There are infinite resources for jobseeker and it is not just limited to a crowded newspaper column. If as a job seeker you are facing the question of “Where to look for a good job?” here are some valuable tips that you can consider. If you are keen on considering a sales job, you can ask your friends or relations for help. They might be of invaluable help to you if they come up with“wanted”, “required” or “vacancy” information, to you. However, in today’s jet age these tried and tested methods are gradually failing since people do not have the patience to wait for a good job opportunity. To come over this, you can turn to the internet which is a very vast medium and can be a boon to novice job seekers. Apart from information regarding various job opportunities, you also get a chance to groom yourself so that you do not have to wait to kick start your dream career.
Have you tried looking for a careers advice company? If not then this is the right time. You are amongst the millions who keep looking for a job everyday but fail every time because they simply do not know where to go. A career advice company can drastically boost up your confidence since such companies know the tricks of the trade. Although you may be under the impression that you have it in you to march ahead on a successful career path, times are rapidly changing and so are the needs. You may have applied for the post of a manager but got rejected immediately putting you to wonder incessantly, “What went wrong? “. However, it is not just your qualification that matters. Companies today are looking for a whole package which includes dynamic personalities, impeccable communication skills and a positive image. With career advice, you can successfully acquire your dream job towards a glorious career.
There are few things more daunting than searching for a job when you’re unemployed – except perhaps searching for a job when you’re unemployed and the economy is in recession. Oh, and let’s not forget that in addition to the nation’s current economic woes, it’s also the holiday season – a time when conventional wisdom suggests that your odds of being struck by lightning are greater than your chances of getting hired.
Is a job search during a recession doomed for failure?
Not if you think creatively, search aggressively, and maintain a positive outlook and forward momentum!
I’m not going to “blow smoke” here – it’s true that our current recession makes for a decidedly tough job market. Job seekers will likely face some considerable challenges in the months ahead, and it seems that almost daily I’m reading scary reports of more large layoffs occurring nationwide. But the news isn’t all bleak. Consider the following:
– CNET’s Webware blog reported just ten days ago that there are more tech companies with job openings than there are ones initiating layoffs.
– Monster Worldwide’s CEO Salvatore Iannuzzi said in a recent interview with CNBC that a number of sectors are still hiring strong, including government, healthcare, protective services, mining, and exploration.
– In their recent “Who’s Hiring in This Economy?” special report, a Cleveland, OH TV network news affiliate checked the latest numbers from Manpower (the world leader in temporary, temp-to-hire, contract, and permanent employment services); Forbes magazine; and the networking service JobFox.com to find what each consider to be the top “recession-proof” jobs. They predict continued job openings in areas including:
* Accounting: The more companies reorganize, the more accountants they need.
* Nursing: One field where there is still a shortage, with openings at many hospitals.
* Physical Therapy: Openings exist at many hospitals.
* IT: With companies keeping computers longer, they need people to fix them and update software.
* Commission Sales Reps: In a recession, companies are desperate for good salespeople.
* Security: You can’t have enough security these days.
* Building Maintenance: As companies hold off on new offices, it’s paramount that they take care of existing facilities.
* The U.S. Census Bureau: Now hiring thousands of workers to prepare for Census 2010.
You’ve heard the hype. The economy is bad. There aren’t any jobs to be had. Things are tough all over, kid. But since when do you listen to the naysayers?
Sure, you’re not going to step out of college and into a CFO position. But you’re also not stepping into a part-time job selling hot dogs on the side of the road. Being realistic about your opportunities goes both ways, and the most fatal mistake job seekers make is selling themselves short.
Be Confident
Congratulations, you have a college degree! Maybe you weren’t in the top of your class with a full academic scholarship, but you have a higher education and that means something to hiring managers. What it means exactly is that you have the latest information about your field of study. You’ve most likely worked with cutting-edge technology. And you’re not so set in your ways that you can’t be trained. This gives you a distinct advantage over people who aren’t fresh out of school. When you go to interviews, remember this.
Be Enthusiastic
College graduates have something many other job applicants don’t have. Enthusiasm! All things being equal, someone with a positive attitude will get the job over someone who is jaded, indifferent, or world weary. It’s not all about what you know. It’s also about who you are. Show hiring managers that you’re someone other people would want to work with.
Be Strategic
Employers are looking for long term investments and are hopeful that you will be loyal to their company. When they ask you what your five year plan is, don’t tell them that you hope to be traveling in Europe. Nor should you point to the company president and say, “I want to be there.” Consider your audience.
Be Persistent
Don’t be so confident that you think everyone should want you. Always tailor your resume and cover letter for each position. Follow up with a phone call. If you don’t hear from the employer in 4 weeks, send another letter with another resume. Call again. Don’t give up until you’ve heard a definitive answer. If it’s a “no” send a thank you letter anyway to ask that they keep you in mind for any future positions. Repeat for each job search. If you want an employer to see you’re willing to go the extra mile, show them up front.
Being a realist when it comes to job searching is hard work. Sure, it takes work to get work. But landing a job and putting yourself on the road to a successful career is worth it.
ResumeEdge attended the CCA national convention in Orlando on June 14th and June 15th. A common theme heard among the attendees is the notion that students must learn how to prepare a resume. Having a professional write the resume for them serves no educational value.
We couldn’t agree more.
Resume preparation, like leadership, is very self-reflective. You must examine your personal values, communication style, and experiences, and put them down on paper in a manner that sets you apart from your competition. The resume experts at ResumeEdge provide verbal and written feedback designed to help you learn about your unique strengths (and weaknesses) – and how to convey those strengths to a hiring manager. This self-reflection works to the benefit of the job seeker and prospective employer. The job seeker gains the confidence needed to excel in a job interview, while also learning where to focus for improvement. The employer gains insight into an applicant’s history – to determine if he is a perfect fit.
If you have a gap in your employment history, you may have concerns about how to explain this on your resume.
Keep in mind that many people step away from the workplace each year to raise children, care for ill/aging family members, return to school, recover from an illness/accident, or for some other reason. So the good news is that there is less of a stigma attached to this than there used to be.
It’s possible that you may not even need to explain the gap. For example, if you were away from the workforce from February 2006 to October 2007, you can de-emphasize the 20-month gap by listing years of employment (vs. months and years).
But if the gap spans multiple years, and especially if the gap has occurred within the last five years, then it may need to be addressed on either the resume or the cover letter. Employers like to see the work chronology, and may wonder what you were doing if large gaps are present.
Serving as the primary caregiver for a family member or taking a sabbatical to pursue a degree are valid explanations for a gap. You can also fill this time period by showcasing any volunteerism, consulting, or self-study you completed. Treat this experience just as you would a paid, full-time position, and try to include examples of key contributions you made. For example, if you helped with a school fundraising drive, mention how your efforts were instrumental in meeting or exceeding the giving goal. Be sure to emphasize skills and accomplishments that are relevant to your current career objective.
Best wishes for job search success!
Every job candidate faces the same challenge after graduating college – How do I get a job when all I have is a degree? If you look closer, you’ll understand you have more than a degree – you have group projects, research papers, class assignments, honors, activities, campus jobs, and campus leadership experiences.
Hiring managers are looking at your resume to understand your background and the type of employee you will be at their company. After all, past performance is the best predictor of future success…this statement is true whether you are referring to past professional or academic performance.
The first step in preparing your post-college resume is to take an inventory of any and all experience you have that falls into the following categories: academic honors (GPA, Dean’s List, awards, recognitions), class projects, leadership experience on project teams, extracurricular activities, campus work experience, publications, papers, and volunteer activities. It is important to highlight any projects that pertain to the industry you are targeting, e.g. business case studies, design projects, research papers, etc.
After determining your areas of experience, you can divide the resume into sections and add bullets to detail your involvement in the activities.
The U.S. housing crisis has led to a mass exodus of mortgage professionals from this industry. With foreclosures and defaults skyrocketing, lending guidelines tightening, and home values plummeting, opportunities for commissions are scarce and layoffs are increasing. It’s tough to make a living originating mortgages when lenders and their loan products are dwindling and qualified borrowers are difficult to locate.
If you’re a mortgage lending professional and considering a career change, here’s some good news: armed with a powerful career change resume, you can successfully break into a new industry. Here’s how to make your resume shine:
1. State your goal. Remove guesswork for employers by clearly stating your career goal towards the beginning of your resume. There are several ways you can do this. My favorite is to create a resume title that spells it out succinctly — such as “Career Goal: Medical/Pharmaceutical Sales.” Another option is to write an objective (but make sure that your objective focuses on employers’ needs and not just on what you want). A third choice (which I often use in conjunction with a resume title) is to incorporate your goal in a powerful opening profile summarizing your key strengths. (See #3, below.)
2. Emphasize your transferable skills. Loan officers bring a wealth of skills and knowledge to the workplace that are transferable to many industries. Examples include consultative selling, customer needs analysis, risk assessment, relationship building, presentation/communication skills, inside/outside sales, and computer proficiencies. But you have to spell out these transferable skills on your resume — don’t assume that these skills will be considered a “given” by employers outside the mortgage industry. You can incorporate your transferable skills into virtually all areas of the resume, including the qualifications summary, an “Expertise” (or “Key Skills”) list, and the “Experience” section.
3. Profile your most marketable strengths. A qualifications summary is a must for career changers. Written as a brief paragraph or a few bulleted statements, it gives you the opportunity to tell employers why they should interview you. For example:
“Multimillion-dollar producer motivated to leverage six-year record of commended sales performance to transition into new product lines and industries. Fast learner of complex products; ‘power user’ of MS Office; and expert prospector, negotiator, presenter, and closer. Consistently deliver quota-surpassing results, and excel in building rapport and enduring relationships with key accounts.”
4. Turn negatives into positives. The ability to survive during tough times is something to tout on your resume. If this is your story, consider adding a bulleted accomplishment or two highlighting this track record. For example:
* “Generated steady referral business despite the severe collapse in the industry. Found creative ways to structure deals and meet client needs while adhering to lending guidelines and preserving company profitability.”
5. Use comparisons, pipeline metrics, or previous production numbers if your current sales have declined. “What do I use for accomplishments when the mortgage industry has tanked?” is a question that was recently posed to me by a loan officer client. You have several options, and depending on the specifics of your situation, at least one of these should be relevant and applicable. Use comparisons to your peers if this presents you in a favorable light. For example, you may have only closed one deal last month, but if that tied for first place in your office then you can truthfully report that you achieved top ranking despite the industry’s decline. Or maybe you’ve been successful in generating a healthy pipeline even though some of these deals may not survive underwriting. Again, highlight the positive. And even if you haven’t received any sales awards this year, include previous honors. (Just remove references to the year that you received these, as in the last example, below.)
Are you sending out dozens of resumes each week, but getting no response? Do you feel discouraged about a tough job market and your competition?
In your efforts to get noticed, you should keep one thing in mind: Put yourself in the hiring manager’s place. Ask yourself, “What would the employer think of my resume in the initial few seconds she takes to read it?” Even if you’re exactly right for the job, you may never be asked to interview unless you make the proper first impression with a well-written resume and cover letter.
The content and format of your resume are very important. A resume that employs a tiny font and has too much information will be quickly passed over by a hiring manager in favor of a clean, easy to read, well-spaced document. Use bullet points and even-spaced margins. Don’t make the mistake of including every single thing you did at a previous job. Instead, list key accomplishments and major, progressive responsibilities that highlight your skills. You can then expand on your previous responsibilities in a cover letter and during the first interview.
Does the content of your resume reflect transferable skills related to the position for which you’re applying? Hiring managers often glance at a resume looking for key phrases and buzz words that they want in their ideal next employee. Take the time to tailor your resume specifically to a job description. These key phrases may get you past the employers’ Web-based application filter as well as generate enough interest for a first interview.
A basic, yet overlooked, detail is keeping your resume free of spelling and grammatical errors. You want to convey that you are professional, detail-oriented, can write well, and take your work seriously. One glance at a resume with spelling and grammatical errors might cause an employer to think: “sloppy, makes mistakes, and is wasting my time.” Take the time to proofread your resume. Then, have someone you trust review it for you.
Your cover letter should always express your interest in the specific job. Does it give you an opportunity to expand your skill set? Is the company dynamic and progressive? Clearly convey your strong interest in the company and position, and then explain why you’re the ideal candidate. This shows you have done your homework on the company and truly want to work there.
Putting the employer first by having a tailored cover letter and well-written resume will ensure you have sent out the best possible representation of yourself. It will also bring you a step closer to getting that interview and job offer.
In case you missed last Monday’s headlines, the announcement by the National Bureau of Economic Research made it official: we’re in a recession. I doubt many folks were shocked by this grim news, as it only reinforces what most Americans already knew – times are tough and belts are tightening.
Layoffs are an unfortunate by-product of economic recessions, but if you take steps now to “recession-proof” your resume, you won’t be caught unprepared if you find yourself downsized. Here’s how:
1. Emphasize ways you have boosted the bottom line for your employers. Now more than ever, employers will be trying to preserve profits and pinch pennies. Use your resume to prove your talents in this area and you’re bound to leave a favorable impression. This might include contributions you have made (either independently or as a member of a team) to cost-cutting measures, revenue-generating efforts, customer acquisition/retention initiatives, or productivity/efficiency increases. Wherever possible, quantify these achievements with numbers for maximum impact and credibility. Here are a few examples using dollars, percentages, and before/after comparisons:
* Saved company $5K annually by transferring print newsletter to online format.
* Minimized costly rework on widget product line to increase profit margin by 15% (equivalent to $2.8M in annual revenue gains).
* Served on continuous improvement taskforce that cut store shrink in half (from 4% to 2%) to deliver annual bottom-line gains of $17K+.
2. Showcase examples of resourcefulness. Employers value candidates with a proven history of innovative thinking the ability to do more with less, but these skills become even more sought after during tough economic times. A friend of mine who’s in the HR field calls this the “what if…” factor. She says that even when limits are placed on hiring, she’s always on the lookout for people who excel in asking “what if?” questions. As in, “What if we did it this way instead of that way?” Think about ways that you stepped outside the box to add value to customers without increasing costs to your employer. Or instances when you came up with a unique solution or creative idea that improved processes or increased efficiency. Or examples of how you have adopted a “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” philosophy in performing your duties. Showcase a few of your best “resourceful hero” stories on your resume and you will definitely be noticed!
3. Highlight versatility, flexibility, and adaptability to change. Have you assumed expanded responsibilities beyond the scope of your initial job duties? Are you handling tasks that previously were performed by two or more employees? Have you led or participated in successful turnaround or change-management initiatives? Individuals who can demonstrate their abilities to help employers survive — and even thrive — during tough times are sure to be a hot commodity now and in the months ahead. Include a few key details of your strengths in these areas in your opening profile summary at the top of your resume, and/or add a few bulleted accomplishments relating to change-agent leadership and adaptability in the “Experience” section of your resume.
4. Start a “kudos” file. If you don’t already keep copies of your performance reviews and letters of appreciation, client thank-yous, or congratulatory emails you receive, start now. This provides excellent fodder for your resume. You can include quoted excerpts right on your resume, either in a separate “Endorsements” section or sprinkled throughout the resume. To see a few examples of how to incorporate third-party testimonials into your resume, check out the network administrator (view the left margin) and theatre Instructor (view the right margin) resume samples on our website.
5. Keep your resume and online profile updated. If you’re worried about your job security due to the uncertainty of the current economy, your best strategy is to keep your resume updated. The same goes for online profiles you may have on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, or FolioClick. Indeed.com’s blog included some excellent advice on this topic in a recent post, reminding us that “potential employers may look at any online profile of yours, so keep them up-to-date and free of content that would embarrass you.”