9 Keys to Job Search & Career Success

In recent months, the job market has become increasingly competitive. But even as the economy slows, and there are increasing numbers of job seekers in the job market, there are many professionals who have been incredibly successful in conducting fast, effective job searches. These former job seekers have achieved new jobs that are personally, professionally, and financially rewarding. What do they have in common? How are they doing it? Here are nine tips to speed your own job search and drive it to a fast, successful conclusion.

Know what you want and go after it. Starting a job search without knowing what you want will almost certainly end in frustration. Think about it: If you don’t know what you want and what your job target is, how will you know who to contact and how to conduct your search? If you are uncertain about your career goals, it is critical that you spend some time and energy now – before launching your search – on self-introspection and analysis. Knowing what YOU want, what YOU are passionate about, and what YOU bring to the table will provide you with a confidence that simply can’t and won’t be matched by many of your competitors in the job market. This is the crucial first step to any job search and is essential for long-term career success as well.

Know and sell your personal brand. When you think about your next career move, how would things be different for you if employers and recruiters actually sought you out? Personal branding (the process of clarifying and communicating what makes you and your unique value proposition different and special) allows you to make a name for yourself. It differentiates you from your peers and helps to position you as a leader in your field – as a specialist and an authority who knows how to do a job and fill a particular niche in the workplace better than anyone else. Once you are clear on your personal brand, you can use it to project a cohesive brand image and value proposition throughout all your job search activities, and do so in a way that addresses the specific concerns of your target audience. By knowing and promoting your brand, you achieve instant, precision-like focus that positions you as the ideal candidate for the specific type of opportunity that interests you. You gain immediate competitive advantage.

Be able to clearly articulate who you are and what you have to offer. While this may feel uncomfortable to you, the simple truth is that a job search is a sales and marketing campaign: a sales and marketing campaign in which YOU are the product. Through the process of personal branding (recommended above), you must identify what differentiates you and paint a compelling portrait of your unique value proposition. But, don’t stop with just promoting this in your resume and then become tongue-tied when someone asks about you and your candidacy. You will hear the “what do you do?” or “tell me about yourself?” questions over and over, both during your job search and throughout your entire career. Don’t wing it! Preparation is the key to confidence and the key to making a lasting, positive, and memorable first impression. Be ready with a 30-60 second pitch that immediately and confidently conveys to the listener who you are as a professional and what it is that you offer.

Make their first impression your best impression. Take a hard look at your resume. Like it or not, your resume is your first introduction to most employers, and your only chance to make a good first impression. Effective resumes are highly focused marketing pieces that are strategically written and designed to sell YOU as THE best solution to a potential employer’s needs and problems. Your resume should be written to convey and illustrate your unique value proposition, with succinct “stories” that differentiate you from your competitors in the job market. Does your resume accomplish these goals? Is it focused effectively? Does it accurately present you in the way that you wish to be presented? If not, it is time to rewrite.

Network, network, network…and then network some more. The statistics are very clear, and while they vary slightly from survey to survey, they are also remarkably consistent. It is safe to say that at least 80% of all the jobs are found through the “hidden” job market, also known as the “unpublished” job market. These are jobs typically landed through word of mouth and referrals as opposed to the hit-or-miss method of answering ads, posting your resume to internet databases, or other techniques meant to target the remaining 20% of all jobs in the published market. It stands to reason that if the vast majority of the jobs are to be found in this hidden market, that you should spend the majority of your job search time working to crack it. There is no more effective job search technique than networking. So, even if it feels a little uncomfortable at first, just get out there and do it. Make networking a part of your daily routine and plan to spend the majority of your job search time on networking activities (approximately three-fourths of your time is a good estimate). The more you network, the faster your current job search will come to a successful conclusion and the faster and more successful any future job searches will be.

Plan and execute a multi-pronged job search campaign. Yes, networking is essential, but other job search techniques are also important. An effective job search campaign is a multi-pronged one that includes the strategic, planned, methodical use of a variety of job search approaches. Answering ads alone is almost never enough. Neither is working with headhunters, using internet job search sources, or researching and targeting specific employers. But, when you combine all these approaches with networking, carefully evaluate and prioritize the approaches based on relative effectiveness, and then launch an integrated, multi-pronged job search campaign, you will always come out ahead. The best job search is one in which the job seeker approaches it as if it was a job itself.

Build a support team. While your preparation will certainly ease the whole process, job searching can be a grueling and very stressful experience. So, I want to remind you that you don’t have to go through it alone. You should build a support team around you of people who can help you stay motivated and on track while giving you honest feedback and helping you stay accountable to the goals you set for yourself. Family and friends, past and present managers, your peers and colleagues, financial advisors, and professionals in the careers industry such as career counselors, coaches, and resume writers all make excellent people to add to your team. By assembling a good mix of people to support you, from a diversity of backgrounds and professions, you will receive a variety of different perspectives, ideas, and insights that can be very helpful. You should consider joining a job search support club or group – a local one if one is available or an online one. If you have been provided with outplacement services by your former employer, by all means take advantage of the office space and resources offered. The point is that you don’t have to and shouldn’t conduct your search in isolation. Surround yourself with a team that will help and support you. Above all, recognize when you need support and don’t be afraid to ask for assistance and guidance.

Always follow up. Following up on all of your contacts and your activities can do more to influence your success in achieving your job target than anything else. A hand-written thank you note or a more formal, typed thank you letter after speaking with a networking contact, attending an informational interview, or after attending an actual job interview can make a lasting positive impression that gives you a distinct competitive advantage. A follow-up phone call on every resume you send, whether it is a resume sent cold, in response to an ad, or based on a referral from one of your networking contacts can make all the difference in whether your resume is actually read and considered or not. A consistent method of follow up is key and you must make the time in your schedule to do so. Follow up will positively influence decision-makers, it will help key the process moving along, it will show your interest and your professionalism, and it will position you above the competition.

Adopt a “failure is not an option” attitude and make finding a job a job itself. Celebrate your accomplishments daily and weekly, but recognize that a successful job search requires persistence and consistent effort. The more “feelers” you put out, the more contacts you make, the more resumes you put into the hands of hiring authorities, and the more face-to-face interviews you go on, the faster you will achieve your job target. It can be difficult to remain motivated when you don’t immediately see results but remind yourself that job searching is a process and that it takes time. Reward yourself not just for the results, but for the effort.

Want to Use this Article in Your Ezine or Website? You are welcome to as long as you use the following text with it:

Nationally certified resume writer, career marketing expert, and personal branding strategist, Michelle Dumas is the founder and executive director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP Services delivered through http://www.100kcareermarketing.com Michelle has empowered thousands of executives, professionals, and managers all across the U.S. and worldwide with all the tools and resources necessary to conduct a fast, effective job search. Michelle is also the author of the popular e-book 101 Before-and-After Resume Examples.

To learn more about her job search products, resume writing services, and career marketing programs, and to sign up for many other free resources, visit her websites.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Author: Michelle Dumas
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Resume Cover Letters – Who Needs Them?

Answer: Anyone who sends out resumes needs resume cover letters! Even though the issue of a covering letter was not mentioned in conversation, or it wasn’t specified in the ad.

It will be considered a sign of laziness or apathy, to send a resume letter that is not customized to the specific organization you are applying to.

But doesn’t it add more anxiety to the already stressful process of looking for a job? Of course it does! But the upside is, your personalized letters give you an opportunity to highlight the things you can contribute to the particular organization in a way your resume cannot. The cover letter is your ‘Sales Page,’ so to speak. YOU are the ‘product you’re selling.’

Many employers are reporting dozens, even hundreds of applicants for every single job opening. With current 10%+ unemployment rates, and relatively few available jobs, there is a tremendous amount of competition out there for every opening. And this just as true with a small, local 3 or 4 person office as it is with huge multi-national corporations.

When the hiring person is almost literally drowning in applications, they do not have time to read every word of every resume. This is where your resume letters come in. Oftentimes, the hiring person scans the cover letter first. If nothing in that letter catches their attention, chances are the actual resume will never get read. So your perfect, beautiful, well thought out and well-written resume ends up in the trash, having never even been looked at.

The main purpose of resume cover letters is to answer the employer’s question: “What can this applicant do for our business?” It is hard to directly answer this question in the resume, which is a formal listing of jobs, duties, experience, training and accomplishments. Your properly crafted cover letter can answer that question in a very straightforward manner.

You should create a new cover letter with every resume you send out, customized to the particular position and company you are applying to. A basic, generic letter will not get you interviews. At all costs, avoid the “blah, blah, blah…please find my resume attached,” format. Employers are looking for knowledge, excitement and focus. If you do not communicate those qualities in your letters, your odds of getting called for an interview fall somewhere between zilch and zero!

A few tips on other issues that can make or break your resume letters, include:

Misspellings or typos: Ask at least a couple of people to review your letter before you send it, watching carefully for mistakes and grammatical flow. (Does it sound right when read out loud?)

Improperly Addressed: Whenever possible the letter should be addressed to a specific individual. If no name is given in the ad, try networking or research to try to find out the name. If that is impossible, just start the letter without a “Dear so-and-so.”

Writing as though you don’t have a clue who they are or what they’re about: If you don’t already know these things, do some research before writing the letter. Visit their website, if they have one. If not, ask around. See if somebody knows somebody that works there, which can give you a heads up.

Well-written resume cover letters can give you a great edge over all those other applicants!

Now go to Winning Resume Coverletters for more great information about writing eye-catching, Interview Getting, cover letters! Give yourself the competitive edge in your job search!

Author: Kathi Harris

The Pitfalls of Using Free Resume Cover Letters

You’ve seen them before – free resume cover letters that promise to make your job a lot easier and faster. They’re readily available, they offer you what you need and they don’t cost a dime, so what’s the harm?

The trouble with free resume cover letters

Well, for starters, free resume cover letters do not maintain the same quality as other resume cover letters. If you’re a job hunter who’s been in the job market for too long, you know the kind of pressure you face everyday. Not only are the number of potential employers shrinking, the number of potential rivals for a job position also increases. As more and more people discover the very same job you’re applying for, your chances of getting the job you want gets smaller and smaller.

That only makes using a resume cover letter extremely important. When you’re too stressed out and worried about the competition, there is a possibility that you’ll slip and produce a less than perfect resume cover letter, prime feed for the trash can or the paper shredding machine. That is not the kind of scenario you want. So why can’t you not use free resume cover letters?

They’re not all that bad, these free resume cover letters. Problem is, they’re also not that good. They will do, but only for jobs that you’re really not interested in or for those who have no other applicant other than you. Free cover letter samples are often not as excellently written and not as good as professionally prepared cover letter samples. In a job market where you’ll need all the help you could get, free resume cover letters are simply not good news at all.

Using free resume cover letters

Resume cover letters will say a great deal about you – they will inform your potential employer about your professional capabilities and give them a glimpse of what your personality is like.

Now let’s take a look at how you’ll use a free resume cover letter and see why it has ‘cheap’ written all over it. When you find a free resume cover letter, you’ll usually find one that is written with a general feel of what a resume cover letter should read like. You get the usual greetings, introductions, body of the letter and your closing statements.

Since this cover letter was published to help everyone from a nanny to a chief financial officer, you’ll have to change several elements in order to come up with a resume cover letter that seems tailored for your own particular qualifications. Now all you have to do is to mail it and hope for the best.

Problem is, once the hiring manager reads this so-called cover letter of yours, what will he see? A cover letter that looks so familiar he probably has read it before. In fact, he must have, considering that it must have been written using a free resume cover letter that has been available on the internet for the past five years.

Worse, it’s probably been seen and used by thousands of other job hunters before you, some of which may have sent their applications using the very same free resume cover letter that you yourself used! Imagine how badly that will reflect on you.

Avoid this type of pitfall that is so common among job hunters that it should have been outlawed by now. It’s hard enough to compete in a cutthroat job market. Actually ruining your chances with a badly written free resume cover letter is not just a mistake, it’s a crime.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on free resume cover letter checkout his recommended websites.

Author: Mario J. Churchill

On Campus Interviews – A Chance for Your “First Job” as Well as Career Employment

During the course of training or secondary educations some organizations – companies, firms as well as major non-profit organizations of great status and reputation will offer campus interviews to graduating students in such fields as engineering, electronics, business management, law accounting, computer information systems and marketing. In addition such “on campus” interviews are also afforded at many major technical schools in similar and matching fields and endeavors.

The hardest point for many, in terms of their careers, and the progress of their careers is to get their “foot into the door”. Even if you do not necessarily like the job, the company or organization- the value of these jobs is that they will do just that – get you started in your field of choice. What is most important is the contacts and networking you will be able to do. The hardest part so to speak is “to get your first job”.

Once you are in that position of employment several factors will work into play: first of all you will make valuable contacts within your industry. In a sense you never know who that you meet, when working and interacting within your job and career that can help you. One contact, in your network and daily interactions can lead to other useful contacts. It’s an organic process. Secondly, even if the firm or organization is not your first choice, for employment or career, you are in a position to prove yourself within that community. After all most jobs are not filled by applications and job postings. Most jobs are filled from within – by personal referrals and reputations and of course by the industry “grapevine”. By being employed, rather than not employed or “still looking”, you will be considered more valuable by other prospective employers. After all you are valuable enough that employer number one is paying you x salary. If employer number 2 wishes to hire you away – you not only have proven yourself, but in addition the second employer will have to pay you more, either in actual cash , benefits , a better job , or some other form of reward, in order to steal you away and hire you. Lastly by working in a job, rather than not being employed, most employers will fund various specialized courses and training, that you may not well not be able to afford, or may not be available to yourself.

Most on-campus interviews are prearranged interviews, and the techniques used varied, depending on the organization. They are usually structured interviews, but several styles may be used, including the “stress interview”, the “tell me about yourself interview”, and the panel interview styles.

Campus interviews are generally scheduled through a school or institution’s career services office or department. The schedule is closely observed, and the interviewer is forced to evaluate each candidate more quickly than standard interview procedures. It is said that in such scenarios the average interview time is between 20 and 30 minutes.

If you are lucky enough to be chosen and interviewed in such a setting and format what should you consider and stress during these meetings? First of all you should keep your remarks as concise and to the point as possible. You will find that most of the interviewers are professionally trained. They have been trained for this purpose and will know how to guide applicants through the fact finding process. It is best to let the interviewer take the lead. Go with the flow and format of the interview and its dynamic processes. Your job is to respond as concisely as possible without omitting pertinent information about your qualifications.

After all it may well lead to your first job in your chosen career and field of endeavors.

Shaun Stevens

http://www.winnipegjobshark.com
http://www.jerkbossesihaveknown.com
http://www.albertajobshark.com

Author: Shaun Stevens

Where Career Advice Might Live in Our Life

Most of us have tripped into our careers. Even those who went into professions like law and accountancy tell of taking up the training as nothing else had happened for them.

Why is it that most of us have not experienced career advice? In schools it is usual that the careers teacher is doing that job as one part of a wider portfolio. And that role is often administrative as the expectation is that there is a library of information that students can access. In universities it is not much better. One of the UK’s top universities requires students to pre-book a session where the student then has 15 minutes help with their cv. It is probably useful advice. How useful is it in the context of career advising as we might want it?

In business schools the students invest significantly for their programmes. The full-time MBA is paid for by the student who has also the opportunity cost of not working. The benefit and risk issues is significant to them. The part-time MBAs at business schools are over 2 years and are usually sponsored by the employer of the student. There is less risk to the student; they continue to be paid and their job continues after their MBA has been completed.

In these business schools, careers advice and support is critical to the full-time student. The student needs to understand fully the level of support that they will get throughout their course as the course budget gets squeezed by the costs of all the other components of the programmes. On the part-time MBA, the employers are skeptical (scared?) of any career advice lest the students walk away after the MBA is completed.

The stages above are just 3 examples of where career advice is useful. Some people are fortunate that they have access to good advice. They may have a parent or parents who take an interest and who are able to encourage their offspring down an appropriate channel. Sometimes there is a teacher or a mentor who has specific experience that is helpful. For most, though, the career issue is not prevalent until it lurches into view at key moments – when one leaves school or university or when when has finished that Masters.

These examples are obvious as they are at “rite of passage” points in our lives or where we may have taken a key decision to invest in our career. What would happen if careers were more central to our learning experiences at these key stages?

The best careers advice is achieved by understanding the capabilities of an individual. In a school context this is often well understood by the teaching community as they are working with the students regularly in an academic, pastoral and ex curricula way. They are also measuring regularly to feedback to students and parents and also to relevant external bodies. The wherewithal to undertake good career advice is there. Most schools are not resourced to provide it.

The main issue seems to be that, as a society, we do not value careers as an important subject. Whether it is in schools or with people in work who are careering (rather than controlling) in their careers, the lack of value pertains. Some people do take proactive action and they broadly fall into 2 camps – they are in pain and distress because they have lost their jobs or they are bored and frustrated and know that they have to move out of what they are doing.

Taking care of your career is a lifelong responsibility. The earlier that we can value that notion and learn how to take care of it, the better it will be for the whole of one’s working life.

Simon North is the founder of Position Ignition – a modern day, very personal careers advisory service for professionals. Simon is a career and transition expert with over 25 years experience in helping individuals with their careers. He uses his unique approach to help individuals with their personal and professional development.

http://www.positionignition.com

Blog: http://www.positionignition.com/blog

Author: Simon North

Writing Attention Grabbing Cover Letters for Resumes That Get The Job Interview

If you have spent hours creating the perfect resume that you targeted to the company and job you were applying for only to receive a standard rejection letter, you may have neglected the importance of cover letters for resumes.

Cover letters for resumes provide the first impression of you to a prospective employer. If the employer doesnt like your cover letter, the resume may not even get a look.

So how do you write cover letters for resumes that grab the attention of readers and maintain their interest? First, your cover letter needs to be concise, short, have an easy to read layout and be error free.

The goal of cover letters for resumes is to create enough interest in the reader that your resume will be read and hopefully short-listed. A good cover letter addresses the job requirements outlined in both the advertisement and any selection criteria provided. This makes the job of the employer or human resource department a lot easier and makes it less likely that you will be culled.

Since the purpose of your cover letter is to support your application by providing evidence that you are qualified for the position and would fit in well with the organization, it is essential that you understand all the requirements of the position and learn as much as possible about the culture and circumstances of the company.

This needs to be broadly conveyed in the first paragraph of your covering letter. You also need to identify the position you are applying for in your opening paragraph as there may be a number of positions being simultaneously advertised.

You can be more specific in the following paragraph, outlining your qualifications for the position. In this paragraph, you need to explain how your work experiences, skills, education and training not only meet the requirements of the job, but make you the best person for the job.

Only include relevant details that will be of interest to the reader. If you have extensive experience and skills that meet the requirements of the company for the position, you may need another paragraph to detail them.

Once you have specifically addressed the requirements of the job, spend a paragraph discussing why you want to work for this particular organization. Show you have researched them and explain how you would fit well into their culture, contributing to the organization on a number of levels.

Finally, proofread and edit your cover letter a few times before sending it. If necessary, have someone else read it to make sure it is free of errors. Having grammatical or typographical errors in a cover letter is likely to totally ruin your chances of getting an interview.

Cover letters for resumes can make or break your job application, so it is essential to treat them seriously and make every effort to create an excellent first impression.

Author: Freddie Johnson

Reinventing Yourself for Multiple Careers

In many countries around the globe, people are born into their station in life and hence their professions. It is unnecessary for them to plan a career as they are expected to perform one specific job their entire lives. These cultures do not consider personal growth or the possibility of choosing ones profession.

America, on the other hand, was built on self-reinvention, and todays economy demands it. Those born before 1946 are less likely to have changed careers or even worked for more than one employer during their lifetimes.

Today, many employees outlive the lifespan of the companies they work for, and the average worker can now expect to have at least three or more careers, with up to six different positions within each of those careers.

Hardly a week goes by without hearing of corporate takeovers, mergers and corporate downsizing. As a result, thousands of seasoned employees are facing burnout from increased responsibilities or being laid-off and replaced with younger, lower-paid employees. Many are looking for a different means of earning a livelihood.

For the first time in history, employees must learn to manage themselves and take responsibility for their own employment. Even the word career is taking on new meaning, as a new generation of employees is moving in and out of multiple careers during their lifetimes.

Keep in mind that a career change is not the same as job advancement within a specific career. Most are either lateral or a step down in income until you gain experience and expertise in your new career. Be prepared to downsize your lifestyle.

Think of choosing a new career as an opportunity to bring a fresh outlook and revitalization to your life, as new experiences will stimulate your thought processes.

The most importance part of selecting a new career is also the most obvious, . . . deciding on what you want to do. Often this is a natural offshoot of a previous occupation(s). Reinventing yourself often involves a unique merging of your old talents with your new skill set.

Begin by making an honest assessment of your skills, interests and experiences and ask yourself:

- What would I do if money were no object?

- What did I love to do as a child?

- What activity do I do so intently that I don’t notice time passing?

- What do I feel passionately about?

- What do I value the most?

- What are my strengths?

- What are my transferable skills?

- What kind and how much education will I need to make this change?

Most people find fulfillment by doing what theyre good at. By evaluating your skills, interests, strengths and desires you will be able to see a connection between what it is that you value and what you excel at. These are the building blocks that you can turn into a new career.

While your new career is still in the planning stages, you can gain valuable information by:

- Attending professional meetings and informal gatherings.

- Networking.

- Joining an online career discussion group.

- Asking questions.

You are likely to need some additional education in order to begin a successful new career, start by improving the skills you already have. Sometimes, learning a few new software programs is simply all it will require. Should you choose to return to college, learning new skills is much easier when you are motivated to begin a new life.

Once you have chosen the kind of work you wish to pursue and acquired the necessary education, be sure to edit your resume to reflect your strengths and skills in this area.

Dont be surprised if your job search lasts a little longer than usual. Concentrate on companies that are seeking people with your reworked skill set and eventually youll find an employer who will value the knowledge and experience you gained from your previous career(s).

It is vital today, more than ever, to remain versatile to stay employed. A successful career will evolve over a lifetime if you are continuously open to new possibilities. You must constantly seek opportunities for self-improvement and professional growth in order to be prepared for your next reinvention.

Author: Mary Carroll