Job and Career |

The New Year – sure, it’s a time to rejoice, be merry and have some fun, but to some folks it is a time to reflect on their lives, and yes (a big sigh here) that means making the ever popular New Year’s resolutions.  The most common resolutions are losing weight, paying off debt, saving money and getting a better job.  Try looking beyond the recession and the “doom and gloom” of 2009, and make 2010 a bright new year by kicking your job search into high gear.

“No matter the market conditions, there are always companies looking to hire talented professionals, and those people who are prepared will be best positioned to take advantage of new career opportunities as they are uncovered,” says David Sanford, executive vice president of business development at Winter, Wyman. Sanford says that people should always be looking for a new job (hey, you never know what’s out there unless you’re looking) and that the New Year is a great time to go out and make it happen.

If you want to know how to get yourself noticed and find your dream job during the New Year, follow these 10 tips for 2010.

Be ready to move.
As with all of life’s opportunities, you have to be ready to strike when the iron is hot — and sometimes even when it’s heating up.  No matter if your plan includes pounding the pavement for a new job or sitting back and waiting for one to come your way, make sure you have all the groundwork  in place for a successful job search.  Update your résumé, prepare a compelling story to tell about why you would consider a new opportunity and know whom you would use for references.  Start becoming mentally and emotionally ready for a change so you are better prepared for when it happens.

Don’t ignore the elephant in the room.
In soft economies, many people think it’s safer to stay with their current employer than to risk taking a position with a new company — and often it is.  But don’t ignore the elephant in the room and  hope that everything will be OK.  Even in the best of times, companies routinely are merged, acquired, imploded and overtaken, sometimes leaving hundreds and thousands of people looking for new jobs.  Be prudent and always be aware of your business’s conditions; keep your nose in the wind and your eyes and ears open for when it is the best time to move on to a new job.

Know thyself.
As people age and lives and goals change, so do their career objectives.  Spend the time necessary to know what really makes you happy.  Is it being an authority at work?  Having a schedule flexible enough to see your kids play soccer on a midweek afternoon?  Knowing the drug you are researching will someday eradicate a life-threatening disease?  Have a heart-to-heart with yourself about what you want from your career and what steps would be necessary to achieve this goal.  Have realistic expectations, but know that most career dreams are within our reach.

Step out of your comfort zone.
As human beings, we don’t like to admit that we don’t have all the answers, and it’s uncomfortable for most people to ask for help, especially from those outside their inner circle.  Asking for assistance and advice is the heart of networking and the single most important thing a person looking for a new job should do.

Your next opportunity could come via a tip or chance encounter with a former boss, colleague, neighbor, recruiter, barber, golf buddy — but you will never hear about it if they don’t know you are looking (even passively).  You need to be courageous enough to talk to people you meet about what you ultimately want instead of regretting that you didn’t mention it sooner.

Devote time to job searching.
Take a hint from the world’s greatest athletes. Succeeding at anything takes practice and hard work. If you are trying to further your career, you need to devote the energy needed to make that change, and that takes time.  Find a way to carve out the hours necessary, whether it’s giving up an hour of gym time on Tuesday nights to attend networking meetings, or getting up early on Sunday mornings to search for leads and contacts online, establish some goals and set aside the time it will take to accomplish them.

Focus your résumé.
Most résumés are vanilla — overview, titles, tasks, accomplishments and education.  But companies want to see the sizzle and the steak.  They want to see progression in experience, skills and responsibility and how you have contributed directly to your employer’s, or former employer’s, success.  Make sure your document includes enough substance to explain the strategies and tactics you were responsible for, but also the intangibles where you made a difference.  It doesn’t have to be overly long or detailed, but back up any success claims with real facts and examples.

Join in and get connected.
There isn’t a profession or industry on Earth that doesn’t have a trade association, user group, online discussion board or fan club.  Find one relevant to you and join it.  Whether you are employed or not, opportunities flow from being around like-minded people, and professional associations and communities are where you need to be.  They are a great way for uncovering hidden jobs, to further your knowledge and to make new relationships.  Investigate which are appropriate for you and join in.

Sell yourself.
Unless you are a pompous, arrogant bore, you are probably not used to — and are uncomfortable with — talking immodestly about yourself, your attributes and shining moments.  Get over it.  Advancing in your career or finding a new job requires you to balance humility with bravado.  Your résumé or a relationship may open a door, but you have to be prepared to march through it with a lot of confidence and a bit of swagger.

Find a way to get over any discomfort when talking about yourself and how wonderful you are.  The best job candidate is one who truly believes he has something unique to offer and can articulate his message with words, body language and confidence.  A hiring manager wants to fall in love with you; give her reason to.

Narrow your thinking.
Don’t try to be all things to all people, especially when looking for a job.  You are not going to be good at everything you do, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you are.  Figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it, and narrow your search to opportunities that fit into your realm.  Don’t have interviews or networking meetings where you hope the other person can help you figure out what you want to do.  The responsibility is yours; be targeted and specific about the jobs you want, skills you have and the companies for which you want to work.

Get started.
Self-assessment is important but can be paralyzing.  Take the time necessary to be introspective and then craft your plan, but don’t let those activities stall you from taking action.  Talk is cheap – get out there and take the steps to change or improve your career.  Being proactive in your career will open up opportunities you never dreamed of and will start 2010 off right.

On paper, the prescription for unemployment is rather formulaic: send in résumé, go on interview, be your charming self, get hired.

The frustrating reality isn’t nearly as simple.  Getting an interview alone is an exercise in persistence and patience.

Here are 10 reasons for why you’re not landing that interview and what you can do to reverse the trend.

Your résumé and cover letter are as articulate as Courtney Love’s Web blog. If your application materials contain typos, grammatical errors and irrelevant or inconsistent information, employers will take notice — in a bad way.  Once you’ve looked over your résumé and cover letter to the point of dementia, take this advice from Joyce Gioia of the Herman Group: have three people, for whom English is a first language, review your résumé and cover letter before you send it.

Your cover letter is generic. Make it personal by tailoring it to the particular job and addressing it to a person, not “To Whom It May Concern.”  And include a sentence or two about how you are the right fit for that particular job.  If no contact is listed, take the initiative to find out who the hiring manager is by searching the company’s Web site or calling the reference desk.

Your letter is a CliffsNotes version of your résumé. Instead of simply restating what’s on your résumé, include new information like how you found out about the job, why you want to work there and what you can do for them.  Finally, close with something that will encourage a response, such as a request for an interview.

Your letter exudes self-consciousness, not self-confidence. If you don’t feel qualified for a job, why are you applying for it?  Don’t call attention to your shortcomings in a letter; emphasize your strengths by focusing on your skills, experience and ability.

You cross the line from sounding confident to sounding cocky. Don’t mistake selling yourself with bragging.  Putting “I would be an asset to your company” in your cover letter catches the eye; writing “You would be crazy not to hire me” turns the stomach.

Your MySpace page lists “binge-drinking” as a favorite pastime. Don’t post anything on a publicly accessible Web site that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see.  Not all hiring managers run searches on job candidates, but some do, and it’s better to err on the side of caution.  Google yourself to see what comes up, because recruiters will see the same results.

You assume e-mail is enough. Hitting the send button on an online application is only the first step in landing an interview.  For one thing, not every e-mail is received or read.  Try following up your application by sending a paper résumé and cover letter via snail mail (indicating you’ve already applied online).  After that, call the hiring manager to see that they’ve received your application and check on the status of the job in question.

You assume the Internet is enough. The majority of all employment opportunities aren’t advertised, so be proactive: Contact human resources managers at companies you want to work for inquiring about positions available; register with a job recruitment agency; attend industry events to stay on top of news; and devote energy to meeting like-minded professionals who will be the keys to discovering more opportunities.

You misrepresent yourself. It may sound like a no-brainer, but misrepresenting yourself on a résumé is bound to catch up with you.  Upon performing a reference check, Denise Moorehead, communications director of a non-profit service agency in Boston, once discovered a job candidate had left her previous job a year earlier than she’d admitted. It turned out that the candidate had gotten burned out and decided to take a year to temp and regroup, but thought the obvious employment gap would be held against her, so she simply lied about it.  “I figured if she’d lie about something this easy to explain, she might lie about the deadline-driven work she would have to do with me,” Moorehead says.

You give up. Remember that looking for a job is a full-time job.  If you’re not hearing back from employers, considering changing your strategy.  Experiment with different cover letters, revise your résumé on a regular basis and look for opportunities to add to your experience even when you’re not working (i.e. taking classes, participating in workshops, volunteering).

Job Search is a catch-all phrase for career hunt. It is composed of career decision-making, research at both the decision-making and campaign phases, resume writing, interviewing, networking, responding to ads, going to headhunters and finally negotiating your salary. The purpose of this article is to make the process as easy to understand as possible, with suggestions and ideas on how to land the position of your choice.

Many people think that landing a new position consists of putting together a resume and looking in the paper under help-wanted. Yes, that is all that some people do, and some of them are successful. But many of them are frustrated. They don’t see the position they want advertised, and therefore figure it doesn’t exist. They wind up in a position – or career — that was available, without taking the time to find just the right thing.

How do you start?

First, what is it that you want to do? Maybe you’re a career changer. Maybe you’re a new college grad. Either way, before you worry about entry vs. mid- or upper-level positions, you need to be clear about what it is you want to do. Try to picture the ideal spot for you. Would you be working inside or out? In the city or the country? In an office or a store? Wearing tailored suits or jeans? Are you managing or producing? Part of a team or working independently? At a computer or on a telephone? Think about what you’re doing now, as well as what you’ve done in the past – what aspects of these positions did you like? What didn’t you like, and why?

Maybe you’re not sure. Then, it’s time to research. The internet makes it easy. There are a wide variety of excellent sites in which to begin researching occupations. There’s also your public library. Many libraries have excellent career research sections. Ask your librarian for assistance.

This leads to networking. Networking is not only for people who are actively looking for a new employment situation, but for people who want to learn more about different occupations. Informational interviewing is the act of gathering information through personal contact with someone working in a field you’re interested in. Networking is then asking everyone you know if they know of anyone working in a particular industry, until you find someone who knows of a position that’s available.

Who do you network with? The answer is simple: everyone! This is an integral component to any job search.

What is your skill set? What have you been trained to do? What is your education? What kind of volunteer work have you done? Is it sufficient for what you want to do now? Or do you need to go back to school? Could you get on-the-job training? Could you get a job that serves as a bridge between what you do now and what you’d ultimately like to do? Once the parameters of the position you seek are pretty well defined, it is time to begin formulating your resume.

If you need resume assistance, we have links to excellent resources for you.

Now it’s time to add to the networking you’ve already been doing (maybe you already have some interviews?).

How?

Cold calls/letters to companies. Maybe you have a particular company in mind for which you really want to work. Contact them directly. Many large companies and universities post their open positions. See if you can get hold of that list.

The Classifieds (both on-line and in print). The tried and true method. And yes, for many people it works. Just make sure your resume and cover letter immediately establish a connection to the qualifications mentioned in the ad. The difference between networking and relying on the classifieds is that many key positions never reach the classifieds. People get them through word-of-mouth.

Headhunters/Employment Agencies. This is another tried and true method that works for some. Just be sure that your skill set matches the types of positions the headhunter you choose handles.

Interview Preparation. Everything you’ve done up to now has been positioning you for the all-important interview. This is your chance to sell yourself. Expect the unexpected and be prepared!

To recap, the eight steps are:

1) Introspection

2) Research

3) Networking

4) Resume Writing

5) Cold Calls/Letters

6) The Classifieds

7) Headhunters/Employment Agencies

8. Interviewing

Happy job hunting!