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Job Hunting Help
So, in today’s economy, it is difficult to find a good job that pays enough money to support you and possibly a family. Many people have either been laid off, fired, or just can’t seem to find a job. So what do you do? Unemployment doesn’t seem to cover even the essential bills. this is my advice to you…
- You need to start off with a positive attitude that you will find a job. It might not be the exact one you are dreaming of, but it is a starting point.
- The first step is to write a resume that clearly points out all of your positive attributes and why a potential employer would benefit from having you work for them. Be sure to include your top skills and any experience or education you have had that make you the perfect candidate.
- Be Seen! Once you have a resume, now you need to let the world know you are available for hire. there are many websites out there that will post your resume for free. Careerbuilder and are two of the top sites to post your resume free of charge.
- Now depending on what type of work you are seeking, make a list up of all the potential companies that you would like to work for. Most companies do not advertise all of their open positions due to the cost of advertising. Once you have made up your potential contact list, now it is time to call them directly and speak with their hiring managers. Tell the hiring manager of your background and experience and how they would benefit from adding you onto their payroll. If they are hiring, ask for a live interview. If not, ask them if you could send a resume to keep on file just in case a position comes available that matches your background and experience.
- If you are scheduled for an interview, now you will need to prepare yourself. The most important part of the preparation is to, research the company and learn all about what they do. Your research will pay off because it shows that you are truly interested in working with them and took the time to check them out.
- Next, it is time to get your checklist together for the interview. You will want to prepare one list of your attributes that you want the hiring manager to know about you. One great attribute would be that you are a great communicator if it is true of course. Think of all the positive things that people say about you and reference those attributes to the interviewer.
- Now you will want to prepare a list of questions to ask the hiring manager. The more questions you ask, the more interested you will look to them.
- Remember to answer all questions honestly and sincerely and look your interviewer directly in the eye. Give short concise answers and do not elaborate unless asked.
- At the end of the interview, ask for the job by saying, “When can I start” this usually gives them a chuckle but also shows interest. You would be surprised how many people do not ask!
- Be sure to get a business card in order to send out a thank you note for the interview. This is the most professional way to follow up.
- Be persistent in your job search and follow up.
3 Basic Rules For Your Resume Presentation
There is a mind-boggling amount of information available on what to do to make your Resume THE Resume that earns an interview – which is, after all, the real purpose of Resumes. Some of that advice is excellent, and some of it is not so excellent. How can you tell what is going to work and what is not? Here are three easy but very three basic rules worth following.
- Keep it professional
- Keep it clean
- Keep it pertinent
Let’s start with No. 1. Keep it professional
What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean I’m only talking to the college or university educated. Whatever you do, if you are skilled, unskilled or highly lettered. Your Resume should always be professional. Why? Because it is a document that is selling you: your skills, your abilities, your experience, your worth to this new company. This is a professional transaction regardless of what the job is and the employer will be on the lookout for the best person for the job. Stand out by being professional in your presentation both on paper and in person – this includes NOT using coloured or fancy paper. Crisp white paper, dark clear ink.
Now, let’s look at No. 2. Keep it clean.
I’m not talking about obscenities or suggestive photos. Nor am I saying make sure there are no blobs, fingermarks, smudges etc on the paper – all that is a given! What I’m saying is the overall layout of your Resume must be clean – to the eye. It must be easy to read, easy to run an eye down, even inviting.
First, ignore the templates available on your Word program or online, the majority of which come with a ready-made table. These are complicated to use unless you are an expert in tables. You’d be better using columns – but I’m not recommending them either. Tables, and columns, get clunky and awkward and take quite a bit of work to have everything neatly encapsulated and all the relevant information together. And, let’s face it, unless you are applying for a job that involves the daily compilation of tables, no-one is impressed by tables.
Go with headings, paragraphs and bullet points. The first person to read your Resume will most likely peruse it, searching for highlights and pertinent abilities and experience. If they receive a pile of Resumes, and they usually do, they will want to create a shortlist. Only then will they read your Resume closely, probably intending to pare that shortlist even further before deciding who to interview.
Make it clear and obvious that you have what they are looking for. This means carefully reading their advertisement to ensure you are indicating that you have what they are looking for.
And, finally, No. 3. Keep it pertinent.
That means exactly what it says. Don’t fill up your Resume with miscellaneous, unrelated or personal information. No-one has time to read it, and less inclination. Putting all your social activities just isn’t pertinent – unless it is in some way related to the tasks you will undertake in the job. Don’t include every job you’ve done since the year dot – unless it is pertinent. And the further back you go, the less information you include – unless that is the job that is pertinent. There is plenty of time to share miscellaneous information once you have the job, or at interview if they ask.
So, remember, Professional, Clean, Pertinent. Weigh up all advice with these three basic rules in mind and you are well on the way to creating just the right Resume to earn you an interview.
Is it Time to Change Your Career?
Even in these tough economical times employment opportunities are out there and you don’t have to stay with the job that you dislike. The average working week is around 40 hours or more therefore, being unhappy at work is being unhappy for significant portion of your lifetime. Granted, the opportunities for employment at the current time are few and far between but this is also a very good chance to consider your pathway to a new job you’ve always dreamt of.
Firstly, diagnose why you are unhappy. It’s not really sufficient to switch your career just because you are ‘unhappy’ in your current employment, you need to first define from where your unhappiness derives. There really needs to be a longing for something in order for you to action a positive direction in your life. Is the travelling getting you down? Are your work colleagues not a friendly bunch? Are the hours that you are working too much? If your employment is not the problem and it is the environmental issues, try tackling them first. A good example is approaching your management with a view to requesting that you can work from home for one or two days a week.
The benefits to any employer of this is that you tend to complete a lot more work when working from home than you do in the office. Without the distractions which most of us have in an office environment taking some work to your quiet home can benefit your employer.
Consider getting some work experience in a different occupation. I’m not suggesting you quit your day job and start working for free just to gain some experience, but if you have any spare time or holiday this could be put to good use by learning about different employments and gaining valuable experience.
Have a think about what your ideal dream job actually is. If you are unhappy and it is your current job that is causing the unhappiness get out some paper and write down the key attributes of your dream job. Consider it as a job description, put down the detail and your requirements. For example flexible hours, salary, incentives, working environment, everything that comes to mind in your perfect Job record down on paper.
Work on your confidence. If you see your ideal job in the marketplace but your not going for it given there are a lot of people at the present time probably going for the same job you need to brush up on your confidence.
Confidence in your abilities and in yourself is what will set you apart from other candidates. This inner confidence can be developed by repeating daily affirmations for example, staring into your mirror and saying out loud “you should choose me because I am the right person for this job”. Confidence is omitted from the outside as well as the inside therefore walk tall and take some time to practice holding your shoulders back and lifting your head and smiling. It is very difficult to not feel confident when you have a good outward looking posture.
If you are working at the present time, continue with your job and do it to the best of your abilities. Now is a good time to have a goal to look forward to however, if in your current employment you become lazy this demeanour will seep into your interviews.
When you are accepted for your new job do not forget what you have achieved to get to that position and keep reminding yourself of that fact.
If Your Boss Has Gone, What Should You Do?
Position Ignition Guides respond to the question and scenario posed by many job seekers and employees…
Jobseeker Question: The person who hired and sponsored me has gone, and now I feel exposed. What should I do?
Guide Question 1: Who exactly are you working for at the moment?
Guide Thought: When you’re hired, it’s like a courtship that culminates in marriage. You and your boss are both committed to the relationship, both invested in making it a success, with a shared vision about what matters, where you are going and what success looks like.
And then, one day, they’re gone, and you have a new boss. To make this work, you are going to have to discover who you are now working for, and do so in detail: as much detail as you’d want to know about a new long-term life partner. Where have they come from? What are they interested in? How do they like to be communicated with? What do they appreciate, and what don’t they?
Guide Question 2: How much value do they see in what you do?
Guide Thought: In most cases, your boss rarely changes precisely at the moment your main project or projects come to fruition. In other words, they come into post and see you as someone not necessarily delivering something. If you’re going to succeed in this new situation, you must discover what value they see in you and what you do. Remember also that they may feel they’ve had you, and your work, foisted on them. They may be getting pressure from their boss, your existing colleagues, and perhaps even previous sponsors to use you in ways that may not be comfortable for them. They may not like this at all.
So now you need to discover, in what may be a conversation, or more likely a series of them, what value they see in what you’re currently doing. Ideally, you will prepare these conversations quite carefully, perhaps with a Position Ignition Guide.
Only once you know the answers to both questions, can you move on.
Guide Question 3: What are your options now?
Broadly speaking, when your boss changes, you have three options. Stay: and stay willingly. Stay, but reluctantly. Plan to move.
Stay willingly: Once you understand your boss, and the value they see in what you do, you may be able to agree a strategic direction that they can support. In this case, you can build on what you are doing, and perhaps even improve your situation from what it was before. Stay reluctantly: you may discover, over time – especially if you work with a Position Ignition Guide – how to manage your boss, and may even find this expands your capabilities and choices. Plan to move: you are much better placed to find a new job while you are in a job. So now is the time to think strategically. First, check your contract. If anything precipitous happens, how much time do they have to give you? Second, can you arrange to leave in a way that works for your boss, your organisation and yourself? At Position Ignition, we believe that leaving one job well is important for your career. Done skilfully, the organisation you leave will be a future ally for you, perhaps a resource they can call on, someone they can make referrals to, even someone they can recommend to others. And while you are arranging your exit, something unexpected may happen, presenting you with other options.
So has your boss gone? What will you do?