeminars.com

Executive Director, ProNet Career Resources

Resume Builder 

LinkedIn Subject Matter Expert

407-373-4293

Hra246@gmail.com

www.linkedin.com/in/howieappel

Steps to a New Position

I am going to write this blog about "steps to a (potential) hire". Join me at Google+ or write me at hra246@gmail.com with your feedback.

Many think that the "do all and end all" is in the resume.  This, for the most part, just isn't true.  It is going to have a profound effect on your candidacy....but many of the people for whom I've written resumes, I also mock interviewed them and enhanced their LinkedIn Profile....not to mention giving them a format for writing a cover letter.  There are 4 steps right there....not to mention "due diligence"!!

What comes first?  Due diligence.  Check out the company.  Is it the company for whom you WANT to work? Check out the LinkedIn Profiles of the people you may be encountering?  They WILL appreciate that...whether you know it or not!  They will be looking at YOU!!

Your resume is an introduction to your candidacy.  Among the issues clearly outlined are: Contact information (including your LinkedIn Profile URL), Summary, Skill Sets (both soft and hard skills), Chronological Resume (the where, when, what, and accomplishments of your resume), Education, and other areas of importance.

The second most important part of your candidacy is your LinkedIn Profile.  It must contain everything from your resume and more.  You MUST have a photo so the hiring manager can get a glimpse of you as a person.  They also want to know what kinds of groups you have joined, what kind of company you keep (connections), and other areas covered by LinkedIn.

The next most important document is the cover letter.  Yes, you cannot POSSIBLY cover everything in your resume.  You can address the specific needs from their advertisement in the cover letter.  You MUST address the cover letter to a person.  How do you do that?  By due diligence on LinkedIn and elsewhere on the internet.  Your cover letter covers 3 vital areas:  How you found out about the job, specifics on why you feel you stand out from your peers/competition, and a strong closing paragraph.

Next comes the telephone screen.  In the screen you MUST treat it as if it were the next best thing to being there.  NO drink in hand.  Think fast on your feet.  Use the S.T.A.R. Behavioral Based Interviewing style.  Don't know what that is?  Contact me and I'll explain further.  No gaps in the conversation.  No computer assistance at this point.  Short, concise answers to their questions.  No "yes" or "no" answers.  You must say "yes, because" or "no, because".

The in-person interview is next.  Dress sharply, unless notified otherwise.  Some companies prefer you visit them dressed in a polo shirt or "business casual" attire.  Check with the "arranger" first.  Ensure you carry a copy of your resume (or more if it is a panel interview).  Again, the S.T.A.R. format is likely to be used.
Eye contact and excellent body language is critical.  "Small talk" is acceptable, but must be kept at a minimum and only under THEIR direction.  There are many questions they may ask at an interview.  I will not go into them here.....but, this is definitely the time to find out if they are micromanagers or macromanagers.  Remember, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you!

Finally, there's the follow up letter and phone call.  As you leave, ask permission to send the follow up letter and/or phone call. They will appreciate your asking permission and it is the professionalism that they are seeking.

I touched on most of the ingredients of the "successful" properties of the interview process.  I have been recruiting for over 25 years (yes, you can see my profile at www.linkedIn.com/in/howieappel).  You can also write me at hra246@gmail.com for details on having some leverage for positioning yourself for your next interview.

Remember to read your finished resume at least twice.  Many use "attention to detail" as a skill.  One typographical error will prove you wrong.  Do you want to take that chance?  Spell-Check is not always the answer to a proofreading.

Review my recommendations on LinkedIn.  You will find that I am a "babyboomer", I am a veteran, and I have been both a corporate and agency recruiter.  I now do resumes and LinkedIn Profiles for both job seekers and businesses on the grow.

Are you ready to take action?
Are you ready to take your search to the next level?
Are you ready to become pro-active?

If you said, "yes" to any or all of these questions, you are ready to work with a professional who has put his heart into every resume he re-accomplishes.  I have worked with outplacement firms, Christian HELP, and have worked on my own outplacement contracts.  As you know, there are no guarantees in life (except death and taxes).  Why take a chance?  I stand ready to take you to the next level!!

To Be or Not to Be, That is the Question

Greetings ProNet members.  It was a hot summer.  Gas prices continued to skyrocket and dialogue with members was few and far between.  

I have sent out a number of "email blasts" only to find many have unsubscribed and many have asked to be taken off the mailing list.  This is good news and bad news.  Good News:  People are getting jobs!!  Bad news:  ProNet is working and our membership is dwindling.  

How do I interpret this?  I know that some of the larger organizations in Central Florida are no longer referring people to us (we do the "same thing" that they do....but they get paid for it).  They feel that they address the needs of professionals so they don't suggest people come to ProNet.  Many of our visitors to our meetings were from others' referrals.  

What do you think?  What is the reason why you haven't come to our meetings?  Can you write me (privately) at hra246@gmail.com?  I continue to say to myself, "the people need ProNet so I am going to keep it alive even if only for a few people".  

Our next meeting is September 22nd at the College Park Towers on Eggleston Ave., Winter Park (off Lee Road).  We start at 5:30 and go to 7:30.  The topic this month will be an effective resume and effective cover letter.  If you are unable to make it, kindly write me at hra246@gmail.com) and let me know as I am wondering if we are to be or not to be....that is the question.  Let me know if you know of a good speaker....I'll be glad to talk with them.  Until then...