Here are a couple of valuable tips for planning your career:
The first tip is, “Do what you like and the money will follow.” If you work at something you like, you will be good at it, and the best people usually rise to the top. Don’t do something just for the money unless you do not have any better options.
Second, in the United States, it is becoming common for a person to have more than one career in a lifetime. Doctors and attorneys tend to stay in the same field of work, but engineers, computer scientists, and entrepreneurs may change the type of work they do as many as five times in a lifetime.
Third, “When in doubt aim high.” If you are torn between becoming a doctor or an engineer, aim for the highest paid career that also has the most demanding educational requirements. If you try the hardest first, and decide it’s too tough, or you just don’t like it, at least you will have tried it. It’s easy to move to a field with lower educational requirements. It’s almost impossible to move up once you’ve started.
Fourth, “Without a plan, you are like a ship without a rudder.” Without a career plan you will be blown off course by the slightest breeze. Without a good career plan experienced professionals can stall and stagnate and become targets for downsizing. Without a good career pan college students are likely to change majors, lose credits, drop out, or take too long to graduate. When times get tough, and the classes become hard, self doubt begins to creep in. Having a firm career direction will help keep the student on track during tough times.
Finally, did you know that retirement is a thing of the past. Not just because people are living longer and find it hard to afford those additional years, but because we human beings have an intrinsic need to add value, to contribute, to be a part of something. That need doesn’t stop at age 65. If you are over 50 years old you probably want to start planning for a career that will suit your needs after official retirement. save buy with fast cash
When it comes to selling yourself on paper, you will find that newspaper editors are tough customers. After all, they put information on paper every day. There are no bonus points for correct spelling, punctuation or grammar. Those are givens. A single error can consign your résumé to the circular file. Edit your work, proofread the final copy and then double-check everything. Twice. Have someone else go over it. Make sure the editor is NOT the first person to see the finished product.
Understand the purpose of a résumé. It is not intended to get you a job. It is meant to tell the prospective employer enough about you so that they’ll look at your work samples or call you in for an interview. Use the interview, tests, tryouts and other activities to land the job. In a business where word economy is valued, one-page résumés are twice as effective as two-page résumés. Even editors with 20 years and several papers behind them limit their résumés to one page. You’re certainly free to go over that, but it’s not very smart — especially when your experience, in comparison to the editor’s — is modest.
What Comes After Name, Address and Phone Number?
Stating your career objective can help, but only if it matches the opening. An incompatible career objective can eliminate you from consideration. It’s also OK to omit this. Put education or experience next, depending on which is more relevant to the job you’re trying to get. If all of your work has been outside of journalism, but you have a degree in it, lead with the degree and details about your coursework. If you’re completing a non-journalism degree and have two internships at newspaper, list the internships first. Chronological order is less important than relevance.
Go Beyond Simple Job Titles
Describe your jobs. Don’t say you were a reporter. Say you were a reporter who covered a school district, two police departments and the local court and that you wrote a Sunday column. Mention the more complicated, difficult or humorous accomplishments you had in those jobs. These accomplishments distinguish your résumé from others, tell the newspaper something about your interests and abilities and could open the door to an interview.
Use a Clean and Simple Design
Be bold if you can, but not flashy. I have seen cartoon résumés, résumés with little basketballs on them and résumés made to look like front pages. Gimmicks can suggest a lack of experience or sophistication and do not give you any advantage over other applicants. As more and more companies scan résumés for databases, you may want to consider how to make a résumé that scans cleanly.
What About Non-Journalism Jobs?
If you have a short employment history, you certainly may include jobs that are not journalism-related. These help demonstrate that you have worked for others, know how to toil for a living, show up on time and generally be responsible. Stress areas that are most similar to news papering: writing, working with the public, juggling tasks.
What else should I include?
Second languages (but they better be more than the obligatory school minimum), awards, scholarships, extracurricular activities that demonstrate leadership and personal achievements — if they demonstrate relevant qualities such as resourcefulness, tenacity or responsibility. In one case, I was impressed that, while carrying a full load of classes, a student also was a full-time, caregiver for an elderly neighbor.
What About References?
Before you list anyone as a reference, make sure it’s OK with them. Ask whether they can give you a good word. (Once, I called a reference, and the person said, “He listed me? That was a mistake.” The candidate’s chances stopped there.) If your résumé is getting crowded for one page, you can use a second sheet just for references. I don’t think there’s any need to say, “References available upon request.” I assume so.
Omit Personal Information.
It is not relevant whether you are married or single, old or young, a smoker-or a non-smoker. Don’t include those facts. It can mark you as lacking the sophistication to know what’s relevant and what isn’t. My curiosity is piqued when someone’s résumé carries a list of places visited or lived in. Hobbies can intrigue me, too, but they turn others down cold. Generally, the more relevant it is to the job, the safer you are using it. Being accomplished at a musical instrument, for example, implies precision, discipline and practice. Saying that you have a passion for coffees or that you bake bread may turn some people off.
