If you have been job hunting for awhile, landing a job may make you so happy that you do not stop to consider whether this position is exempt or non-exempt. What does that mean? You know from having non-exempt positions on your resume that non-exempt means that you are paid hourly, and you must be paid overtime for hours worked that are more than 40 hours per week. Your manager must acknowledge and pay you for time worked before or after work, lunch hours, on-call hours, and meeting and lectures attended outside of regular work hours. You will get more money if you work overtime hours. All this time tracking is documented on some sort of time card. The down side of non-exempt status is that you rarely get to do the conferences, meetings and lectures outside of regular working hours because you have to be paid one and a half times your regular rate for those hours. Employers do not want to pay out the extra money. Exempt positions are paid on a salary or combined salary and bonus basis. If your position is exempt, you must work however many hours you need to get your job done. And you do not get paid any extra money for working through lunch or going to conferences. You usually do not fill in a time card for an exempt position. Anyone who has taken on the jobs of employees who have been downsized will tell you that working in an exempt position can be tough because you work longer for virtually no more pay to get the work done.
If you have been working and job hunting during the recession, it is likely that your resume has both exempt and non-exempt positions on it. Don’t forget to learn which status your new job has. It is a nasty shock after getting paid extra money for a lot of overtime to move to an exempt position where you may be working just as many hours for no extra pay.
Searching for a job takes a lot of effort.It can also take a lot of time, but it doesn’t have to take over all your time. You can still search for a job and find a job, without losing days at a time if you follow these tips to help you manage your time.
Use efficient methods of job searching: The most efficient job search method is to use the internet. The internet is fast, easy, and in some cases will do the work for you. Sign up for a job hosting site and opt in for email notifications when jobs that fit your profile show up on the site. This will give you time to work on other aspects of the job search like preparing a resume, cover letter, or practicing your interview attitude.
Set aside time that is for only job searching: It is more than likely that if you don’t have a specific time and purpose when you sit down at the computer you will end up doing nothing of value and wasting time. If you have set aside a couple hours for only job searching, then you will stay focused and get better results.
Take breaks: If you don’t take breaks every once in a while during your job search you will lose focus and your searching will be less effective. You will also start to dread the searching and not want to do it the next day or at all. This is not the attitude you want to have when searching for a job.
These tips will help keep you (and your job search) focused and will help you manage your time while searching for a job so you can move on to the next steps and get the job you want.
When you are distributing resumes your ultimate goal is to get the job.A job as a high power executive. In order to get a job you need to get an interview and in order to get an interview your potential employers need to be able to contact you. This is where your executive resume comes in. Your resume needs to have your name, address, email, and phone number at the very top of your resume in the heading. These will be the main forms of communication that an employer will use to contact you. If these are not clear on your resume then you may have lost the job already. Some people leave it off for confidentiality reasons, but I think that could be a mistake. To some recruiters or hiring managers, it seems suspicious. In this day there are some additional ways that an employer can contact you and judge you as an appropriate candidate for the position. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are popular ways for employers to check up on there potential employees. In order to ensure they are really checking up on you and not someone with the same name you should put your profile names in a separate section on your executive resume. If you have a personal website, then put the URL on your resume as well. Make sure your online profiles are cleaned up and professional. Even top executives get turned down due to less than appropriate profile pics or posts. Your executive resume is all your potential employers have and you need to ensure that they are able to get a hold of you. Your executive resume is your calling card and if you do not have the correct information present, then you will lose the job opportunity and you won’t reach that ultimate goal you have been striving for: getting a job that is worthwhile.
One of the most important parts of a job search is knowing what type of job you want to have. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who have absolutely no idea what they want to do or go into. Here are some steps to career assessment that will help you decide what you want and start you on the path to success.
Self Assessment: This step is looking inward and making an inventory of your skills, desires, and interests. This will help you understand what you would enjoy as a career. Some people may be able to decide right then and there what type of job they want to search for, but for most people they need some more help.
Career Testing: There are many test and programs that can give you an idea of what career would be best suited to your interests and skills. You can find these assessments/tests online or sometimes at career centers. This is not likely to give you one exact career path, but it will give you some ideas to move you forward.
Career Counseling: Now once you have finished testing and have some ideas, then you can get some help from a professional that can lead you to your decision of what career path to take. Career counselors are trained to help uncertain job searchers find a path that will lead to a fulfilling and successful career.
Career assessment is a great way to help you discover the best career path and make your job search more focused and therefore more successful.While it is not necessarily helpful for everyone, there is no harm in trying it out.
Successful job searching is a huge task. And resume distribution is probably the biggest and most difficult part of the whole process. It takes a lot of time and effort, and you will be hit with a lot of rejection and disappointment. With all that pulling you down, it is often hard to keep motivated and continue the search, but you can do it. Here are some simple tips to help you stay motivated and keep your head in the right place as you distribute and search.
Move On Quickly From Rejection: There is nothing more degrading than rejection, but there is no reason to dwell on it. Accept that you were not the right fit and move on to the next place. This will keep you from getting bogged down by multiple rejections.
Take A Resume Distribution “Vacation”: Now, don’t go off to Hawaii on a whim, but it is advisable to take a day off from the job search every once in a while. A day spent doing things for yourself will get you back up to where you want to be to continue your distribution with vigor.
Keep Positive: I know, this sounds nearly impossible, but you can do it. Some people have a mantra they recite to keep them in good spirits, others have a routine they go through that keeps them from thinking about the disappointment too much. Figure out what works for you and if you can’t think of anything, smiling can change your whole attitude and keep you going.
It will not be easy. The important things rarely are. But that does not mean you should give up. You need to keep motivated if you want to be rewarded. Eventually you will succeed and you will land that job that you have been searching for so diligently.
A resume is your first opportunity to sell yourself to future employers. Use this opportunity to make a good impression. Unfortunately, many people make common and simple to fix mistakes that keep them from making that good impression. Here are some common errors to look for before you send your resume to an employer.
Avoid spelling errors, typos, and poor grammar. This is simple, yet it will make you look unprofessional and incompetent.
A common error in resume writing is changing from first to third person midway through your resume. Stay consistent throughout your resume writing.
Another common resume problem that you should avoid is creating a resume that reads like a job description. Keep the focus on your skills, accomplishments and how your accomplishments were achieved.
Avoid creating a resume that is too long. Put yourself in the position of the person reading your resume. Most future employers will be reading a multitude of resumes at one time. One way to avoid a too long resume is to avoid providing personal information that isn’t relevant to the job. If your resume is too long, they are sure to not go through the entire resume.
A common mistake in resumes that is often overlooked is making sure you provide accurate information. Employers will not be impressed if you didn’t take the initiative to provide them with accurate information. Gather up accurate dates, names, phone numbers.
Avoid the common mistake of giving partial information because you don’t remember, recall, or haven’t updated your resume.
Lastly, an important and common error you should avoid in writing a resume is keeping it simple. Provide simple yet powerful information. Enough information, but not too much. And, as always, simple and accurate.
As odd as it may sound, many people keep the fact that they are searching for a new job a secret even when they are unemployed.This is a bad idea simply because you never know who is going to hear about a job opening that would be a perfect fit for you. Still, networking has changed drastically over the past few years. In fact, just 5 years ago this would be an entirely different set of hints. In any case, sending out resumes is just not enough. Tell your friends and former colleagues that you are looking for a new job
You don’t have to go into detail about why. Just be sure that everyone you know is aware of it. Be sure to mention it on your social media sites as well. The world has gotten a great deal smaller in recent years due to the Internet, and letting your online contacts know that you are actively searching for a new job can literally open up an entire world of opportunities. Attend workshops and meetings for your field
There are a wide variety of meetups, gatherings and seminars that will put you into direct contact with others in your field of expertise. Be sure to have a supply of updated business cards available. While this may seem like it’s just for fun, many employers attend these events looking for new candidates. Attendance at these events shows a prospective employer that you are ambitious and enthusiastic about your career. Update your business cards
Instead of your entire physical address, something that is far less important now than in prior eras, use the space to provide links to your social media sites. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts make it possible for a prospective employer to learn more about you; LinkedIn has an online resume that makes it possible for even more prospective employers to see your skills. You will of course want to include your email address and cellphone number.
Networking is an important step in the job search process and it can be an enjoyable one. So load up a few resumes (depending on the type of gathering), build a stash of business cards, and head out.
When applying for a job, you are not going to be the only applicant. You will be competing for the job with dozens of other qualified candidates. With so many candidates, it is not unreasonable to fear your resume getting passed over or lost in the mix of things. In order to avoid that from happening you need to create a resume that will stand out from the crowd. While you want your resume to pop, you do not want it to be unprofessional. Here are some concepts to create an impressive resume that will stand out.
Eye Catching: You want your resume to catch your potential employer’s eye immediately so they spend time looking at your resume intently rather than just passing over it briefly. While it would be easy to do this using a wacky font, that is a bad idea. Using a wacky font looks unprofessional and can be hard to read. It might not look the same on their computer either. They might see an entirely different font. Instead, use a sans serif font. Another idea is to add a touch of color. Color in small doses can look great. This will catch their eye without looking unprofessional.
Professional: You do not want to give your potential employers a bad impression by having a resume that looks unprofessional. This means you need to keep it easily readable and organized. No wacky fonts, bright colors, or pictures (or words) that are large, obscene or vulgar. A small clip art that has to do with the job may be appropriate, but for the most part you should not put any pictures on your resume at all.
Impressive: Now that you have caught their eye and shown them a professional resume, you need to impress them with what you put on your resume. Keep them interested and invested in you by putting your greatest accomplishments, achievements, and job titles on your resume. This is what will make them want to call you in for an interview.
It can be hard to get your resume noticed in a sea of resumes that all look very similar, but if you can find a way to make your resume stand out without compromising professionalism, then you will be one step ahead and closer to getting an interview and landing a job.
