Your standard dream job description may require an average of three to five years of experience when you only have two years of experience.Do you just walk away and do not apply? No, apply anyways. You may be surprised and get at least a phone interview. Pay close attention to the keywords of the job description and ensure that you put them in your resume also. Do not inflate your experience in this field or call attention to your lack of three to five years of experience in a cover letter. There are other things a recruiter looks for aside from number of years of experience. Maybe the job calls for someone who can work tirelessly towards a specific goal for long-term rather than short-term gratification. Or perhaps your background in customer service will be a great add-on to the skill sets required in the position. Personal characteristics, related skill sets and ability to work hours that are different from just the 9 to 5 grind may also make you an attractive candidate. If the recruiter describes the type of person that would fit best into this position, listen carefully, then provide information on why you are that person. Training also counts towards making you the ideal job candidate when you do not have the requisite number of years of work experience. While some managers like to train their new employees from the ground up, realistically, it can be cost prohibitive and time consuming to do so. Arriving with some relevant training can also make starting a new job easier. A flexible, can-do attitude also counts in your favor. If you can be flexible with start dates, hours, where you work, what equipment you do your work on, all of these things can add up to make you the best candidate for the job, even when you do not have the preferred amount of experience.
After being in the work force doing things that nobody really wants to do, you decide that you want something more. You want a career not just a job. Now, how do you go about it? Here are some tips to help you with the transition.
1. You need to take your education into consideration. If you want a better job you need a college education. You are not going to become a doctor without going to medical school. So you need to get a degree with a future career in mind. You also want a job doing something you have studied enough that you are very skilled in that area. If you are skilled and you work hard, then you will be able to advance and have a career.
2. Take your interests into consideration. Trying to find a job that you love is hard, but when you are trying to start a career it is a necessity. You will be in that field until you retire and you need to enjoy it in order to make it worthwhile.
3. Take your family into consideration. If you want to have a family you will want to start a career that allows you to take care of them financially. Now you also want to weigh in how much time you want to spend with your family. If you want to spend a lot of time with your family you do not want to start a career in a field that makes it nearly impossible to ever see your family.
4. Now one thing you need to consider about the company itself is if there is room for advancement in the company. In order to have a fulfilling career you want to be rewarded for your hard work and dedication. That includes getting promotions and pay raises. This is something you want to consider when choosing your career company.
Moving from a job to a career is scary and exciting, but more than anything it will make your experience in the work force fulfilling and more enjoyable.
Finding a new job is scary. And deciding to find a new job when you have secured employment is even scarier. If you are currently contemplating changing your current job and finding a new one, here are some assessment questions to see if making this change is the right decision for you.
Are you making enough money at your current job to support yourself (and your family)? If you struggle every month to pay the most important bills then changing jobs is something you should greatly consider.
Are you making enough money to live with some luxury? If you live comfortably and even have some basic luxuries then changing jobs may not be important at this time.
Is the room for advancement in the business you work for? If there is no chance that you will be promoted or get higher pay the longer and more dedicated you work then this job may not be the best place for you and you should change jobs.
Can you make a career from your current job? If you can have a lifelong career at the place you work then staying there is a good option.
(This is the most important of all the questions) Are you happy at your workplace? Yes, work is hard and often not fun, but having a job that makes happy and content overall is a much better choice then a job that makes you miserable every single day.
You need to ask these questions to yourself and talk about them with your spouse or significant other. This decision will affect them as well and you need to ensure that they are a part of the decision making. Once you have made the decision to stay in your current job or change jobs be confident in the decision and feel good about the decision you have made. If you feel good about it, then you will never have regrets about it.
After spending hours of distributing your resume, here it is.You got an interview. The one and only chance to prove that you are exactly what the company is looking for. Talk about stressful. Here are a few tips that should help you make the most of that first job interview.
The first thing you need to remember is to smile. Not only does it ease the interviewer, but they will take on the attitude you put forth, which will also help to ease your nerves.
Talk confidently. Yes, it is nerve wracking to go to a job interview, but don’t let your interviewer know that you are nervous. When you speak do not use fillers, such as “ummm,” or “hmmm.” Using fillers like those will make it seem like you do not know what you are talking about.
Be yourself. Yes you need to smile and be confident, but do not become someone you are not just for an interview. If you are hired you will be working side by side with these people and they need to know that the person they interview is going to be the same person they get when they hire you.
Practice these things before going into your interview. Think about what are some logical questions they might ask you at the interview and answer them out loud while looking in a mirror so you can make sure that you are smiling. If you think about what you want to say before you say it in the job interview, then you should be able to eliminate those unhelpful fillers.
While there are many other factors that go into securing your job, such as creating a professional and accurate resume before your interview, if you follow these tips they should help you make the most of your interview and, hopefully, help you land the job.
You would think that with all of the career resources online and in bookstores, job hunting would be easy.Just read a few how-to books, follow the directions found online and you should have a new job in no time. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. If it were really that easy, there would be no need for recruiters. Recruiters match people with jobs. They have many of the same skills as career counselors and career coaches. However, many recruiters will only work with you if you and your resume can make them money. You do not need to pay a recruiter to help you find a job; the company that hires you will do that. However, you must have the skill sets that the recruiter is looking for in order for that person to spend time marketing you and preparing you for interviews. So what kind of recruiter is the right recruiter? Find a recruiter who is knowledgeable in your career field and who has networking contacts in the company or association for which you want to work. A good recruiter will find out what you are looking for and can tell you whether or not you are qualified and will be hired in that field. The right recruiter will be dedicated to finding you another position if the first one you accepted does not work out. Sometimes the fit between the job and the employee is just not right, and it is not always evident to all the parties involved: employer, recruiter or employee. You want a recruiter who will check in with you once you have accepted a job and are working to find out how the job is going. The easiest way to find a recruiter is to check out online recruiter resources. You can also ask friends, colleagues and family members for recommendations of suitable recruiters. However, you need to remember that a recruiter who is suitable for one person may not be the right one for you.
There seems to be a rule of thumb out there that if you land a job you should always try to negotiate for more money as a matter of course. If you’ve done your homework and realize that the salary offer is too low for your level of education and experience, you should at least try to negotiate a higher salary. However, negotiating your salary just because you think you should can hurt you in a number of ways. Contract positions are usually set at a certain rate and are only sometimes negotiable. If you try to negotiate a contract job offer, chances are that you delay many onboarding tasks such as drug screening, background and references checks and getting signed up for benefits. You may also find that the employer still expects you to start on the original date stated in the offer, leaving you scrambling to comply. If you can negotiate your salary higher for other types of positions, you may leave yourself vulnerable to layoff if your salary is higher than your peers’. Your salary may be the first on the cutting block when it is time for your employer to make budgetary cuts. Negotiating a salary higher than what you originally stated you would be willing to take may make a potential employer think that you did not do your salary homework or are trying to get more money just because you think you can. This does not leave the employer with a good impression of you. Of course, you could prevent yourself from being boxed into a corner like this by not giving a specific dollar amount answer to the question, “What are your salary expectations?” If hard-pressed by an interviewer, give a wide salary range because this question is often used as criteria to weed out a large candidate pool.
One of the most powerful tools you can use in your job search is networking with other people. It is not just networking with other professionals within your industry-networking can also take place with friends, family and acquaintances who will put you in touch with people who can help you with your career. However, networking must be done with an element of finesse. It can be so obvious to others with whom you network that you are just using them for their knowledge, contacts, and their career positions. In order to prevent this perception, you must be willing to reciprocate, to help the people with whom you network, either now or in the future.
You also have to be careful about distributing your resume to those with whom you network. Feel out the situation. How is the conversation going? If you feel comfortable, ask the other person if he is willing to receive your resume in case he knows of an available position. If you are doing an informational interview that you arranged with a contact, you should not be pushy and try to turn that interview into a job interview. Use this type of interview to find out about career trends, types of companies that may have job openings within the next six to 12 months, and to learn about other people with whom you may network.
Be careful-people who graciously agree to speak with you in an informational interview may get offended if you try to push your professional resume at them-if they are interested in you, they will let you know. Always be prepared by carrying a copy of your resume and other job related documents with you-a good tip to remember wherever you are out networking.
If you were in a social situation, you would not go up to a person and start talking to him or her without introducing yourself. The same is true of applying for a position. Unless a position advertisement tells you to skip the cover letter, make sure you tell the reader who you are and why you are applying in an introductory cover letter. A cover letter is not a regurgitation of what is on your curriculum vitae or resume. That is why so many potential employers may skip reading the cover letter unless they asked you to list specific information in it such as salary history or availability for work. However, you can grab your reader’s attention by making a bold statement in the first line of your cover letter. Instead of just listing the job for which you are applying and the fact that you are interested in it, tell the reader why the position is important to you. What piqued your interest enough about this position that you are taking time to apply for it? The second paragraph of the cover letter should outline how your skill sets allow you to make a difference, to be successful in this position. What makes you the best person for this job? It cannot just be experience. Everyone else applying for the position should have relevant experience too. Your experience is already listed on your resume. How can you use your experience in a way to help this company or organization. Will it increase their bottom line, help them to be in compliance, see that they are more efficient? Lastly, close with a statement on your desire to meet the employer to talk further about the position. Your interest should show strongly in every statement that you make in your cover letter so that an employer will feel obligated to talk to you, as if he may be missing out on the best candidate for the position if he does not interview you.
