689: Land Your Dream Job and Get Paid What You're Worth

26:57That's ritual.com slash gold digger. This is so good. It reminds me because we were recently working on a sales page for a product. And it reminds me of so many things that you think about when it comes to marketing. Like what is the end result? Like, tell me about the end result. Don't tell me how you got there. Tell me the end result because you want to sell like my friend, Colin Boyd, he's a really good storyteller. And he's like, you want to sell like sitting in a cabana, drinking a drink, enjoying this beautiful sunset. You don't want to say like, I went in the Uber and then I went to the airport and I went through TSA and I got on the airplane.

27:33And I think so often when it comes to expressing things, we give like that full scope and we forget to paint the end result. And I feel like what you're saying is like, just tell me the end result and what I can expect. I don't need to know every nuance thing within that. Give me your bread and butter. Give me your bread and butter. Give me the conversation starter that will make me want to give you a call for an interview or see what your business looks like? How can I learn more about your business? That's the end result. We want the phone call. We want to secure the bag as I tell my clients.

28:07And to be able to do that, people want to know who you are, what you've done and how you can either save money or make money. Yes. Yes. Two of the most important things. Yeah. So don't be shy. Don't be shy. Tell people that if you've come in and you've made a company$75 million, that should be the first line. A resume is definitely, that's you, that's your portfolio as a business owner, as an entrepreneur. When I submit my resume, the first line you'll see is fire starter, fire igniting speaker. That caught your attention immediately. You may not read the rest of the paper, but you have to say, okay, let's figure out why she's a fire starter.

28:48What about this woman is going to set fire in rooms, turn cold rooms warm, and how is she going to shake things up? Oh, this is my other one. Please don't make your resume more than two pages. Yeah, this is not a dissertation. No, but I've come across, I think I turned a 34 page resume into four. Oh my Lanta. What? Yes. Granted it was a military background, but still 34 pages. I, in three days I turned 34 pages into four in three days. My eyeballs bled a little bit, but you still got the meat and potatoes, the meat and potatoes. So is there this idea to of leaving some intrigue like you want to do enough to catch the attention?

29:41But then is there this level of like you want to get them on the phone, right? Like that's the next step. So how do you find that balance of like catching the attention, catching the eye and getting that phone call while still leaving like some of those questions unanswered? Because that's what the phone call might help you do. Is that something you think about? I do think about that. So when I finesse, especially a C-suite executive's resume, I want to make sure that, yes, I know you're the bomb dot com. But when I'm writing your figures, I may just write your figures in that leadership snapshot.

30:13Yeah. They're that impressive that the reader is going to say, OK, how did you do this? How did you generate four hundred million dollars in a year? How were you able to increase employer retention rates by 70 percent with this company? there's the cliffhanger yep and so when you're writing your resume in the beginning one third that is your opportunity to say okay here we go let me make sure that my career executive summary three to five sentences five is a max if you're just that you know hung up on giving that synopsis yeah but three sentences tell me what you bring to the table this is your opportunity to say hey I come in, I leverage 20 years of expertise in whatever industry and then list your unicorn like skills.

31:07Then the breeder is like, okay, how did you get this in this time span? Yes. You want to leave a question and it's just making sure that the language has a cliffhanger. Yeah. So I have a question for you that this is leading me to, We live in a world that eats with its eyes first. You said no pictures. How important is the design? Like, should people be going into Canva and designing this pretty resume? Like, does that matter? What would you say there? Because I am someone who I love, like visually beautiful things, but then I'm like, are you shooting yourself in the foot by choosing something like that?

31:41What is your interpretation of that? So this is a great question. We do eat with our eyes and I believe that structure is everything. Yeah. Do not, first and foremost, do not go into Canva and create one of these resumes because what ends up happening, if you are looking for a job and you go through ATS, it won't be compatible. So use Word. Word is pretty, people don't give Word enough credit. You can go in and you can incorporate shapes and colors. There's good colors you can use. Blue is like a power suit. Green means money. Like, let's see what you got. Depending on your industry will dictate how creative you can get.

32:19If you're in digital design, graphic design, then you can absolutely be more creative. Now, my C-suite executives, my business owners, use that power blue. Use the money green. Sometimes I've done red just to make a statement. But I think it's important that your resume reflects your personality. So if you are a colorful person, throw in a color. It's fine. but don't, don't overdo it. Don't give me a blue background with the green lettering with, you know, a font that is in cursive. I've seen it all. Yeah. Make sure that you stay true to your personality. That's your opportunity to say, okay, here's my little razzle dazzle.

33:06Yeah. A nice blue with a crisp lettering, making sure that your font size is no smaller than 10.5. that's even small. Yeah. And being generous, making sure that, as you said, it's crisp to the eye. Yeah. Color is fine, but don't go crazy depending on your industry. So yes, color is fine. Like I said, if I drop your resume, why should I pick yours up first? It's going to be format. It's going to be structured. You might have some color on there. Look at yours first. Yeah. Everybody is black and white. Be the unicorns. Stand out. I love that. I keep thinking about, we recently worked with a copywriter on a project and she was so good at like pulling out the right headlines of like, people are skimming.

33:51Like you said, people are giving you six to seven seconds. And I think a lot of times on resumes, a missed opportunity is pulling out those strong words or those strong phrases. Because if you're skimming it and maybe something's bolded, but it's still size 12, just like everything else, they might be missing the good stuff. So do you have any tips in terms of formatting? I think of it like a website or a sales page or something like that of like, just imagine and think and write for the skimmers because that's 99 % of the people and make sure that what they're seeing is the most important stuff.

34:27Introducing your new Dell PC powered by the Intel Core Ultra Processor. It helps you handle a lot even when your holiday to-do list gets to be a lot. Because it's built with an all-day battery plus powerful AI features that help you do it all with ease from editing images to drafting emails to summarizing large documents to multitasking. So you can organize your holiday shopping and make custom holiday decor and search for great holiday deals and respond to holiday requests and customer questions and customers requesting custom things and plan the perfect holiday dinner for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, and Uncle Mike's carnivore diet.

35:04Luckily, you can get a PC that helps you do it all faster so you can get it all done. That's the power of a Dell PC with Intel Inside, backed by Dell's price match guarantee. Get yours today at dell.com slash deals. Terms and conditions apply. See dell.com for details.

35:27Look, I've become kind of a systems nerd and anything that gives me more space in my day, I'm all in. And a reliable connection is a huge part of that because when the internet lags or cuts out, everything pauses and suddenly the simplest tasks take forever. I learned really early on that dependable internet, it's not a luxury, it is a must. Whether you're a content creator like me, a restaurant owner, or running a busy dry cleaning business, you need that steady connection to support your team and your clients. That's why I'm excited to share a solution for my fellow business owners. Spectrum Business keeps businesses of all types connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, and mobile services, all with connectivity solutions built for your budget.

36:09And they have a truly incredible offer. Business owners can get free business internet advantage forever when you add four or more mobile lines. It's simple with no contracts and no added fees. Visit spectrum.com forward slash free for life to learn how you can get business internet free forever. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. Can you believe that we're already wrapping up 2025? This year was packed with travel and so many new memories. One of my favorite moments was our team retreat in Arizona with the incredible women who helped me keep this business running. I also recently took the kids to Nashville during fall break and somewhere in between I squeezed in a trip to Puerto Rico with friends.

36:53We booked some of our most memorable stays this year on Airbnb. There's something special about finding a place that doesn't just look great in the photos, but actually feels welcoming the moment you walk in. That this feels right kind of feeling. If you've got trips coming up, whether it's a family vacation, a retreat, or a work trip, your house will probably be sitting empty while you're gone. Have you considered hosting your home on Airbnb and letting it work for you? It's a simple way to earn some extra income that can be put towards a future trip or home improvement projects. Your home might be worth more than you think.

37:27Find out how much at airbnb.com forward slash host. Yes. The beginning one third of your resume is what matters. Yeah. Nine times out of 10, I'm not going to make it any further than that. So in the beginning one third, you'll have your contact. Let me say this. You have your contact information, your phone number, and your email to where we can reach you. I have seen resumes without emails or phone numbers. So make sure that's at the top. You have your career executive summary. That's really going to be where you can say, hey, I turned around Fortune 500 companies. You know, I've bent over backwards and turned into a turnaround champion for these either nonprofits or organizations.

38:11That's where you pull out the information that you want people to read and followed by that. you would do your snapshot, whether you call it a leadership, entrepreneurial, business owner, your choice, dealer's call. You make it what your biggest impacts have been within the last year. And then I always follow up with soft and hard skills. No more than six that you outline. Those are buzzwords. Those are words that you've pulled from either their website, their job description, but you put them on there and you have to make sure that, hey, these are skills that you have or that you're capable of gaining before you get that opportunity.

38:53But that beginning one third is your meat and potatoes. After that, you know, hey, great. Make sure you sculpt out an impressive career experience section. But if I read it, great. If I don't, I already have all of the impact that I need from the beginning one third. So like you said, structure is everything. That one third, you have to go for the gold. Yeah. Let's say somebody is listening to this and they're in a job that they hate and they are like, I need an escape route. I need an emergency exit. I believe that your resume could be that for you. How important is personalization these days?

39:31Is your resume a one and done? Is it something you're tweaking? Is it something you're tailoring for different positions? Walk me through that because I feel like so many of us learned if we were fortunate enough to even learn this of like just create one and like disseminate it across the board. And so I think so much has changed. And so walk me through what that looks like. So absolutely, resumes are never one and done. And I don't think you need 14 different resumes to be able to apply for different industries or companies. You have to have a strong, strong structure. So when I tell you that, you know, you have the beginning one third, soft and hard skill section.

40:11Those are all areas that you can tailor to match a company's mission statement, their vision, or when you're going for a specific role, pay attention to the details and the keywords that the job description displays. And if you're using LinkedIn, you can go and look at the language. They give you the keywords and skill sets that you need at the end of the job description for most. So you have the cheat code. It's just doing your due diligence. Never turn in the same resume for two jobs. I'm going to say that. Never turn in the same resume for two jobs. And if you're applying for a company, please do not apply for more than two jobs at the same company.

40:56They're going to see your resume for one. Relax. But be sure that you take 10 to 15 minutes. compare your resume to the job description, your resume to the vision statement of that company or that pitch that you're getting ready to shoot out, especially for us business owners. We all know how to make words sweet, right? We know how to hook people in. This is your opportunity to hook people in visually first to get that phone call. So no, do not. It's not one and done. I wish it was, but it's not. Yeah. Because when your resume gets into somebody's hands, that's where the magic happens. That's where you're able to get a feel for that person.

41:40And they're actually going to take time to read your resume. So make it worthwhile. You know, you have, it's like a sandwich. What do you like on your sandwich? Lettuce, tomato, pickle, whatever. make sure then you add that special sauce. This is your special sauce. How are you going to stand out in your language, your summary and take the time? I get it. It's hard. First of all, job searching is hard. Writing a resume, if I wasn't so dang good at it, this would not be my first choice of career. It's hard. So give yourself grace, but also know that you can tackle a resume and the more you do it, the easier the language will come.

42:23The easier it is for you to spot out key language and keywords that you need to finesse into your specific resume per application, per submittal, per pitch. I'm pretty sure chat GBT could do a lot of that work for you too. If you copied a job description and said, pull out the key words that you see here. I'm curious that like, I just keep thinking of like, wow, it'd be actually quite easier than anything we're making it out to be in order to find those themes. One thing you've talked about, Jessica, and I'm super curious about, it was once a very neglected space in our business, which was LinkedIn.

42:58And I actually had a LinkedIn expert come onto my podcast years ago. And I was like, this is your chance to tell me why LinkedIn matters and why we should be spending time on the platform. But what's fascinating is, is that the last six hires that we've made for my company have all been through LinkedIn. And I love it for so many reasons because people can't fudge their experience. It is literally right out there. Here's exactly what I've done here, the roles I've played. And for me, we're at a place where we want people that have experience. Like we are no longer in a position of like, we just want people and we'll teach you.

43:31We want people with experience. Talk to me a little bit about LinkedIn. Is it a missed opportunity? Are people like resistant to it, but they should be on it? Is it a waste of time? What is your perception? So LinkedIn is your opportunity to be an inch high private eye. I'm able to get on there, look up quality candidates, look up CEOs, look up people that I want to connect with, whether I'm a job seeker or a job snatcher or a CEO or business owner. I think it's an underutilized tool, especially for us business owners. You can find anything on there. I can find hiring managers, recruiters. I can find CEOs that I need to connect with to build partnerships, to build a rapport.

44:15People think, oh, well, if I'm not looking for a job, I don't need LinkedIn. Yeah, right. LinkedIn is where the money is. And people take that for granted. I've won grants off of LinkedIn. I've built partnerships off of LinkedIn. People have found me off of LinkedIn. Like there are so many opportunities to show up and show out on a professional platform that owners don't take advantage of. Entrepreneurs think, well, you know, I'm a business owner anyway. What do I need LinkedIn for? There are people out there who are willing to invest in you. There are people out there who want to build partnerships with you, but I can't find you.

44:52I don't know you. Nobody knows us yet until we've scaled our visibility crazy. LinkedIn is definitely an underutilized tool. And I understand why it's not like you have to spend four hours on it. Get on there 30 minutes. You don't have to make dancing videos on LinkedIn people. That part, you can show up as your authentic self with grown people, grown people who are looking to spend money, make money and save money. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. We utilize it and we love it. And it was something that was totally neglected because it wasn't as shiny as Instagram or Facebook, but it has been a massive tool in our company, not only in hiring, but like you said, in collaborating and finding people.

45:35And also if you're someone who wants to do big things, say you want to go on the Today Show, you can find producers of the Today Show on LinkedIn and connect with the people who are in charge of the people, right? Like there's so many ways that you can leverage this platform on a professional standard where it's like you can skip like looking at what somebody ate for breakfast and see what results they've actually driven for something. Exactly. And you can find anything and anybody on LinkedIn. Yeah. If you are a business and you don't have a LinkedIn, you need to rethink that today. There's opportunities out there.

46:09There is money out there and you have an untapped resource that you should be taking advantage of. That's the one thing we love visibility, right? But we don't want to show up. Okay. Write a post. You don't have to show up and you don't have to show what you ate for breakfast. You don't have to show you walking down the street. You can write a post and generate a big buzz around yourself. So LinkedIn will allow you to expand your resources, expand your business and give you more insight to what other people are doing. Like you said, if I want to be on the Today Show, CNN or whatever, you can find the people.

46:46Those are the people that make the decisions anyways. So people who are going to say yay or nay. Yeah, absolutely. Not just the views. Yes. Okay, Jessica. So if somebody is listening to this right now, what are three things that they can do by the end of today that can help them either clean up, start or edit their resume or their website in a way that will help them get seen and valued for what they bring to the table? Absolutely. So the first thing you can do is remove anything that's beyond 10 years. whether it's information, images. A lot of us do not look the same as 10 years ago. Let's give people an updated version of who we are and what we look like today.

47:27And that gives that fresh feel. Visuals give a fresh feel, especially for our websites, our LinkedIn, give people a fresh feel. Next for your resume, you wanna make sure that you are giving people your stats, give stats. Same thing for your website, give metrics. A lot of us just have a pretty piece of paper with nothing on it. Give stats, metrics, figures, percentages, and turnaround. And then the last thing, you want to make sure that you are not oversharing. Don't overshare. That's where we go to the length of your resume, especially your website too. Don't overshare. Give us a reason to call you.

48:07You sparked my interest. Now let's talk. I don't want to hear the long, drawn-out story of how you got there, what you did, what road you took. I don't care. Tell me what you did and how you got there. And then let's talk. So you want to make sure that you're always having conversational sparks on your resume or website. So that could be a figure. Like sometimes I'll put in my website$2.4 million. And people are like, well, okay, did you make that? What have you done with that$2.4 million? It's not me. Trust me. It's not me. It's my clientele. So do enough to spark somebody's interest to reach out to you.

48:45And make a conversation. Those are the top three things. Get rid of your clutter. Make sure that you're not oversharing. And give us some metrics. Your percentages, your figures, and your turnaround. So I am going to ask you one final personal question. But as you have become this entrepreneur, what has been the best part and the hardest part of entrepreneurship that you didn't anticipate? So the best part is making my own schedule. I'm able to, you know, have coffee with that friend or take a flight somewhere because I don't have anywhere to be the next morning, so to speak. The next one is turning off.

49:24That's the hardest thing. I was just talking to a friend and I was like, I haven't slept. OK, life goes on. The show must go on. So not being able to turn off because we're always thinking about a different way to show up. We're always thinking about a different way to make money. And I think as a business owner, we feel more comfortable talking about figures and salaries. That's one of the best parts. The other part is how am I going to do it? Where am I going to get it from? Who am I going to ask it from? What am I going to do to get there? So not being able to turn off is one of the hardest things.

49:59I've actually had to get a therapist. I've been in therapy probably two years, going on three maybe. and she's helped me streamline, you know, being able most times to turn off, set boundaries and be able to say no when it's outside of my comfort zone. So, yes, I agree. I agree. The final thing that came to mind is if somebody is listening to this, do you have any advice on how they can establish if they are better as an entrepreneur or an employee? I think they're both great roles. The world needs both. They need entrepreneurs and employees. And I think sometimes people have a hard time establishing which one is the right role for them.

50:43Do you have any tips on that? I do. And I'm just going to speak from personal experience. When I knew that corporate was no longer serving me because I would show up and I already did the work. I already had the conversations and I'm going to say this very candidly. I don't like being told what to do. And so once I figured that out, I was like, okay, you know, I've been told what to do. These people pay your check. What are you going to do instead? What do you do naturally well? Yeah. And could you do it even if you weren't making money? There you go. Think about those things. If you can do it, even though you're not making money, because realistically, we don't make money every day.

51:28Yeah. Sometimes you have wonderful months. Sometimes you have dry multiple months. you have to be comfortable knowing that I'm going to be in a cash flow crunch sometimes, but can I still do this work? And if you can, by all means, take the risk. I think Les Brown says without risk, there is no reward. But if you're like, okay, I like consistent checks on time in my account, stay where you're at. I love that. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. You have amazing resume templates. Tell us about those and where everyone can find out more about you, the work you do and potentially work with you.

52:11Give us all of the places. Yes, absolutely. So if you need a template, you can check out my Etsy store or my website. They all have the same link, JMW Career Consultant. And then if you want to work with me, connect with me on LinkedIn. Use your LinkedIn abilities. My website, jmwcareerconsultant.com. I'm very responsive. You could even hit me up on Instagram. I'm not as active as most people, but I will respond. You won't see me dancing, but I'll respond. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This was amazing. And I'm so excited for our listeners to take those steps to update and present themselves and share their secret sauce with the world.

52:52I think there's something so contagious when you're surrounding people who know with confidence what they're good at, what they do, how they show up and impact the world. There is something so beautiful. So the more people that can do that, the better. And hopefully today you have the tools to do exactly that. Thanks for coming on, Jessica. Yes. I love today's episode. I think it's such a beautiful reminder to really honor and understand what makes you different and learn how to strategically communicate those differences in a way that catches people's attention. I feel like today, attention is the new currency.

53:30And if we are wanting to stand out from the crowd and express what we can bring to the table, we have to be incredibly thoughtful and introspective and aligned with what is our secret sauce and how do we communicate that. I absolutely love today's episode with Jessica. I hope you enjoyed it too. you, make sure to take action. And if anything, just ask the people closest to you in your life to speak into you, to tell you about you so that you can remember those things that make you unique, special, and impactful in this beautiful world we find ourselves in. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Gold Digger Podcast.

54:09Until next time, keep on digging your biggest goals. I'm over here giving you a virtual high five because you just finished another episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. Did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, head over to golddiggerpodcast.com for show notes and all the discount codes from today's sponsors. And if you're looking for a new crew of movers and shakers like you to bounce ideas and ask questions, be sure to join my exclusive community for Gold Diggers on Facebook. The link's waiting for you at golddiggerpodcast.com.