Your Career . . . Your Future.
Are you looking to further your career? Today’s job market is tight.
Employers have a wealth of qualified candidates from whom to choose.
A significant number of employers are farming out work to overseas vendors.
You will be seriously considered for a position only by showing a
prospective employer that you know who you are, where you are going, and
what you have to offer. You must convince an employer that you can do
the job, can do it well, and are highly motivated to do it. The
best way to do this is to properly prepare. Treat the job search
as a job, because that is exactly what it is.
CAREER ASSESSMENT
Career assessment is the most important first step you can take when seeking
employment, yet all too often it is bypassed entirely. Even most job
search agencies do not stress this crucial component of career building.
Whether you are seeking first-time employment or are an experienced member
of the workforce, this procedure is absolutely essential if you are serious
about capturing the employment opportunity for which you are best suited
and which will bring you the greatest degree of job satisfaction.
Career assessment should be divided into three components —
personality profile, skills assessment and needs assessment. Personality
profiling identifies who you are; it includes such
attributes as attitudes, comfort zones, ego, integrity, loyalty,
motivators, prejudices, and work ethic. An individual who undergoes
personality profiling may be surprised by what they learn about themselves.
Skills assessment includes attributes such as speaking and writing,
personal interaction, organizational abilities and job skills. Needs
assessment, often (wrongly) set aside in favor of “a good-paying
job”, includes such things as family time, caregiver status (if you
have children, a disabled dependent or elderly parent who require your
attention), your own physical limitations, transportation and travel
distance, and — yes — career goals.
CAREER ASSESSMENT REVIEW
The goal of career assessment is to identify your strengths, weaknesses and
requirements, then make changes that will lead you to the right employment
opportunities. Once you have concluded your career assessment, review
the results. Look first at your strengths to determine in what directions
to focus your efforts and how to develop a plan of attack. Next, analyze
your weaknesses. This is difficult for many people to do, but it is
essential if your job search is to be successful.
You may discover that your professional or organizational skills need to be
honed or updated; your response might be to accomplish this by taking
an online college course or by utilizing
computer
learning tutorials. If you are not a good writer, you might decide
to hire a professional resume writing service to develop a quality resume
and accompanying letters. If you discover that you do not have sufficient
professional recommendations, you may want to contact former business
associates to see whether they will agree to give you a letter of
recommendation.
WRITING YOUR RESUME
Your resume is a marketing tool which should act as a door
opener, inviting an employer to examine your credentials as a
precursor to inviting you for an interview. All too often it may act as
a door closer, ending up in the “circular file” because it
lacked what was needed to make it — meaning you — stand
out.
Style and content are of utmost importance in writing resumes. Since your
resume is your marketing vehicle, it must be capable of grabbing an
employer’s attention; style does this. Once the employer
has begun to read, your content must persuade him or her that you
are worthy of consideration. If you have described your past jobs purely
in terms of duties and responsibilities that characterized the work, you
should think about reframing those experiences to match the scenario of
the job you are seeking.
It is important to tailor your qualifications to the job for which you are
applying. To do this, review your career assessment worksheets
and the job description information you have obtained. Remember
that you accomplish your goal of being granted an interview by writing a
winning resume and cover letter. Time is money here; remember,
your job search is your job. It may be cost effective to hire a
professional resume writer to write your resume or assist you in polishing
your existing one. Services such as A and A Resume provide
inexpensive, professional resume and cover letter writing;
A and A Resume
will even critique your existing resume for free.
Your job search should not begin until your resume is fully written.
As mentioned above, it may become necessary to tailor your resume
to specific jobs. This task can often be accomplished in your resume
cover letter. Your cover letter is extremely important. It is here
that you get the opportunity to personally introduce yourself and address
topics pertaining to a specific job and employer or those not appropriate
for inclusion in your resume.
JOB SEARCH
Many avenues exist for performing a job search — government employment
services, employment agencies (recruiters), online employment services and
networking, to name a few. We have compiled a list of online employment
services to get you started in our
Job
Finders & Job Search Engines. Most of these services provide
free resume posting and job searching capabilities. Larger job search
firms may also offer free information and advice to their registrants
either on their websites or by newsletter.
THE JOB INTERVIEW
The job interview is an exchange of information between an employer and a
candidate for employment. Interviews should be prepared for; you
should research as much as you can about the company and the position you
are applying for prior to your interview. Interviewers tend to be
impressed by applicants who arrive with foreknowledge of the company.
Primary objectives during an initial interview should be to:
- Generate a positive impression of yourself in your interviewer through
personal interaction;
- Provide your prospective employer with additional information about
yourself that is not included in your resume or cover letter;
- Learn as much as you can about the company and the employees you will
be expected to work with.
Remember that a job interview is a two-way street. Not only is it the
interviewer’s job to evaluate you; you should be evaluating your
potential place of employment. Do not hesitate to ask questions, but
choose an appropriate time for each question you ask. An interviewer
will usually ask if you have any questions regarding the company or
potential employment; generally, this occurs toward the end of the
interview. A job candidate who asks no questions may be looked upon as
someone either desperate for a job (and perhaps not a good fit) or
as someone who is not really interested, so have a few prearranged
questions at hand, just in case you can’t think of anything else to
ask when prompted.
A positive attitude and positive self-image go a long way toward cementing a
relationship with your interviewer. If you impress, it is not uncommon to
be called back for a follow-on interview. Go into each interview with the
same positive attitude you exhibited during your first interview.
THE JOB OFFER
A job offer may be extended during a follow-on interview (or even following an
initial interview if you really wow those you have spoken with).
Be prepared for this. Before you accept a permanent position, take the
time necessary to properly evaluate the offer. Don’t jump at the
first job offer you get. If you make a mistake, you can be stuck in an
undesirable position. You should never be required to make an immediate
decision regarding a bona fide job offer. Give yourself a little time to
relax and think; doing so will ultimately place you on track for a
bright career!
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 1 July 2003, updated 21 December
2006.
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