All Articles Tagged "job hunting"
Get Your Foot In the Door By Avoiding These Nine Common Resume Mistakes
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With an economy that has more job seekers then jobs, Americans are bound to run into competition with each other for an available opportunity. Job seekers come from various employment backgrounds,have different experiences, and are at different ages. But there’s one thing all seekers have in common? The resume.
Depending on who you ask, a resume is highlights your job experience or hides what you can truly do as an employee. Either way, hiring managers take the resume seriously, and can help or hinder your efforts to score the job they have available.
Still, your resume only gets a couple of seconds of a hiring manager’s time. Make sure to avoid these common mistakes, and you might get a second look-over for the job!
Revamp That Resume: Skills That Will Help You Land A Job
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Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to get a new job? The job market right now is highly competitive so any little help you can get is necessary to land a new position.
According to Forbes, “The most in-demand jobs for the new year might be rooted in the booming computer industry, but it’s not only technical and programming chops that prospective hires should be showcasing.”
Forbes examined the ten skill-sets needed for the top jobs of 2013 compiled by CareerBuilder. Here are the top five:
1) Critical Thinking: It is important to be able to use logic and reasoning to find solutions to problems at work or to tackle challenging projects.
2) Complex Problem Solving: This is different from critical thinking in that it involves “identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions,” explains Forbes. This is the ability to take action after the “critical thinking” process.
3) Judgment and Decision-Making: This is the ability to weigh the pros and cons of a situation and then making the appropriate decision.
4) Active Listening: Many people have trouble with this skill. Instead of hearing only what you want to hear, listen closely to what someone is saying. According to the magazine, this is “[g]iving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate and not interrupting.”
5) Computers and Electronics: Do you possess the knowledge of “circuit boards, processors, electronic equipment and computer hardware including applications and programs.” This one is a unique skill, but if you have an interest in it, it could pay off.
Other key skills that are in demand, include operations and systems analysis, computer programming, and sales and marketing.
With just over 5.4 million people receiving some type of unemployment benefit the week ended December 1, according to the Washington Post, many of them will be looking for a job in the coming weeks. Extras skills will help you stand out from the crowd — and it may mean going back to school to get them.
Six Ways to Write Your Linkedin Invitation for Maximum Effect
Image: Forbes.com
Used correctly, Linkedin can serve as the catalyst that initiates the transition to the next phase of your career. The free members-only service (there is a premium version too) can eliminate the barriers that stand between you, prospective employers, colleagues, clients and mentors. But a good Linkedin connection begins with the invitation.
After you’ve identified someone that you’d like to connect with, avoid the impulse to use the default invitation language and tailor your note to the type of connection that you seek.
On the next few pages, you will find customized examples of Linkedin invites for six different scenarios. Feel free to add additional suggestions or best practices in the comment section.
What to write when…
…you want to connect with a former boss or colleague
[THEIR NAME]
We worked together at [COMPANY NAME] in [DATE/YEAR] and I would like to reconnect with you. I currently work at [COMPANY NAME] and think there may be an opportunity to collaborate at some point in the future. I’d love to catch up with you sometime. Please let me know when your schedule permits.
Best regards,
[YOUR NAME]
International Pursuits: 5 Tips for Transitioning Into a Global Job
Media planner Tricia-Noel Burke, who has worked with publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Economist, offers five tips for making the move seamless, lucrative and fun.
Have a plan. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to live and work in some countries, such as the UK, on a lengthy visa, so be sure you have your move planned well, Burke says. Talk to your company or professional advisers and mentors and let them know what you want from your experience working and living abroad. Do your research on visas and country guidelines, safety issues and resources.
Read the rest at Black Enterprise
Is Your Resume Showing Your Age?
(Black Enterprise) — Like most industries, trends and standards in resume writing have changed over time. What worked for a resume in the ’90s certainly doesn’t apply in 2011. Unfortunately, many professionals still use the same format and style that they did many years ago. In order to remain relevant in today’s tough job market, it’s important that your resume isn’t filled with industry-old traditions. Use this checklist to ensure that both you and your resume appear current and competitive to your next potential employer.
Mistakes That Derail Your Job Hunt
(Businessweek) — Despite the healing economy, employers are often slow to post openings and make hiring decisions. It’s a frustrating situation that can cause eager job candidates to act in counterproductive ways, scotching promising opportunities. Here’s our list of 10 real-life job-search misfires we hope will serve as cautionary tales for job-hunters. Don’t replicate these counterproductive deeds.
Inflicting Gratuitous Interrogation: I was reviewing résumés and found one that stood out in a positive way. I e-mailed the sender and asked whether he had a minute to talk by phone. “I might,” he wrote back. “Where is the company located, what is the starting salary, who is the CEO, and how long have you been in business?” That was the end of the correspondence; our street address was on our home page, the salary was listed in the job ad, and the company story (including inception date and leadership bios) was in the About Us section of our site. In his haste to make sure his time wasn’t wasted—a reasonable goal, in my opinion—the gentleman asked me to answer four questions he’d have already had answers to if he’d done a bit of homework. Lesson: It’s perfectly fine to guard against time-sucking or even bogus job ads, but do it in such a way that you don’t shoot yourself in the foot.
Updating Job Search Skills for 2011
(CNNMoney) — Good news: The job market is improving and employers are starting to hire again. But the rules of landing a job have changed. There’s still a lot of competition out there. If you want to get a foot in the door, you’ll need to use every tool available to you. If there’s one thing that’s different in the post-recession job market it’s this: “Submitting your résumé and cover letter is not going to get you a job.” That’s according to Jennifer Becker, managing director of Ajilon Professional Staffing, a division of Adecco Group, the world’s largest staffing firm. So what works? Experts say making connections, adapting to each potential employer and promising results are the only ways to get hired.
Making connections: “Networking is the only game in town right now,” said Ford Myers, executive career coach and author of the book, Get the Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring. “Everything is built on personal connections, nothing else works.”
Unemployed Need Not Apply Here
By Charlotte Young
For the millions of unemployed people tired of receiving a steady stream of job rejection letters, the problem may not necessarily be their skill set so much as it is their status. According to Colorlines, human resource departments have admitted that they look for applicants who are already employed—a discrimination practice with no current law in place to protect those it bars from job security.
To address this issue, House Democrats Jesse Jackson Jr. and Hank Johnson are taking a stand on job discrimination practices against the unemployed by introducing the Fair Employment Act of 2011. This act would amend the Civil Rights Act and prevent discrimination based on current employment status.
Johnson voices his reasons for the new proposed act, declaring that “discrimination against the unemployed smacks of days gone by when signs read, ‘women need not apply,’ ‘Irish need not apply’ or ‘no Blacks allowed.’ I’m going to do all I can to fight for the unemployed,” he said.
It’s a fact that the longer a person has been unemployed, the harder it becomes to find a job. Statistics from the Department of Labor reveal that after about five weeks of unemployment, persons are re-employed at about 3.1 percent, which drops to 8.7 percent after one year. More than six million people have been out of work for at least six years, Colorlines reports, but black Americans currently account for the highest percentage of unemployment at over 15 percent. Although a report from the Economic Policy Institute reports that 2.8 million new jobs were created in January, there were 13.9 million unemployed.
It’s safe to say that for many Americans, especially African-Americans, the proposed Fair Employment Act of 2011 could do a lot of good.
Job Hunting for Recent Grads
(MarketWatch) — College grads may find themselves with a slew of career-related questions: Does it make sense to follow an employed significant other to a new city if you don’t have a job? How do you negotiate pay? Is it OK to take an unpaid internship? To shed some light on these questions, I asked several career experts for their advice for soon-to-be college grads. Should you follow a boyfriend/girlfriend to a new city if you don’t have a job? “Love is a beautiful thing. However, being kicked out on the street with no money and no friends is not,” said Jason Levin, district manager for career site Vault.com. “Moving to a new city has a great deal of risk, especially if you are doing that just to be with one person.” Before making a move, figure out how the bills will get paid, Levin said. “You really have to have the ‘money talk’ on who pays for what until you find a job,” Levin said. “You would hope that your girlfriend/boyfriend would be patient until you find a job. Make sure you have money on the side as well as a clear exit plan, in case things go south.”
Top Job Search Websites
(Black Enterprise) — Whether you’re on the hunt for a job or looking for a little career advice to help you secure that next promotion, there are resources aplenty. But discerning the helpful ones from the not-so-helpful ones among the numerous and varied career sites that seem to pop up all the time can become a job in itself. Aside from CareerBuilder and Monster.com, there are a number of websites that will help you in your job hunt, whether through advice or actual postings. Take a look at some of the top career sites for job seekers.
