 Job
hunting;
It´s like a job - only harder
For recent college graduates
or porfessionals beginning a new job search,
a job hunt can be an exhausting process. One
of the reasons is that, according to te experts,
to be successful in your job search, you have
to "market" yourself, and may people
just don´t know how.
The job search is very similar
to sales and marketing. To be successful you
must follow a linear strategic plan. For example,
start with the two of the most important building
blocks for a successful job search: the resume
and cover letter.
The purpose of a resume is to
tell an employer what a person has done in the
past. The cover letter tells the prospective
employer what skills and abilities the job seeker
has that will allow them to be very specific
to the job applied for, so don´t write
one single document that you makes copies of.
It is also highly recommeded that you never
should have a resume that is longer than one
page. Anything beyond that won´t get read.
Conventional wisdom is that most resumes are
read, on average, for eight seconds, so adding
another page to you resume becomes unnecessary,
since you´ll only be placing an even greater
texual demand on the reader´s eight seconds.
If you have limited work experience,
like a new college grad, consider a functional
resume that emphasizes skills. For example you
should list such skills as knowledge of specific
software, bilingual skills, or relevant volunteer
experience. In your cover letter you should
point out the strengths of your resume and direct
a potential employer to things that you cannot
explicity state in your resume but that make
you stand out. In both resumes and cover letters,
always use high quality paper. Stay away from
slang language and avoid using contractions.
You want to present yourself as a professional,
even if you´ve never held a formal job
before.
Threre are common mistakes job
seekers do over and over again. For example,
graduates need to respond quickly to job leads,
i.e. within a day. The need to return a potential
employer´s call immediately and be on
time for interviews. Five minutes late i not
on time. Be enthusiastic. Often the recent graduates
still has the "laid back" college
mentality, but this doesn´t work well
in a job interview situation. Employers often
end up thinking you´re not interested
in the job or the company. Remember, a first
job is not necessary a dream job. But it does
add to your professional experience.
All the experts agree, `thank
you`-notes for an interview need to be sent
within one day of an interview. `Thank you´-notes
can tip the scales in your favor. When all other
skill sets and experiences are equal, this can
be the factor that gets you hired. `Thank you´-notes
also give you the opportunity to point something
out about yourself that you didn´t make
clear during the interview process. When it´s
time to sit back and wait for the job interview
calls to come in, remember to listen to the
outgoing message or your home answering machine
or cell phone.
So whether you´re a new
collage graduate or an experienced professional
who has been recently downsized, the guidelines
are the same. Write a good resume and cover
letter, be organized and keep track of who you
interview with, write `thank you´-notes
and maintain a professional image, ever if you´re
just at home waiting for the phone to ring.
You never know.
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